HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-08-11-TB -79
TOWN OF ULYSSES
REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 11 , 1998
PRESENT: Carolyn Duddleston , Deputy Supervisor; Councilman Robert
Weatherby; ABSENT Supervisor Douglas Austic, CEO Alex Rachun, Councilman
Peter Penniman and Andrew Hillman ; Town Clerk Marsha Georgia ; Highway
Superintendent James Meeker.
Others Present : Free Press Reporter Ann Brewer; Ann Stover; Peg Hopper; Liz
Thomas and David Tyler.
Deputy Supervisor Duddleston called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 PM and led
those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of
America .
APPROVAL OF MINUTES : July 14th Regular Board Mtg .
Minutes could not be approved due to the fact that there was not a quorum .
Corrections that need to be made are as follows : page 3, Mr. Warren should be
Mr. Brown and on page 4, This is a fact of Mother nature and the may she
works, should read the way she works .
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY CLAIMS
Claims could not be approved .
REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES
County Board Representative No one in attendance .
Trumansburg Fire Department Deputy Supervisor Duddleston read the
report from Fire Chief, Jack Fulton .
For the month of July the fire and ambulance calls totaled 36 . Year to date 174
calls .
Fewer services this year were needed at Grassroots Festival and he spoke very
positive about it. There was a problem on opening night, of OD's and alcohol so
Friday and Saturday night they put someone at the main gate to check Id's :
The Fire Company received a $ 2, 000 donation from the Grassroots committee
and their supplies were paid for.
The Parade is coming and he would like to know if the Town was going to have a
truck this year? Fire Police will be directing traffic to detour outside the village a
different way . This is something they are trying new this year, just to see if they
can stop the congestion in the village .
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8- 11 -98
TOWN REPORTS
Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported that they have been
cleaning ditches, trimming around road signs, and mowed all the roadsides .
They have also helped the Village of Trumansburg with paving and have been
working with Tompkins County on Krums Corner Road . Some stone has been
hauled and asphalt was removed on Cemetery Road Bridge .
Code Enforcement Officer, Alex Rachun was absent and no report was
handed in .
Town Clerk, Marsha Georgia reported that the total fees collected for the
month of July was $ 1 ,386 . 00 and of that $689 . 75 was turned over to the
Supervisor along with the monthly report. Monday is the start of sales for
hunting licenses . Mrs . Georgia stated that her deputy is out for surgery and that
her deputy from a year ago will be returning .
BOARD MEMBERS and / or Committees
Mrs. Duddleston reported that she had the proposed budget for the Recreation
Partnership Program but it is not right. There is a meting Thursday night , so
hopefully it will be revised .
SUPERVISOR FINANCIAL REPORT
Mrs. Duddleston stated that Mr . Austic did not get the bank statements so
there was no cash flow. report. Mrs . Duddleston distributed copies of revenue
and expenditures . No questions heard .
OLD BUSINESS — none
NEW BUSINESS
Cayuga Lake Watershed Membership
Mrs. Duddleston said that the matter of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network
Membership is on the agenda, but it can not be acted on because we do not
have a quorum . It is $35 . 00 a year. They are having a get together this
Saturday at Goosewatch Winery .
HEARING OF INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS
Peg Hopper resident on South Street Ext . expressed her disconcert of the
Grassroots Festival playing their music past the hour of 2 AM . She is not against
the festival but it is disturbing to have the music go so long into the evening and
wee hours of the morning when residents have to get up and go to work the
next day . Mrs . Duddleston suggested that the Town Board , Fair Assoc . ,
Grassroots Directors and any local residents get together to discuss these
problems . Mrs . Duddleston will try and arrange a meeting and get back to Peg
Hopper .
OTHER
Liz Thomas from the Cayuga Nature Center and David Tyler of 5396 Rice Road
wish to address the Board and will arrive after 8:30 PM .
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Regular Board Meeting
8- 11 -98
CORRESPONDENCE
Mrs . Duddleston reviewed the correspondence that has been received as follows :
Pre- retirement Seminars information .
Letter from Revenues Sharing — a new approach .
Request for Festival of Lights Sponsorship .
Permit for Steam work — Gerald VanOrden , 4191 South St. Ext.
Correspondence from Ben Curtis re : Cable Contract of $2 per person for a total
of $583 .
Information on the Star Program .
Copy of Judgement from Bruce Wilson
CAYUGA NATURE CENTER
Liz Thomas arrived and explained to the Board that the Cayuga Nature Center
is working on a food scrap composing demonstration on Houghton Road, which
could be useful to the Town of Ulysses . The objectives of the project :
1 . To demonstrate a way to divert food scrap waste from going to
landfills . The plan is to accept from 5 to 10 tons per week of food
scrap generated by Wegmans grocery store to the composing site at
the Cayuga Nature Center (CNC) .
2 . To demonstrate economical composing methods that can be used by
municipalities, schools, institutions, farms, restaurants and grocery
stores .
3 . To provide interested organizations with our time and expertise in
setting up other composts sites in this region .
4 . To donate the CNC's:facilities for a 4-day workshop on developing
large scale composts .
5 . To help build awareness of the feasibility of large scale composing by
publicizing the CNC compost project .
Wegmans grocery has already agreed to bring 5 to 10 tons of food scrap per
week to the site . In order to be successful and safe, the compost project needs
large quantities of carbon materials such as leaves, wood whips, yard waste or
sawdust to mix with the food scrap . Since the cost of trucking carbon materials
is expensive, they are looking for interest and cooperation from the nearest
sources . They are very interested in acquiring the chips and leaves generated in
the Town of Ulysses for at least the next two years . Town of Ulysses residents
could take wood chips or -finished compost from the piles free of charge .
Mr. Meeker, Highway Superintendent stated that he could probably help out but
like he had previously told her the Town bought their chipper from DEC with the
understanding that residents would be able to have the chips for nothing
because DEC paided for half of it. This program was to run for four or five
years . Mr . Meeker asked if she had talked with the Village about-leaves? He
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Regular Board Meeting
8- 11 -98
also knows some other places that have chips that he could put her in contact
with . Liz said that she would contact Mr. Meeker for this information .
Mr. Weatherby asked if straw would work? She replied that yes it would work
very well but the problem maybe to get it there.
Liz's phone number is 273 -6260 if there are any other questions .
Continuation of this Meeting
Mrs . Duddleston and Mr. Weatherby set a meeting for Monday night, August
17th at 7 PM to approve payment of bills .
Rice Road Resident, David Tyler
Mrs . Duddleston stated that they all had copies of the letter Mr. Tyler had written
to Mr. Meeker and also the letter Mr. Meeker had written to him in return .
Mr. Tyler wanted to explain why he has a problem with the ditch and roadwork
that Mr. Meeker is doing on Rice Road . He states that up until about 1990 every
two to three years the road would be oiled and stoned, which is less than a mile
long and has seven houses . Not a high traffic road . For whatever reasons in
1990 the oiling and stoning stopped and now the road is not in great shape . He
understands now that the only solution is to do a different type of pavement,
which is much less flexible, to replace what is their now. In order to have that
last they have to have supper duper drainage . The ditching has been under way
and what got his attention was when they wanted to remove the culvert pipe
and lower that farther than before. He felt it was a little over kill . The bottom
line is that he does not mind having ditching but the ditch now is a foot to a foot
and a half deeper than before. The banks are large and really is not very good
environmentally, and a hazard for anyone that may venture off the road . Mr.
Tyler states that it gulls him that number one the farm equipment has over the
years been coming and going where there was no ditch and now that the ditches
have come in the farmer can not get into the field without a wide culvert. Mr.
Tyler feels that because of the Town letting the road go for awhile and now they
have to do a significantly different job changing the general scope of things . In
order for him to keep things in a similar situation, to provide excess for the farm
equipment, he is told that he has to fork out a lot of money. That does not
seem right. Mr. Tyler would Pay for plastic pipe in front of his house so that the
ditch is not so deeppbut he feels that the Town should pay for the culvert pipe to
- make a driveway for the farmer to go in and out of the field .
Mr. Meeker clarified that the road has not been let go but that you can only
stone and oil the surface of a road so many times until you get what they call a
fat road that will bleed and than come apart. The life expectancy of a- pavement
of cold mix asphalt is only roughly ten years .
Mrs. Duddleston states that Mr. Tyler has to realize that the Town 's policy is that
they don't do excess driveways to fields .
Mr. Tyler stated that there was access to the fields and he feels if the Town is
doing something to destroy that access than doesn't the Town have some
obligation .
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Mrs . Duddleston stated that all the highway is doing is digging out a preexisting
ditch .
Mr . Tyler states that is a question of dispute as to whether it existed that large
before .
Mr . Weatherby states that over the years it may have slowly filled in with farm
equipment . When plowing the farmer will try and get as close to the ditch and
over time could contribute to filling that ditch .
Mr . Tyler discussed the way the water flows in that area .
Mr. Weatherby also stated that most farmers like it when the ditches are cleaned
out because it makes their drainage of the fields work better . Mr. Weatherby
states as far as road entrances to fields . The company, which he and Mr . Austic
work with , has a requirement that the roadways into the fields have to be thirty
feet wide . He has had to widen some ditches and he called Mr . Meeker and his
policy is that the owner pay at cost the price of the pipe and he will do all of the
work and furnish all the material . The Town of Covert has this same policy . He
feels that is more than fair . He knows what it cost to run a backhoe, the time it
takes and he knows what it cost to get stone . It is more than fair ! He even
wonders if the Town is going too far sometimes .
Mr . Meeker says that Tompkins County Highway charges a permit fee to come
out to 'the location and determine what size pipe is needed . You would than buy
the pipe and for every load of gravel they use it is a $ 100 . He goes on to say
that he has a right of way that the Town has to maintain and that includes the
ditches . This is what the right-of-way is there for .
Mr. Tyler has agreed to buy the plastic pipe for the front of his house to go into
the ditch and the Town will install . Mr . Meeker talked with Mr. Tyler and asked
him to give the ditch sometime before he goes ahead with this . Mr. Meeker feels
that he may be surprised when the ditch starts to grow back. He also will extend
the twenty-foot culvert by ten feet to be less expensive for Mr . Tyler . Mr .
Meeker and Mr . Tyler will get together to work out the particulars .
Mr. Weatherby thanked Mr . Tyler for coming in and discussing this .
Hearing no further business Mrs . Duddleston closed the meeting . No motion due
to no quorum .
* /
Respectfully submitted ,
Marsha L. Georgia
Town Clerk
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