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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-04-08 - TB TOWN OF ULYSSES REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING APRIL 8 , 2008 Present: Supervisor Austic ; Council David Kerness , Liz Thomas, Lucia Tyler, Rod Ferrentino absent; Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan; Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia; Highway Superintendent James Meeker. Others Present : Rebecca Schneider, Geoffrey Hart, Jodi Marshall, Diane Hillman, Dave Schurman, Roxanne Marino . Supervisor Austic called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 pm and lead those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. APPROVAL OF MINUTES After previously distribution of the minutes of the Special Town Board meeting of February 28`h, 2008 and the Regular Town Board meeting of March 11th, 2008 Ms . Tyler moved to second the meeting of 3/ 11 /2008 and Ms . Thomas moved and seconded by Ms. Tyler the following resolution was made. Be it resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the minutes of the Special Town Board of February 28 , 2008 meeting and the Regular Town Board meeting of March 11 , 2008 as discussed . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino absent Ms . Tyler aye Ms . Thomas aye Mr. Kerness aye Adopted. . Ms . Thomas asked about the Organizational meeting and the changes she thought had been made . Ms . Georgia explained that an amendment to that meeting would have to be done because what Ms . Thomas wanted included did not happen at that meeting. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS After the Board ' s examination of vouchers # 101 through # 142 Ms . Tyler moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve voucher # ' s 101 through 142 in the amount of $30, 309 . 61 Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino absent Ms. Tyler aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Adopted. REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Jim Dennis, Tompkins County Board of Representatives absent. Trumansburg Fire Department Representative absent . Ken Zeserson Planning Board Report Chairman and Rebecca Schneider Planning Board Member Regular Town 1Board Meeting 2 April 8 , 2008 Mr. Zeserson said that they have a little presentation that he would like to have the Board take a look at which is a preference to a resolution that Mr. Kerness is going to introduce tonight. The Planning Board is hoping to be a little more pro-active then they have in the past and Mr. Kerness has a very ambitious schedule of a way that the Planning Board can help the Town' Board and the Comprehensive Plan Committee and of course the on going interest in the new water district. Not everything can be done at once but the first thing that the BoardI thinks that is important for the PB to look at is the UNA' s . Mr. Zeserson and Ms. Schneider are asking the Town Board tonight for their approval and support for the PB to proceed to investigate appropriate mechanisms to help protect the natural areas for the benefits that they provide to our Town residents . These benefits potentially include : • Unique natural attractions that promote tourism • Scenic views • Vegetation on steep slopes that can prevent erosion and impacts to Cayuga Lake water quality and out MS4 obligations • Presence of rare, threatened or endangered plants, animals, and ecosystems • Old growth forests • Native American archeological sites • Contributions to groundwater recharge areas and surface water tributaries • Components of Tompkins County, Ithaca City green spaces Mr. Zeserson ! said the PB would like to work on this along side developing the Comprehensive Plan and the PB has excellent people and very eager to work on this. The PB will work with Sue Ritter of the Town of Ithaca who knows a lot about this and she wrote the Town of Ithaca' s Conservation Zone and she is ready, willing and able to help the Town of Ulysses to at least to start the process . The PB would like to get some sense that the Town Board would like the PB to proceed. Ms . Schneider asked if the Board would be willing to pass some type of resolution that they could take back to the PB . Mr. Austic said that Mr. Kerness is working on that and will be addressed at this meeting. Ms. Tyler suggested that Mr. Kerness read his purposed resolution and the PB would know what the TB is considering. Mr. Kerness read his purposed resolution into the record. Planning Board Areas of Focus With significant focus by the Town Board on Water Requirements/District development and the Comprehensive Plan, I would like the Planning Board in parallel to review Zoning Laws for: 1 . Unique Natural Areas (6/08)* 2 . Conservation Zoning (3/09) 3 . Lake Front Zoning ( 10/08) 