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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-02-07 Danby Town Board Minutes of Regular Meeting February 7, 2011 Present: Supervisor: Ric Dietrich Councilpersons: Leslie Connors,Kathy Halton,Dylan Race Excused: Dan Klein Others Present: Town Clerk Pamela Goddard Bookkeeper Laura Shawley Code Enforcement Sue Beeners Public Liz Roe, Joel Gagnon, Ted Crane The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Dietrich informed the Board that Race would arrive late. RESOLUTION NO.30 OF 2011-APPOINTMENT OF PLANNING BOARD CHAIR Resolved,that the Town Board of the Town of Danby appoints Robert Roe as the 2011 Chair of the Planning Board. Moved by Halton, Second by Dietrich. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Dietrich RESOLUTION NO.31 OF 2011-APPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS Resolved,that the Town Board of the Town of Danby appoints Al Wagner to a five year term on the Board of Zoning Appeals,from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2015. Moved by Connors, Second by Dietrich. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Dietrich RESOLUTION NO.32 OF 2011-APPOINTMENT OF BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CHAIR Resolved,that the Town Board of the Town of Danby appoints Al Wagner as the 2011 Chair of the Board of Zon- ing Appeals. Moved by Connors, Second by Dietrich. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Dietrich RESOLUTION NO.33 OF 2011-APPOINTMENT OF CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL CHAIR Resolved,that the Town Board of the Town of Danby appoints Joel Gagnon as the 2011 Chair of the Conserva- tion Advisory Council. Moved by Dietrich, Second by Halton. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Dietrich Records Destruction Clerk Goddard informed the Board of progress being made in records management, and distributed five Records Destruction Authorization forms filled out by Mary Ann Barr and signed by Goddard. She proposed that 250 lbs of records be taken to Challenge Industry for professional shredding. Much of this information is on file in other places. Members of the Town Board asked whether any of this material had historical value? Goddard said that some items have been held back for future historical TownBoard_Minutes_20110207•Monday,February 28,2011 Page 1 of 4 research and display. She also invited the Board to visit the Vault to see the improvements. "Before and After"photos are being taken at regular intervals. RESOLUTION NO.34 OF 2011-RECORDS DESTRUCTION AUTHORIZATION WHEREAS the Town of Danby has adopted the NYS Archives MU1 for its Records Retention and Disposition Schedule, and WHEREAS the Town Board has reviewed the prepared Records Destruction Authorization forms, and WHEREAS several boxes of records have been marked as past their six year retention, and WHEREAS shredding is the most appropriate method of disposal for these records, and WHEREAS Challenge Industries acts as the official shredder for Tompkins County and other municipalities, THEREFOR, BE IT RESOLVED,That the Town Board of the Town of Danby authorizes the Town Clerk to have these records properly disposed of by shredding at Challenge Industries located at the South Hill Technology Park. Moved by Halton, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Dietrich TCCOG Tax Cap Resolution Clerk Goddard distributed TCCOG Resolution 001-2011, Urging New York State to Significantly Cut the Unfunded Mandates that Cause Local Property Tax Increases Before Imposing a Property Tax Cap. This has been passed at the county level. Local municipalities were asked to pass resolutions of support. Halton expressed a strong positive opinion of this resolution and encouraged public information about this to be shared through an article directed at Broader View Weekly readers. RESOLUTION NO.35 OF 2011-SUPPORT OF TCGOG TAX CAP RESOLUTION Resolved,that the Town Board of the Town of Danby supports the resolution drafted by the Tompkins County Council of Governments and passed by the Tompkins County Legislature, and Further Resolved,that copies of this resolution should be sent to the same offices as listed in the original reso- lution. Moved by Halton, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Dietrich Race arrived at 7:34 pm. Delta Engineering Update: Shawley distributed sample technical manuals from Delta Engineering and gave an update on progress. The Town is waiting for a retainer agreement from Delta Engineering Attorney Todd Mathes. He will work on the Road Usage Agreement and local road law.After review by the Danby Town attorney,work will begin to assure that these items are not in conflict with already existing lo- cal law. There was some discussion as to how this attorney process will work. There was additional discussion regarding concerns about inter-municipal collaboration. The survey of current conditions of Danby roads should be complete within the month. Following Spring public hearings and passage of laws there will be training in this system.A time-line should be set soon. Cell Tower Committee Appointment: Goddard and Beeners gave an update. Bill Evans has expressed interest in serving on behalf of Danby and will attend a meeting of this group on Monday, February 14. Dietrich and Beeners will also attend this meeting and report to the Board. Dietrich gave an update on the interconnections between Cell-Tower and Broadband projects. TownBoard_Minutes_20110207•Monday,February 28,2011 Page 2 of 4 Code Enforcement Reports and Procedures: Beeners distributed a sample report,with a list of 2010 Code Violations and the status of abate- ment of these violations. There is some over-lap with information provided in the monthly Code Re- ports.There was