HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-05-24-STB Town of Ulysses
Special Town Board Meeting
May 24, 2011
Present : Supervisor Roxanne Marino ; Councilpersons Liz Thomas, Lucia Tyler, and David
Kerness; Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde ; Town Clerk Marsha Georgia.
Others Present : John Wertis and Bill Chaisson, Free Press Reporter.
Supervisor Marino called the meeting to order at 6 : 30 p .m.
Update of Meeting on May 20th, 2011
Ms. Marino gave an update on the meeting of May 20th , 2011 at the Fire Hall hosted by
Concerned Citizens of Ulysses , Ulysses Gas Drilling Advisory Board and Back to Democracy.
Ms . Marino and Ms . Thomas presented the "Update to Citizens of Ulysses" on the status and
progress with the proposed zoning law amendment addressing gas drilling.
Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan
Ms. Marino said that there was a meeting this morning with Monika Roth and John Wertis to
finish working through some questions on the draft Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan.
Ms . Marino gave an overview of that meeting. It is hopeful that the draft plan can be presented
to the Town Board sometime in June. The draft plan will have to go to the Tompkins County
Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board before going to a public hearing.
Summer Schedules
Ms . Marino urged the Board to get their summer schedules to Ms . Thomas so that she can put
together a calendar when board members are available over the summer months .
Upcoming Meetings
June 8th, 2011 at 7 : 00 p .m . — Town Board/Planning Board meeting, this includes some training
for the Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals .
June 14th, 2011 at 7 : 00 p .m . — Regular Town Board meeting
Two presentations are proposed for the Regular Board meeting - a presentation on Aflac
Insurance and a presentation on illicit discharge law from the Tompkins County Soil and Water
Conservation District
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Special Town Board Mtg. 2
May 24, 2011
Formatted: Height: 14"
staff. It was decided that the Aflac presentation should be done at a different time to allow all
the interested employees to attend during the work day.
EMS
Ms. Marino reviewed the correspondence that has gone on between the Village and the Town.
There seems to be a failure in communication and there are still some unanswered questions that
the Town needs before moving forward. Ms. Marino and Ms. Thomas will try to find a way to
communicate. Ms. Marino will request a meeting with the Village to try to get answers to the
remaining questions.
Once the Town has all the information, the Town would like to hold a public informational
meeting to let the taxpayers know the details of the billing plan.
Protocols for Calling Meetings PB/ZB
The Board discussed a previous meeting that was called by a member of the Planning Board.
There is a section of Town Law that addresses this . Ms. Geldenhuys has been asked to look into
this. As part of the training on June 8th, 2011 this will be addressed.
Environmental Planner Interview
Ms. Thomas suggested drafting up one set of questions that they will work from to interview
candidates. Mr. Kerness, Ms. Marino, Ms. Thomas, and Mr. Rachun volunteered to be the core
group interviewing candidates. The ads have been placed in the papers and the job description in
on the County' s and Town' s Web site.
Thoughts to Save Time at Regular Board Meetings
Ms. Thomas suggested that if the minutes were approved at the Special Town Board meetings it
would save some time at the Regular Board meetings. She also suggested that all Board
members provide a summary of their reports.
Ms. Tyler thought that the Committee working on the Personnel Policy may have a proposal
ready for health insurance coverage by the June 14th, 2011 Regular Meeting.
Ms. Tyler said that Mary Bouchard is getting information on purchasing a boilerplate Personnel
Policy manual from a Human Resource company that would include all current topics that need
to be covered in a personnel policy.
Meetings in June
June 8, 2011 Planning Summit
June 14, 2011 Regular Town Board Meeting ,
June 15 , 2011 Looking Down From Above — Mapping Potential Drilling Activity in
Tompkins County Presentation at the Franziska Racker Center, Wilkins .
Road
June 28, 2011 Second Town Board Meeting
The Board discussed dropping the third Board meeting.
Ms. Marino said she wanted to raise, but not necessarily advocating, the idea and asked the
Board to think about hiring a professional to put all the zoning changes together into one big
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Special Town Board Mtg. 3
May 24, 2011
Meetings in June
June 8 , 2011 Planning Summit
June 14, 2011 Regular Town Board Meeting
June 15 , 2011 Looking Down From Above — Mapping Potential Drilling Activity in
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Tompkins County Presentation at the Franziska Racker Center, Wilkins
Road
June 28 , 2011 Second Town Board Meeting
The Board discussed dropping the third Board meeting .
Ms. Marino said she wanted to raise, but not necessarily advocating, the idea and asked the
Board to think about hiring a professional to put all the zoning changes together into one big
change; the High Impact Industrial and Office and Technology, the Conservation Zone and the
Lakeshore Zoning. If they were all put together it would be one public hearing etc . She noted
that in discussion with Alex Rachun, he feels that a new person would be much more
comfortable learning the zoning if the changes were made and a new zoning map was in place.
Hearing no further business, Mr. Kerness moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas to adjourn the
meeting. Unanimously approved ; meeting adjourned at 8 : 30 pm .
Respectfully submitted,
Marsha L. Georgia
Ulysses Town Clerk
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