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Home My WebLink About2018-12-11TOWN OF GROTON — MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018 AT 7:30 PM THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Those present: Donald F. Scheffler, Supervisor Richard Gamel, Councilperson Crystal Young, Councilperson Randy N. Jackson, Councilperson Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent Charles Rankin, Bookkeeper Francis Casullo, Attorney for the Town Absent: W. Rick Fritz, Code Official, A. D. Dawson, Town Justice, John Norman, Town Justice Also present: Glenn Morey, Rick Neville, Jr., Ben Nelson, Kellie Lamoreau MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Jackson, to approve the minutes of the, November 13, 2018 meeting as presented. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler. Vouchers numbered 508 - 551 in the total amount of $79,403.85 were presented to the Board for their review. Vouchers for the General A Fund in the amount of $10,622.01; the General B Fund in the amount of $23,3 3 4.91; the Peruville Light District in the amount of $15 5.81; and the McLean Light District in the amount of $281.26 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, to approve the General Bills for payment with the exception of Voucher #526 in the amount of $1,000.00, which was a duplicate of Voucher #521. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler. Vouchers for the Highway DA Fund in the amount of $ 36,616.86 and in the Highway DA Fund in the amount of $8,393.00 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilperson Clark, seconded by Councilperson Jackson, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler. Monthly Reports: Charles Rankin, Bookkeeper - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review and requested budget transfers. The Government Accounting Standards Board has come up with a new standard where it will be necessary for us to estimate what our post employment benefits are. It was optional before but now something you have to have and is part of the financial statements. The bad news is that you have to hire and actuary to actually do this. The good news is that being part of the Greater Tompkins County Health Town Board Minutes Page 2 December 11, 2018 Insurance Consortium, you don't have to pay for the actuary. Setting it up the first year is a bit of a job, but not too bad after that. RESOLUTION #18-069 - 2018 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2018 Budget Transfer: General Fund Town Wide: From: Contingency, A1990.4 .................................... $4,235.00 To: Auditing, Contractual, A1320.4 ...........................2,750.00 Attorney, Miscellaneous Contractual, A1420.41 .......... 65 5.00 Traffic Control, Contractual, A3310.4 ....................... 830.00 Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-070 - 2018 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2018 Budget Transfer: Highway Fund, Town Wide: From: Brush & Weeds, Personal Services, DA5140.1........... $2,150.00 To: Employee Benefits, Medical Insurance, DA9060.8........ 2,150.00 Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-071 - 2018 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Jackson RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2018 Budget Transfer: Highway Fund, Part Town: From: General Repairs, Personal Services, DB5110.1.............$10,300.00 To: Employee Benefits, Medical Insurance, DB9060.8 ......... 10,3 00.00 Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-072 - 2018 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2018 Budget Transfer: General Fund, Part Town: From: Contingency, B1990.4 .............$700.00 To: Joint Youth Program, Director B7320.41 ..............700.00 Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Town Board Minutes Page 3 December 11, 2018 W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer - Was not present but had submitted monthly reports for the Board's review. Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent - At the present time the Highway Department is up to date with heavy duty vehicle inspections. The employees and equipment have performed very well. There has been very little down time with the early exposure to winter. Auctions International has given us the 1993 Autocar tandem cab and chaise from the municipal auction. When the paperwork clears, the Town will receive $2,650.00. Pete Carr has taken the 4:00 to Midnight shift, Sunday through Thursday, as his regular 40 -hour week. This has proven to work very well, helping to get night shift people home during snowy conditions and preparing us for the morning. I met with all Highway Department Employees regarding the concerns you voiced last month. At this time, Luke and I have worked to close the Highway books for 2018 and are very close to finalizing our numbers. Pete and Luke have updated the 2018 -2019 inventory and I presented that to Crystal. I thought she was the person who handled the inventory last year. Griffith Petroleum no longer has the New York State bid for fuel products. Mirabito Fuel now has that contract with NYS OGS. Luke has provided them with our storage facility capabilities and quantities. We expect our first delivery from them at any time. At this time, I would like to thank the people of the Town of Groton for allowing me the honor of serving them as the Town of Groton Highway Superintendent. With the support of the Highway Department employees, we have accomplished many infrastructure projects that will stand in place for decades. I would be negligent if I did not remind everyone that this work must continue. In a bedroom town such as ours, the highway system is essential. Now, with all due respect, I am submitting to the Board my resignation as the Town of Groton Highway Superintendent. (A letter of resignation was handed to Supervisor Scheffler.) My final day will be Wednesday, January 2, 2019. I am very proud to be retiring with 21 years of service to this community. Tonight's notice will give the Board ample time to select a replacement. Thank you. Members of the Board thanked Mr. Case as he left the room. April L. Scheffler, RMC, Town Clerk/Tax Collector - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review and had nothing else to report. Francis Casullo, Attorney for the Town - Had nothing to report. John J. Norman and A. D. Dawson, Town Justices - Were not present but had presented monthly reports for the Board's review. Councilperson Crystal Young as Representative to Joint Youth Program - The Youth Commission met on December 5th and was pretty much business as usual. It was Janice Johnson's last meeting with us. Shannon Alvord has joined us as the Tompkins County Youth Bureau