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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-07-13TB 7-13-17 Page 1 of 6 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING July 13, 2017 Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Deborah Cipolla-Dennis, Cl Kathrin Servoss Absent: Cl Linda Lavine Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Rick Young, DPW/Highway Superintendent Other Town Staff: Ray Burger, Director of Planning Jennifer Case, Bookkeeper Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. Fire Marshall – Patrick Brunner and Mike Hall were present to explain this is a position that has been in place for years without a job description. Rick Young has been appointed as Fire Marshall for the town and they have worked on a job description (distributed to board members). This will help the community and other departments and R Young is around during the day while a lot of the volunteers work out of town . The purpose of the position is to have someone in command initially, then transfer command to the appropriate chief on site. It was pointed out that R Young also has access to town equipment in the case of trees down, etc. D Lamb got some feedback from Lee Shurtleff about this and he is concerned about the hosting community carrying the liability and if we have a town-appointed Fire Marshall the Town would be the hosting community in this case and liable. The town will need to know if it increases liability for the town. Mutual aid agreements are in place with other departments. General Municipal Law assigns financial responsibility for losses when accidents occur. The Fire Marshall would serve as a liaison between departments and the board and provide additional checks and balances. It would be an appointment by the Town Supervisor and approved by the board. It could be a paid position. Mike Hall, Dryden Chief, encouraged the board to research what happened in Onondaga County. They ran into issues with a lack of training and ended up in a bad position. There is more work to do before appointing someone with that type of authority. It has been brought up to departments but not discussed a lot. P Bruner noted the current situation is working well while it is further investigated. Recruitment assistance – The Junior Fire Academy has been a good tool and the current chief of the Dryden department, Mike Hall, attended that as a child. They are hurting for people to staff the fire departments. People who work out of town are not handy during the day. They need to be able to recruit and retain. Perhaps something could be done for homeowners who are volunteers. They plan to have a resource day at NYSEG and there will be a recruitment effort during fire safety week in October. There is also a shortage of EMTs in rural areas. The possibility of a county-wide recruitment effort was discussed. At the next chiefs meeting they will discuss qualifications and a job description for the Fire Marshall and recruitment. Supv Leifer will check out any town law issues and the contractual issues mentioned by L Shurtleff. TB 7-13-17 Page 2 of 6 RESOLUTION #93 (2017) – APPROVE ABSTRACT #7 Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #7, as audited, general vouchers #405 through #510 ($291,330.51) and TA vouchers #14 and #15 (4,099.15), totaling $295,429.66. 2nd Cl Servoss Roll Call Vote Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes A budget modification is necessary to move $4,000 from contingency to cover the fencing for the Varna Community Center (signed agreement on file). RESOLUTION #94 (2017) – APPROVE BUDGET MODIFICATION Cl Servoss offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the following budget modification From A1990.4 Contingency To A1220.450 Supv Contractual Misc. 4,000.00 2nd Cl Cipolla-Dennis Roll Call Vote Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Bridge NY Update – Agreements have been received from the consultants. Supv Leifer and the town attorneys will review those and Supv Leifer will sign and send them back. He has an appointment to talk with bond counsel on Monday. The bonds should be in place before authorizing the work to start. He hopes to take all necessary actions in August so the contractor can start design work in September. The bonds will cover the Bridge NY Freese and George Road bridges and also Malloryville and Red Mill Road bridges. Red Mill Road Bridge should be done by the end of summer and Malloryville sometime in the fall. The T own is responsible for paying its share of the Malloryville and Red Mill bridges within 90 days of completion. Funds should be available by then. Yellow Barn Road Water – R Young reported there are four or five houses that get iron in the water causing it to be brown. TG Miller is working with him to find solutions. NY Rural Water has done some testing and says well #4 is treatable, but recommends looking into drilling another well. Customers will receive a letter about plans for improvements. The new well will cost about $25,000 and the projected fund balance at the end of this year is about $49,000. Informing the neighborhood of what is going on and what it will cost is important. The clerk’s office is now handling billing instead of Bolton Point so that is saving the district about $6,000 a year. Lake Road – Supv Leifer announced there will be a meeting Tuesday, July 18 at 7:00 pm at village hall. The Village has sent a letter to affected property owners. The purpose of the meeting is to answer questions from the last meeting about existing aquifers and projected TB 7-13-17 Page 3 of 6 impact, if any, on private wells. The engineer will explain why they chose to come down Lake Road with the pipe. A firm has been retained by the village to value the easements for each parcel. There should be a final version of the agreement between the village and the town by next Thursday. Once that is in place the Highway Superintendent will be able to issue a highway work permit. The town has been supportive of this project all along because i t is intended to correct the problem with arsenic in the Village water and provide the additional water supply required by the health department. Hydrants will be installed every 600’ along that portion of Lake Road where the pipe is laid. In the event a water district is formed in the future, customers will be charged the same rate as village customers. Teamsters Update – Supv Leifer stated the union had approved the contract. He will sign it (previously authorized) when he receives the signed contract. Grant Application for Rail Trail – Board members have a proposed resolution in support of the EPF grant application that was amended to include reference to George Road now that an easement has been secured from the William George Agency. The project total is $365,000. The application is for $182,000 from the NYS Parks Preservation and Heritage grant funding. The town will pick up $183,000 with some of that being DPW labor and volunteer labor and $33,000 in cash. The work must be accomplished in fiv e years. The Rail Trail Task Force is committed to doing fund raising. RESOLUTION #95 (2017) – TO SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION OF PHASE ONE OF THE DRYDEN RAIL TRAIL AND SPONSOR AN APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: WHEREAS, the Dryden Town Board recognizes the importance of developing the existing Dryden Rail Trail infrastructure in the Town of Dryden, WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden Comprehensive Plan cites the creation of the Dryden Rail Trail as an important transportation and recreational initiative, WHEREAS, the Lehigh Valley Railroad abandoned the East Ithaca to Freeville and Cortland rail beds and the Harford to Dryden, Freeville and Groton rail beds by 1977, and the abandoned rail beds are currently owned by a variety of private and public entities, WHEREAS, the Town Board established a Rail Trail Task Force to take deliberate steps to develop the Dryden Rail Trail including acquiring easements, securing funding and moving the project through planning, design and construction, WHEREAS, the Rail Trail Task Force has scoped out a construction project to build approximately 5.5 miles of the rail trail from Game Farm Road to an area just northeast of the Route 13 crossing (to include Game Farm Road Parking, embankment washout infill in Varna, Route 13 trail work, George Road Bypass and parking) with a total project cost of $365,000 for Phase One of the Dryden Rail Trail Project, WHEREAS, the New York State Parks, Preservation, and Heritage Environmental Protection Fund Grant Program made funds available for conversion and use of abandoned railroad corridors for trails for pedestrians, bicyclists and other non -motorized transportation users, WHEREAS, these Environmental Protection Funds require a local match of at least 50% of total project costs, TB 7-13-17 Page 4 of 6 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Dryden Town Board supports and endorses the work of the Rail Trail Task Force and the creation of the Dryden Rail Trail; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Town Board authorizes the Planning Director, Ray Burger, to apply for $182,000 of New York State Parks, Preservation, and Heritage Grant funding for Phase One of the Dryden Rail Trail Project; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Town Board approves the all ocation of $183,000 to the project to meet the 50% local match requirement. The source of the funds will be determined and allocated by further resolution of the Town Board in the event that the grant application is approved. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Cl Lamb has sent a letter to Ken Lynch requesting a letter of intent from DEC. It has been determined that Mahlon Perkins took ownership of the Fox Bridge when he acquired the railroad property for transfer to the adjacent property owners. It seems to make the most sense for the town to take ownership. Supv Leifer will contact the town attorney for an instrument to accomplish this. It will also need to be covered under town insurance. Agreement of Municipal Cooperation – SCLIWC – Joan Foote was present from Bolton Point. The Town of Ithaca passed the latest version of the agreement (7/17/17) on Tuesday. The original agreement between the five municipalities was in 1976. The new agreement has been amended to reflect actual practice, including that the Town of Ithaca is the agent municipality. There is an end date of 12/31/2052 which is the last bonded project end. In the past a change in the water rate would require an amendment to the agreement. It now only requires approval of the parties. There are no connection charges under the new agreement. Supv Leifer noted that there is someone on Baker Hill Road looking to hook up to water and there is a study being conducted on getting water and sewer service to the area beyond NYSEG. The agreement will be put on the website and the board will vote in August. Public Hearings Next Week: Conservation Easement – This is a conservation subdivision in Ellis Hollow. A conservation easement on a twelve acre parcel is being donated to the town. Cornell may be the ultimate owner of property but the town will secure the conservation purposes of this parcel with an easement. Baptist Church, 138 Virgil Road - This is a 4700 square foot addition and requires site plan review, special use permit and SEQR. Solar applications – An addendum went up on the web on July 7 and TG Miller’s reports will be on the web for both sites by Monday. There is addendum with updated drawings and Part 1 of the EAF. The board will only be reviewing SEQR next week. Then the project goes to the Planning Board and then back to Town Board for special use permit and site plan. The Planning Board will do a three step subdivision process and review the applications for recommendations to the Town Board. Finger Lakes Land Trust Acquisition – The Land Trust has secured a conservation easement on a 324 acre family farm at Route 13 and Ringwood Road. Ag activities will still be allowed on the property. The conservation easement will be donated and FLLT will need to raise $40,000 to cover associated costs. They are applying to Tompkins County for $20,000 and TB 7-13-17 Page 5 of 6 would like the town to consider a