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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-05-12 - TB TOWN OF ULYSSES REGULAR TOWN BOARD MAY 12, 2009 PRESENT : Supervisor Douglas Austic ; Council Rod Ferrentino, David Kerness, Elizabeth Thomas and Lucia Tyler; Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia; Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys . Others Present : Cheryl Thompson, Geoffrey Hart, Dog Control Officer Chris Austin, Christopher Thomas, Free Press Reported Jamie Saine, Chip Martin, and Grassroots Representative Chris Mann. APPROVAL OF MINUTES : RTB3/10, STB 3/26, PH 4/14, RTB 4/14, STB 4/23 & 4/30 Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the minutes of the Regular Torn Board meetings of March 10th and April 14th, 2009, The Special Town Board meetings of March 26th, April 23rd and April 30th, 2009 and a Public Hearing of April 14th , 2009 as modified . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye — abstained for the Special Board Meetings Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye — abstained for the STB on 4/23 /09 Adopted APPROVAL OF CLAIMS After the Boards examination of the previous distributed vouchers Mr. Kerness moved, seconded by Ms . Tyler the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve vouchers # 152 through # 186 in the amount of $ 34, 916 . 82 . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Tompkins County Representative Jim Dennis - absent Trumansburg Fire Department — no one in attendance from the Fire Department to give a report. Planning Board Report no one in attendance to give a report . Comprehensive Plan Committee Report — no one in attendance to give a report. OTHER Dog Control Officer Chris Austin distributed his report to the Town Board. Mr. Austin said that the dog that the Town got billed for by the SPCA for $ 300 was for a dog that was surrendered to the SPCA and he very much suspects that it was the owners own dog that he Regular Town Board Meeting 2 05/ 12/2009 had tried to give away through Craig ' s list and was unsuccessful. Mr. Austin asked if the Town received a DL18 signed by the SPCA for the dog they charged for. The Board discussed this about the SPCA charging $300 to the Town and decided to investigate into it further with Abigail Smith at the SPCA. Mr. Ferrentino moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses hold the payment of $300 to the SPCA until further investigation can be made for the charge of $ 300 . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye Adopted Mr. Austin said he would like to see the Town Board make a change in his contract that he can keep a dog for longer then the 6 hours stated. He would like to be able to keep for the five days and then if it is not picked up he could surrender it then to the SPCA. It takes him longer to find a dog ' s owner and if he picks up a dog on Friday night the SPCA does not open until Monday. He did pick up a dog last Friday night late and he allowed the owner to come and pick it up at 11 : 30 pm because she was upset not to have her dog home with her. Mr. Austin should have his new kennel inspected by NYS in a couple of days . The Board said that once his kennel is inspected the Board will re-look at his contract. Mr. Tyler asked what happened with the situation where the dog killed the neighbor' s chickens. Mr. Austin said that he got the call the night they were killed and when he showed up to inform the chicken owner of the process to get reimbursement the owner of the dog had already talked with him and will replace the chickens at his expense. Village Trustee Christopher Thomas reported that the Village received a draft engineering report for the water supply options for the Village ranging from ground well to a filtration system; the difference between one-half of a million dollars to two millions dollars . The Village has about $ 15000 set aside for a study and go over the options . Mr, Thomas said that right now, strictly in terms of mechanics the well is the best option for the easier and simplest system but everyone recognizes that it is foolish to put one well next to another in terms of groundwater pollution. PUBLIC PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR — no one choose to speak. TOWN REPORTS Highway Superintendent James Meeker — reported the following: • Cleaned up cemeteries • Cleaned up branches and trees down after a couple of windy days • Patched all roads • Cleaning snow plow and salt boxes out for summer • Mixed up stabilized gravel for shoulder work along blacktop edges • Cleaning ditches Mr. Meeker said that the building project is in the works, he has hired MAS Engineering Firm to get the plans drawn up . When the engineer came down to measure up the building area he noticed that the Cold Storage building roof is in need of repair and suggested that roof be replaced at the same time as the new building. II II 4 P,1 1 t • ,k S Regular Town Board Meeting 3 05/ 12/2009 The Board thought that Mr. Meeker could include this in the specks for the new building. Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun - absent - Mr. Coogan gave report and distributed written report to Town Board. Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia — reported that a total of $566 . 68 was collected in fees for April and $475 . 65 was turned over to the Supervisor with her monthly report. Ms . Georgia said that the Winter Festival Committee has met and that they are working on more activities for Saturday night at the Fairgrounds . The Committee tried to get a larger building to use and have additional lighting. The fire works have already been booked at the same price as last year. Funds for the fireworks came from Town Board line in the budget. Ms . Georgia said that the lease is ready to be renewed for the Pitney Bowes mailing system and the new lease is for less money. Board Members or Committees Ms . Thomas attended the Youth Commission meeting and they are moving ahead with the movie night in July. Ms. Thomas had suggested at the last Board meeting that the Town pay for one movie and she asked if the Board would like to do that. Funds will be taken from the youth budget which has a balance n a savings account of around $ 7000 . Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Austic the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses sponsor one movie for the July movie nights sponsored by the Ulysses Joint Youth Committee in the amount of $ 150. 00 Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye Adopted Ms. Thomas also reported that the Ulysses Youth Committee was commended by the County Legislature for outstanding community service. Ag Protection Committee Ms . Thomas mentioned that John Wertis has received notification from Pat Stevenson and Jim Brown that they would not be able to attend the meetings of the committee. It was suggested that the Board reduce the number of committee people. The Board felt that they could reduce the number on the committee in order to ensure the committee meets its quorum requirement but notify Ms . Stevenson and Mr. Brown that they are more than welcome to attend to give their input. Mr. Austic moved seconded by Ms . Tyler the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses reduce the Farmland Protection Committee by two members ; Ms . Pat Stevenson and Mr. Jim Brown. Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted Regular Town Board Meeting 4 05/ 12/2009 Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan said that he will be coming back to the Town Board and the Planning Board with the Corridor Study requesting a resolution of support. The Corridor study may also be requesting an overlay for the Comprehensive Plan. Supervisor Doug Austic asked if all Board members had received the operating statement. No questions were heard from the Board. Mr. Austic said that the auditors had spent a little over a week reviewing and will be back next week for a few more questions before they present a follow up report. TCCOG Report . Mr. Austic said that the last meeting he went to the group was asking the NYS Health Insurance Department that controls health insurance as to certain specifics as to amounts of reserves and who can start a consortium. The County thought this was all agreed upon when they went to the State before. NYS said that at this time they did not have time to meet with them but that they would be requiring a full application to be present before they will even look at the matter. Ms . Thomas said that there are two more informational meetings ; one tomorrow the 13th and the other one on May 19th. Ms . Thomas read TCCOG' s resolution into the record as follows : SUPPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT HEALTH BENEFITS CONSORTIUM FOR NEW YORK STATE SHARED MUNICIPAL SERVICES PROGRAM WHEREAS , The Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) is comprised of all the municipalities in Tompkins County, and WHEREAS , in 2007 , the County, on behalf of TCCOG, accepted an incentive grant award under the New York State Share Municipal Services Program, and WHEREAS , the grant's purpose is to assist the municipalities in Tompkins County to create a local municipal health care consortium, and WHEREAS , the Health Care Consortium will develop health benefits coverage for all participating municipalities with the intent to provide a net savings to the taxpayers of Tompkins County, and WHEREAS , TCCOG agrees that the agreement for creating the Greater Tompkins County Health Care Consortium are ready for municipalities to review, now therefore be it RESOLVED, That TCCOG endorses the planning for a health care consortium and encourages the signature of an inter-municipal agreement by-TCCOG members, and be it RESOLVED further, that TCCOG recommends that each municipal board review the Greater Tompkins County Health Care Consortium agreement and vote to join by July 1 , 2009 . The Board discussed this resolution and would like to see "vote to join by July 1s t, 2009°° removed. The Board would support the consortium and continue with the recommendation. Mr. Austic will take the suggestions back to TCCOG and get the latest version to give to the Board and our Attorney. The Board asks for the date of July 1St to be moved to August 1St. Ms . Tyler asked for the words "votes to join" be changed to "vote in support of the concept". Ms . Thomas asks that the Town provide Ms . Geldenhuys with the most recent copy of the plan. Mr. Austic will provide this to her and he will bring up the changes to TCCOG. OLD BUSINESS Regular Town Board Meeting 5 05/ 12/2009 Town Barn Project • Mr. Austic will set up a separate account for bills associated with this project. Mr. Meeker suggested setting up an account to pay for the engineer. Mr. Kerness moved, seconded by Mr. Austic the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses authorize an expenditure to MAS Engineering up to $ 13 , 500 for the Town Barn Project and expense it out of account DA building Capital Expense . Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted Water Survey Ms . Thomas talked to Sue Ritter and she said that the mapping is almost complete and the group is meeting on May 20th, 2009 to create the final report. The Board should have the information back by the next regular board meeting. Mr. Kerness would like to receive the report prior to the Board meeting at least 10 days . Ms. Thomas will forward the message on to Ms . Ritter. Mr. Austic mentioned that the meeting would have to be advertised. Other Gas Drilling Ms . Thomas said that she had a lot of information and would recommend doing this at the end of the meeting. Comprehensive Plan Review Mr. Kerness said that he understands that there is a meeting scheduled on Monday May 18th at 1 -3 pm with Andy Raus from Bergman. Mr. Kerness said that he would like to give Andy a set of questions in advance so he would come prepared to answer the questions . Ms. Thomas wants all the Board members to read through the Comprehensive Plan and individually create their own list of specific questions before the Board meets in order to preserve everyone ' s time . Mr. Austic has concerns over grandfathering properties . Mr. Austic said that this meeting is only at this time to discuss the contract because Bergman feels that the contract has been finished. There is a concern over how many copies Bergmann will provide. Mr. Coogan says Bergmann feels they have only two tasks to finish with the Town of Ulysses : 1 ) print final copies, 2) attend the public hearing but will not make any further changes to the document which is only available in pdf. Mr. Kerness requests we all be given a copy of the contract and suggests we all look at the contract before meeting with Andy. The Board felt that the meeting should be re-scheduled from May 18th when our Attorney can be there and also the Chair of the CPC, Sue Poelvoorde and members of the Board which means it will need to be advertised . Mr. Coogan will take the lead on organizing a meeting with the assistance from Ms . Georgia who will try to coordinate a date and time . Regular Town Board Meeting 05/ 12/2009 The Board discussed scheduling other meetings for review of the Comprehensive Plan. The Board scheduled two meetings — May 28th at 7PM and June 1St at 7PM. NEW BUSINESS Grassroots Mr. Austic asked Attorney Geldenhuys to explain what she had found out about the Grassroots process . Ms . Geldenhuys said that the last time the Board met they discussed a special permit process to be a possible solution. The Rural Residential District allows campgrounds, but only 2 cars per campsite (and not the parking Grassroots has for its event) . In order to address all the uses of the property for this event, the zoning needs to be changed and the best way to do that would be by a Development District or that the rural residential zoning could be changed to allow parking for special permitted events . Rural residential would take some months to change. Ms. Geldenhuys recommends that the Town Board approach the matter as follows : Issue a special permit for the campground for 2009 only, with permission for the parking for the 7 days of the festival only. Process the application from Grassroots as a Development District application. Refer to the Planning Board to consider in August 2009 . Grassroots will be required to provide any additional information needed for the application prior to the Planning Board meeting in August and pay applicable application fees. The Planning Board will review the application and forward it to the Town Board for consideration when it concludes its deliberations . The Town Board will take up the application in enough time to thoroughly study and review it and reach a conclusion well in advance of Grassroots 2010. I've reviewed the Zoning Ordinance and the provisions of Article XVII; Section 17 . 9 (Campground design standards) does not cover the issue, as already pointed out, because it limits parking to two vehicles at each campsite. Ms . Geldenhuys said that Ms . Thomas asked about a Local Law . The difficulty we're facing is that there is no authorization for a parking lot of this scope in the Rural Residential District, or, as Mr. Austic points out, anywhere in the Zoning Ordinance . A zoning change is not something that can be achieved quickly and has more involved procedures than passing a local law. I will keep looking into this . This approach will address the zoning issue once and for all and prevent the annual last- minute attempt to deal with the issue, when it is too late to either process an application for a PDD and all arrangements are already in place for the Festival . Ms . Geldenhuys will develop the language for the 2009 Special Permit. Contract for Web Site Design Ms . Thomas introduced the contract for Pushlar Consulting for the website design. The Board discussed the contract and made some modifications before authorizing Mr. Austic to sign. Town of Ulysses Website Design and Development Work Descriptions and Costs Pushlar Consulting 230 Main Street Regular Town Board Meeting 7 05/ 12/2009 Freeville, NY 13068 607-347-4577 The following work items are for designing and developing the new www.ulysses .ny.us website. This includes development of all pages and content, training, and taking the new website live. All changes and additions after going live will be billed at $70/hour. 1 . Set up Content Management System (CMS) Install browser-based editing tools on the website, to allow client to add, edit, and delete pages, modify and format text, upload images, PDF, and other documents. This system will use the website template (described below) to have a consistent look across all pages, so the client will only need to edit the "content area" of each individual page. This CMS allows for multiple users, consisting of an admin user who can manage sub-users . Cost : $280 2. Design and build website template. Build the " look and feel" of the website using graphic designs and a navigation sitemap . Upon approval, the graphic design will be converted to a page template that will be applied to all the pages in the website. a. Design a sample page based on specifications and/or materials provided. b . The design is reviewed by client, with notes on alterations . c . A final design is submitted for approval, and converted to an HTML template. d. Further alterations can be made after this point, billed at $70/hour. Cost: $490 3. CMS Training and Taking Website Live On site training and/or training over the phone on how to use the CMS tools . Cost: $140 TOTAL COST : $910 Optional Items 1 . Event Editor If the event list is small and not frequently updated, then the general page editor should be enough to manage the events . Otherwise, a structured event editor is recommended to manage the event list/calendar. Cost: $210 All changes and additions shall be approved by the Ulysses Town Board prior to starting additional work or initiating change orders . In any case the total expenditures for this contract shall not exceed $2000 including additions or changes . Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses authorize Supervisor Austic to sign the contract not to exceed $2000 for the design of the web site. Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted Ms . Thomas said that she has talked with the Youth Department and they have mentioned that they would like their own page and Ms . Thomas explained how they could do that. Regular Town Board Meeting 8 05/ 12/2009 Other departments can update their sections such as maybe Mr. Coogan can update the Building and Zoning section. The Board discussed the event page. Other Jacksonville Association Mr. Coogan said that the Jacksonville Association will be having an aggressive clean-up of the property. Mr. Meeker said that the Jacksonville Community Association asked if it would be possible to allow the Highway Department to haul a load of stone for there driveway. Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Ms. Thomas the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses authorize the Ulysses Highway Department to provide a load of stone for the Jacksonville Association. Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye Adopted PUBLIC COMMENTS ADDITIONAL ITEMS Garbage Truck Traffic Ms . Thomas said that she had received an email from someone in Geneva telling her that Ontario County just approved a 49% increase in the amount of garbage that they will accept at the landfill in Waterloo . So truck traffic will increase up to 49% . Mr. Austic asked if they were increasing the capacity of the landfill. Ms . Thomas said she only knows what the email said. Gas Drilling Ms. Thomas has been working with a small group with the Council of Governments on the gas drilling and trying to become aware of what the issues are. Ms. Thomas distributed the "Policy Recommendations and Regulatory Changes for Gas Drilling Legislation in New York", which is as follows : 1 . Give municipalities and impacted property owners prior notification by mail on issues including leasing activities, seismic testing , drilling activity, and expected truck traffic. 2 . License land agents and regulate leasing practices including a requirement that all "land men" must present a copy of the Attorney General's consumer advisory on gas and oil leasing in New York State to landowners . 3 . Increase timely educational forums for landowners co-sponsored by local governments , the Farm Bureau and appropriate state agencies to inform landowners about the best and most appropriate leasing practices . 4 . Require pre and post testing of all water sources, including aquifers , lakes , wells , and streams on or adjacent to a drilling site to ensure protection of those water sources and to ensure appropriate remediation by the gas industry especially in rural areas where water Regular Town Board Meeting 9 05/ 12/2009 resources are crucial and vulnerable to contamination . Remediation of these waters can be extremely costly if remediation is even possible . 5 . Tighten regulatory requirements for drilling water and waste liquid specifically a) onsite storage of drilling waste , particularly open ponds and storage within empty wells , b ) safety of waste transportation , c) the final destination of waste water, d ) disclosure of ingredients used in hydro fracturing of gas wells . 