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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-10-12 - TB 249 ULYSSES TOWN BOARD REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING OCTOBER 12, 1999 PRESENT : Supervisor Douglas Austic; Councilpeople Carolyn Duddleston, Andrew Hillman, Sue Poelvoorde and Robert Weatherby; Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun; Tompkins County Representative Peter Penniman; Highway Superintendent James Meeker and Town Clerk Marsha L . Georgia. Others Present : Catharine Stover, Grace Wolf, Reporter, Jean Foley and Daughter, Christian Nill, Water Resources Specialist, Richard Straut of Barton & Loquidice Engineers and Diane Hillman. Supervisor Austic called the meeting to order and led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mrs. Duddleston moved, seconded by Ms. Poelvoorde to approve the minutes of September 14th, 1999 after corrections had been given to the Clerk. Mr. Austic aye Mrs. Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms. Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted. APPROVAL OF MONTHLY CLAIMS Ms. Poelvoorde moved, seconded by Mrs. Duddleston to approve voucher numbers 354 through 392 in the amount of $31 , 897.43 that were previously examined by the Board. Mr. Austic aye Mrs. Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms. Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted. REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Tompkins County Representative Peter Penniman reported that the hottest news is that they have a recommended County Budget, completed early and it appears that it may be only a 2% increase over last year. They made use of some surplus money received from the tobacco settlement of $520,000 . They also are debating if the anticipated revenue of $ 1 .4 million from the tobacco settlement would be help in escrow for the year. The aquifer study has been delayed for a couple of months. Mr. Penniman attended a conference of the New York State Association of Counties in Lake Placid, along with Representative Stein where they presented a couple of resolutions from Tompkins County that had to do with Property Tax and the large exempt entities that we have in Tompkins County and other counties. One of the resolutions was passed by the whole board of the State Association and becomes part of their legislative agenda next year. That one is the one that they're asking the State to look at the definition of tax-exempt entities in particular the business like operations they have like business centers, housing, restaurants and bookstores. Other counties were interested in this also . Town of Ulysses 2 t Regular Town Board Meeting 10- 12-99 The State is putting this on the front burner. Assemblyman Martin Luster is the Chair of the Committee on Property Taxation and that may be a plus. The County has been discussing the repair of the Lake Street Bridge and why has there been a delay. It has been moved up to the year 2001 and the Village of Trumansburg is especially unhappy with that. The intention of the Village is to run sidewalks through that area and they wanted the bridgework done . There was a problem with the bridge where a piece fell off which caused a minor accident and since then the County has been looking into fixing it next year. Mr. Penniman stated that he was not sure how that would affect the Town' s Budget . Supervisor Austic stated that it would certainly depend on what the County came up with for a price. Superintendent Meeker stated that it is kind of hard to come up with a price . He told the County Engineer that he could go to the Board and tells them that they may start on the bridge this fall but without a plan the price is hard to set . The County is supposed to give the Town a two-year notice . It is a possibility the County could go ahead and the Town could owe the County . Trumansburg Fire Department — no one in attendance . Tompkins County Environmental Representative Jean Foley reported that she has been on board since May and not a lot of new things have been happening . She came in at the tail end of things so she just listened to the speakers and tried to get a feel of what was going on. She is still not on any particular committee and would take suggestions from the Town as to what ones they would like to see her on. She has been asked to go on the Tower Committee but has not decided. She feels that there may be something agricultural coming along that she might be more interested in. They have heard speakers on various topics such as Cayuga Water Shed, Lake Source Cooling, NEST (the new purposed highway on east hill) and Cornell came and discussed the cleanup for the chemical/radiation disposal site up near the airport . After hearing about the disposal site it made her think of Jacksonville and their problems. No one at EMC has ever had any presentations on the Jacksonville water problem and she feels that it may be something to bring to them and have more minds working on it . The County Board is looking at restructuring EMC . They would like to see the representatives from the municipalities whose term is up in December be reappointed or new members be appointed by December 1st. There is no representative for the village of Trumansburg and there is a seat vacant for them. If anyone knows of anyone interested let EMC know. She would be willing to continue but they have not decided how long the term maybe . Supervisor Austic would be willing to put something together on Jacksonville water to present to EMC in November or December. Mrs. Duddleston moved, seconded by Mr. Hillman the following resolution: RESOLVED1 that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses appoint Jean Foley to continue as the representative to the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council for the year 2000 . Mr. Austic aye Mrs. Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms. Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted. Town of Ulysses 3 aCD � Regular Town Board Meeting 10- 12-99 Debra Jones - Greater Ithaca Art Trail distributed some brochures of the Greater Ithaca Art Trail that is inclusive not exclusive of downtown Ithaca. There are four artists from the Ulysses area that are very active in this. What Debra came to ask is if the Ulysses Town Board would be willing to act as a conduit for a grant that the Greater Ithaca Art Trail is applying for. Ulysses has done this in the past. This does not involve any money from Ulysses but just accept the check and turn it over to the Greater Ithaca Art Trail. A conduit can charge a fee for this service . It is a decentralization grant and Community Arts Partnership has a committee who decides on this. They are asking for $4000 to $5000 that would be used to do a kick-off weekend of their trail that is based on the wine trails. Being listed in the brochure is an invitation from the artists to view their art and their studios. They are planning to do the trails once in the spring and than again in the fall and at that time all of the artists are committed to be in their studios. Other times the artist can be visited by appointment. They are looking to have kick-off events specific to each region. Ms. Jones handed out copies of the grant application. The only thing that the Board would have to do is authorize the Supervisor to sign that the Town would act as the conduit. Ms. Poelvoorde moved, seconded by Mrs. Duddleston the following : Resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses authorize the Supervisor to sign the grant application that the Greater Ithaca Area Art Trail is applying for and be the conduit for accepting the grant . Mr. Austic aye Mrs. Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms. Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted. Mr. Austic signed the application. Ms. Jones has an idea involving an art project using some of the decentralization grant money being used in Trumansburg. Also Mrs. Georgia had mentioned to Ms. Jones of the possibility of having wall space available at the Town Hall. She needs to do some more thinking along these lines. Representative Christian Nill of RHI and Rich Strata of Barton & Loguidice Rich Straut stated that there have been updates done since the Draft Water Study was presented (handed out to Board) . After the draft was reviewed Mr. Straut talked with Mr. Austic they decided to look at a couple additional alternatives to serve more people and hopefully bring the cost of the project down. Mr. Straut explained the different alternatives such as running a couple of spurs off of Route 96 going Krum. Corners Road, VanDorns Road and Colegrove Road and also run the lines, coming out of Trumansburg, all the way to the Ithaca line. This is based on the residential growth along this path. He explained the other alternatives. The cost of the project would be higher but the cost would be divided among more people. By bringing the cost of the project up there may be some more difficulty in obtaining grant money. But there could be other things to be done. They have also looked into bringing the water source from Ithaca and breaking out service areas. In the first water study they used iron pipe for the cost estimates and in the second study, to make it more feasible they priced it out using PVC pipe. They initially priced it out with iron pipes, because most municipalities prefer that, but in order to make the project at all they should look at PVC pipe. Mr. Austic asked what his opinion is on PVC pipe . Mr. Straut replied that he feels more comfortable with iron because it has been used successfully for years. PVC has been in Town of Ulysses 4 'C‘J Regular Town Board Meeting 10- 12-99 the ground for many years where iron has been in the ground for hundreds of years. But he would be comfortable using it. Mr. Nill stated that he has worked with a lot of rural communities and has seen a lot of PVC used. But for financially strapped rural communities PVC is often the best alternative. The community where he comes from used PVC and it is working well. Mr. Straut stated that if he had reservations about PVC he would not of used it in the study. This report has been submitted to the Drinking Water State Revolving Program. The Town is listed on that plan. He feels that there is work to be done getting the priorities formed. Everything is based on a point system and there are projects being funded scoring 85 and above . The Town' s point score is initially 45 . He feels this project, under the circumstances in Jacksonville, would warrant a higher score. It is a matter of going back and making a case with the Environmental Facilities Corporation. A couple of other things previously discussed that could also affect the cost represented here . One would be an income survey. This is why he has invited Christian Nill to discuss this . A lot of the grant programs and how much money they are willing to give are based on need and they relate that back to the in-house income. They generally go back to the census information. But with respect to getting grant money for the Town there is a possibility that instead of looking at the Town as a whole, just look specifically at the areas that may be served by water and do an income survey for those areas. He has asked Mr. Nill to go over what it would take to do that He also wanted to bring it to the attention of the Board that they may want to consider with this report is that they did not assume that we are going to charge vacant parcels. Practically if you have a lot of agricultural districts that would become a problem, areas that are vacant because they are building lots or that sort of thing. The Town may want to look at charging some benefit assessment to those parcels. They did not include that . They also are trying to negotiate a wholesale rate for water with the Village of Trumansburg and the Town of Ithaca, which could make the cost go down. There is also a need in the Village of Trumansburg, for improving their tank storage. They have looked at the possibility of sharing the tank that would be purposed for the Town system. The Board may want to talk to the Village about sharing a tank. They have also talked about the possibility of phasing the project . So there are some other things that may be done and other things to be looked at to see if we can get these numbers done to be closer to what might be consider affordable . Mr. Straut introduced Mr. Nill of Rural Housing Improvement, who can help do an income survey and they can provide assistance in putting together grant applications at no cost . Christian Nill representing Northeast Rural Community Assistance Program which is a program of Rural Housing Improvement (RHI), a private, non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to serving the housing and water resource protection needs of low to moderate income rural communities. Mr. Straut of Barton & Loquidice invited Mr. Nill to meet with the Board to discuss the need to administer an income survey in the Town of Ulysses. Mr. Nill handed out some information on his organization, including a sample of the income survey. Mr. Nill talked about this and how he would proceed . The survey would be mailed (with the help of the Town Clerk) and if not received back would need help from volunteers to go house to house . What is needed is to attain a minimum "acceptable" response rate of about 80%. The outcome of this survey may be used to determine whether the proposed service area meets USDA Rural Development' s income eligibility criterion. To meet this criterion for Rural Development' s "poverty-line" status, the median household income in the proposed service area for which funding is being sought must be below $31 , 534 . In the Town as a whole this is around $35 ,000, according to the 1990 census. The cost of the survey would be for the mailing, which the Town should figure on about 66 cents per survey. This includes a stamped self-addressed envelope for the return of the survey and allows additional mailing cost for follow-up canvassing . The other cost would be clerical cost to determine the master list of residents to be surveyed and the Town of Ulysses 5 ()-53 Regular Town Board Meeting 10- 12 -99 value of the volunteer' s time to do the house-to-house canvassing . Mr. Nill will be available to help with this. The Northeast RCAP is committed to administering the income survey and processing the final results in a forthright and objective manner, maintaining at all times the confidentiality of individual survey results. The surveys will. be mailed. to RCAP for tabulation. The survey process can start any time in the next few days. It ' s important not to allow the survey process to drag out over a period of months, since people lose interest and forget what the survey is for. Also , you should allow at least 1 -2 month' s time after completing the survey, for the consultant to prepare a grant application. Mr. Nil! stated that wide dissemination of public information concerning the income survey and the proposed project is absolutely critical to the success of this venture. He would be able to come out to facilitate a public informational meeting for this purpose some evening, prior to distributing the surveys. He can also provide some suggested text for a news release to be sent to the