4 . Alternate Energy (TBD) 5 . Residential Zoning (7/09) 6 . Commercial Development (4/ 10) * *Planning Board Recommendation to the Town Board For Unique Natural Areas, Conservation Zoning and Lake Front Zoning significant work has been done by the County and the Town of Ithaca and could serve as a template for Ulysses review and implementation. Alternate energy sources : wind mills, geothermal, etc . has also been reviewed and adopted by many municipalities within the state and could be evaluated for our use . Regular Town Board Meeting 3 April 8 , 2008 The last two, Residential and Commercial Zoning updates would be the natural outgrowth of our Comprehensive Plan and Water District development, and assure the orderly implementation of both. These actions should be concluded by December 2010 and include reviews of existing zoning, recommended language, public meetings for specific comments and a final Town Board recommendations . The detail schedule for these reviews and recommendations are outlined in the Water District Plan . This effort would allow the Town Board to evaluate our Water Needs, Water District and the Comprehensive Plan concurrently with zoning to assure we protect the natural beauty of our town and serve the needs of our community. Jacksonville Association President Diane Hillman Ms. Hillman addressed the Town Board with a request to suggest that it is time to do something about the Water Commission. When discussing Water District #3 the idea was that the Town Board would operate as the Water Commission during the time of construction underway and after that there would be some kind of representative or a group that would actually monitor the progress of what is going on as an oversight committee . Ms . Hillman feels like that time has come particularly since District #3 has a heavy investment in the infrastructure and would like to be involved which would give better lines of communications . It is time to move to a more permanent responsibility and Ms . Hillman thinks that the Water Law says something to this regards . Ms . Hillman feels that they are several districts but, district #3 is the biggest and should have more representation. The other districts are small, but should be involved . Ms . Hillman is suggesting gathering some volunteers ; two from District #3 and one each from the other district as a Water Commission. Mr. Austic has looked into this and there is a Water Commission formed in the Town of Hector that he has inquired on how that was established . The Town Water Law does have provisions for a Water Commission and they are an advisory board to the Town Board but with a Water Commission the people that are paying for the district would have recommendations of things that could come up in the future such as rates or extensions because those are things directly the water users concerns . Mr. Austic is thinking having five people, two from District #3 , one from District #4 and one each from the Shur-save District and Alpha House and has maybe a quarterly meeting Mr. Austic will look more into the forming of this Water Commission and talk with Mr. Dickens in the Town of Hector on how they went about forming, how it operates, and would their function are. PUBLIC PRIVILEDGE OF THE FLOOR A Ulysses resident of Agard Road inquired about when his road may expect water and stated that there are over 42 homes on the road and feels that would be significant enough to run a waterline. Ms. Tyler said that the Town will be sending out a water survey so that the Town Board can hear from all of the residents . Ms . Tyler advised him to keep an eye out for the survey and contact his neighbors that it is coming. Ms . Thomas also advised him of the Comprehensive Plan workshops that are coming up that he may be interested in attending. Ms . Marino announced that sometime in April the Town of Ithaca will be dedicating a playing field to Cathy Valentino for all her years of service. Also a web site is being worked on and the idea is to be able to link municipalities so if you are looking for youth recreation programs you could see where they are available . Regular Town Board Meeting 4 April 8 , 2008 TOWN REP 0 RTS Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported as follows : • Working on picking up limbs, brush, etc . from the ice storms and heavy snow fall • Repaired vehicles as needed • Plow and salted as needed • February salt order finally was received • Sweptj all intersections to remove lb stone that was used for ice control • Starting to rake up sod, gravel, etc . displaced from winter plow operations • OSHA training April 15th Mr. Meeker talked briefly about the property next to the Town Barns and that it is coming up for sale and would like the Board to look into . Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun absent. Mr. Coogan reported that Grass Roots are inquiring about the property on Agard Road and the improvements that they would like to do . Mr. Rachun has asked them to come up with a plan to further review . Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia reported that $723 . 50 was collected for the total fees for March and $514 was turned over to the Supervisor along with her monthly report. Ms. Georgia said that tax collection ended April 1St and is all in balance and will be turning everything over to the County tomorrow. Board Members and Committees Ms. Tyler said that she talked with Court Clerk Ms. Townley and Justice Thomas Schlee and everything has been worked out and she will be attending Justice Schlee ' s court on Monday evenings . Mr. Kerness reported that he looked into bulk mailings and explained briefly. Mr. Kerness and Ms . Georgia will work together on this and look further into it with the Trumansburg Post Master. Ms. Thomas) stated that she had missed the Village meeting. Supervisor Austic explained his monthly financial report. The Board had further questions that they will discuss in more detail at the next meeting. Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan reported that the Planning Board will have a meeting on DNA' s presented by the County. Mr. Coogan said that Mr. Zeserson, Mr. Kerness and himself met with Ed Marx last week and talked about what is available from County Planning. Mr. Coogan said that the annual Stormwater Report which will need a public hearing and that can be scheduled in June . Mr. Coogan reported on his work on a new web page and server. Mr. Coogan would like direction from the Board on how they would like him to proceed. The Board discussed this briefly. Ms . Thomas would like to work with Mr. Coogan on this and suggested meeting with the Village Clerk and Mr. Hart who worked on the Village web page for some guidance. The Corridor Study had focus groups with the businesses . On April 23rd the first public hearing will be held. Mr. Coogan had distributed the final report of the flyover imagery analysis completed by PAR Government Systems Corporation. Due to equipment malfunctions, results of the Regular Town Board Meeting 5 April 8 , 2008 study showed no solid conclusion of whether septic systems along Cayuga Lake were leaking. OLD BUSINESS Dog Control Officer The Board discussed the contract and the question came up contract for Dog Control Officer vs . Dog Control Officer Town employee . One of the concerns is liability insurance. The Board will look further into this with the Attorney. Mr. Austic has a meeting with Mr. Austen and the SPCA on Friday morning. Water District # 6 Motion Ms . Tyler moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following : Resolution Introducing Water District 6 Whereas the Town of Ulysses was notified on January 7 , 2008 that the New York State Department of Health and the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) had reconsidered their position and allowed the Town of Ulysses additional time to submit a completed application and package for the Water District 5 project (WD-5) and would allow changes in the scope and service area of this project while retaining the current financing offer (DWSRF project # 17468) ; and, Whereas WD- 5 alternative plans and cost estimates, as presented by Eric Pond of Barton and Loguidice on February 21 , 2008 were produced on a short time table; and Whereas there is insufficient time for adequate review of WD-5 Alternative C with revisions (revised WD-5 Alt. C) by elected officials and citizens nor enough time to meet the required legal application process, environmental review, and inter-municipal agreements needed by March 24, 2008 ; and Whereas (revised WD-5 Alt . C) as presented on February 28 , 2008 is significantly more costly than the original WD-5 , since it is geographically more extensive, and the total estimated cost of $ 9 . 87 million is extremely close to the $ 10 million cap required to retain zero percent interest financing from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) ; and Whereas consideration of any alternate district is premature at this time due to the lack of a town wide water needs survey; and Whereas the quantity of water that can be provided to the Town of Ulysses from Bolton Point through the Town of Ithaca infrastructure without improvements does not meet the total requirements of WD-3 , revised WD-5 Alt. C, and the Village of Trumansburg second source ; and Whereas the revised WD-5 Alt. C is not in accord with growth patterns encouraged by our current zoning; and Whereas revised WD- 5 Alt. C impacts an identified Unique Natural Area and environmentally fragile lands west of New York State Route 89 not having proper conservation protections in place; and Whereas revised WD-5 Alt. C cannot take into consideration the Comprehensive Plan initiative under progress, which is based on broad citizen input and scheduled for completion by October 2008 . Therefore be it hereby resolved that Water District 5 Alternative C with revisions be removed from consideration in favor of a cooperative effort using the inputs from the newly formed Town of Ulysses Water Needs Committee, the Town of Ulysses Comprehensive Planning Committee, the Town of Ulysses Planning Board, the Village Regular Town Board Meeting 6 April 8 , 2008 of Trumansburg, Finger Lakes State Parks, and the Town of Ithaca to look at alternative water solutions and to design more mutually agreeable, fundable water project hereafter to be known a's Water District 6 . Further be it resolved that EFC and DOH be sent a letter that we will not be following through with DWSRF project # 17468 and that we will be targeting submitting a new IUP by 2009 . Finally be it resolved that the estimated timeline for completion of a project plan and submission to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and other applicable funding sources is no later than October 2010 (see attachment for detailed schedule) . Water Comprehensive Unique Natural Lake Front Resident District Plan Area( UNA)/ ( LF) Zoning ial Conservation Develop Commercial Zone ment Development Zoning (CD) Zoning Yr Mon 08 Jan Feb Planning Board (PB ) Mar UNA Review Public Workshop PB UNA Apr Recommendation Water Survey PB UNA Public May Release Meeting Land Use Plane - PB UNA PB LF Review Public Workshop Recommendation , Jun with Design Std Town Board (TB) PB LF UNA Review Recommendati Jul on Water Survey TB UNA Adoption PB LF Public Aug Results meeting Draft Comprehensive Sept Plan Public Hearing , PB Conservation PB LF SEQR Zone (CZ) Review Recommendati Oct on Water Supply PB CZ TB LF Review Nov Recommendation Recommendations Town Board (TB) Dec Approval 09 TB Workshop PB CZ Public Initial Water Meeting Jan District layout TB LF Public Hearing Feb / SEQR PB RD Review TB Public PB CZ TB LF Zoning Meeting , needs , Recommendation Approval Mar impact, est. cost TB CZ Review PB RD Apr Recommendation Submit IUP Pre application , & May Pre Eng report PB RD Public Meeting TB CZ Public June Hearing , SEQR PB RD Recommendati July on Aug TB CZ Approval TB RD Review PB CD Rev Sept Oct IUP Pre Score TB RD P H , SEQR PB CD Rec Nov TB RD Zoning Appr Hardship Dec Application Regular Town Board Meeting 7 April 8 , 2008 Submission 10 Jan PB CD Public Mt Draft IMA, village , Town Ithaca, Feb Bolton Point Mar Apr KEY PB CD Rec. Hardship IUP - Intended Use Plan Conformation May letter TB CD Rat Complete, MAP , SEQR - State Environment Quality SEQR, Public Review Act Jun Hearing Public UNA - Unique Natural Area Jul Referendum Aug PB - Planning Board TB CD Public HI Sept TB - Town Board I-heart nq Submit DWSRF IMA - Inter-Municipal Agreement Application & Oct Support Doc. TB CD Zoning 4pv DWSRF - Drinking Water State Revolving Nov Fund Award WD - Water District Construction Dec Contracts Mr. Austic nay Mr. Ferrentino absent Ms . Tyler aye Mr. Ellis aye Ms . Marino aye Adopted. NEW BUSINESS POSSIBLE ADVISORY BOARDS (AGRICULTURE / WATER DISTRICT COMM.) Agriculture Advisory Board Mr. Austic feels that the Town having a Agriculture Advisory Board would be very helpful for the information they could bring forward . Mr. Austic will look further into the procedure to establish. Water Commission Previously discussed earlier in the meeting. OTHER Contract Updates with Bergman for Comprehensive Plan Mr. Austic received the packet from Ag & Markets and how it will affect the contract with Bergman. The Board felt that they need to talk with the Sue Poelvoorde and Bergman Assoc . about this addition to the contract. 2ND Town Board Meeting Ms . Thomas will not be available the 4th Thursday of April in the evening and the Board re-scheduled the 2"a Board meeting for April 24th, 2008 for 8 : 30 AM for this month only. The Board will review and discuss the resolution for the Planning Board that Mr. Kerness read into the record previously at the April 24th meeting . (The schedule for the Planning Regular Town Board Meeting 8 April 8 , 2008 Board and the Town Board are included in the schedule following the Water District #6 resolution.) PUBLIC COMMENTS Ms . Marino commented on the dates in the Water District #6 Resolution that was read into the record . The dates were miss read and the resolution will reflect the correct dates . ADJOURNMENT Hearing no further business Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Ms. Tyler for adjournment. Unanimously approved . Meeting adjourned at 9 : 35 PM. Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town, Clerk MLG : mlg