6 . Increase regulation and oversight of hydro fracturing liquids in light of the potential negative impact on groundwater and problems with disposal of drilling liquid . Protect groundwater to the highest degree from potential leaks of gas or hydro fracturing liquid . Carefully consider ramifications from disposing waste fluid in water treatment plants , ponds, or underground in unproductive wells . 7 . Reform well spacing and compulsory integration practices and fully disclose this information via the World Wide Web . Make status of projects available such that any landowner or municipal official can easily gather timely information . 8 . Investigate whether compulsory integration is an eminent domain practice . Ensure that all permitted wells meet the requisite 60 percent of acreage requirement of lands leased prior to compulsory integration . 9 . Use governmental oversight of fuel production measurement to ensure that landowners are receiving an accurate value of the gas produced from their wells . A municipal authority, either state or local , should perform or oversee this function . The cost of this additional oversight should lay with the gas companies . 10 . Require landowner permission prior to seismic testing on their land or adjacent municipal rights-of-way to protect fragile , older water wells vulnerable to collapse from seismic testing . Require permission from municipalities to perform seismic testing within rights-of-way. Data gathered this way is for proprietary purposes and commerce rather than transportation and is then be used to negotiate well leases with landowners who did not consent to the testing nor had no access to information gathered from use of these municipal roadways tests . 11 . Review and reform the current method of gas well production taxation used by the state . Make the process more transparent and timely. Base it on accurate and verified production and sales figures . Return taxes to local municipalities to mitigate negative impacts from gas production rather than using a state severance tax which transfers taxes to the state budget. 12 . Increase fees for gas drilling permits to fund the need for increased DEC staffing and oversight. 13 . Clearly define policies ensuring municipalities are protected or reimbursed for road impact repairs . Clarify road bonding requirements that compels the gas industry to comply with town requests prior to drilling . Explain how the fund established by the DEC to assist municipalities with road repairs can be accessed by municipalities . 14 . Determine how public safety will be ensured and who is responsible for oversight preferably through an independent entity rather than the gas industry. Completely outline procedures and protocols for both the public and private components governing the gas drilling industry to clarify communication and response methods to respond to spills , fires, and accidents during transport of hydro fracturing liquid , or other safety concerns . Coordinate safety oversight between the gas drilling industry, OSHA, DEC , DOT, Departments of Health , County Safety Coordinators , local fire protection officials , or others who might encounter safety problems as a result of use of land or roads throughout townships . 15 . Include towns as involved agencies to help assess critical natural , historic , or cultural features in areas that could be heavily impacted by proximal gas drilling operations . 16 . Consider environmental impacts of installing gas transportation pipelines throughout towns . Ms . Thomas asked the Board to read this over; that there may be questions . Ms . Thomas said that the Supervisor of the Town of Lebanon has received $ 16,000 additional revenue from gas drilling in that area but the Town has had to spend $320,000 to repair the damage to the roads . So the towns may receive revenues but then they see a lot of damage on their roads . For the hydro-fracturing drilling it requires millions of gallons of water that has to be trucked in and there is a lot of activity for months with high traffic of trucks, 24 hour Regular Town Board Meeting 10 05/ 12/2009 drilling, and lighting. A number of towns are saying to assess your roads . Ms . Thomas explained further some of the short falls that towns are finding out. Ms. Thomas said that there are a lot of issues that no one has the answers to and she is trying to make the Town of Ulysses aware. Ms . Thomas said that there are some sample road ordinances that she would like to make available to Mr. Meeker. There are some things to do to protect the wetlands and the steep slopes and have a little control . The Town does not even know what lands are leased to the gas companies . This is information that could be looked up but not easily. Mr. Meeker said that the Town could bond the roads and whatever the existing roads is would be on file and when the use is over the road would be put back to that condition. ADJOURNMENT Hearing no further business Mr. Ferrentino moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness to adjourn the meeting. Unanimiously approved and meeting adjourned at 9 : 50PM . Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG: mlg