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Home My WebLink About2022-01-25-TB-FINAL-minutesTOWN BOARD MEETING Town of Ulysses January 25, 2022 Audio of the minutes are available on the website at ulysses.ny.us. The meeting was held via videoconference on the Zoom platform. Videoconference chat is saved in the appendix. Notice of Town Board meetings are posted on the Town’s website and Clerk’s board. CALL TO ORDER: Ms. Olson called the meeting to order at 7:07pm. ATTENDANCE: TOWN OFFICIALS PRESENT: Supervisor- Katelin Olson Board members- Michael Boggs, Rich Goldman, Mary Bouchard Town Clerk- Carissa Parlato Attorney for the Town- Nate VanWhy OTHERS: Roxanne Marino APPROVAL OF AGENDA: RESOLUTION #44 of 2022: APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA BE IT RESOLVED that the Ulysses Town Board approve the agenda for Jan. 25, 2022 with the addition of discussions of interviews for the Town Board vacancy, Camp Barton, and the Planner vacancy. Moved: Mr. Boggs Seconded: Mr. Goldman Olson aye Boggs aye Goldman aye Bouchard aye Vote: 4-0 Date Adopted: 1/25/22 PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: (none) CONSENT AGENDA: RESOLUTION #45 OF 2022: ACKNOWLEDGING THE AUDIT OF THE TOWN COURT WAS COMPLETED WHEREAS, New York State requires an annual audit of the finances of the Ulysses Town Justice Courts, either by the Town Board members or by an auditing firm; and WHEREAS, Michael Boggs and Katelin Olson conducted the audit on January 19, 2022; and, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses acknowledges the audit of the Justice Courts was completed by Town Supervisor Katelin Olson and Town Board Member Michael Boggs and that the records of the audit were provided to the Town Clerk on January 19, 2022 for file retention. RESOLUTION #46 OF 2022: SETTING PAY RATE FOR TEMPORARY DEPUTY TOWN CLERK RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses sets the pay rate for temporary Deputy Town employee, Rose Hanson, at $20.00/hour. Moved: Mr. Goldman Seconded: Ms. Bouchard Olson aye Boggs aye Goldman aye Bouchard aye Vote: 4-0 Date Adopted: 1/25/22 OLD BUSINESS: Ms. Olson gave a brief overview of why the town is considering the Local Law Concerning Residency Requirements for Appointed Public Officers for Deputy Clerk, Deputy Highway Superintendent, and Second Deputy Supervisor: • This is a common local law for smaller municipalities in order to provide continuity of services. • The law would not allow the positions to have any additional powers than are currently authorized. Currently less than 30% of the town workforce are residents of the town. Mr. Boggs asked about Public Officer Law section 9. Mr. VanWhy responded that deputies fulfill duties of the office if the principal elected can’t but do not become the elected position. Ms. Olson noted that this local law draft has been created with the assistance of 3 different attorneys. The board discussed various scenarios where the principal official could be incapacitated and how it would play out with non-resident deputies. RESOLUTION #47 of 2022: A LOCAL LAW CONCERNING RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTED PUBLIC OFFICERS OF THE TOWN OF ULYSSES (DEPUTY CLERK, DEPUTY HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT, AND SECOND DEPUTY SUPERVISOR) WHEREAS, the Town has the authority to adopt the local law referred to above (hereafter “the Local Law”) pursuant to §10(1)(ii)(a)(1) and §10(1)(ii)(d)(3)of the New York State Municipal Home Rule Law; and WHEREAS, the Town is committed to providing high-quality service to the public in a responsive and committed manner; and WHEREAS, changing economic conditions in the Town and job trends in the region have made it increasingly harder to fill multiple positions, both appointed and non-appointed, over several months; and WHEREAS, the Town continues to benefit from the skill and expertise of staff in non-appointed roles who are residents of nearby towns; WHEREAS, the Deputy Clerk, Deputy Highway Superintendent, and Second Deputy Supervisor function as employees, unlike other appointed positions in the Town; and WHEREAS, the Town wishes to expand the geographical area from which appointees to the Deputy Clerk, Deputy Highway Superintendent, and Second Deputy Supervisor position can have residency; and, WHEREAS, the geographical area would expand to include adjacent townships and all of Tompkins County; and WHEREAS, a public hearing as required by §184 of the Town Law was duly advertised on January 19, 2022 for January 25, 2022 at 7:00 pm; and WHERAS, a Public Hearing was held on January 25, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. via ZOOM hosted by the Town of Ulysses, and all parties in attendance were permitted an opportunity to speak in favor of or in opposition to the Local Law, or any party thereby, and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses hereby approves the Local Law expanding the residency requirement for the appointed positions of Deputy Clerk, Deputy Highway Superintendent, and Second Deputy Supervisor position. Moved: Mr. Goldman Seconded: Ms. Bouchard Olson aye Boggs nay Goldman aye Bouchard aye Vote: 3-1 Date Adopted: 1/25/22 NEW BUSINESS: DISCUSSION OF THE DRAFT NOISE ORDINANCE Ms. Olson introduced the topic. Mr. Goldman, Ms. Bouchard and Mr. Washburn have created the current draft. Ms. Bouchard noted that the intention of the ordinance is so that residents don’t get disturbed by loud noises. Mr. VanWhy noted that noise ordinances are difficult to enforce because they are very difficult to prove. If the ordinance prescribes use of a decibel meter, the town would need to have someone on staff who is trained on the particular brand and willing to come out at any hour of the night. Ms. Olson differentiated between anticipated noise events and more random events. Mr. VanWhy offered an additional option of regulating noise through a special permit or site plan. He recommended enacting regulations in land use/zoning laws and special events. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: None TOWN BOARD VACANCY UPDATES: Ms. Olson noted that as previously agreed, the board will hold a public forum with applicants on Feb. 8. She confirmed that there is no legal requirement for this process as the board can appoint any 18-year-old from the electorate. The board discussed. CAMP BARTON UPDATE: Ms. Olson stated that a meeting has been scheduled to discuss an operating agreement and that the state may be willing to partner with local municipalities for camp management. PLANNER VACANCY: Ms. Olson shared that we have no applicants to date. Mr. Goldman suggested raising the salary for the position. Ms. Olson suggested running some numbers to see how an increase may affect the budget and discussing at one of the upcoming special meetings. DISCUSSION OF SPECIAL EVENTS PERMITS The group discussed possible short and long term updates to the current law (i.e. repeat events would need to get approved by the board). The board agreed to do short term updates for now to have something ready for summer events. APPROVAL OF MINUTES RESOLUTION #48 of 2022: APPROVAL OF MINUTES RESOLVED, that the Ulysses Town Board approve the meeting minutes from the 1/5, 1/11, and 1/11 meeting. Moved: Mr. Boggs Seconded: Ms. Olson Olson aye Boggs aye Goldman aye Bouchard aye Vote: 4-0 Date Adopted: 1/25/22 BUDGET MODIFICATIONS: RESOLUTION #49 of 2022: BUDGET MODIFICATIONS RESOLVED that the Ulysses Town Board approves the budget modifications as presented (see appendix). Moved: Ms. Bouchard Seconded: Mr. Boggs Olson aye Boggs aye Goldman aye Bouchard aye Vote: 4-0 Date Adopted: 1/25/22 UPCOMING EVENTS: Town Board interviews Finance Committee meeting Jan. 26, 8am Feb. meeting- Feb. 8 (Feb. 22 is canceled) PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Ms. Marino suggested that the board let all Town Board applicants know what the process is as this has never been done before. Ms. Liddle commented on the planner position and suggested also looking at the position description. She suggested that the enforcement activities may be a deterrent. Ms. Marino added that perhaps the town should look to see what other towns with big zoning laws are doing. ADJOURN Mr. Goldman made a move to adjourn at 8:34pm. This was seconded by Ms. Bouchard and passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted by Carissa Parlato, Town Clerk 2/2/22 APPENDIX I: Chat function transcript from Zoom: 00:34:57 Roxanne Marino: I guess that Town Law 42 did not need to also be superseded to apply to the 2nd deputy supervisor, which was my question. APPENDIX II: Budget Modifications