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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-21 Danby Town Board Minutes of Regular Meeting January 21 , 2013 Present: Supervisor: Ric Dietrich Councilpersons: Leslie Connors, Kathy Halton, Dylan Race Absent: Councilpersons: Dan Klein Others Present: Town Clerk Pamela Goddard Bookkeeper Laura Shawley Code Officer Sue Beeners Public Ted Crane, Robert Roe,Naomi Strichartz,Ted Melchen,Anne Klingensmith, Frank Kruppa, Joel Gagnon, Danny Eastman The Danby Town Board meeting was opened at 7:03pm Privilege of the Floor Rather than make a long statement in advance,Ted Crane asked to be included in the conversa- tion regarding the Committee Appointment/Review Procedure conversation. Organizational Resolutions The Board reviewed letters of application regarding Town Web Master and Town Historian. RESOLUTION NO.22 OF 2013-APPOINT TOWN WEBMASTER Resolved,That the Town Board of the Town of Danby reappoints Ted Crane as the Town Web Master. Moved by Race, Second by Dietrich. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Race, Dietrich The Board held a brief discussion of this appointment, expressing a desire for some improve- ments. Connors asked for more feedback between the Town and the Webmaster over the next year. They would also like the web site to be easier to use, including the titles of Local Laws in that sec- tion. Crane noted that his letter of interest included these and other desirable improvements. RESOLUTION NO.23 OF 2013-APPOINT TOWN HISTORIAN Resolved, That the Town Board of the Town of Danby reappoints Joan Grant as the Town Historian. Moved by Dietrich, Second by Halton. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Race, Dietrich Connors again expressed a desire for improved communication between the Town and the Town Historian. She would also like to see more local history items in the Danby Area News. RESOLUTION NO.24 OF 2013-HEALTH INSURANCE FOR TOWN BOOKKEEPER AND SUPERVISOR Resolved,That the Town Board of the Town of Danby authorizes its bookkeeper, Laura Shawley,to reimburse the Town Supervisor for health insurance coverage, in amounts not to exceed $800 per month for the Supervisor and$500 per month for the Town Bookkeeper. Moved by Race, Second by Halton. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Race, Dietrich Town Board_Minutes_20130121 •Tuesday,February 5,2013 Page 1 of 3 The Board discussed insurance coverage for the Supervisor and Bookkeeper. These two persons are covered by policies other outside of the municipal consortium;the reimbursements are to cover out-of-pocket costs not covered by the outside insurance. Race asked about other employees taking advantage of the same"buy-out." Some employees are exploring coverage options. They might consider this for next year. Amendment to Abstract#14 of 2012: Danby Community Council GENERAL FUND #582 for a total of$21,887.00 Moved by Connors, Second by Halton. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Race, Dietrich RESOLUTION NO.25 OF 2013-APPOINT RECREATION PARTNERSHIP REPRESENTATIVE Resolved,That the Town Board of the Town of Danby reappoints Dylan Race as the Danby representative to the Tompkins County Recreation Partnership. Moved by Dietrich, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Race, Dietrich Planning Board Applicant Interviews The Town Board interviewed Naomi Strichartz and Danny Eastman, applicants to fill a vacancy on the Planning Board. Strichartz applied to continue another seven year term. Eastman is a new ap- plicant for the position. Each applicant was asked about their interests,vision, and goals for serving on the Planning Board. Each applicant spoke about activities and experiences that would support their service to the town. Strichartz talked about the ongoing review of the Comprehensive Plan with a fo- cus on the future of agriculture in Danby. Eastman talked about focused development,planning for a village center with multi-use development. Both applicants spoke about their commitment to Danby. The Town Board will vote on this appointment during one of its February meetings. Town Board and Planning Board Discussion Members of the Town and Planning Boards had a discussion about goals and direction for 2013 and beyond. The primary focus of the Planning Board at this time is review and revision of the Com- prehensive Plan. There was a discussion about how the most recent aquifer study informs this review as well as proposed Critical Environmental Area designations, a proposed Aquifer Protection Ordi- nance, and any hamlet development. There was a suggestion that the TB and PB meet again following the February 21 presentation of the scientific study. There was further discussion of cluster development and what would be needed to make this pos- sible in Danby. Members of the Planning Board reported that there may not be public support for de- veloping central Danby. It has been seen as an undesirable area.There was a discussion about starting small by re-zoning a limited area for high density and/or multi-use development. It was noted that even small scale multi-use development is difficult without the support of a developer and at a time when grant money is not available. Members of the Town and Planning boards noted the importance of having input from the community at all stages of this research. Town meetings could help build a consensus of the community's vision for how to build for the greater good. Following this discussion the suggestion was made again that the TB and PB meet to discuss these issues after the February 21 Aquifer Study presentation. Solar Consortium Anne Klingensmith noted that several members of the Gas Drilling Task Force are interested in working with an inter-municipal solar energy consortium being formed with representatives of Caro- Town Board_Minutes_20130121 •Tuesday,February 5,2013 Page 2 of 3 line,Dryden, and that Danby. Guillermo Metz(Danby resident and Co-op Extension representative) is putting together a meeting of those who are interested in working on this initiative. Discussion of Committee Appointments There was a continued discussion about the Appointment Procedure and appointment chart. Di- etrich expressed a need to review the appointment chart for inclusiveness in order to assure that all those who need to be are contacted in the Fall(October) for the next year's appointments. Connors agreed that this review could be accomplished by next Fall. It would be helpful to have more com- plete"job descriptions"for each of these appointments. This information could be published in the Danby Area News and posted on the Town web site. The Town webmaster suggested that this information was appropriate for the "Town Directory" on the web site. He would also like to expand the history of past appointees to include more positions. There was a discussion as to whether anyone is currently representing Danby on the County Youth Services board. There are other County-level boards which also need Danby representation. Halton expressed a strong concern that Danby may be taking on too many initiatives. She sug- gested that too many things are being done by too few people and that those people may get burned out. Halton spoke in favor of turning down some initiatives as not appropriate for Danby at this time. Dietrich provided another view of making information and space available to Danby residents. Building Security/Community Council Programs Halton expressed a concern about building security and general hospitality related to a program presented by the Danby Community Council on January 20. She was concerned that there was no one from the community council available to introduce the speaker or to close the building at the end of the program. Julie Clougherty(a DCC Director) assisted with closing the building. Ted Crane apolo- gized for program management which"fell through the cracks"and offered to report this concern to other members of the community council. Halton noted that the"Solar Tour"astronomy program was well attended and that the speaker could present additional programs in the future. Other Correspondence-Banks Road Speed Limit The Clerk informed the Board of correspondence submitted by several residents on the issue of speed limits on Town and County roads in Danby. This correspondence was related to other roads than Comfort, including Banks and West Miller Roads. There are also concerns about the new lane designations on Route 96B between the Federated Church and the Fire Hall. Conservation Advisory Council Appointments Mary Woodsen submitted an application for a CAC position. Joel Gagnon stated his understanding that Jake Brenner was also interested. RESOLUTION NO.26 OF 2013-APPOINT CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL Resolved,That the Town Board of the Town of Danby reappoints Mary Woodsen and Jake Brenner to two year terms on the Danby Conservation Advisory Council.These terms are to run from January 1, 2013 through De- cember 31, 2014. Moved by Connors, Second by Halton. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Halton, Race, Dietrich Adjournment The Meeting was adjourned at 8:24pm. Pamela Goddard,Town Clerk Town Board_Minutes_20130121 •Tuesday,February 5,2013 Page 3 of 3