HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-05-12TB 5-12- 16
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TOWN OF DRYDEN
TOWN BOARD MEETING
May 12, 2016
Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Linda Lavine, Cl
Deborah Cipolla-Dennis
Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk
Other Town Staff: Jennifer Case, Bookkeeper
Mariette Geldenhuys, Town Attorney
David Sprout, Code Officer
Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 7:10 p.m. He explained there were modifications to
be considered for highway, recreation and for the election expenses. Highway has received
insurance money for a claim and the funds will be used for guide rail repairs.
RESOLUTION #89 (2016) – APPROVE BUDGET MODIFICATION
Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED that this Town Board hereby approves the following the budget
modification:
To Account DB 2680 Miscellaneous Insurance Recoveries $2356.20
To Account DB 51104 Street Maintenance Contractual $2356.20
2nd Cl Cipolla-Dennis
Roll Call Vote Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Recreation received a donation to be used for community music.
RESOLUTION #90 (2016) – APPROVE BUDGET MODIFICATION
Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED that this Town Board hereby approves the following the budget
modification:
To Account A7989.402 Community Music $100.00
To Account A2006 Rec Fundraising $100.00
2nd Cl Cipolla-Dennis
Roll Call Vote Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
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Expenses for the special election will come from contingency.
RESOLUTION #91 (2016) – APPROVE BUDGET MODIFICATION
Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED that this Town Board hereby approves the following the budget
modification:
From Account A1990.4 Contingency $1901.26
To Account A1450.4 Elections Contractual $1901.26
2nd Cl Cipolla-Dennis
Roll Call Vote Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Supv Leifer distributed copies of an email from J Case regarding the end of year fund
balances for the A, B, DA and DB funds. The AUD has been filed. At the end of year, the Town
was down a total of $185,000. The A fund decreased by $392,000 while the other funds
increased. Supv Leifer shared a letter from Tompkins County Finance indicating sales tax
revenues are down 5-6% and said we will have to watch that. At the beginning of the year, all
department heads were asked to not spend more than 90% of their budgets and that should
help the numbers. Cl Cipolla–Dennis believes this is something to watch for in the 2017
budget. (The AUD link and letter from County Finance will be put on the Town website.)
Planning Department - R Burger will be here next week to review his department
report. The ACCELA program is being used in the Planning Department, but they have had
some issues recently due to upgrades to the system. Other municipalities are also using this
program. There are a couple of vacant dilapidated homes (on Morris Road and Slaterville Road)
that need to be addressed.
Board member appointment – Supv Leifer asked if the Board is ready to make an
appointment or if they want to hold interviews. Cl Lamb feels they have found someone who
has proven herself in terms of public commitment and with knowledge of the area, the Town,
etc. Cl Lavine would like to see some more choices. Cl Cipolla-Dennis has asked several
people that she thought would be good board members and they are not i nterested. She has
met with Kathy Servoss and thinks she would be a good person to fulfill the appointment until
next election. She is willing to do interviews if there are people to interview. Supv Leifer has
been approached by about five people, but thought of K. Servoss because of her involvement
with Tompkins County Youth Services and her current service on the Dryden Recreation and
Youth Commission. Unfortunately, politics comes into the decision and Cl Sloan was a
democrat. He was looking for someone who doesn’t travel in known circles and is independent
of the current board. Cl Lavine would not rule out Craig Anderson on partisan grounds and is
willing to interview him and K. Servoss. Supv Leifer indicated that Mr. Anderson is valuable on
the Planning Board. Cl Cipolla-Dennis suggested they interview in the next week but not wait
longer. In the interest of public relations, Cl Cipolla-Dennis believes they owe the public the
opportunity to explore. A conv ersation won’t hurt anything; they will reach out to Mr.
Anderson and be ready to vote next week.
New York Health Act - Rebecca Elgie and Barb Harrison shared information about the
NY Health Act and how it can help us save in property taxes. Ms. Elgie explained this is a New
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York State bill that would provide comprehensive health care for all New Yorkers. The bill has
been in legislation for 20 years and recently passed in the New York State Assembly by a vote
of 2-1. They are continuing to work on the bill and talking with Senators who have not been
supportive.
The Affordable Care Act (AC) has done some important repairs in making insurance
available to all, but there are many aspects that still fall far short of what we need. The ACA
leaves insurance companies in charge with high premiums, deductibles and co-pays. They
have too much control over doctors and provide care with high administrative costs. Those
supporting the NY Health Act feel we can do better than that. Other countries have a system
that is publicly financed and that what they are looking at. This would be an integrated
system that would bring all New Yorkers into one risk pool (this is a key factor). It would give
citizens the freedom to choose their provider from a broad network and give comprehensive
coverage covering all necessary care (more comprehensive than the current commercial plans).
It would be paid for fairly. The cost is the same to all, funded through a graduated assessment
on payroll and non-payroll taxes (including capital gains, interest and dividends). There would
be less administrative waste, better care and more accountability. Businesses would know
what their health care costs are and therefore be able to better budget for it. It is the only way
health care will still be affordable because premiums keep going up and care is going down.
Hopefully, it will bring more business to the area because this is affordable and the costs would
not fluctuate. In 2014, small business premiums increased anywhere from 6.7 to 14% which
is unsustainable. Union workers will be impacted who have always bargained for their health
care benefits. The Cadillac tax which is part of the ACA will go into effect in 2018 and that will
tax the Union policies thereby affecting the Union benefits.
Barb Harrison, NY Health Now (changed from Single Payer NY) – She is present to
support the NY Health Act and to ask the Town Board to pass a resolution in support of that
act that will go to members of the Assembly and Senate. Gerald Friedman, Chair of Economics
at UMass, Amherst, did an economic analysis of the New York Health Act, completed in the
spring 2015. This proposed legislation would establish a comprehensive universal health
insurance program for all New Yorkers. Under the current system the share of state income
spent on healthcare and its administration will rise to 18% by 2024, much faster than incomes
are rising. The average annual cost of an employer provided family plan is over $17,500 with
an average deductible of $2,200. One-third of Americans report that they were unable to
access necessary care under the ACA. The higher the deductible the less likely they are to seek
health care. NY Health would replace current insurances with a single billing entity funded by
progressively assessments collected by the state and based on ability to pay. The employer will
pay 80% of the payroll assessment and the insured would pay 20%. The largest savings will go
to working households earning less than $75,000/year. Over 98% of NY households will spend
less on health care than they now spend. It should reduce overall spending by 25 % per year by
2019 with the elimination/reduction of burdensome billing expenses, overhead, administrative
waste, monopolistic pricing of drugs and medical devices and fraud. NY Health would reduce
overall household spending by 25%, or 70 billion dollars per year by 2019.
Reductions would include elimination of overhead and profit of private health insurance
companies. The employees of insurance companies would have the opportunity to be retrained
to work for the new entity. There would be savings on doctor and hospital billing and insurance
related expenses, costs of employer administration and health insurance plans. It would g reatly
reduce drug and device prices and reduce waste and fraud. NY Health Act would expand and
improve the current system with coverage for all uninsured, eliminate co -pays and deductibles
and end the underpayment of Medicare and Medicaid services.
The NY Health Act will change how Medicaid is funded. Currently NYS funds the cost of
the non-federal side of the Medicaid program by passing on the cost to local government where
it is collected via property taxes by the counties. NY is one of the only states that collects it this
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way. It places an inequitable burden on taxpayers in less affluent communities and reduces the
pressure to contain costs. The NY Health Act will move that responsibility to the NY Heath
trust fund.
Cl Lamb added that this program will not affect the funding that NY currently receives
from the federal government. Ms. Harrison noted that the Veterans and veterans programs will
be folded into the NY Heath Act.
Information was distributed to board members. NYHcampaign.org is one of the best
websites for more information. Ms. Elgie and Ms. Harrison are hoping for the passage of a
supporting resolution next week. The resolution has been passed by other municipalities in
Tompkins County and will be on next week’s agenda.
Community Development Block Grant and Dryden IDA - Cl Lamb had a productive
meeting with Alternatives Federal Credit Union (AFCU) and they can help with CDBG money
that the Town has. There is about $163,000 available but it is Federal money and we need to
follow the Federal rules. Cl Lamb researched the possibilities and spoke with an economic
development planner in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Town Board has some liberty in setting the
loan amounts, interest rates, terms, payback periods, and caps. There will be interest on the
amount loaned so the money will grow as it is loaned and paid back. There needs to be a review
process in place and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) require a loan committee
appointed; AFCU will help with the establishment of the committee. Cl Lamb has a lot of
information to share with AFCU which is agreeable to set the program up and run it for us.
The Dryden Individual Development Accounts (IDA) has $10,000. They are mainly
looking for lower income folks who normally would not have access to a business loan. The
program participants go through a training and savings program and are screened to choose
the best participants. Cl Lamb wants to energize this program and wants to roll this out again
when the CDBG program is ready to go. He is hoping to begin advertising by the June agenda
meeting.
Red Mill Road Bridge update – Supv Leifer has asked for a change in the window for
payment and hasn’t heard back from J Smith at the County yet. The Town Board should be
able to vote on it next week. The Board will n eed to do SEQR before taking any action.
Montgomery Park – The Village is doing a revitalization project starting with a
playground build. The Revitalization Committee has asked the Town for a contribution. The
DRYC will discuss the project and make a recommendation to the Town Board. This
contribution would come from the recreation reserve. Supv Leifer said it is a good opportunity
to partner with the village on something that helps the community. Cl Lamb said we need to
develop a vision for developing facilities like courts and fields. Dryden doesn’t have what
neighboring towns have. Should we invest in another municipality’s space with a cooperative
agreement? Could we have or want some sort of ownership? Or do we go our own route and do
something up here by the town hall? The development of courts here would be visible but we
need to also think about where else in town these sorts of spaces are needed. A. Pierce,
Recreation Coordinator, has been gathering information and cost estimates that will be
presented at the end of this month.
Cl Cipolla-Dennis agreed that developing a vision is a good idea and she recommended
that working with the DRYC and the Recreation Department, they could put together a five
year goal. Cl Lamb acknowledged the apparent east-west divide in the Town and the fact that
the needs of both sides have to be addressed. We need a strategy to meet unmet need that will
be accepted by the public. Cl Cipolla-Dennis indicated she was in favor of partnering with the
Village as long as there is an understanding between the Village and the Town in terms of park
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usage for Recreation programs. Cl Leifer said they will hear more about potential projects in
June.
West Dryden Road Pipeline – M Geldenhuys said having done some research, she and
Susan Brock are trying to determine whether the pipeline would be a Type 1 action. If it goes
through an Ag District and it disturbs more than 2.5 acres then would be a Type 1 action. If
so, and an application is filed with any entity with review authority, it would require
coordinated review. If another review agency claims to be the lead agency, they will have to
inform the Town at which point the Town will have 30 days to respond indicating they wish to
be the lead agency. If there is a dispute about wh o is the lead agency it will go to the NYS DEC
for resolution. The 30 days will give the Town time, through the SEQR process, to have input
and hopefully be lead agency.
Regarding a moratorium, they have found information on telecommunication towers,
but not specifically on gas pipelines, underground electric, overhead electric or public utilities.
That doesn’t mean it can’t be done. If the town decides to go that route, a reasonable time
frame would be something like 6 months; it has to be reasonable s o does not become a back
door prohibition but gives time to study and make zoning amendments. If the Town adopts a
moratorium, they have to go through all the steps of adopting a zoning ordinance. If the Town
decides to pass a moratorium, we could aim for the June meeting. We will have to be very
careful with wording so it will stand up if challenged. The lawyers will continue to look for
other examples.
Given that telecommunications is considered a public utility and moratoria are
permitted there, then she believes a moratorium will work there too. Ms. Geldenhuys said we
need to be careful with the definition of public utilities in the zoning law (recommendation from
the Planning Board changed the definition of public utilities to those that serve re sidents and
businesses in the Town of Dryden). One issue is the potential of prohibiting connecting lines
through Dryden will be vulnerable to a challenge. Another issue is the general rule in zoning is
that you need to regulate the impact on land, not who is using the particular improvement. A
good way to address those potential challenges is to be clear that public utilities, broadly
defined, are subject to special use permit and therefore site plan review requirements if more
than a specific volume of land is disturbed, being careful that residential hookups and smaller
public utilities projects are not affected. The Town can also look at overhead utilities and
height which have a visual impact. M Geldenhuys and S Brock will continue to look at the
Zoning Law and clean up some inconsistencies.