local papers. Mr. Austic stated that the Town has talked about having an informational meeting on the "Water Study" and feels that would be a good time to talk about the income survey. A Public Hearing was scheduled for November 16t ', 1999 at the Trumansburg Fire Department at 7 PM. TOWN REPORTS Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported that they did some shimming on Lake Street, Cayuga Street Ext . , Frontenac Road and a little down at the front of the shop at the Town Barns. Finished sealing on Terrell Road, Proskine Place, Krum Corners Road and Iradell Road Ext . The Town Hall parking lot is been finished and will be sealed next year. Code Enforcement Officer Alex. Rachun reported that he issued six permits. He stated that he has been very busy in the building department issuing eighteen permits in the last ten weeks. There was one "Site Plan Review" with the Planning Board with "Tree Tops 2000" project, which was the observation post at Cayuga Nature Center. That is in place. Frontier Cellular is going to start the site plantings both at the site of the tower and on Swamp College Road on. this Thursday. The Zoning Board of Appeals has heard two area variances and both have been approved. Tomorrow the Planning Board is a holding a public hearing for a request for an "interne excess tower" at the Special Children' s Center on Wilkins Road . It is a 60-foot tower, free standing, no guides and no lights. Town Clerk Marsha Georgia reported that a total of $ 5090 . 50 in fees was collected for the month of September and $ 700 was turned over to the Supervisor along with her monthly report . A total of $4100 was sent to DEC for licenses. Hunting license sales have slowed down a bit . Board Member Andrew Hillman reported that the Youth Commission met last Tuesday at the Village Hall and one real nice thing is that the "Outing Club" started on October 4th that is fhr fifth trough seventh graders . Ulysses was the first one to get oi ' the block in the County for this "Outing Club". Board Members Sue Poelvoorde and Carolyn Duddleston have drafted a resolution taking the authority that the Town Board has in establishing some minimum attendance policy and training policy for the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board to help in. assuring that they are doing an efficient and effective job for the Town in implementing tm\ � Town of Ulysses 6 Regular Town Board Meeting 10- 12-99 and administrating the portions of the Town of Ulysses Zoning Ordinance . The draft resolution is as follows : WHEREAS , under Chapter 62 , Article 16, Sections 261 and 264 of Town Law the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses is empowered to establish a land use ordinance for the purpose of promoting the health, safety and general welfare of the community, and WHEREAS, in order to implement, administer and enforce such zoning ordinance the Town Board is granted the authority by Sections 267 (2) and 271 ( 1 ) of Town Law to establish a Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board and appoint residents of the town to serve as members on the boards, and WHEREAS, under Section 267 (2) and (9) and 271 ( 1 ) and (9) the Town Board is authorized to establish minimum training and attendance standards for members of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning board, NOW THEREFORE , be it resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses adopts the following minimum training and attendance policy for the effective and efficient function of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board. Attendance Policy Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board will be allowed three (3 ) unexcused absences after which the member will be removed from the respective board in compliance with Sections 267 (9) or 271 (9) of Town Law. Definitions Unexcused — A board member is considered unexcused when said member fails to notify the chair of the board, or his/her designated representative within. 24 hours in advance of a prior scheduled meeting . Such time limit shall be waived in an extreme personal or medical emergency. Training Policy Zoning Board of Appeals: Within the first year of service, newly appointed members shall attend a minimum of one ( 1 ) training seminar or conference on interpreting and. enforcing a zoning ordinance in New York State . Planning Board: Within the first year of service, newly appointed members shall attend a minimum of one ( 1 ) training seminar or conference on interpreting and enforcing a zoning ordinance in New York State and administering the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR-Environmental. Conservation Law) . The Town Board for registration fees will compensate members of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board for the required training sessions. The chair of each board shall submit a notification of expenditure for training for approval by the Town Board prior to the member attending a training session. Ms. Poelvoorde will forward a copy to Attorney Bruce Wilson for review before the Board acts on this resolution. Supervisor