HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-11-RTB Town of Ulysses
Regular Town Board Meeting
February 11 , 2013
Audio available at www. ulysses . ny . us
Present : Supervisor Marino ; Councilpersons Elizabeth Thomas ; Lucia Tyler, Kevin Romer;
David Kerness ; Environmental Planner Darby Kiley; Town Clerk Marsha L . Georgia and
Attorney Geldenhuys .
Absent : Highway Superintendent James Meeker;
Others Present : Heinz and Anna Riederer and Diane Hillman
Supervisor Marino called the meeting to order at 7 : 00 p . m .
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Ms . Marino modified the agenda with the Board ' s approval .
APPROVAL OF CLAIMS
Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Romer the following :
BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the previous
examined voucher # 13 through 74 in the amount of $ 64, 119 . 15 .
Ms . Marino aye
Ms . Thomas aye
Ms . Tyler aye
Mr. Romer aye
Mr. Kerness aye
Adopted
BUDGET MODIFICATIONS YE 2012
Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Romer the following :
BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses make the following
year-end budget modifications for 2012 :
A Fund
A1220 . 12 Deputy Supervisor PS increase $ 101
A 1990 . 4 Contingency decrease 101
DB Fund
DB9060 Medical Insurance increase $262 . 97
DB5110 .4 Highway Maintenance CE decrease 262 . 97
Ms . Marino aye
Ms . Thomas aye
Ms . Tyler aye
Mr. Romer aye
Mr. Kerness aye
Adopted
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following :
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Regular Town Board Meeting 2
February 11 , 2013
BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the edited
minutes of the Regular Town Board meeting of January 8 , 2013 and the Organizational
Meeting of January 3 , 2013
Ms . Marino abstained
Ms . Thomas aye
Ms . Tyler aye
Mr. Romer aye
Mr. Kerness aye
Adopted
REPORTS OF :REPRESENTATIVES
Tompkins County Legislator Jim Dennis not in attendance .
Trumansburg Fire Department & EMS no one in attendance . Mr. Romer is in receipt of their
monthly report and will email it to the Town Board .
Trumansburg Village no one in attendance . Mr. Romer has reached out to the Village to send a
representative to our meetings .
Jacksonville Association President Diane Hillman expressed her concerns about the Town
working on zoning revisions concerning Jacksonville .
TOWN REPORTS
Environmental Planner/ Zoning Officer Darby Kiley reported :_(report can be heard in its
entirety on the Ulysses web site) .
Planning Board - Work on the Site Plan Review process for the Shur Save expansion;
approved a minor subdivision on the northeast corner of Swamp College and Halseyville
Roads ; started discussion on the work plan for 2013 .
Ad Hoc Zoning Committee - met on January 29th and the discussion focused on docks ;
Next meeting February 28th will include discussion on lot size and stream setbacks .
ITCTC - NYSDOT is accepting applications for transportation infrastructure projects
through the Strategic Transportation Enhancement Program ; NYSDOT is proposing a
reclassification of SR-79 and passed a resolution in recognition and appreciation of Sue
Poelvoorde ' s years of service and contributions to the ITCTC .
Hazard Mitigation Plan - January 23 , 2013 to discuss the action item prioritization. The
mitigation action items that are specific to Ulysses include : Reduce of escarpment erosion
along South Street Extension at Taughannock Creek, and how to coordinate any
necessary sandbagging along Maplewood Point or Willow Point Roads .
Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia reported that the total fees collected for January were
$ 1287 . 50 and $ 1 , 155 . 83 was turned over to the Supervisor along with her monthly report. Ms .
Georgia emailed a draft resolution for the Board to consider on property tax exemptions for
seniors and disabled property owners . Ms . Georgia met with Tompkins County Clerk ' s Office to
discuss joining in a shared grant process for records . She reported TC Health Care meeting was
cancelled for January and February.
Supervisor Marino distributed the monthly financial statements and gave the 2012 final year-
end operating statements to the Clerk to copy for the Board .
Other projects that have been previously discussed that are in the works are :
• Working with our Attorney and Habitat for Humanity to draft a contract where the Town
would partner with them in their Brush for Kindness pilot project for Jacksonville
Regular Town Board Meeting 3
February 11 , 2013
• The municipal coalition amicus brief expenses are all in and are closed out. The appeals
both from Middlefield and Dryden cases are to be heard in the Appellate Court on March
20th, 2013
• Work on a long range Capital Plan
• The resignation of Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde and with regret Ms . Marino
accepted that resignation :
Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following :
BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses extends their greatest
appreciation to Sue Poelvoorde for her many years of service to the Town as an elected
official, volunteer and staff person .
Ms . Marino aye
Ms . Thomas aye
Ms . Tyler aye
Mr. Romer aye
Mr. Kerness aye
Adopted
Deputy Supervisor Elizabeth Thomas reported : (report can be heard in its entirety on the
Ulysses web site) .
• Worked on : Personnel Policies ; Lakeshore and Conservation Zoning; Ag and Farmland
Protection; Solar Panels ; Website ; Assist to create agendas ; Prep to attend Association of
Towns ; Notify Ulysses Library of funding approved for 2013 ; Discuss options for golf
course ; General coordination of board members for items to read, meeting date changes, etc . ;
and prep, send out and print documents for TB meetings .
Attended : Youth Meeting-
• The school has agreed to donate 100 parking spots for a Youth Commission fundraiser
during the Grass Roots Festival . Proceeds will be shared with the PTA.
• The Ulysses Library is being heavily used by students . While very positive, the quantity
of students can stress their services (normally 20-30 kids daily but can be 40) . The library
formed a teen advisory group to create programming for teens; The library is
participating in the backpack program (food) – providing books (also providing books for
WIC and food pantry) ;
• Community center discussed again. Grant potential
Trumansburg Central School District Foundation – Tara Masters – Their goal is to enhance
education, pre-K to 12 ; Funding field trips ; Grants – twice/year – Ulysses Youth Commission
can apply for finding .
Village of Trumansburg "open house" attended - Many topics Ulysses and Trumansburg could
be working on together.
Drilling Information - Force majeure still being claimed by Chesapeake – landowners cannot
get out of leases ; New health study from PA – overlaying patients and physical addresses ;
Dryden, Caroline, Danby – SoIarize Tompkins – target 5x solar installations from 2012 level ;
Roads forums in Caroline (Jan 25 , Feb 21 , 3 /21 ) 7pm each at Caroline Town Hall ; Aquifer
protection – several towns ; More presentations? Bamberger/Oswald – study on animals in
proximity to drilling; Elected officials to protect NY – 602 members – all counties .
Association Of Towns - Worked on By-law problems of the Association of Towns
Town Board Members and Committees
Mr. Kerness and Mr. Romer also attended the Village Open House . Mr. Kerness said that topics
discussed were – chickens, golf course, sidewalks, coyotes, EMS , and water/sewer. Mr. Kerness
Regular Town Board Meeting 4
February 11 , 2013
said that the Village has had some positive drilling results for their second source of water; the
golf course discussion focused on possibly providing some financial support with possible tax
abatements and to encourage the golf course to put some kind of residential development with
tax abatements ; the sidewalk improvement was discussed in detail . Mr. Kerness felt that it was
an interesting way to get the community involved in making decisions . Mr. Romer agreed with
Mr. Kerness .
CLOSED SESSION
Ms. Marino moved, seconded by Mr. Romer the following :
BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of Town of Ulysses adjourn to a closed session
for discussion with their Attorney Marietta Geldenhuys .
Ms. Marino aye
Ms . Thomas aye
Ms . Tyler aye
Mr. Romer aye
Mr. Kerness aye
Adopted
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR no one wished to speak.
OLD BUSINESS
Water Standards — proposed new revision
The changes to the Water Standards were discussed at the January 22, 2013 meeting and more
information came forward from Michael Boggs . Some changes were made and the information
emailed to Mr. Austic and Mr. Boggs . The Board tabled this until the February 26 , 2013
meeting .
Personnel Policy
Ms . Thomas contacted Paychecks to discuss their proposal for updating the Ulysses Personnel
Policy and also contacted Public Sector HR Consultants . The Board discussed both the
proposals at length and the varying proposal rates . It was determined to table this discussion until
the March Town Board meeting .
Association of Towns Resolution
Thomas to be the Town' s delegate Board previously appointed Ms . Tho ate at the Annual g
Association of Towns Business Meeting . The Board reviewed the resolutions that will be
presented at the meeting . The Town Board moved that they authorize Ms . Thomas to vote using
her discretion on the proposed resolutions .
Organization Resolution #20 Proposed Amendment
Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Ms . Marino to amend the resolution as follows :
Resolution 2013-20 : BE IT RESOLVED all hourly employees shall turn in a Town of
Ulysses time card by the end of the last day of the pay period . Salaried employees shall report
time used for vacation, sick time, holiday or other time off on a Town of Ulysses time card to
maintain accurate records of benefit time used. No pay will be issued without a time card that has
been signed by the employee and employee ' s supervisor and submitted to the Bookkeeper. If the
employee is submitting electronically to the Bookkeeper, the Department Head / Employee
Supervisor must give electronic approval as part of the time card submission. Salaried and hourly
employees (non- elected) should use this time card to submit sick, vacation, holiday and personal
time off It is the responsibility of the employee' s supervisor to assure the time card is accurate .
Regular Town Board Meeting 5
February 11 , 2013
FURTHER RESOLVED that to maintain accountability of all employees who work for the town,
and to clarify supervisory roles, the following listing specifies employee supervisors. Each
employee supervisor is responsible for approving time cards (if required), vacation, personal, and
sick days used by each employee . Time off for each employee must be reported to Bookkeeper
who will maintain records .
Employee Supervisor
Employee
Deputy Supervisor Town Supervisor, Roxanne Marino
Town Board Administrative Assistant Town Supervisor Roxanne Marino,
Bookkeeper Town Supervisor Roxanne Marino,
Deputy Town Clerk Town Clerk Marsha Georgia,
Court Clerk Town Justices
Enforcement Officer Town Supervisor Roxanne Marino
Deputy Enforcement Officer Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun,
Zoning Officer/Planner Town Supervisor Roxanne Marino,
Planning and Zoning Clerk Zoning Officer/Planner Darby Kiley,
Deputy Highway Superintendent Highway Superintendent James Meeker
Highway Machine Equipment Highway Superintendent, James Meeker
Operators: Laborer
Water Distribution & Maintenance Town Supervisor Roxanne Marino
Operator
Water District Laborer Water Distribution and Maintenance
Operator Doug Austic
Ms . Marino aye
Ms . Thomas aye
Ms . Tyler aye
Mr. Romer aye
Mr. Kerness nay
Adopted
NEW BUSINESS
EMS Ambulance District
Ms . Marino presented the Plan, Report and Map for the proposed Town of Ulysses Ambulance
District as follows :
PLAN and REPORT
For the Town of Ulysses Ambulance District
Description of the proposed Ambulance District :
The territory of the proposed district consists of the entire Town of Ulysses outside the
boundaries of the Village of Trumansburg (map attached) .
Service to be provided :
Emergency medical service and ambulance service, for the purpose of providing pre-hospital
emergency medical treatment and transporting sick or injured persons founds within the
boundaries of the district to a hospital , clinic , sanatorium or other place for treatment of such
illness or injury, and thereby serving the emergency medical needs of those persons within the
Regular Town Board Meeting 6
February 11 , 2013
boundaries described herein. Services to be provided include Basic Life Support transport and
treatment and arranging for or providing Advanced Life Support Treatment, which comply with
the regulations of the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Emergency Medical
Services . These services will be provided by contract for the Ambulance District, without capital
expenditures by the Town.
Maximum Amount Proposed to be Expended :
For the first year of operation of the Ambulance District, the maximum cost to be expended is
estimated as follows :
A) Contract for service : $248 ,230 .
B) Tax rate for District Property Owners : $ 0 . 729 / $ 1 ,000 of Taxable Assessed Value
C) Estimated typical annual cost to a property owner in the District : $ 109 . 30
The maximum cost to benefitted properties in the Ambulance District is based on full funding of
the contract costs for emergency medical service from an ad valorem tax levied on property
owners within the District territory as described above . The method of calculation of the
proposed maximum amount to be expended in the first year of operation (2014) and the typical
annual cost to a property owner is given in Appendix 1 .
The current (2013 ) tax rate for property owners in the Town of Ulysses (outside the Village) for
EMS service (based on the contract with the current service provider) is $ 0 . 669/$ 1 ,000 of taxable
assessed value .
Conclusions
Billing for service may be implemented at some time after initial establishment of the district,
upon adoption of a resolution by the Town Board pursuant to Town Law § 198 ( 10-f) (b), fixing a
schedule of fees or charges to be paid by persons using the emergency medical and ambulance
services , providing for the collection of such fees and charges, or formulating rules and
regulations for the collection thereof by third parties furnishing the service under contract.
Revenues collected from billing for service in future years would result in a lower tax levy for
district residents and as such lower the maximum cost for the District below that estimated for
the initial year of operation . An estimate of the amount the District cost could be lowered in
future years by implementing billing for service as supplemental revenue to the ad valorem tax is
given in Appendix 2 . Savings may in part be offset by increases in the fee for the services
pursuant to the contract with the service provider.
Appendix 1
Explanation of Maximum Cost Estimate Calculations
A) EMS contract costs for proposed district, estimated using past costs for service with the Village
of Trumansburg EMS Department
the first year of operation of the (proposed) District 2014
The maximum cost of a contract forte st ea ) ( )
Y p (p P
was estimated using the last 3 years of EMS budget information received from the current
service provider to the Town of Ulysses (Village of Trumansburg), as shown in the table below.
This information is used to estimate the cost of a future contract for the service with the current
or a different service provider.
The cost of a contract for EMS for FY 2014 is estimated using information from the current
provider and the following assumptions : increase the average cost to Ulysses for EMS cost for
2013 over the past 3 years ($231 ,623) by 7 .2%, and assume no change in total Taxable Assessed
Value for the territory of the proposed Ulysses ambulance district.
sr 4[l 7t\
4q
Regular Town Board Meeting 7
February 11 , 2013
( prey 3 years )
Budget
..___ 9 service
YEAR Total EMS Budget Ulysses % Ulysses cost
2010 $475 , 829 49 . 1
$ 233 , 632
2011
$ 520 , 870 45 . 8 $ 238 , 611
2012 _._ .
$ 535 , 632 43 . 5 $ 232 ,. 786
2013
...._.. .. .._.
.. . .... __ . $ 573 , 002 39 $ 223 , 471
change 37 , 370
2012 to 2013 7 . 17 %
The service percentage for a given year is based on a running average of the number calls in the
Town of Ulysses outside the Village (the territory of the proposed Ulysses ambulance district
and a portion of the territory of current Towns of Ulysses, Hector and Covert Fire Protection
District) for the previous 3 years divided by the total number of EMS calls in the Village of
Trumansburg EMS contract area (Village of Trumansburg and the Towns of Ulysses , Hector and
Covert Fire Protection District, which includes the entire Town of Ulysses outside the Village
and portions of the Towns of Hector and Covert). The maximum cost estimate given here
assumes no change in the Ulysses service percentage of EMS calls from the average of 2011
through 2013 , even though this number has decreased over the past 3 years .
B) Tax Rate for Ambulance District Property Owners
The tax rate is calculated by dividing the estimate for the maximum contract cost for the initial
year of operation by the most recent total taxable assessed value for the property in the Ulysses
Ambulance District territory as described above ($ 340 , 741 , 106) . This information was obtained
from Tompkins County Assessment, for use in the 2013 FY town budget.
The graph below shows the total taxable assessed values for the Ambulance District territory
("Town outside Village, Fire Protection District") from 2002 through 2011 .
Total Taxable Assessed Value
400,000,000
,. pillage ofTruniansbtirg
350,000,000 . i . ... .
I --e-Town Outside Village Fire
300,000,000 _...__ District
orr
250, 000,000 _ .. _ .. ,
}
slope TOV = 3. 3X Village
200,000,000 .A. . . ;.
150,000,000
100,000,000 _._...
50,000,000
{ f
t
. . ,... ,. ..,.... .., r.
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
C) Estimated typical annual cost to a property owner in the (proposed) District
This is calculated by multiplying the Tax Rate for District Property Owners (B) by the typical
value of a benefited property in the Ambulance District territory . Town Law § 209-a defines
"typical property" as "a benefited property having an assessed value that approximates the
assessed value of the mode of the benefited properties situated in the district . . . that would be
required to finance the cost. " The mode, or most frequently occurring assessed value in the
proposed Ambulance District in the latest completed final assessment roll (2011 ), as obtained
from Tompkins County Department of Assessment, is $ 150, 000 .
1
Regular Town Board Meeting 8
February 11 , 2013
Appendix 2
Projection of the amount the (proposed) Ambulance District Maximum Cost to be
expended could be lowered in future years if Billing for Service was implemented
Notes:
Ambulance District tax rate is per $ 1 , 000 of Taxable Assessed Value of property
Total Taxable Assessed Value of Ambulance District used is from the latest final assessment role
(2011 ; see Appendix 1 )
50% of total EMS budget costs recovered from insurance billing are considered a best-case
scenario
Projected savings may be offset by future increases in the contract cost.
Estimated EMS Portion of EMS cost estimated ' Am" .
AmbulIanance District
Contract Cost from billing revenue ' billing revenue tax rate
239 , 374 0 % 0 0 . 713
25 % 59 , 843 0 . 535
30 % 71 , 812 0 . 499
40 % 95 , 750 0 . 428
50 % 119 , 687 0 . 356
Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Ms . Tyler the following :
ORDER FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON ESTABLISHMENT OF AMBULANCE
DISTRICT IN THE TOWN OF ULYSSES
WHEREAS , the Town Board prepared a Map, Plan and Report for a proposed ambulance
district in the town; and
WHEREAS , the Map, Plan and Report was filed in the office of the Town Clerk; and
WHEREAS , the boundaries of the proposed district are as follows : The entire Town of
Ulysses outside the boundaries of the Village of Trumansburg ; and
WHEREAS , the service to be provided is emergency medical and ambulance service ; and
WHEREAS , the maximum amount proposed to be expended for the first year of
operation of the ambulance district for a contract for service is $248 ,230 ; and
WHEREAS , a map, plan and report describing such proposed district and service is on
file in the office of the Town Clerk for public inspection; it is
ORDERED that the Town Board shall meet at the Town Hall, 10 Elm Street,
Trumansburg, New York, on the 26th day of February, 2013 , at 6 : 30 p .m . , for the purpose
of conducting a public hearing on the proposal to establish said ambulance district for the
services specified above, at which time and place all persons interested in the subject
thereof may be heard concerning the same; and it is further
ORDERED that the Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to publish a copy of
this order in the Ithaca Journal , the official Town newspaper and post of copy of the same
on the signboard of the Town, in the time and manner required by law.
Ms . Marino aye
Ms . Thomas aye
Ms . Tyler aye
Mr. Romer aye
Mr. Kerness nay
Adopted
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Regular Town Board Meeting 9
February 11 , 2013
Adjournment
Hearing no further business, Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas to adjourn the
meeting. Unanimously approved and meeting adjourned at 10 : 10 p .m .
Respectfully submitted,
Marsha L . Georgia
Ulysses Town Clerk