M Geldenhuys and Cl Cipolla-Dennis have heard different things about the process of
eminent domain. M Geldenhuys will be following up on that.
The Board would like to start the process for a moratorium now.
Joe Wilson asked whether the lawyers are looking at the discrepancy between the
zoning law and 1951 NYSEG Franchise agreement. M Geldenhuys said they are looking at it,
trying to find some examples and the context in which other similar laws are being defined.
Part of the issue is the language which grants the Town rights to rights of way for public
utilities on Town roads but West Dryden road is primarily a County road, only a small part of
the road is Town owned.
J Wilson said the TCAD report has been distributed; there will be a public meeting
Wednesday at 5:30 for public comment. It has already been s uggested that the county work
with the PSC to find alternatives to the pipeline. He asked that a representative go to the
County meeting, that they support the draft recommendation of the County working with the
PSC and that the Board pass a resolution in support of the “pilot approach”.
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Joanne Cipolla-Dennis asked if there is a way to require NYSEG to rescind the
easements that have been signed and allow people to look at the risks in a prospectus. M
Geldenhuys said that the Town has no authority to do that.
RESOLUTION #92 (2016) – APPROVE ABSTRACT #5
Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #5, as audited, general
vouchers #278 through #370 ($301,697.66) and TA vouchers #69 and #70 ($3676.73), totaling
$305,347.39.
2nd Cl Cipolla-Dennis
Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes
Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes
Cl Lamb Yes
Supv Leifer Yes
Dryden Lake Park Water – The Village is drilling two wells along Dryden Lake. They are
going to be putting in test wells soon and are monitoring the neighbors. They are working on
easements from residents along Lake Road for the pipes that will have to go from the wells to
the Village.
Supv Leifer has talked with the DEC about a 40 year agreement to sync our agreement
with the Village’s for the water wells. Currently we have a 25 year lease. He wants to include a
provision for festivals and community events. When the agreement is worked out, Supv Leifer
will bring it to the Board.
Rails to Trails Task Force – The Ag Advisory Committee did not meet last night so they
have not made an appointment to the task force. The other three Boards and Commissions
have made their appointments. After the Board has the appointment from the Ag Committee, it
will come to the Board for other appointments. Bob Beck would like to add two alternates to
vote if there is not a quorum and the Town Board can amend the resolution next week. The
Friends of the Trail group is meeting next week. Cl Lamb wants geographic and gender
diversity among the committee members.
Special Districts Consolidation – Supv Leifer has met with TG Miller and there are
issues with infrastructure upgrade needs. M Geldenhuys said that GMA Article 17A (a new
section) has been passed and she is reviewing it and the effect it will have. She has also been in
communication with Dave Herrick regarding the various agreements. Yellow Barn Water and
Cortland Road Sewer are not part of this consolidation.
Yellow Barn Water – the agreement to transfer the remaining cash assets was approved
last month. Now we need to get the Yellow Barn Water Company’s attorney to release the funds
so the Town can install the new meter readers.
Committee Assignments – Next week the Board will have a new board member. Supv
Leifer asked board members to consider what they ar e assigned to and whether they would like
to change anything.
The board reviewed items for next week’s agenda.
IAWWTF Resolution
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Evergreen Townhouses – The developer will be presenting at next week’s
meeting. They will be the first PUD in the Town. Supv Leifer asked the Board to
review the zoning and consider funding sources for amenities, farmland
protection, etc. Supv Leifer will also be talking with Reba Taylor, Mayor of the
Village of Dryden, about this because there are several housing projects coming
in the Town and the Village. The Board discussed the potential issues that a 20
unit expansion on Mineah Road might engender.
Red Mill Road Bridge Agreement
Verizon presentation and set public hearing
Supv Leifer said received a call from Cornell that asbestos dust has to be removed from
the dirt stored on the Bellasario property at the corner of Route 366 and Freese Road. They will
do a press release in the morning.
On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the board moved into executive
session at 9:15 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations. No action was taken and the meeting was
adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bambi L. Avery
Town Clerk