representative. Groton Joint Recreation Committee met on the 28th and they talked about the Trail Committee and where they would like to begin working on some of the trails. Also talked about the Towns and Villages Parks and Trails Grant Program and will possibly apply for that. Councilperson Young announced that the Town of Groton has been named a Clean Energy Community and is now eligible to apply for the $5,000.00 grant. We have 3 months to send in the completed grant form to NYSERDA. They had sent us a template for a press release. Councilperson Young will complete the grant application and send it in. An email had also been received from NYSEG saying that they had received our request for streetlight conversion to LED and that we will be put on a waiting list and will contact us at some time as to the type of lights we want. Using the $5000.00 for streetlight conversion will leave the Town with a balance of less than a thousand dollars to pay. Glenn Morey, County Legislator - Had nothing to report. Town Board Minutes Page 4 December 11, 2018 Ben Nelson, Groton Fire Chief - We've had approximately 900 activations for the year. Several of them were false alarms, but we will sort it all out and have a final detailed report next month. Thursday, we will be escorting Santa into Town, down to the Christmas tree for the lighting on the Village's lot. We had a public hearing last night on the new building. It appears to be well received, more so than a lot of us thought it would be. A lot of good questions were asked. We expect to be moving forward with that. Annual elections are January 2nd. There will be some changes in the officer lineup, but I will report more on that next month also. RESOLUTION #18-073 - ACCEPT 2017 FISCAL YEAR AUDIT MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby accepts the 2017 Fiscal Year Audit of the Town's financial condition performed by Insero & Company, Certified Public Accountants, and be it further RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby accepts the 2017 Fiscal Year Audit of the Justice Court books and records performed by Insero & Company. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-074 - EXTEND DEADLINE TO PAY TAXES FOR SENIOR CITIZENS MOVED by Councilperson Jackson, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that pursuant to the New York State Real Property Tax Law, Section 925-b, the Town Board hereby extends the deadline to pay the 2019 Groton Town and County Taxes in full without penalty to Thursday, February 7, 2019 to qualifying senior citizens residing in the Town of Groton. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-075 - BOOKKEEPER TO ATTEND CONFERENCE MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the payment of expenses for the Bookkeeper, Charles Rankin, to attend the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) annual conference in Albany, March 27 - 29, 2019. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-076 - SET DATE AND TIME FOR 2019 ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby schedules the 2019 Organization Meeting for Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at 7:30 pm, to be followed by the Regular Monthly Meeting. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Town Board Minutes Page S December 11, 2018 After some discussion with Attorney Casullo concerning the resignation of the Highway Superintendent, the following resolution was passed. RESOLUTION #18-077 - SET TIME AND DATE FOR SPECIAL MEETING MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby schedules a Special Meeting for Thursday, December, 27, 2018 at 4:00 pm for the purpose of discussing the resignation of the current Highway Superintendent; discussion about the position of Highway Superintendent; and possible appointment of a Highway Superintendent. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-078 - APPROVE 2018 GADABOUT CONTRACT MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the 2018 contract with Gadabout Transportation Services, Inc., in the amount of $1,000.00. Said monies shall be used to partially cover operating expenses. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-079 - APPROVE 2019 HIGHWAY AGREEMENT MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town of Groton Highway Employees be granted the following for the Year 2019: ➢ 72 -cent per hour raise in across the board. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Privilege of the Floor: No one wished to speak. RESOLUTION #18-080 - IDENTIFICATION AND USE OF TOWN OWNED VEHICLES MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Jackson RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton hereby requires, by January 1, 2019, that all Town owned Highway Department vehicles and power equipment be identified on both left and right sides by a permanent Town of Groton Official Logo and a unit number, of a size appropriate to the unit and a style approved by the Town Board. Equipment co -owned by the Town and Village of Groton may be identified by either municipality's logo, and be it further RESOLVED, that private, personal use of Town owned vehicles and equipment is strictly forbidden. The Highway Superintendent or his designee (whichever is on call) may drive a truck home after hours for Town business only, and be it further Town Board Minutes Page 6 December 11, 2018 RESOLVED, that all licensed vehicles are required to have daily log books with entries for beginning and ending mileage for each driver, short description of the trip or purpose, and amount of fuel when fueled. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #18-081- SALE OF TOWN ASSETS MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Jackson RESOLVED, that all money from the sale of Town of Groton assets, equipment, vehicles, surplus items, and scrap items will be immediately transferred to the Town Supervisor, and be it further RESOLVED, that there shall be no transfer of ownership or release of property until payment is received in full. Vehicle titles or other proof of ownership must remain in the Town Clerk's vault until paid in full. Receipts, weigh bills, or other documentation must accompany payment, and be it further RESOLVED, that all vehicles will be titled to "Town of Groton" with two signatures required for transfer. Ayes - Gamel, Young, Jackson, Clark, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Announcements: ➢ Planning Board, December 20, 2018 at 7:30 pm ➢ Zoning Board of Appeals, December 26, 2018 at 7:00 pm ➢ Association of Towns Training School, February 17 - 20, 2019. There being no further business, Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilperson Clark, at 8:12 pm. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler, RMC Town Clerk