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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTownBoard_Minutes_20170320Danby Town Board
 Minutes of Regular Meeting
 March 20, 2017 Present: Councilpersons: Ric Dietrich (Supervisor), Rebecca Brenner, Leslie Connors, Jim Holahan, Jack Miller Others Present: Town Clerk Pamela Goddard Planner CJ Randall Public Pat Woodworth, Charles Tilton, Ted Crane, Katharine Hunter, Ronda Roaring, Alison Christie Regular Meeting Opened at 7:00pm Privilege of the Floor There were no comments in Privilege of the Floor. Danby Community Council Request Supervisor Dietrich reported on a recent meeting with members of the Danby Community Council regarding a proposal for a full-time Youth Program Manager to be shared with the Town of Newfield. A Memorandum of Understanding will need to be drafted for this collaboration. He gave his perspective to the Board with the understanding that DCC Chair Alison Christie would be making a more full report and request later in the meeting. Dietrich outlined general areas of discussion at that meeting, including goals and objectives for the program, populations being served, the hiring process, etc. The proposal is for a three year contract, with a new Youth Program Manger to start in the summer of 2017. Dietrich advised the Board that this will not result in any changes to the 2017 budget, as there should not be an increase in funds needed for this year. The position will, however, need to be considered in the Fall as a potential budget item for the 2018 municipal budget. Town Clerk’s Report Clerk Goddard reported a relatively quiet month in February. There were two Planning Fees, one building permit, and 32 dog licenses processed. $1,020 was distributed to the Town Supervisor and $36 to the NY animal population control program. Goddard answered a question from Holahan regarding what percentage of money collected for hunting/fishing licenses stays with the Town. Only a very small amount of revenue collected for DEC licenses remains in the Town. There was a brief discussion of fees and revenue through the Clerk’s office and whether it would be worthwhile to advertise that the Town receives some income from these sales. Clerk Goddard’s opinion was that the revenue was so small as to not be worth promoting the Town Office as a sales location. Correspondence TCCOG sent notice of a meeting, to be held on April 5th, 6pm in the County Legislature Chambers, to, “have an open-ended discussion about shared services possibilities that may be of interest to your municipality.” This effort is in response to NYS Tax Cap initiatives replayed to cost savings from inter- municipal shared services plans. Dietrich added some information about meetings Danby is having with the County regarding cost savings measures. There may be impacts to the Town Highway Department. The West Danby Water District has planned a Pork BBQ dinner and Water Information meeting to be held on April 22, starting at 5pm, in the West Danby Fire Station. Three speakers will address water science and related information: Hilary Lambert, Director of the Cayuga Lake Watershed organization, Steve Penningroth, Director of the Community Science Institute, and Todd Miller, retired from the USGS. They will be talking about the West Danby/Danby watershed, surface and ground waters, and the interrelationships of these aquifers. While this is aimed at Water District customers, it is open to all. Two letters were received from the NYS DoT regarding speed limits on Lieb Road and Gunderman Road. The NYS DoT has approved speed limits of 40mph on each. There is some need for clarity regarding the Gunderman Road speed limit on the County section between Comfort and Jersey Hill Roads. The NYS DoT letter implies that the State believes the speed limit is currently 40mph for the entire length of the road. The NYS DoT recommended further traffic calming measures.
 Town Board_Minutes_20170320 • Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Page ! of !1 3 Code/Planning Report CJ Randall made a report of activities as Planner. The Planning Board has acted on several development and subdivision requests. A modified site plan for the “Book Auction” building, creating offices and a small retail space, on Muzzy Road was approved. Randall made a short report of a Public Hearing on Blue Sky Autism Center proposal for Gunderman Road held at the last PB meeting. This project will be up for environmental review and further consideration. No action has been taken at this time. The April Planning Board meeting will take place April 27, rather than on the standard third Thursday, due to a lack of a quorum for April 20. The PB approved the “Phase Two” expansion plan for the Waldorf School on Nelson Road. Brown Road culvert/drainage Report Randall reported that the Town, with Highway Department input, has chosen TG Miller as the engineering firm for the Brown Road intervention feasibility study. Randall reported that TG Miller has been good about helping to steer the project. A study should be complete by sometime in May. The data from this study will go into an application for a followup grant to fund a water improvement project grant. Randall and the Highway Department will be meeting with NYS Fish and Wildlife to review other culvert restoration projects. They will be reviewing ways to help the migration of fish and wildlife while replacing old and failing culvert infrastructure. There are four priority culverts Michigan Hollow Road, Jersey Hill, Durfee Hill Road, and Deputron Hollow Road. Randall answered general questions about culvert conditions from members of the Board. South Hill Recreation Way Report CJ Randall gave an update on the steps of moving the South Hill Recreation Way forward. A MoU prepared by County Planning has been distributed electronically to the TB. It outlines the steps of the project/agreement. This MoU is to help the County move forward and is not binding for the Town of Danby. No action has been taken at this time. Randall will bring an action item to the TB in April. Randall presented a request from the Town of Caroline for a collaborative public information event, to take place on a Saturday in April. This will take place at a location in Caroline. This was still in the planning stages. Randall will attend this on behalf of the Town of Danby. Randall noted that comments, to date, from residents of the Town of Danby have been overwhelmingly positive (8-1 in favor) for this recreation trail. Solar Zoning Amendment Discussion, Set Public Hearing Randall presented information in tandem with distribution of a draft Solar Zoning Local Law, to be considered for adoption by the Town Board. This LL has been reviewed by the Town Attorney and Code Officer and includes edits from both of them. This LL is based on the NYS model as well as recently adopted Local Laws in the Towns of Ulysses, Ithaca, and Dryden. There was some Q&A between TB and the Planner. Supervisor Dietrich opened a discussion regarding the appropriate threshhold between smaller residential and larger commercial arrays. Dietrich put forth the view that several conditions of large solar arrays warrant in-depth review, including site view. These considerations need to be in keeping with the Town Comprehensive Plan. There was agreement from other members of the Board. The current draft LL will give the Planning Board extensive oversight of large solar site plan review. There was a discussion regarding at which size level an array would be considered small scale/residential use and large scale/commercial use. The current LL mandates that the power from small scale system be used “on site.” Brenner initiated a discussion regarding setting a Public Hearing for this LL. She expressed concern that this be on the public calendar so that residents can begin to review the proposed zoning amendment. There was discussion regarding the best ways and times to present public information. The Board discussed having a fact sheet and information session at the April 17 TB meeting. Suggestions were also made to have public information presented at the same meeting as the Hearing. There seemed to be consensus to have information presented at the start of the May 8 meeting, to allow time for publicity to reach residents through the Danby Area News and town web site. RESOLUTION NO. 35 OF 2017—SET PUBLIC HEARING - SOLAR ZONING LOCAL LAW Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby sets a Public Hearing regarding a Local Law related to the installation of Solar Installations, to be held at the Danby Town Hall on Monday May 8, 2017, to start at 8:00pm. Moved by Brenner, Second by Holahan. The motion passed.
 In Favor: Brenner, Connors, Holahan, Miller, Dietrich Miscellaneous Other Planning Matters Randall responded to a question about sign size. She stated that she would be happy to look into this question and respond to the resident. Randall reported that the CAC is beginning to work on the Natural Resources Inventory. This will be an important foundation for future review of updates to the Town of Danby Zoning Ordinance.
 Town Board_Minutes_20170320 • Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Page ! of !2 3 Community Council Report Community Council President Alison Christie shared informaiton about a proposal for a full time Youth Program Manager to be shared with the Town of Newfield. Under this proposal, the YPM would divide work hours, 80 percent serving primarily Danby youth and 20 percent primarily Newfield youth. She suggested that the projected additional cost to the Town of Danby, contingent on securing grant funding, would be minimal in 2017, $2,657 in 2018, and $3,816 in 2019. Supervisor Dietrich asked questions about the status of a Draft Memorandum of Understanding. He expressed his concern that nothing be in place until a proper MoU is drafted and agreed to. Christie responded that a MoU is being drafted with the assistance of Tompkins County Youth Services. Dietrich asked for a copy of this draft MoU to be delivered to him as soon as possible. There were questions from members of the Board regarding what additional services would be provided and where these services would be located. Christie replied that they are not planning anything radically different from what is currently taking place. She stated that the goal of this collaboration is to reduce staff turnover, to retain the momentum, and increase participation in Danby’s Youth programs. In particular, the Community Council hopes to increase participation in West Danby. This proposal will provide access and connection to Danby children who attend the Newfield School. There were questions about what timeline is being considered to have a Program Manager in place, and the timeline for a related grant schedule. Representatives from the DCC reported that the Town of Newfield would like to move forward with this and have someone in place by May or June in order to start programming over the summer. In this way, all would be in place for full programming to start in the Fall of 2017. It was acknowledged that this is a “soft goal.” Funding for this position is being sought through a grant to the Park Foundation. Dietrich asked that a copy of the grant be submitted to the Town Supervisor or Clerk. The Board asked representatives of the DCC, “what needs to happen next?” and what exactly the DCC is seeking at this time. Christie and other representatives of the DCC asked an indication of support of the general proposal and a resolution in endorsement of the Park Foundation grant application. Information needs to be gathered as to when a response to the grant should be expected. Dietrich stated that he would like to keep communication open regarding all possible options and alternatives for collaboration. He asserted that the participating parties should be very clear about their goals and outcomes. Dietrich repeated his concerns about an appropriate MoU related to this collaboration and expressed an interest in being part of the negotiation process for this MoU. This MoU should additionally be reviewed by the Town Attorney. RESOLUTION NO. 36 OF 2017—SUPPORT FOR GRANT PROPOSAL, SHARED YOUTH SERVICES Whereas, the Town of Danby is interested in promoting Youth Development in the Town of Danby; and Whereas, Danby is the only municipality in Tompkins County with a part time Youth Program Manager and Danby youth would be well served by having a Full Time Youth Program Manager; and Whereas, there are currently several underserved populations of children and families in the Town of Danby, particularly in the area of West Danby; and Whereas, many children residing in West Danby attend the Newfield School and the Newfield School has a strong relationship with the South Hill School in Ithaca which educates many additional Danby children; and Whereas, the Town of Newfield has expressed a strong interest in working with the Town of Danby and Danby Community Council to extend Youth Development services to children in both towns; therefore be it Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby expresses its support for a grant proposal to be written in order to secure funding for a Full Time Youth Program Manager to be shared 80% in Danby and 20% in Newfield, and Further Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby authorizes the Town Supervisor to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Danby, Town of Newfield, and Danby Community Council outlining the various goals, financial agreements, and program management understanding for a Full Time Youth Program Manager to be shared 80% in Danby and 20% in Newfield. Moved by Brenner, Second by Holahan. The motion passed.
 In Favor: Brenner, Connors, Holahan, Miller, Dietrich Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm. !!!!!!! ______________________________________ Pamela Goddard, Town Clerk Town Board_Minutes_20170320 • Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Page ! of !3 3