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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-04-12-RTB TOWN OF ULYSSES REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING APRIL 12, 2005 PRESENT : Supervisor Doug Austic , Town Councilpeople Lee Scott, Robert Weatherby; Roxanne Marino and Don Ellis; Recording Secretary Robin Carlisle; Town Clerk Marsha Georgia absent; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan. Others present : Attorney Bruce Wilson; Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun and Rob Licht and Jane Miller, Representing Ithaca Triathlon and Kerrie Fisher of the Ithaca Journal . Supervisor Austic 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 : RTBM 3/8/05, SBM 1 /25, 2/1 ,2/15,2/22,3/3, 3/17 & 3/24 Ms. Marino presented changes and corrections to the above minutes . Mr. Ellis moved to approve the minutes as changed or corrected by Ms . Marino , seconded by Mr. Scott. Mr. Austic aye Mr. Scott aye Mr. Weatherby aye Ms . Marino aye — abstained on 3/8/05 due to being absent Mr. Ellis aye Adopted. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS Mr. Scott moved, seconded by Mr. Ellis to approve the previously examined voucher numbers 128 through 198 in the amount of $ 56 ,929 . 72 . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Scott aye Mr. Weatherby aye Ms. Marino aye Mr. Ellis aye Adopted . REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES, • Peter Penniman, County Representative — absent • Trumansburg Fire Department, Representative — absent • John Wertis, Planning Board Chairman — absent Mr. Coogan reporting for Mr. Wertis — The Ulysses Planning Board and the Trumansburg Planning Board are co-hosting a presentation by Andrew Zepp , Director of the Finger Lakes Land Trust on Tuesday, April 19th, 2005 at 7 PM at the Village Hall . Mr. Zepp ' s presentation will be on the Conservation of Open Land and the different strategies for protecting it . Mr. Zepp will also discuss the role the Finger Lakes Land Trust in preserving land as well as what the Trust can and cannot do to help municipalities preserve open space . Mr. Wertis is encouraging all Planning Board members, Town Board Members, and Village Trustees to attend this presentation Rob Licht (for Mark Valley), Triathlon Rt 89 — Mr . Licht asked the Town Board to approve the closing of Route 89 during the five hours the triathlon would be taking place. Mr. Licht reported that last year the Triathlon was very popular and this year they are 2 expecting over 600 athletes to participate in the event with more than a thousand people assisting and cheering the athletes . This will be a larger crowd then they have had in the previous years . The Triathlon committee is concerned about the traffic on Route 89 during the event, which will take place August 7th, 2005 from 7 AM to 12 Noon and has been working with Taughannock State Park to have Route 89 closed to through traffic between Gorge Road and Taughannock Park Road during this time . The NYS DOT told the committee that it would be up to the Town of Ulysses to approve the closing of the road for the event . Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Scott the following : Be It Resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the Triathlon race and their request to reroute traffic to Gorge Road and Taughannock Park Road, with the understanding that the Park Police will handle the security. Mr. Austic aye Mr. Scott aye Mr. Weatherby aye Ms . Marino aye Mr. Ellis aye Adopted. Mr. Austic will write a letter confirming the Board ' s approval of the detour. TOWN REPORTS Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported that he has been plowing and salting the town roads as needed, patched some potholes, spread some crusher run on shoulders where they were low, worked on equipment as needed, and raking up shoulders of the roadways where there was damage from plowing. The heavy rains in early April caused minor flooding and some of the culverts had to have debris removed so that they functioned properly. Mr. Austic said that the storms also raised concerns from the Health Department. John Andersson of the DoH had emailed Mr. Austic about the flooding and potential adverse effects on the waterline. Mr. Austic reported that he had inspected the line and that the only place he found where there was a minor problem was on Route 96 near Ryder Sport where there was an area in the ditch that was washed out along the water line. Mr. Austic notified Mr. Meeker and that area will be regraded and stabilized. Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun reported that in the last month four (4) permits were issued Ifor new construction; one was a new single-family home and 3 were additions to existing homes . Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia - Mr. Austic read Mrs . Georgia' s report as follows : Town Clerk's Report for April Total fees collected for March $ 11 , 862 . 56 Total turned over to Supervisor: $ 9,968 . 65 Which included $9235 . 06 for franchise fees and $ 1640. 00 water fees (break down follows) • $ 125 . 00 plumbing permit • $ 1500 . 00 for a new curb stop • $ 15 . 00 for contractors registration Total collected for March Taxes : $ 19,501 . 87 3 • $25 ,000 was mailed to Tompkins County Budget/Finance • $ 352 . 59 was turned over to Supervisor for the March penalties Total taxes collected to date : $2 ,604,675 . 11 Total uncollected : 187 ,203 .29 Tax reminders were mailed 4/2/05 for the uncollected taxes I 4 Board Members and Committees Councilman Don Ellis reported that he had met with Judy Cone of Moore Consulting Software concerning Ms . Cone ' s business expansion proposal . Mr. Ellis wanted to better understand her plan and help Ms . Cone to begin working with the Town. Presently, Moore Consulting Software is located in an old farmhouse that is less than 2000 square feet and a trailer. Ms . Cone indicated that she would like to expand the floor area of the house by 70% by adding a wing to the farmhouse and adding a second floor where there isn' t one now. This would provide two full floors for the company. If the proposed additions were built, then the trailer would be removed from the property. Currently Moore Consulting Software employs more than twenty (20) people but not all of them work in the Ulysses location. The farmhouse in Ulysses serves as their headquarters and they have twelve other offices that are mostly outside of the United States. Ms . Cone estimates that her company contributes over a million dollars to the locate economy. Mr. Ellis said that he felt it would be beneficial for the Town Board to set a time and meet formally with Ms . Cone and begin the process to make such an expansion move ahead smoothly, since this business is not a cottage industry as defined in the zoning law and that the Town Board may want to consider creating a Development District. Mr. Ellis inquired if Ms . Cone had applied for a Development District. Mr. Rachun, Code Enforcement Officer, respond to Mr. Ellis saying that the current site for Moore Consulting Software was under the three (3 ) acre requirement for a Development District and that Ms . Cone would need to acquire additional land to meet the legal requirements for a Development District. Mr. Ellis replied that Ms . Cone had not acquired additional land but that she indicated that she had an option of purchasing 23 acres that surrounds the 1 . 75 acres where Moore Consulting is now located. Mr. Ellis said that Ms . Cone had shown him preliminary drawings of the proposed additions and he felt the additions were commendable and of, very high quality. Mr. Ellis further stated that he felt this is the type of business the Town should encourage and that the Town Board should give it the attention it deserves . Mr. Austic asked Mr. Rachun to contact Ms . Cone and set up a meeting where she could present her plans to the Board. Ms . Marino asked if it were possible to grant a Development District that would be contingent on Ms . Cone acquiring the additional land . Mr. Austic and Mr. Ellis stated that they believed such a condition was possible. Mr. Wilson stated that Development Districts are often considered to be floating zones and that he cautions against them if there are other methods of achieving the same result. Development Districts must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and the merits must be carefully considered because the Town could be at risk for being accused of "Spot Zoning". Mr. Ellis asked Mr. Austic if there were any new developments concerning the old Babcock property. Mr. Austic replied that he had nothing directly but has heard the surveying has been done but not the closing on the property. Mr. Ellis said that he had heard the interested party had filed a preliminary application for an Economic Development Grant with the Tompkins County Planning Department. Mr. Ellis said that given the nature of the proposed business, the Town should make the information available to the public as soon as possible . • 4 Mr. Rachun added that he had received a call from a realtor for the Babcock Property asking about creating building lots on Cold Springs Road and Podunk Road. Mr. Austic said that questions have been asked about the property but as of this date no specific useshad been indicated other than those related to raising chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Ms . Marino said that the proposed buyer was Herman Lee and that his name was on the preliminary file for an Economic Development Grant. Mr. Lee has until the end of April to make an official application for the grant. Ms . Marino said that in earlier discussion Mr. Rachun had mentioned that there may be a slaughterhouse in conjunction with the raising of the poultry, but that there was no reference to this activity in the grant preliminary application. Mr. Austic said that Mr. Lee would need to approach the Town about a slaughterhouse operation on the property Ms. Marino, who represents the Towns on the Water Resources Council, said the Council has created a recreation subcommittee that is working on a brochure for environmentally sound boating in which they are including the laws about noise pollution. The WRC would like to have all the municipalities ' review the law and give provide comments on the brochure. Ms. Marino apologized for not providing copies of the rough draft of the brochure to the Board until this morning. The WRC is scheduled to meet on Monday the 18th of April and comments would be needed before that date . Ms . Marino said that the proposed brochure was given out very late in the WRC meeting and that there was no discussion that could be shared with the Ulysses Town Board. Supervisor Douglas Austic asked if anyone had any questions on the supervisor' s financial report. No questions were asked. Mr. Austic stated that he has received eleven UFPO calls for mark outs for digging projects along the water line in Ulysses . Last spring when Bolton Point was doing the marking for our line they charged the Town $ 100 per call . Now the Town has assumed the responsibility for UFPO marking. Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan said that FEMA is continuing its review of the Hazard Mitigation Plan and expects to complete their review in May 2005 . Once approved by FEMA, the Town will have to approve the Plait Mr. Coogan said that the Town has applied for the WQIP Grant as a MS4 municipality that would help cover the costs for formulating a local law for stormwater management and an environmental overlay district to protect moderate to steep slopes . Another area for the requested funding is to research and implement a plan for developing a "finding mechanism" that will pay for tracking, monitoring, and maintaining permanent stormwater control measures_ Mr. Coogan said that he is completing the annual report that is required for MS4 municipalities . The County Stormwater Group has developed a generic report and his job is to tailor it Ulysses . OLD BUSINESS Audit, Discussion and Firm Selection The Board has received copies of proposals from Sciarabba Walker & Co . , LLP , Ciaschi , Dietershagen, Little, Mickelson & Co . , LLP , and Dermody, Burket & Brown. All proposals are based on the Agreed-upon Procedures provided by the Town and are all very similar in price. Mr. Ellis stated that he felt the two best quotes were between Sciarabba Walker and the Dermody firm out of Syracuse . 5 Mr. Austic stated that he did not have any preference except that he felt that the money should be spent in the County if at all possible. Mr. Scott stated that he also did not have preference but once the audit is done how often would the Town want to have an outside audit. Mr. Scott said that he would like it discussed as to whether the Town has an outside audit conducted every four or five years . Mr. Scott stated that he still prefers the procedure that the State offers to municipalities and that service is provided at no cost to the municipalities . His concern is the Town just is not going to receive the same thoroughness with the independent audit as it would with a State audit. Ms . Marino stated that in the past the audits were done every three to four years and she would propose that the Town have an audit every four years . Mr. Ellis said that he also would like the audit done every four years and if the State cannot do the audit than the town would hire an independent firm to do the audit. Mr. Scott requested that Supervisor Austic draft a letter to the State requesting an audit for the Town in four years (2009) . Mr. Austic agreed to draft the letter requesting the State audit the Town in four years . Mr. Austic reminded the Board that just because an independent or a State audit is conducted it does not eliminate the Town Board ' s responsibility to do the audit of the Town ' s departments in January. Mr. Ellis moved, seconded by Ms . Marino to accept the proposal from Sciarabba Walker for an agreed upon procedures review of the Town ' financial accounts . Be It Resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses accept the proposal from Sciarabba Walker & Co . , LLP and Further Resolved that the Town Board expresses a general intention to have an audit every four (4) years and the Town Board ' s preference is that New York State does it . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Scott aye Mr. Weatherby aye Ms . Marino aye Mr. Ellis aye Adopted. Other Ms. Marino asked for an update on the proposed Water District #5 . Mr. Austic said that Barton and Logudice is still investigating various options for the District and that Taughannock Falls State Park was still very interested in receiving water from the Town. Mr. Austic also informed the Board that the Village of Trumansburg is not actively pursuing connecting to the Town ' s water system but would most likely resume discussions once their new water tank project is completed. NEW BUSINESS Discussion of Zoning Review Mr. Coogan informed the Board that he has received the edited copy back from Ms. Christian and that he forwarded it on to Attorney Wilson for his review. Ms . Christian also provided a PDF file for web Posting. 6 Ms . Marino Said that a marked up copy had been sent to the Board, but before the Board could meet to discuss the changes the zoning was sent to the editor. Mr. Coogan said that the marked copy was sent to Board members as a reference. His instructions were to incorporate the changes and have the document edited. The editor would provide a marked copy of her changes that would be reviewed by the attorney to ensure that no change in meaning was made during the editing process. Subdivision Mr. Coogan said that the editing of the subdivision is not going as smoothly as the zoning. Part of it is that the editor, Ms . Doliner, hired to perform the edit was a copy editor and not a technical editor. Ms. Dolinger and Mr. Coogan have been in close contact and one concern is that Ms . Dolinger does not feel she will be able to do the indexing and will only be able to provide a minimal table of contents. Mr. Ellis said that he has indexing software and offered to do the indexing on the Sub- division. Ms. Doliner thought the job would only take eight (8) hours and that Mr. Coogan expected to a copy back in a day or so . Mr. Coogan will forward a clean copy of Subdivision to the Board when it is available . The Board scheduled a meeting for Monday April 25th at 6 : 30 PM to finalize the zoning review and that after this review the Zoning Law should be ready for a public hearing. The Board indicated that they should be ready to set a date for the public hearing at this review secession. Mr. Ellis said that a very normal thing to do at this point in zoning process would be to institute a moratorium in the Town. . The Board noted that SEQR had been done for the Zoning Law but that another SEQR may be needed for Subdivision. Should a separate SEQR for the Subdivision need to be done? Mr. Rachun said that Subdivision would require a SEQR. Discuss Policy to Change Meeting Dates Ms . Marino withdrew her request for this discussion. Discuss Policy for Information Distribution Ms . Marino idistributed a sample policy drafted along the same lines that a newspaper might use to authenticate information as a guideline for the Town to use when distributing letters and emails to other Town Officials . Mr. Austic said that he was concerned that a restricting of information may be more detrimental and was not sure how the proposed policy could be followed given the volume on letters, emails, calls, etc . that come into the building daily. Mr. Ellis noted that the Town Board mailboxes are not in a secure location and anyone could easily put information into the boxes without any Town official knowing. Mr. Ellis suggested that the person who distributes written material to Board Members initial the copy so that the Board members at least know who put the material in their mail boxes and that nothing should be distributed by anyone in Town Hall without knowing who originally wrote the material. Mr. Wilsonl stated that this is a normal business practice. Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Ellis the following: . a 7 Be It Resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses adds a new policy on the distribution of information . Further Resolved said policy should read as follows : Materials received anonymously and without stated authorship should under no circumstances be distributed . Materials should not be copied and distributed at the expense of the Town or through official Town mechanisms unless the business of the Town is served by doing so ; such material should bear the initials of the distributor Mr. Austic aye Mr. Scott aye . Mr. Weatherby aye Ms . Marino aye Mr. Ellis aye Adopted. Election Machine Custodians Mr. Austic informed the Board that the Towns ' Election Machine custodians had resigned as of the first of the year and the Tompkins County Board of Elections has appointed Mr. Robert Bailey as the Republican Machine Custodian and Roger Laue as the tempory Democratic Custodian. These were temporary appointments and the Town should either approve these appointments of find other willing citizens to be the custodians . Mr. Ellis moved, seconded by Mr. Scott the following : t Be It Resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses appoint Robert Bailey, Republican of 4420 Swamp College Road and Roger Laue, Democrat (temporarily) of Fish Road as the Election Machine Custodians for the Town of Ulysses . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Scott aye Mr. Weatherby aye Ms . Marino aye Mr. Ellis aye Adopted. Beautification Grant Mr. Austic stated that Mrs . Georgia is considering applying for the Community Beautification Program Grant to install two benches at the entrance of the Town Hall. Court Room Mr. Austic said that two small tables have to be purchased to replace the larger ones in the courtroom and chairs for the new bench. These tables are to be used by attorneys during court proceedings . The current tables will be moved to the conference room along with the green chairs. Ms . Marino asked if the Town could purchase two or three folding tables that could be used for joint meetings board meetings and for public displays. Correspondence Ms. Poelvoorde sent a letter from New York State Park office advising the Town that they are in the process of purchasing the old gravel bank that is adjacent to the Park 8 Mr. Ellis mentioned that the Board had received a letter from the Maguire ' s complaining about the lighting at the Cayuga Addiction Recovery Center. Mr. Ellis said the letter was dated last September. Mr. Rachun said that the bright lights were there during the construction phase and that since that time those lights have been replaced with incandescent , lights . The part of the complaint about the automobile lights going in and out of the parking lot at the center has not been addressed. Mr. Austic said that Cayuga Addition Recovery Center has received a grant for additional screening. Mr. Wertis, Planning Board Chairman, has talked to the director of the center about the possibility of providing vegetation screening to lessen the effect of the headlights on surrounding property. Moratorium. Mr. Ellis said that he was serious about his previous statement about instituting a moratorium since the zoning law is ready for public hearing and passage. He said that this Board spent years working to create a new Zoning and Subdivision Laws, that the work has been done with much public involvement, that the outcome of the collaboration is now recorded in advanced drafts of these laws, and it is time to protect the work and the interest of the Citizens . Mr. Ellis said that if this Board supports the abundantly clear interest of the citizens of this Town ini controlling development by specifying wider minimum frontage for lots in zones now allowing much smaller frontage, then as we approach the time when that new laws will be enacted it is necessary for the Town Board to protect the citizens ' interest. This should be done by enacting a moratorium to prevent a rush to subdivision that would subvert the intent of the new proposed laws . Under these circumstances a moratorium is a simple procedure that is typically done. The moratorium documents have already been drafted and this action would cost the Town no more than the public notification fee. Mr. Ellis moved, seconded by Ms . Marino that a public hearing on a moratorium be scheduled as soon as possible . Mr. Scott asked for a clarification of what the moratorium would entail as restrictions on property owners . Mr. Ellis explained that he would like to see a moratorium on subdivisions where no subdivisions could be filed while the moratorium is in effect. Any subdivision that would be submitted to the Clerk ' s office would be considered incomplete. Ms . Marino asked if our current law, which defines on any division of land as a subdivision would define subdivision for the moratorium. Mr. Wilson said that a subdivision could be defined in the moratorium. Ms . Marino iasked Mr. Wilson if he had a copy of the previously defeated moratorium resolution? Mr. Weatherby said that he was concerned about imposing a blanket moratorium because this is the start of the building season. A moratorium could prevent building for an entire year. Mr. Ellis said that the previous moratorium had a provision for hardship . The Board discussed the particulars of a moratorium and for what duration it would be in effect. Mr. Ellis said that the Board had scheduled a zoning review meeting for April 25th and his suggested that the meeting be used for a public hearing and the vote on a moratorium. Mr. Rachun said that he agrees with Mr. Ellis but he has an issue on any and all subdivisions . Mr. Rachun suggested that the Board only place a moratorium on subdivisions of more than one two lots . 9 Mr. Wilson distributed copies of the ordinance for the moratorium that was introduced in November 2003 . The Board reviewed this document and changed the draft moratorium ordinance as follows : Section I — Purpose and Intent to read more than two (2) lots in place of two (2) or more lots under Section II — Imposition of Moratorium — deleted "or the transfer of title to a parcel or part thereof " Section III — Hardship — Changed to Appeal — A. — deleted "Ulysses Town Board in writing for a variance from strict compliance with this local ordinance upon submission of proof of such unnecessary hardship . " Replaced with — "apply to the Board of Zoning Appeals, in compliance with an area variance under Town Law §274(b) . B . — Procedure — delete "Ulysses Town Board" and replace with "Board of Zoning Appeals . " Mr. Ellis withdrew his earlier moratorium motion along with Ms . Marino ' s ' second. Mr. Ellis then moved, seconded by Ms . Marion the following : Be It Resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses sets a Public Hearing for April 25 , 2005 at 7 : 00 PM for the revised April 12 , 2005 Moratorium Ordinance for 120 days . Further Resolved this public hearing will be held at the Trumansburg Fire Department. Mr. Austic aye . Mr. Scott aye Mr. Weatherby aye Ms. Marino aye Mr. Ellis aye Adopted. Mr. Ellis volunteered to distribute the notice of the moratorium around the Town of Ulysses . Zoning Revision Meeting The Board rescheduled the zoning review meeting for April 26th, 2005 at 6 : 30 . CORRESPONDENCE Mr. Austic told the Board that he has received a CD on the generic SEQR for the Statewide Tower and it is available for review . Mr. Austic also said that he had received a notice that New York State will be closing Route 89 for 60 days just below Kraft Road to replace a culvert. During the replacement, traffic going South on Route 89 will be diverted up Kraft Road and North bound traffic will be diverted unto Dubois Road. ADJOURNMENT Hearing no further business Mr. Ellis moved, seconded by Mr. Scott to adjourn the meeting. Hearing no objection the meeting adjourned at 10 : 18 PM . Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG : mlg . .. I . . . . . . . . . . . - . . . .