a discussion regarding the most useful information provided to the Board.There was also discussion regarding how much information to make public via the town web site. Halton requested the addition of a time-line for the procedures from Notice of Apparent Violation through Appearance Tickets or Abatement of the problem. The Board suggested that a report of Viola- tions be submitted when there are changes. Beeners offered to devise a system for making monthly updates,via the web site, as appropriate. It was also suggested that Code Enforcement processes be streamlined,rather than functioning in a case by case basis, for consistency and efficiency. Emergency Management Update: Goddard distributed Municipal Self-Assessment Worksheets, generated by the County. The Board was asked to review these questions,in order to familiarize themselves with Emergency Planning needs. Dietrich informed the Board about FEMA requirements for an Emergency Management Plan. The Town Hall staff is actively working on this effort. Dietrich would like the Board to formally des- ignate Clerk Goddard as the Town Public Information Officer and point person for Emergency Response/Emergency Management Coordinator. The current focus of an Emergency Plan is on poten- tial industrial accidents. Procedures for these events will relate to other emergency situations. Halton advocated for community education,once a plan is in place. Planning Board Alternates: Discussion about Resolution No. 23 and the recommendations from the Planning Board. Connors reported that the Planning Board recommended that no alternates be appointed this year. She said that some on the PB felt that"seven"was a good number and more than that was not necessary.Addition- ally some thought the need for alternates was very small. Rarely have they been"needed"to fill out a quorum. Gagnon provided additional detail about the PB discussion on this topic. Race expressed regret that the Planning Board did not consult the applicant as to whether the ap- pointment would be a"waste of time."Race expressed disagreement with that view, saying that they "put the cart before the horse"by not coming to agreement as to how alternates would be used. In Race's opinion,this made no sense when there was an able and willing applicant for the position. He then withdrew his resolution. RESOLUTION NO.23 OF 2011-APPOINTMENT PLANNING BOARD ALTERNATE Resolved,That the Town Board of the Town of Danby appoints Ted Crane as an alternate to the Planning Board. Withdrawn by Race. Amending Planning Board Law: There was a discussion about minor changes to be made to Local Law#2 of 2007, including changing the phrase"shall appoint alternates"to"may appoint alternates."Beeners pointed out that there are additional typos and inconsistencies in section numbers which should be changed at the same time. She suggested that a draft of these changes be crafted by Goddard and Beeners, and that this draft be presented to the Board in March. Appointment Procedures: Connors gave an update. She will present more information and a draft policy during the Feb. 14 meeting. Town-Wide Meeting: TownBoard_Minutes_20110207•Monday,February 28,2011 Page 3 of 4 A discussion about when to hold a town-wide meeting, gathering representatives from as many town boards, committees, and action groups as possible.The purpose if this meeting is for informa- tion to be shared about various efforts on behalf of Danby. Discussion centered on how to focus this meeting and when it should be held. There was concern that it might be ambitious to attempt this meeting in March.April would provide more time to structure this meeting. The board proposes that this meeting be held on Thursday April 7 at 7pm. A letter/invite specifying the purpose and focus of this meeting and requesting representation and a short report shall be drafted and mailed to as many town representatives as possible. Halton volun- teered to draft a notice for the Danby Area News,which shall be used as a template for this invitation. People will be encouraged to bring snacks to share. Youth Services: Dietrich and Race gave an update. The County Recreation Partnership agreement must be signed and delivered by June. The Board was invited to the Rec. Partnership annual meeting at 5:30 on March 31st in the Human Services Building. Food will be served. Dietrich reported on a presentation to Danby Community Council and an informal poll of resi- dents. The results showed a general lack of awareness about these programs.He expressed the need to assess what town residents really want for Youth Services. Other options, such as a Town Hall com- puter center,might better serve the community. Dietrich,Hockett, and Race will meet to devise a way to get resident feedback, such as through the Danby Area News. Tax Collection Report: Goddard gave an update.Tax Collection has gone smoothly. Over Two Million dollars has been collected through the end of January.A check for the total amount due to Danby has been written to the Supervisor, and a meeting has been set with County Finance. Gas Drilling Task Force: Dietrich and Halton informed the Board of discussions through the TCCOG Gas Drilling commit- tee. Helen Slottje will present a proposal to that committee related to Towns adding a ban on High Volume Slick Water Hydro-Fracking to their zoning ordinance. Dietrich and Halton expressed skepti- cism about this proposal. There is concern about potential litigation costs and whether there is com- munity consensus on this issue. There will be more discussion on this proposal. Written Reports: Written reports were distributed from the Town Justices. Adjournment A motion to adjourn the Meeting was made at 9:16pm. Pamela S Goddard,Town Clerk TownBoard_Minutes_20110207•Monday,February 28,2011 Page 4 of 4