Austic reviewed financial report . OLD BUSINESS Meeting for Work on Zoning Ordinance October 13 - 7 : 30 PM Due to the Planning Board holding a public hearing on this date the meeting on the zoning ordinance will be re- scheduled. Town of Ulysses 7 --)55 5 Regular Town Board Meeting 10- 12-99 Meeker - Town Barn Addition Mr. Austic asked the Highway Superintendent about estimates for a new door and the addition on the Town Barn. Mr. Meeker stated that he has received estimates and has decided to have Cortland Overhead Door do the replacement door work. He has received estimates for the addition the highest is from Fingerlakes Construction at $ 19, 178 and the lowest from Ken Poyer at $ 16710. Mr. Meeker has a couple of questions for Mr. Poyer before he awards the job. Cayuga Nature Center Street Light Mr. Austic has received notification from the NYSEG that the light has been put in the Town of Ulysses name after receiving an okay from the State to have one light . Other None heard. NEW BUSINESS Budget Meeting Schedule A work session is scheduled for Monday October 18th, 1999 at 6 PM. Resolution to Attorney General Mr. Austic introduced the following draft resolution: WHEREAS, the Office of the Attorney General was instrumental in achieving the individual residents ' settlements and establishing monitoring standards and test well procedures for the 1978 Mobil Oil Company gasoline underground fuel tank leak in the hamlet of Jacksonville, and WHEREAS, the intent of the settlement was to provide financial reparations to the Jacksonville residents most directly affected by the underground gasoline spill while Mobil tested and reclaimed the spilled fuel to allow future use of the residential properties Mobil acquired from residents, and WHEREAS, current testing indicates that petroleum product pollution is still a problem after 20 years and is not likely to dissipate over time and is beginning to show signs of spreading to other areas of the hamlet, and WHEREAS, the residential properties acquired by Mobil continue to deteriorate in their vacant state and are further contributing to a depressed climate in the hamlet, and WHEREAS, the only apparent and reasonable long-term solution to the Mobil Oil Company groundwater pollution situation that will allow current vacant properties to be sold for occupancy is the installation of a municipal water supply to the hamlet, and WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses recently contracted an engineering studies to explore the installation of a municipal water supply system to Jacksonville and the study indicated that the cost of such system far exceeds the $524/household limit as determined by the New York State Comptroller, Town of Ulysses 8 4 ° Regular Town Board Meeting 10- 12-99 NOW THEREFORE be it resolved that the Ulysses Town Board respectfully requests to the Attorney General to reopen the Mobil Oil Company case and examine the responsibility of Mobil Oil Company to rectify the ongoing contamination of groundwater in the hamlet of Jacksonville and deliver to the residents of the hamlet of Jacksonville and the Town of Ulysses a responsible solution. The foregoing resolution will be reviewed by the Town Board and discussed at a later date . Parking Lot As previously discussed the parking lot in the rear of the Town Hall has been completed accept the sealing will be left until next year along with the painting of the lines. JCA Wellness Meeting Report Mr. Austic stated that several of the Town Officials attended the Jacksonville "Well Awareness" meeting which was very well attended. At that meeting Assemblyman Luster suggested that the Town sends a resolution to the Attorney General asking him to re-open the case with Mobil Oil to determine if Mobil has any further liability other than to the individuals that they purchased the houses from. Since the gas is not clearing up over time and the property values are declining, hopefully, this could provide additional help with a water district. The resolution previously recorded under "Resolution to Attorney General" came from this request . Mr. Luster stated at the Jacksonville meeting that he would deliver the resolution to the Attorney General. County Community Center Revitalization Grant Mr. Austic reported that the County is having another round of Community Revitalization Grant. Mr. Austic gave the information to Mr. Reitz. Mr. Reitz stated that he talked with the County and they gave him a packet of information. They indicate strongly that the municipality has a committee to work on drafting a strategy consisting of town officials, local residents and businesses. He has a sample from Brooktondale and Slaterville Springs. Mr. Reitz says that there is hope but not for this next round. Other None heard . Hearing from Groups and Individuals No one in attendance wished to speak. Correspondence Previously discussed. Adjournment Hearing no further business Mr. Hillman moved, seconded by Mrs. Duddleston to adjourn the meeting. Meeting was adjourned at 9 : 35 PM. Respectfully submitted, Marsha L . Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk