HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-08-09-RTB TOWN OF ULYSSES
REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 9, 2005
PRESENT : Supervisor Doug Austic , Town Councilpeople Lee Scott, Robert Weatherby;
Roxanne Marino and Don Ellis ; Town Clerk Marsha Georgia; Highway Superintendent
James Meeker; Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan; Town Attorney Bruce Wilson.
Others Present : Cheryl Thompson, Judith Cone, Ruth Kahn, Ken Zeserson and Dave
d Stinson.
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 : RTB 7/12/2005, SBM 7/13/2005
Ms . Marino asked about the 7/ 13 /05 STB meeting minutes regarding the discussion of the
Rec partnership and the vote later in the meeting to withdraw from the Rec Partnership .
Mr. Austic explained that it didn ' t mean the Town was definitely withdrawing, but that it
gave the Town the option since a lead time of 18 months was required. Ms . Marino
stated that she wanted to see the Town set up a committee jointly with the Village and
interested citizens and staff to review the Ulysses Youth program needs, as previously
discussed.
Mr. Ellis moved to table the minutes of the special Town Board Meeting of July 13 ,
2005 , seconded by Mr. Scott .
Mr. Austic aye
Mr. Scott aye
Mr. Weatherby aye
Ms . Marino aye
Mr. Ellis aye
Adopted.
Mr. Scott moved, seconded by Mr. Weatherby to approve the minutes of the Regular
Town Board Meeting of July 12 , 2005 with the editorial corrections and additions by Ms .
Marino .
Mr. Austic aye
Mr. Scott aye
Mr. Weatherby aye
Ms . Marino abstained (not present at the July 12, 2005 meeting)
Mr. Ellis aye
Adopted.
APPROVAL OF CLAIMS
Mr. Weatherby moved, seconded by Mr. Ellis the previous audited vouchers # 359
through 404 in the amount of $ 30, 121 . 49 .
Mr. Ellis raised a concern about the Trumansburg Home Telephone bill in regards to the
fee for CALLER ID that was costing $ 32 a month. and whether or not this service was
needed. Mr. Ellis also questioned voucher # 367 for computer support .
Mr. Austic explained these costs and informed the Board that the services could be
stopped if that was the wish of the Board.
Mr. Scott questioned voucher # 371 , the bill for the independent audit for $6000 and
asked if that amount was the same as the one quoted in the proposal . Mr. Austic said that
I
j I
I V
Regular Town Board Meeting 2
08/08/2005
it was but that the Board budgeted $ 8000 . Ms . Marino added that an additional $2000
was put into the contingency fund in case it was needed.
Mr. Austic aye
Mr. Scott aye
Mr. Weatherby aye
Ms . Marino aye
Mr. Ellis . aye
Adopted.
REPORTS 0 F REPRESENTATIVES
Tompkins County Board Representative Peter Penniman - absent
Trumansburg Fire Department Representative — no member in attendance .
Planning Board Report, Chairman — Mr. Wertis resigned and at this time no Chairman
has been appointed.
David Stinson, Audit Report — Mr. Stinson, CPA with Sciarabba Walker & Co . , LLP ,
introduced himself as the auditor who compiled the "Agreed Upon Procedures Report"
with respect to the Town of Ulysses . Mr. Stinson said that he has a few general
comments and if any Board member has any specific questions he will be glad to answer
them. According to Mr. Stinson, the Town Board should view this audit as a fairly clean
bill of health because : a good audit trail exists, vouchers are properly signed off', there
are invoices, the abstracts are being approved, there are meticulous record of copies of
deposit tickets, copies of checks and these records all agree. The Town has a very
thorough payroll process and time cards are accurately totaled . In the case of the
Highway Department there is a summary of the time cards sent to the Supervisor for
entries. Mr. Stinson restated that in general he did not see things that should cause any
do alarm for the Town. One area that Mr. Stinson said he was trying to focus attention on
the fact that the Town has a limited number of people performing a wide variety of
functions . In situations like this, the organization has to be cognizant of tenets of internal
control to limit the ability of people to perpetuate a fraud and then conceal it . Mr.
Stinson assured the Board that he did not see any evidence that fraud is occurring. One
suggestion that Mr. Stinson thought would be beneficial was to have someone that does
not have anything to do with entering transactions into the accounting records, such as
Mr. Coogan, reconcile the bank accounts . In addition, Mr. Stinson said that he listed a
series of recommendations after each of his findings .
Ms . Marino asked about the sentences in the summary letter for the report that states,
"We were not engaged to nor did we perform an audit and that no opinion is expressed in
the Town' s effectiveness of internal control of financial reporting or any part thereof
Had we performed additional procedures other matters may have come to the attention
that would have been reported." Ms . Marino said that the report sounds as if Mr. Stinson
did give an opinion on the Town ' s internal control procedures .
Mr. Stinson replied that the wording Ms . Marino referred to be a standard disclaimer for
this type of procedure and is not providing a written opinion on the formal definition of
an audit. His opinions expressed in the report are his conclusions based on the
procedures he performed . The Agreed Upon Procedures Report is not as rigorous as a
full audit but the review certainly contains some of the characteristics of an audit. Mr.
Stinson said that he examined as many transactions as he would normally look at in an
audit, perhaps somewhat fewer and he did not find anything that would suggest to him
that improvements could be made to the internal control .
Ms . Marino asked Mr. Stinson what other procedures could he have done that he may
have felt would have given him a more complete picture of the financial status of the
Town that the Board could use for consideration in future decisions for audits . Mr.
Stinson replied that would depend on what the Town Board wanted to have done. If the
Board requested a financial statement audit than there would be expanded procedures,
Regular Town Board Meeting 3
08/08/2005
testing of accounts, and confirmations with third parties as to balances, which was not
performed for this report. If the Board asked for an internal control audit, then the
process would be similar to what was done except more intensive and his firm would
give an 'opinion on the internal control .
In the summary letter, Mr. Stinson noted he would provide the Board with a
recommendation of how often an independent audit or agreed upon procedures review
should be performed . The frequency for such services depends on what the Board wants
to accomplish. If the Town is considering incorporating GAP as an accounting principle,
than paying for a full audit might be considered or the audit may be required by an
investment banker. However, if the Town does not have any outstanding debt and the
goal is a measure of assurance of the financial status of the Town, then he would
recommend having an independent review of the procedures and records conducted every
other year.
Ms . Marino asked if the Town did want an expanded audit with regards to internal
procedures, how much additional effort is required and what would be the added cost.
Mr. Stinson replied that the additional effort would entail 20 to 40 hours at a billing rate
of approximately $ 100 per hour, but that if his firm was engaged to do an expanded audit
they could very likely build on what was done for this review and do an expanded audit
of internal procedures for not much more than the cost of this study.
Mr. Meeker inquired about Mr. Stinson ' s comment regarding the payroll for the highway
department where Mr. Stinson noted that Mr. Meeker had over paid for sick time. Mr.
Meeker distributed samples of a time card to clarify his position on the method used to
cover payments for sick pay, holiday pay and overtime pay.
The general consensus of the Town Board was that the way Mr. Meeker paid for sick
time reasonable based on the working needs of the department and that the issue may be
with the personal policy wording. The Board felt that this policy should be reviewed and
possibly updated to reflect the methods used for highway payroll .
Mr. Austic asked if there were any other questions for Mr. Stinson. With no further
questions, Mr. Austic and the Town Board thanked Mr. Stinson for his presentation on
the audit
Ms. Marino asked if the Board should discuss the auditor' s suggestion at this time . Mr.
Austic said that in the interest of time that discussion should be moved to another
meeting, perhaps at the September Board meeting.
TOWN REPORTS
Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported that the highway crew repaired
several curb stops in the Water District #3 that were damaged during the snow plowing
season, mowed the road sides, and graded and seeded areas along the rear property line at
the water tank on Van Dons Corners Road. Other work included spray washing the
bridge on Maplewood Road and sealing the concrete on the bridge . As part of
intermunicipal cooperation, the Ulysses highway crew helped the Town of Covert crew
on a paving project in that Town.
Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun — Mr. Rachun was not present and no report
was made.
Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia reported that the Democrat Election Machine
Custodian appointed by the Board in January has passed away. Mrs . Georgia said that
she received a call from Steve Dewitt, the Democrat County Board of Election
Commissioner, who asked if the Town Board would be agreeable to appoint Mr. Robert
Bennett, the prior Democrat Machine Custodian, to the position.
Regular Town Board Meeting 4
08/08/2005
Mr. Ellis said that he thought that Mr. Jack Katz was interested in being the Democrat
Election Machine Custodian. Mrs . Georgia asked Mr. Ellis to check to see if Mr. Katz
was still interested and if Mr. Katz was still interested to have him contact Mr. Dewitt .
The Town Board agreed to appoint Mr. Bennett if no one else expressed interest in the
position . Mrs . Georgia will advise Mr. Dewitt and Mr. Bennett of the Board ' s decision.
Mrs . Georgiai reported that the total fees collected for the month of July were $ 1 , 523 . 50 .
Of that amount, $ 1003 . 68 was turned over to the Town Supervisor. The amount turned
over to the Supervisor included $250 for water permit fees . Other water district business
since the July, report included the issuance of four plumbing permits and an application
for a new curb stop .
Board Members and Committees
Mr. Ellis said that Jason Fulton, Fire Department Chief, Rose Hilbert, Village Trustee
Representative for the Fire Department and he are going to have a preliminary meeting
on the Fire Department ' s Budget.
Mr. Austic informed the Board that in the last year there has been an increase in calls
within the Town of Ulysses . This could mean an increase in the percentage of the Fire
Contract for the Town since the contract is based on the number of calls responded to in
each participating municipality.
Supervisor Douglas Austic reported that there is several line items in the budget that are
higher than anticipated for this time in the year then was anticipated when the budget was
adopted. The most notable increase was for fuel and that the Board will have to make
adjustments to the budget to accommodate the overages . It should be noted that the
Town is still within the overall budget .
Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan reported that the Storm Water Group for •
Tompkins County would be meeting this month to finalize a request for dues from Towns
for services provided by the Stormwater Group to meet MS4 minimum requirements .
Many counties in NYS use a coalition or group to meet the outreach programs for
Stormwater and the participating municipalities pay dues . The Storm Water Group is
considering how to allocate the dues so that each municipality receives a cost benefit for
their contribution. Benefits include generating the basic required Annual Report which
allows Towns to quickly edit according to each of the towns involvement as opposed
each Town attempting to compile their report individually, sharing work on local laws,
and finding economical means for inspections .
Mr. Coogan stated that one of the areas the Planning Coalition for the Municipal Officers
Association is investigating is the issue of involving the Tax Map . Mr. Coogan and Ms .
Sue Beeners, IDanby Code Enforcement Officer, will be meeting later this month to make
recommendations to the Coalition on methods for standardizing the methods used by
Towns to record sub-divisions and coordinate that with the way the County codes and
enters the data. Currently the County divides subdivisions into four different piles and
the Tompkins County Clerk makes the decision on the subdivision unless a municipality
has formally requested to sign-off on the action. The coalition would like to present to
the municipalities the importance of standardizing so that Towns and Villages and not the
County Clerk making the decisions on how a sub-division is handled.
Mr. Coogan said that he attended a presentation on the County Tax Map effort and that
the data set for the County Tax maps is within two weeks of being accurate and up-dated .
Mr. Coogan was informed that the data set could be make available to Mr. Frantz who u
than can up-date the new Town of Ulysses Zoning Map to the latest possible
configuration.
Mr . Coogan, who is the Non-Urban Representative on the Planning Advisory Board, said
that this Board was reviewing the latest information on wind energy because new turbine
designs that increase efficiency has made more locations in the western part of the county
viable for wind turbines at least on a residential scale. There are several people on the
Regular Town Board Meeting 5
08/08/2005
County Board that are pushing for more residential wind energy, which would mean
more structural towers that would be around 120 feet tall counting the blades . Wind
energy is a controversial issue and one Representative in Rochester, with a large personal
fortune, is willing to fund any organization willing to oppose wind turbines going up in
the Finger Lakes . He believes wind turbines to be an eyesore and inappropriate for this
area. The other major factor against wind energy is turbines are loosing in favor as an
energy source to biomass fuels in the area. Because of these factors it now appears that
only a few residential wind towers may be proposed in our area
Ms. Marino asked Mr. Coogan what he meant by losing favor, is it in terms of financial
feasibility analysis or acceptability since wind energy is something that NYS promoting.
Mr. Coogan said that one major factor has been that NYSEG was very influential in
setting pricing for the excess current generated from wind turbines . It was the case that
excess energy from a turbine was bought by the utility at the going rate being paid by the
user. This was changed because of NYSEG lobbying and now the rate NYSEG pays for
excess generated energy is a national average . This greatly reduces the amount paid to
owners of generators and makes the use of individual wind turbines no longer cost
effective.
Mr. Coogan reported that the updated Draft Zoning Law is now posted on the Ulysses
Web page along with the updated charts . .
OLD BUSINESS
Ms. Marino said she had a few questions related to old business, but suggests the Board
move on to new business and setting Ms . Cone ' s public hearing first .
Other
NEW BUSINESS
Cone/Moore Public Hearing Date
Mr. Austic informed the Board that all the required information for Ms . Cone ' s PDD has
been received and that the Town Board can set a Public Hearing to take comments on the
purposed Planned Development District. Mr. Austic reminded the Board that there has to
be a 10-day notification prior to the hearing.
Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Mr. Scott the following :
BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses holds a Public
Hearing on the application for a Planned Development District from Judith Cone
and Terrill Moore on August 23 , 2005 at 7PM .
Mr. Ellis said he had a couple of items for the board, first the date — The Board has
already set a date for a meeting on the 30th of August to vote on the Zoning Law and
asked why the Public Hearing could not be held the same evening.
After a brief discussion, the general consensus of the Board was not to attempt to hold a
Public Hearing on the PDD and vote on the passage of the new zoning law. The Board
felt it was more beneficial to keep the actions separate and schedule Ms . Cone ' s rezoning
hearing on August 23 , 2005 .
Mr. Ellis said then asked Mr. Wilson if he as the Attorney for the Town had reviewed
everything in connection with the request for rezoning.
Mr. Wilson said that he would make a final review of everything pertaining to the
rezoning in the morning. Mr. Wilson also informed the Town that a 239 l&m from
Tompkins County Planning was required for the proposed action.
Regular Town Board Meeting 6
08/08/2005
Mr. Austic took the responsibility to send the application down to Tompkins County for
the 239 1&m review .
Furthermore, ; the action required a SEQR, which could be scheduled for August 23 , 2005
at the Public Hearing. Mrs . Georgia indicated that she would include SEQR in the legal
ad.
Mr. Ellis said that the Public Hearing needs to be contingent upon the Town Attorney
being satisfied with the proposed property description.
Mr. Austic called for the vote :
Mr. Austic aye
Mr. Scott aye
Mr. Weatherby aye
Ms . Marino aye
Mr. Ellis nay on the basis the Attorney has not reviewed
Adopted.
Mr. Ellis moved that the Public Hearing now scheduled for August 23 , 2005 at 7PM be
contingent upon the Attorney review of the documents from the applicant, Mr.
Weatherby seconded that .
Mr. Austic aye
Mr. Scott aye
Mr. Weatherby aye
Ms . Marino aye
Mr. Ellis aye
Adopted.
Mr. Wilson will provide a draft Resolution of the Law for the Development District that
will be provided to the Town Board prior to the public hearing.
The Special Town Board Meeting for the vote on the Zoning Law remains scheduled for
August 30, 2005 at 7PM
Other
Appointment of New Planning Board Chairman
Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Ellis the following :
BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses appoint Mr.
David Tyler as the interim Planning Board Chairman.
Ms . Marino said that Mr. Tyler has agreed to serve in that capacity, that he has many
years of experience on the Planning Board, has served as Chair on that Board, and is the
only Planning Board member willing to be Chairman.
Mr. Weatherby asked for what period of time would Mr. Tyler serve as Chair.
Ms . Marino said that Mr. Tyler' s term ends at the end of December 2005 and that Mr.
Tyler has indicated to her he does not intend to seek a reappointment.
Mr. Austic said that he had spoke with Rod Porter and Mr. Porter felt that he did not have
the time to be Chair because he frequently travels for business reasons .
Mr. Ellis said that he spoke to David Means and that Mr. Means may be willing to take it
on after the first of the year but right now was not able to take the position as Chair.
Regular Town Board Meeting 7
08/08/2005
Mr. Austic asked if Mr. Tyler had the time to devote to the proposed actions waiting for
review.
Ms . Marino said that she had asked Mr. Tyler that question and his response was that he
would need the help of Alex Rachun to move the reviews forward. In addition, Rose
Hilbert had said that she could not step in as Chair but that she would do all that she
could to help Mr. Tyler.
Mr. Scott said that while he feels Mr. Tyler is currently the logical candidate for Chair he
also is concerned about potential conflicts because of Mr. Tyler' s position as Village
Attorney.
Ms . Marino said that a major problem with Mr. Tyler being appointed as Chair is that he
will be on vacation from August 20 through September 9 . Mr. Tyler indicated to her that
he might be able to talk with Ms . Cone before leaving o0n vacation .
Ms . Marino would like the Town Board to speak with Margo Chiuten and David Means
because they are the next most senior members on the Planning Board . It would be
beneficial for the Town to have them in line for the Chair and to receive training while
Mr. Tyler is the interim Chair. This would provide for a smooth transition to the next
Chair and provide the person to be appointed with proper training.
Mr. Austic aye
Mr. Scott aye
Mr. Weatherby aye
Ms . Marino aye
Mr. Ellis aye
Adopted.
Update on Washington Street Partnership Proposed Project
Mr. Austic said he attended the Village of Trumansburg Board meeting and that the
Village Board did not want to extend water to the Washington Street Project. Mr. Austic
spoke to Mayor Levine and the Mayor indicated that there was little chance that the
Village would allow water at this time . Mr. Austic continued by saying that the
Washington Street Partnership also called him and he relayed to them what the Mayor
had said. Mr. Austic also told the Partnership that the Town would most likely not
proceed with their water district request since there was no water supply available. If the
Town should receive a letter from the Village of Trumansburg stating specific terms for
supplying water, then the Town Board would take up the request for a water district.
Washington Street Partnership did say that McDonalds was not included in that project
and Mr. Austic said to the Partnership that McDonalds was included in Part I of SEQR
that they had submitted.
Mr. Weatherly asked if the Village provided reasons why they did not want to extend the
water line to this project.
Mr. Austic said that the Village said it was because they were in the process of doing
their Comprehensive Plan and they did not want to extend additional water lines outside
of the Village until they completed their Comprehensive Plan. .
Mr. Wilson said that he talked with the attorney for the Washington Street Partnership
and made it very clear as to what the Town would need from them to act on their request
for a water district.
Mr. Austic said that he had explained to the Washington Street Partnership that the Town
would need DOT approval for use of the right-of-way, a letter from the Village of
Trumansburg giving availability of water, and an engineering plan for the water line, etc . ,
which the Tompkins County Health Department must review approve, and the
partnership must show that they own the land . Mr. Austic said that until they provide this
information that the Town would not consider forming a water district.
Regular Town Board Meeting 8
08/08/2005
Mr. Austic said that the Partnership could drill a well as a water source if the so choose to
move the project forward, which would be to Site Plan Review by the Town Planning
Board.
Mr. Austic said that Washington Street Partnership does have an application for water,
which the Town has a copy of, signed by Village Trustee Hrubos indicating that the
request for water looked good to him and that is why the Partnership felt they had water.
Mr. Wilson said that he had contacted Washington Street Partnership stating that he was
not happy with that signed application because the only people that can approve an
application for water is the Village Board not the Water Commissioner.
Ms . Marino asked for clarification on any timelines for action the Town Board was under
at this time regarding this project. Mr. Austic said there were none active currently.
Mr. Ellis handed out a resolution that he had prepared for consideration by the Board .
Mr. Ellis said that the Town Board should talk seriously at some point about "What does
constitute completion and what does constitute proper communication from the
municipality to the applicant?" Mr. Ellis said that he felt his proposed resolution was an
attempted at addressing this problem.
Material Mr. Ellis handed out is as follows :
Motion Regarding Acceptance of Applications for Town Board Action
Regarding the submission of applications to the Town for review by the Town Board:
Whereas the Town of Ulysses does not have a Planning Department, or even a
designated Planning Consultant, nor does the Board intend to instruct the code
enforcement Officer to review applications, •
Whereas the Board is responsible for orderly review of Applications and for the timely
processing of Applications in accordance with State law,
Whereas the Board cannot execute this responsibility if an Application is not complete,
Be it therefor;e resolved the determination of Completeness will be made by a resolution
of the Board.
Employees of the Town who receive and process Applications are to give Applicants a
simple form letter indicating that materials received may be tentatively declared
complete by the Employee, but are not complete in any binding sense until they are
reviewed and declared complete by the Board.
Mr. Ellis withdrew his motion saying that he has learned a lot more tonight, but he would
like to introduce it at some other time. Mr. Ellis further said that the Board has done a lot
of work on the Zoning Law and now the Board has to get to work on the administration
aspects of the law . If the administration is not made to work right, then years of good
energy and time have been wasted. The Zoning Law should be the punch list, clearly
delineate the procedures required, and provide a checklist for the applicant to clearly
indicate when the application is complete and procedures are met.
Mr. Austic said that there wasn ' t a checklist for application for a Water District because
the request comes directly out of Town Law, but that Mr. Wilson had designed a
checklist for application for a Water District that Mr. Wilson had given to the
Washington ;Street Partnership .
Mr. Wilson said that the applicant should have their attorney bring in the application for a
water district because the Town Board is not the routing party in these matters.
Applicants should not expect the Town to be the leader for their petitions for water or re-
zoning, they must take on that responsibility
Regular Town Board Meeting 9
08/08/2005
Mr. Wilson said that he approved the Washington Street Partnership ' s petition for a water
district as being legally complete, but he also told them that the engineering study was
insufficient, the Health Department would not approve the small size of the water pipe,
that DOT will need to approve the proposed curb cut, and finally the project would need
a water source . All these conditions would need to be met prior to the Town Board
considering an application for a water district.
Ms . Marino said that the Town should develop checklists for applicants of the different
processes to help applicants provide the necessary information and to give the applicants
an understanding of the procedures .
Ms . Marino said that she has been involved in email discussions concerning pay for
Planning Board members . She feels that since the Town is starting discussions on the
budget it is a good time for the Board to discuss this topic especially since there may be a
lot more work involved with the new zoning law
Mr. Wilson said that the Planning Board should consider semi-monthly meetings
especially with the timetables involved . Mr. Wilson said that he has sent a memorandum
to the Zoning Board explaining their responsibilities and suggests that the same should be
done for the Planning Board .
Ms . Marino said that her other topic to be discussed, after the pay, is the training. The
Town Board needs to start thinking about training for the Zoning Board of Appeals and
the Planning Board . The most important issue for training is Site Plan Review and the
training should specifically address what Site Plan can and cannot do . Ms . Marino felt
that the Town might be able to use someone from Tompkins County Planning for their
planning and legal perspectives of SPR. Ms . Marino stated that this training should
happen soon since the new zoning may go into effect soon, and that it would benefit
Town Board members as well .
Mr. Wilson said that there are a lot of services offered by both the State and the County
for educational seminars. Ms . Marino said that it would be a beneficial to invite the
Village to participate, because the Village Planning Board is working on Site Plan
Review .
Ms . Marino said that she would be happy to work with Mr. Coogan on setting up a
training program .
Mr. Coogan said that Jonathan Kanter has agreed in the past to provide training and so
has Ed Marx . It is important to understand that the County and Towns bring different
perspectives to planning and Site Plan Review .
Ms . Marino feels she would like a couple of people to conduct the training as well as an
attorney so that Board members understand the whole perspective of SPR.
Mr. Coogan said he has attended the training on Site Plan Review conducted by the State
and that it was very thorough.
Ms . Marino said that we could look into when that could be scheduled but we should also
look into our local planning resources as well .
Mr. Austic said that the Zoning Officer should have training as well . Ms . Marino said
that the Zoning Officer should have the same training as the BZA and Planning Board.
Mr. Austic said that the Zoning Board of Appeals would be extremely busy once the
Zoning Law is adopted because there are many one-acre lots in the Town and anyone
wishing to build on a non-conforming lot will require a variance . Mr. Austic said that the
Town Board could say that if the proposed addition to the building does not interfere with
the requirements of the set backs that are now established they would not require a
variance.
Regular Town Board Meeting 10
08/08/2005
Ms . Marino said the Board could wait a few months to see if a change is required if
excessive requests for variances become .a problem .
Mr. Ellis said that there are a couple hundred of these lots and they will become non-
conforming.
Ms . Marino suggested that Mr. Austic draft a resolution that the Board could review .
Ms . Marino stated to Mr. Coogan that she would help to see when board members could
be available to start training.
Ms . Marino asked about the information that was put in the Board members in-baskets in
regards to employee handbooks . Mr. Austic explained that someone had stopped by and
left this information and he passed it on to the Board to review . Ms . Marino said that the
employee handbook is something that she had brought up for review and that she felt it
was a task the Board needed to work on .
Ms . Marino said that the last procedural issue she would like to bring up is — "Do we
have any rules of procedure of setting Special Town Board meetings other than the Town
Law?" and, ` Is email considered a valid form of written notification?" Ms . Marino felt
that it needs to be clarified so that the sender of an email at least is notified that the
message was received . Mr. Wilson said that he would check on this .
Ms. Marino said that she would like to discuss this issue further and write a policy of
procedure for email .
PUBLIC C I MMENTS — no comments heard.
ADJOURNMENT
Hearing no further business Mr. Weatherby moved, seconded by Ms . Marino to adjourn
the meeting. Unanimously approved, meeting adjourned at 9 : 50 PM .
Respectfully submitted,
Marsha L . Georgia
Ulysses Town Clerk