contribution. The Board agreed to endorse the project and Cl Lamb will write a letter of support endorsing it and the funding request from the county. Farmland Protection Plan update – Supv Leifer reported the Ag Committee was not happy last night with the state of the draft farmland protection plan. He has requested the word file from Cooperative Extension. Apparently a lot of amendments requested by the Ag Committee have not been made. Deputy Clerk Erin Bieber is putting together a list of the changes they wanted made and if necessary, the town will make the changes. Unsafe Buildings Report – Code Enforcement Officer Kevin Ezell and attorney Mariette Geldenhuys are still working on getting that finalized and it won’t be ready for action this month. Charge to Planning Board – no action. Zoning Change Report – Cricket Lane area – The subcommittee of the planning board will hold a meeting on July 19 and invited property owners in the area. The idea is to discuss things the residents may not have considered. They had requested a change from rural residential to neighborhood residential and that would mean smaller frontage requirements and may allow for further subdivision. There may be other options to accomplish what they want such as a homeowners association to create rules and covenants to accomplish what they want. There should be a discussion of the pros and cons of different options. No Town Board action is required unless the Planning Board decides a change in zoning is appropriate. Public Utility Moratorium – The moratorium expires July 20. Cl Cipolla-Dennis said they have made progress on a lot of things, but not as much progress on the zoning law changes as she would like to have made. The Planning Board is still looking at the highway right of way issue and how to handle public utilities in that right of way. Something should be put in place to handle that and the Planning Board has a subcommittee looking at that. They are potentially at a point where they can continue to work on those things without renewing the moratorium. Or it could be renewed. The West Dryden Pipeline is not moving forward at this point. NYSEG has proposed installation of a small compressor station on Triphammer Road to correct the problem with meeting demand on peak days and having proper pressure at the ends of the lines. They are also looking at installing an upgraded regulator at the Lansing School District. These changes would help meet current needs in Lansing. NYSEG has suggested using the funding that PSC approved for the pipeline to create incentives and programs for residents to switch heat and hot water systems to electric. It would relieve the burden on the line and make more gas available. The biggest issue NYSEG has with demand is the switch ten years ago from electric hot water heaters to natural gas on demand. The next incentive will be to switch to electric heat pump water heaters. They are equivalent or cheaper than natural gas on demand system. The board concluded there doesn’t seem to be a reason to extend the moratorium. Things that were worked on during the moratorium need to continue including highway right of way and best practices policy. At the next Planning Board meeting Cl Cipolla-Dennis will ask how that is coming. With respect to the solar moratorium passed by the Planning Board, Supv Leifer said not all the reasons he heard were related to zoning. What has been learned about setbacks is something that can be accomplished without putting a moratorium in place. If there need to be changes to the setback requirements, they need to let the Town Board know so that it can be moved to a public hearing. Cl Cipolla - Dennis will ask about that. TB 7-13-17 Page 6 of 6 Carpenter solar application – If necessary, a new setback requirement should be in place for this. The language as it exists doesn’t specifically say that solar arrays are prohibited on prime ag soils. These are things the Planning Board can address. General Code and Codification – Town Clerk B Avery has a quote from General Code to have our laws and ordinances codified. The base price for the codification process is less than $20,000 that can be spread over three budget years. There would be an annual maintenance fee (currently $1,195). The final product would be available online. Salt Mine – Cl Lavine is not present to talk about it. It will not be on next week’s agenda. Personnel Committee – The committee has reviewed and revised the employee performance review process. The suggested forms and process were distributed. It is a way to have a discussion with employees and talk about customer service, goals, and job performance. It is a good way to give positive and constructive feedback and set goals for the coming year. The committee would like to put the process in place in August so that performance reviews are done and can be discussed when putting the budget together. The reviews will impact salary negotiations and raises. It is confidential personnel information. Revolving Loan Project - Cl Lamb said he has been following up on this and is looking to set up the loan review committee. He has a list of people he would like to ask to serve. Committee people should be people who know the community well and have some business sense. He asked board members to make suggestions if they know someone who may be interested. He will contact Dryden Bank and Alternatives Federal Credit Union to see which one is most interested and suitable to assist with administering the loans. He would like someone from the First National Bank on the review committee regardless. He is hoping to implement the program as early as August. The board will need to appoint the committee members and designate the lending institution by resolution. Borger Station – Cl Lamb emailed Don Houser to set up meeting with Mothers Out Front and Stu Berg and has not heard back yet. The community would like better communication from Borger and maybe we can facilitate that discussion. Supv Leifer and Cl Lamb are meeting with Walter Hang about an email blast he recently sent out. There being no further business, on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk