The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2023-07-13TB 7-13-23 Page 1 of 5 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING July 13, 2023 Zoom Hybrid Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Leonardo Vargas- Mendez, Cl Christina Dravis, Cl Spring Buck Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: Amanda Anderson, Bookkeeper Ray Burger, Planning Director Chris O’Connor, Fire Coordinator Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 6:08 p.m. Financial & Human Resources Abstract Approval RESOLUTION #118 (2023) – 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 #578 through #679 ($1,018,867.63) and TA vouchers #84 through #87 ($5,902.29) totaling $1,024,769.92. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Budget Modification – Budget modifications were presented and reviewed by the Supervisor. He explained that the one for WB Strong was included in the contract and considered in budget season. RESOLUTION #119 (2023) – APPROVE BUDGET MODIFICATIONS Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the following budget modifications: From To A3910 Climate Smart Grants A8710.1 Conservation - Personnel 1,075.25 A1420.402 Legal A1910.4 Unallocated Insurance 4,000.00 A1220.454 Supervisor - Travel A1220.455 Supervisor - Training/College 109.06 A7320.102 Summer Camp Staff - Fville A7330.4 Community Recreation 15,000.00 TB 7-13-23 Page 2 of 5 SF1-599 Fund Balance SF1-3410.405 WB Strong - Freeville 94,000.00 SF1-599 Fund Balance SF1-3410.1 Fire Prevention - Personnel 20,000.00 SF1-599 Fund Balance SF1-9030.8 Social Security 1,540.00 SF1-599 Fund Balance SF1-9089.8 Medicare 290.00 2nd Cl Buck Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Open new bank account – This account needed to accept Dryden Fiber revenue. The revenue will then be transferred to the enterprise account. RESOLUTION #120 (2023) – AUTHORIZE NEW BANK ACCOUNT Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: Whereas, First National Bank of Dryden is the Town of Dryden’s designated depository, Resolution #4 (2023). Whereas, for proper accounting of the Dryden Fiber revenue from the billing program, a new bank account needs to be opened. Be it Resolved, this Town Board authorizes the opening of a bank account for Dryden Fiber at First National Bank of Dryden with check signers on the account being: Bambi Avery, Jason Leifer, Lee Parker, and Loren Sparling. Be it also Resolved that this Town Board authorizes transfer of funds between First National accounts by: Amanda Anderson, Sherri Crispell, and Bambi Avery. 2nd Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Highway/DPW Department No report. Town Fire Coordinator – Chris O’Connor has sent emails to board members so they are informed of what he has been working on. The recent training at TC3 for all departments focused on developing common ways of operating among departments. A good share of all active firefighters in the town participated. He said it is tough to get a well-qualified training instructor and the new firefighters need a lot of help. He is focusing on bringing people in to offer common training. Currently our members are travelling to other counties for training sessions. Board members offered ideas for offering more local training opportu nities and the Fire Coordinator will continue his efforts. TB 7-13-23 Page 3 of 5 County Update No report. Discussion/Action Items Contract with Village of Dryden for Code Enforcement Services – Ray Burger explained this is the annual contract and the amount paid by the Village to the Town was increased to $35,000 this year ($3,000 over last year). The agreement will be redrafted for next year to reflect actual operating procedures. RESOLUTION #121 (2023) – AUTHORIZE CONTRACT WITH VILLAGE OF DRYDEN Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the contract to provide Code Enforcement services on behalf of the Village of Dryden from June 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024, for the annual amount of $35,000, and the Town Supervisor is authorized to execute the same. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Planning & Zoning Board of Appeals Training Credits – Planning & ZBA members have a requirement of 4 hours of training annually. Some of that is obtained through the New York Planning Federation and APA, but there are other good courses provided by other agencies. Anything out of the ordinary needs to be approved by the Town Board to count toward the four-hour requirement. RESOLUTION #122 (2023) – APPROVE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD TRAINING CREDITS Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves continuing education credits at the rate of one credit per hour of participation for the following trainings: • 1-11-23 one hour “Solar Development on NY Farmland: Assessing trends and advancing research for smart solar” by American Farmland Trust • 3-28-23 1 ½ hours “Complete Streets Workshop” by Southern Tier 8 Regional Board • 5-25-23 one hour question and answer session on zoning topics with Town Attorney 2nd Cl Vargas-Mendez Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes ZBA Appointment – An application has been received to fill a vacancy on the Zoning Board of Appeals and reviewed by board members. The appointment will be to fill an TB 7-13-23 Page 4 of 5 unexpired term. The applicant was before the ZBA recently and is interested in participating on the board. One vacancy remains on the board after this appointment. RESOLUTION #123 (2023) – APPOINT ZBA MEMBER – WITMAN Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Mary J. Witman to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a term to expire December 31, 2024. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Old Red Mill Road Bridge – Cl Lamb said he has shared information with board members about what can be done with the old Red Mill Road bridge that has been stored for years behind the highway barns. Since the Highways Superintendent isn’t here ton ight, they will talk about it next week. Etna Fire Department Audit – The Town Board would like to exercise its authority to require an audit by an independent CPA firm of the Etna Volunteer Fire Department. The town has two departments that will be required to provide one because they will hit the monetary threshold ($300,000 under a contract with a municipality) next year. The Fire Coordinator has communicated with those departments to expect to have an audit done for 2023 in 2024. One department has had one done annually for a number of years. Etna declined the offer of a desk audit by the town bookkeeper in preparation for the process. There will be no cost to the department for the audit, estimated at $7,000 to $8,000. The town will hire an independent auditor under the contract for the fiscal year 2022. Having this audit now will provide history moving forward. RESOLUTION #124 (2023) – REQUEST AUDIT OF ETNA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Cl Buck offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: Whereas, the Town of Dryden has contracted with the Etna Volunteer Fire Department for fire protection, emergency rescue service, and emergency medical services for many years and is currently in a contract term that expires December 31, 2023, and Whereas, under the terms of said contract the town may require an independent audit of the financial affairs of the fire department, now, therefore be it RESOLVED, that this Town Board does hereby request an independent audit of the Etna Volunteer Fire Department for the fiscal year 2022 pursuant to Standard Fire Contract Provision #16 of the current contract between the town and the department. The form, content and choice of the Certified Public Accountant performing the audit shall be determined by the Town and paid for by the town. 2nd Cl Dravis Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes TB 7-13-23 Page 5 of 5 Supv Leifer Yes The July 20 agenda includes four public hearings next week. Two have to do with the rail trail, one is an amendment of a special use permit at 1847 Hanshaw Road, and one is for the 2023 CDBG housing rehabilitation grant application. Supv Leifer shared with board members via email some things to help with discussions about the property behind town hall. The town accepted another parcel of property in November 2021 and the resolution accepting it specifically referred to recreational use. Cl Lamb said there is a lot of gossip about the property and there is no plan yet. S Buck said the Conservation Board has been concerned about wetlands and whether those wetlands would be respected. Cl Lamb would like the Conservation Board to communicate with him or the Supervisor for clarification. There have been plans for a very long time to have ballfields there, and not on the wetlands. There are other routes for a road without going through the wetlands. Cl Lamb said there is the possibility of a trail and nature walk from the college to the village and we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to work with TC3. Cl Buck suggested the Conservation Board could help to make this trail educational. Supv Leifer said the Conservation Board shouldn’t be surprised because there has been a plan to develop this property for a long time. Next week’s agenda will also include a review of agreements for the broadband project. The Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday, July 19. It is expected they will recommend a $3,000,000 repair project to the owners for various parts of the plant. There will need to be a Public Interest Order scheduled for the August meeting. Cl Dravis heard from Climate Smart Chair Alice Green that they need to replace a recently graduated student member. They have an interested student who attends Dryden High School, but resides outside town limits. He participates in the Sustainability Club at school and volunteered at the Rail Trail celebration. The board said not living in town is not a barrier in this instance. Ray Burger reported that the 26 Leisure Lane property was sold at auction. He understands the information on the status was conveyed to the purchaser and that the e xisting structure would be demolished and a new home will be built. No remediation has been done on the Slaterville Road property owned by Jack Enslow and the court matter continues. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk