Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-07-23-WTB Town of Ulysses Working Town Board July 23 , 2013 Audio available at http ://www. ulysses .ny . us/council/tbmeetings/ Present : Supervisor Elizabeth Thomas ; Councilpersons Lucia Tyler, Nancy Zahler, David Kerness, and Kevin Romer; Environmental Planner Darby Kiley; Town Clerk; Marsha Georgia Others Present : Frank & Gail Flannery, Charles & Mary Tutton, Roxanna Johnston, Richard & Connie Evans, Warren Brown, Mike Kamarck, Don Hartill , K. Larry Avery, Anna & Heinz Riederer, Barbara Lewis, Carolyn McGory, Louise K. Terry, Philip & Elsie Colella, John Driscoll , Don Wilson, Ellen & Bob Klohmann, Betsy Fallon, Lawrence McCann, Cheryl Chalmers, Richard Krizek, Richard Kroboth, Doris Houghton, Susan Ettinger, Jack & Diane Fallenstein, Mario & Sarah Del Rosso, Hakan & Barrie Sokmensuer, Dale & Mike Strok, Mickey Tsapis, Jerry Rice, Linda Sugnet & H. Lambert-Cayuga Lake Watershed Network. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Ms . Tyler the following BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses amend the agenda: adding claims, moving "privilege of floor" up to be after presentations (limit to 10 minutes), update on Village waterline, executive session and update on grant for Cleaner Greener. Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Kerness moved seconded by Mr. Romer the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses table the minutes of the Regular Town Board meeting of July 9, 2013 and the Special Town Board meeting of July 11 , 2013 . Ms . Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted APPROVAL OF CLAIMS Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the previous examined vouchers #288 through 302 in the amount of $21 ,398 . 74 . Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Town Board Working Meeting 2 July 23 , 2013 Mr. Romer aye Adopted PRESENTATION ON HYDRILLA Ms . Roxanne Johnson, Watershed Coordinator, asked for the Board' s consideration for support for the outreach efforts for control of the aquatic weed, Hydrilla. Can be heard at : http ://www.ulysses .ny.us/council/tbmeetings/ It Tompkins County Cooperative Extension created a web site http : //www. StopHydrilla. org which is used not only locally but also regionally and nationally as Hydrilla is found in other places . Another important player is Cayuga Floating Classroom which does monitoring of the lake. Ms . Hilary Lambert who is the Executive Director for Cayuga Lake Watershed Network said that they started the Hydrilla Hunters http ://www. cayugalake . org/hydrilla-hunters .html approach last summer letting folks all around the lake know what Hydrilla looks like and what to do if they find it. Hydrilla is under control in Cayuga Inlet but if the weed took hold in any part of Cayuga Lake, the fast-growing weed would change the ecology of the lake and curtail water sporting activities . They have been working with the West shore Homeowners Association and others all around the lake teaching them how to identify Hydrilla and what to do if it is found. Ms . Lambert handed out a Hydrilla ID sheets . Ms. Johnson gave the Board an overview of the financial situation. They are applying for a grant for 2014 but have fallen short for 2013 with no State funding . The Board asked questions about the timeline and matching funds . PRIVILEGE OF FLOOR Gail Flannery Tonight, we are presenting you with signed Petitions requesting that the Town Board postpone the implementation of the proposed lakeshore zoning ordinance until such time as a detailed survey on the desirability and impact of such zoning proposal is submitted to all lakeshore property owners . The results of such survey should then be tabulated, published and provided to all lakeshore property owners . This Petition has been signed by the owners of a majority of the lakeshore properties affected by the zoning proposal . In actual number, 10 3 of the lakeshore properties are represented by this Petition. This Petition should be honored by the Town Board for the following reasons : 1 . The overwhelming response evidenced by this Petition demonstrates that the affected property owners believe that they have not been given the opportunity to provide their input to the Town Board on these zoning issues . 2 . While we appreciate that a lot of work has been done to date on this effort, it has not been fruitful . The resulting current draft of the zoning ordinance and the discussion to date at the Town Board level reflect the inherent problems created when citizens who are familiar with lakeshore living are not given the opportunity to voice the issues and concerns that particularly affect them . 3 . There has been a false reliance on prior surveys and information which were clearly not representative . For example, defects in surveys cited by the West Shore Homeowners Association have been previously noted in numerous communications in writing and at meetings of the Town Board. In addition, false claims of support for this zoning proposal have - been propagated. These claims are laid to waste by the broad support that this Petition has received by affected residents . 4 . These signed Petitions are clearly telling you what the lakeshore residents of the Town of Ulysses want done next. They are not saying that they don't want any zoning . But they are saying that they want a meaningful, accurate and objective survey done to determine the zoning issues important to lakeshore residents . Town Board Working Meeting 3 July 23 , 2013 It is our sincere hope and expectation that you, as our representatives on the Town Board, will honor this request and the stated desires of the majority . Thank you. Respectfully, ULYSSES LAKESHORE ASSOCIATION Doris Houghton Ms . Houghton feels that the Board does not have real direction because you haven' t done much of the research themselves and she does not know if the Ad Hoc Committee did it. You were going back and forth with the length of the water frontage for a lot you would allow to build on and you settled for 150 ' of lake frontage, 250 ' deep and 250 ' on the highway and it is a minimum of 1 acre . This measurement is not one acre it is more than one acre and that just goes to show that you just have not thought it through and you don ' t have somebody that is looking into these things . The Planning Board members did not figure this out; you need someone competent to rely on for the technical data because you are not getting it all by yourself Heinz Riederer I would like to bring a specific item to your attention : "Riparian Rights" Lines Offshore I understand the Board has since received a written commitment from a local surveyor to provide in-put to the decision making process of the Board. I urge the Board to follow-up and seek outside advice prior to making a decision on this matter. Donald Hartill, Mayor of the Village of Lansing and owner of 39 Maplewood Road Mr. Hartill said that he had reviewed the tax maps of the properties on the lakeshore of the Town of Ulysses and observed that less than 5 % of those properties would satisfy the proposed lot size and frontage in the new zoning ordinance . This a very serious problem and places special emphasis on how grandfathering of these existing properties is carried out in an expeditious and fair manner. If the intention is to convert these smaller lots into larger lots with the proposed zoning changes, this would be viewed by the courts as a taking . Mr. Hartill urged proceeding with a great deal of caution with the proposed zoning changes and they should take into account the existing conditions with respect to lot sizes and frontage . Ellen Klohmann, PhD asked what is the rational of this zoning change ; what is it that prompted it; what was it that driven it? Ms. Thomas. Ms . Thomas said right now we are drafting language on the non-conformance or grandfathering language to make sure that it is easily understandable . She suggests creating a cover sheet on the next draft to explain the rational . Carolyn McGory said she cannot understand, as a board, you people decided to do this and yet you do not know the rationale behind this . What ' s going on — it ' s laughable — she can ' t imagine and you are all over the place all the time with everything going on. There must be something some place where this started. Ms . Thomas closed the "privilege of the floor" . CAR SHARE PRESENTATION Ms . Jennifer Dodson representing Ithaca CarShare Organization www. carsharing . org which was contacted to see if placing a car or truck in Trumansburg would work for the Town of Ulysses to use and share with residents in the area. Ms . Dodson gave an overview of how CarShare works in general and how it could work for the Town of Ulysses . The charge would be $ 1500 a month; $ 700 for the time allotted to the Town ' s use and the other $ 800 would have to come from resident use . The Board will have to discuss this later. Town Board Working Meeting 4 July 23 , 2013 OLD BUSINESS A Brush With Kindness Ms . Thomas introduced and gave the reasoning why the Board needed to adopt this resolution. Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Ms . Zahler the following : AMENDED RESOLUTION OF THE ULYSSES TOWN BOARD APPROVING CONTRACT WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FOR NYS SMALL CITIES CDBG FUNDS WHEREAS , the Town of Ulysses, Tompkins County, New York, was awarded a New York State Small Cities Program Community Development Block grant in the amount of $400,000 in 2007 , as set forth in the Grant Agreement dated October 1 , 2007 ; and WHEREAS , the Town contracted with Better Housing for Tompkins County to provide moderate rehabilitation (repairs valued between $ 5 ,00 and $25 ,000) to the residences of qualified homeowners within the Town; and WHEREAS , homeowners who received assistance through this program entered into Diminishing Lien Agreements with the Town, which required repayment of a portion of the grant amount if the property were sold within five years from the date of said agreement; and WHEREAS , the sum of $ 13 ,076 was repaid to the Town by homeowners who sold their properties within the five year period; and WHEREAS , the funds need to be used for repair projects within the Town of Ulysses ; and 4 ` WHEREAS , the Town wishes to assist low- and moderate income homeowners in the Town of Ulysses with home repairs; and WHEREAS , Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties ("Habitat") has an established program known as "A Brush with Kindness" (ABWK) to assist homeowners with small repairs, and the Town Board has received and reviewed the documentation describing this program provided by Habitat; and WHEREAS , Habitat proposes to undertake the Town of Ulysses "A Brush With Kindness" Project; and WHEREAS , the Project meets the objectives and requirements of the New York State Small Cities CDBG funds ; and WHEREAS , Habitat has a demonstrated capacity to implement the Project; and WHEREAS , the Town adopted a resolution on March 12 , 2013 , approving the project, which limited the project area to the hamlet of Jacksonville, and the Town has since concluded that it is in the best interest of the residents of the Town to extend the project area to the entire Town of Ulysses ; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the $ 13 , 076 ofNYS Small Cities CDBG funds will be used for repairs to homes of low- and moderate income homeowners in the Town of Ulysses ; and be it further RESOLVED that the Town will entered into a Sub recipient Agreement with Habitat, whereby Habitat will use the abovementioned sum of $ 13 ,076 for the Town of Ulysses ABWK Project, .. .ate,. . .. Town Board Working Meeting 5 July 23 , 2013 on the terms set forth in such Agreement, which will be subject to review by the Attorney for the Town and the Town Supervisor prior to its execution. Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Ms. Thomas will sign the contract drafted by Ms . Geldenhuys . Mr. Kerness motioned to switch an item around that is on the agenda — place the resolution on the Cayuga Power Plant conversion before review of Lakeshore Zoning, seconded by Mr. Romer. Unanimously approved . Resolution Requesting the Cayuga Power Plant Convert To Renewable Energy Sources Ms . Tyler introduced and moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following resolution : RESOLUTION REGARDING PSC CASE NO . 12 -E-0577, SUPPORTING THE UP- GRADING TRANSMISSION LINES AND REJECTING THE CONVERSION AN ELECTRICTY GENERATING PLANT TO NATURAL GAS Whereas, on July 20, 2012 , Cayuga Operating Company, LLC, ("Cayuga") which operates the coal-fired electric power plant ("the plant") located on the east shore of Cayuga Lake in the Town of Lansing filed notice with the Public Service Commission ("the PSC") of its intent to stop operating its coal-fired electric plant no later than January 16, 2013 because it "could not be operated economically ; Whereas, on January 18 , 2013 , PSC directed Cayuga and NYSEG to compare the costs and benefits of two options : 1 ) repowering the plant at the existing site, or 2) investing in long term alternative transmission upgrades . Whereas, on February 19, 2013 , NYSEG responded to PSC that "no electric generation will be required at the Cayuga Generating Facility [the plant] to support the reliability needs of either NYSEG or National Grid . " [ 1 ] Instead NYSEG proposed two transmission upgrades which would address the electric supply reliability concerns raised by closing the plant . NYSEG further specified that these upgrades would be completed by mid-2017 . Whereas, in March 2013 , Cayuga submitted a "Repowering Proposal," listing four ways to repower and continue operation of the plant, each substituting natural gas for coal . Whereas, in May 2013 , NYSEG responded to the Cayuga proposal of March 2013 , recommending that the proposed transmission upgrades be implemented and that the plant not be converted to natural gas . (NYSEG ' s analysis concluded that the transmission line upgrades without repowering the plant was the least costly option. [2] Moreover, the upgrades to the transmission lines would be required in any case, thereby rendering the conversion proposals unnecessary . ) Whereas, each of Cayuga' s natural gas conversion proposals is more expensive than the transmission upgrades proposed by NYSEG and requires that the NYSEG upgrades be done as well ; Whereas, Cayuga' s natural gas conversion proposals rely on assumptions about revenue and market stability which the NYSEG analysis calls into question; [3 ] Whereas, there is a lack of transparency in the arguments offered for natural gas Town Board Working Meeting 6 July 23 , 2013 conversion proposals, much of the data having been removed from documents available to the public Whereas ithe plant has and will continue to create ecological and health hazards as long as it operates, regardless of which fossil fuel it uses, as it : produces fine particle air pollution, has frequently been in violation of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, allows seepage of pollutants from its coal ash dump into the local ground water; Whereas, Cayuga Lake is a major ecotourism asset to this region, and the location of the plant on the he shore of Cayuga Lake exacerbates its potential for harming this asset; Whereas there is no longer a technical need for a power plant to be located near such a precious resource as the lake, the cooling no longer needed in the NYSEG plan or the Cayuga plan. Whereas, NYSEG ratepayers, including many Ulysses residents, are currently paying NYSEG additional fees totaling $30 MILLION each year to a private, for-profit corporation to keep in operation an otherwise inefficient plant which provides electricity which NYSEG has indicated is not needed now or in the future ; Whereas, the conversion will require the building of a new 18 -mile natural gas pipeline through the Town of Dryden, with two major implications : * The cost, in the 100's of millions of dollars, will be paid by local residents who get their electricity from NYSEG. * the rights of way for the pipeline will be taken from individual landowners by eminent domain Whereas, The environmental damage of construction and operation, the air pollution from leaks in the pipeline, the noise and light pollution from pipeline stations, and the risks of an explosion all will be borne by residents living near the pipeline . Whereas, !NYSEG has found that pursuing any of Cayuga's natural gas conversion proposals ipresent additional reliability risks; Whereas, continuing to generate electricity with fossil fuels is not consistent with the New York State Energy Highway plan and the huge infrastructure required for the Cayuga proposal is a costly detour off of that highway. Whereas this matter which so vitally affects the health, safety, lands, finances, and quality of life of so many residents has not been well publicized and has only recently come to the notice of this Board and our constituents; Therefore, BE IT RESOLVED that such merits as might exist in the proposal to convert to natural gas are obscured by the lack of transparency and removal of the data on which they rely from publicly available documents ; RESOLVED that as of the PSC deadline, the Town of Ulysses recognizes the many concerns listed above, none of which appear yet to have been resolved; RESOLVED that, based on the information made public and available to the Town, the Town of Ulysses cannot support the proposal of the Cayuga Operating Company, LLC to convert its operation of this plant to natural gas ; and THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Town of Ulysses supports the proposal of NYSEG to upgrade the transmission lines which it has specified to the PSC, and FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town of Ulysses supports the PSC requiring NYSEG to implement a "demand-response" approach in combination with the described transmission upgrades to mitigate the transmission reliability issues raised in this Case : Town Board Working Meeting 7 July 23 , 2013 [ 1 ] They are : the rebuilding of an existing line between National Grid's Elbridge substation and NYSEG's State Street Substation and constructing a new two between the same two points—a distance of 14 . 5 miles . [2] NYSEG Repowering Analysis submission, p. 18 . [3 ] Id . RESOLVED the Town Clerk will send a copy of this resolution to Secretary of the NYS PSC Jeffrey Cohen; Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton; State Senator Thomas O ' Mara; Governor Andrew Cuomo ; Senator Charles Schumer; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; Tompkins County Legislator James Dennis ; and Tompkins County Legislative Chair, Martha Robertson Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Lakeshore Zoning Review The Board started the review where they left off at the last meeting on page 10 of the revised draft dated July 12 , 2013 discussing tree removal . The changes or corrections will be entered into an updated draft copy. NEW BUSINESS Uniform Notice of Claim Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Ms . Zahler the following : Approval to Certify the Secretary of State as a Receiver of Notice of Claims WHEREAS , New York State passed a new law effective June 2013 , entitled "Uniform Notice of Claim Act", which allows notice of claims to be served on the secretary of state instead of directly on the municipality at a fee of $250 ; and WHEREAS , a municipality must file a certificate designating the secretary of state as an agent who may be served with a notice of claim, and which includes to whom and to where the notice of claim is to be sent; and WHEREAS , failure to file the certificate causes a municipality to forfeit its right to receive a portion of the notice of claim filing fees ; Now, therefore, be it, RESOLVED, the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses hereby certifies the Secretary of State to receive notice of claims for the Town of Ulysses ; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State shall notify the Town Clerk of any notice of claim by sending notice to Town of Ulysses Town Clerk, 10 Elm Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886 . RESOLVED, that the Town of Ulysses Town Clerk send a certified copy of this resolution to the Secretary of State . Ms . Thomas aye Town Board Working Meeting 8 July 23 , 2013 Ms . Tyler aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Court Software Ms . Thomas had notified the Board of the request for funds to purchase a multi user license through Service Education Incorporated that the justices are purchasing. The purchase of a multi user license would allow the judges to access to the SEI program from their desk top computers and also would allow access in the court room, both at the bench and the laptop computer/court recorder utilized by the court clerk. The purchase of the multi user' s license would eliminate duplicate procedures and enhance the operation of the court. The cost of the multi user software upgrade is a onetime purchase fee of $ 1800 . 00 . Ms . Thomas said that it is not necessary for a resolution or different prices on the purchase . Village Waterline Ms . Thomas met with Village Major Petrovic about their proposed waterline from Taughannock Park. Ms . Thomas talked with him about the different options and they are leaning toward bringing the lineup Taughannock Park Road. Ms . Thomas talked to him about coming up Falls Road . Ms . Thomas explained more . Ms . Thomas said that if the Town wants to give input we need move fairly quickly since the project is progressing . Higher density housing is encouraged in the Ulysses zoning around the Village of Trumansburg and there is more potential housing if the line were to come up Falls Road. Ms . Zahler moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses supports the Falls Road route for Village of Trumansburg ' s second water source because it is consistent with the Town of Ulysses ' Comprehensive Plan, current Zoning, supports the Black Diamond Trail and has potential to serve more Town residents in the future provided there is no cost to the Town and no adverse environmental impact as shown in SEQR. Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Tyler abstained (because she thinks she is an interested party) Mr. Romer abstained (because the motion was unclear) Defeated Ms . Thomas clarified and reread the resolution and moved, Mr. Kerness seconded the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses supports the Falls Road route for running thejsecond source of water to the Village of Trumansburg because it is consistent with the Town of Ulysses ' Comprehensive Plan, current Zoning Law, supports the Black Diamond Trail and has potential to serve more Town residents in the future . This support assumes there are no cost to the Town and no adverse environmental impact as would be shown through SEQR. Town Board Working Meeting 9 July 23 , 2013 Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler abstained Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Cleaner Greener Grant Ms. Kiley explained that at the last TCCOG meeting there has been group of municipalities ; Dryden, Ithaca, Danby, Caroline, and Ulysses talking about a grant proposal for Cleaner Greener and the Town of Ithaca is looking to be the lead applicant for it but it would be useful for all of the municipalities to write a letter of support. Ms . Kiley said she could write the letter and the Board could authorize Ms . Thomas to sign it on behalf of the Town. The financial obligation at most would be $3700 shared between actual cash and in-kind services (budget 2014) . Not all details are worked out but the deadline is August 12th and the Board does not meet again until August 20th. They are looking at potential ordinances for uniform disclosure of energy use of properties at the point sale . Ms . Zahler said we could authorize Supervisor Thomas to sign a letter of support with the understanding that Ms . Kiley circulates information with further details of the proposed grant and if no problems, we would pursue . Ms . Kiley explained a little further and answered a few questions . Ms . Kiley will keep the Board posted to how it is moving along . 2"d Town Board Meeting Originally when the Regular Town Board meeting was re-scheduled to August 20th the Working Town Board meeting of August 27th was cancelled . Ms . Thomas feels that with the work before the Board, the meeting on the 27th should be back on . The Board agreed . The Clerk will un-post the meeting cancelled on the web page . Cayuga Lake Watershed Mr. Kerness moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : WHEREAS as the Cayuga Inlet has been infested by Hydrilla and WHEREAS Ulysses is a major land entity on Cayuga Lake and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses will contribute $2500 to the Outreach Group of the Hydrilla Task Force of the Cayuga Lake Watershed payable to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County. Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted EXECUTIVE SESSION BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses moves to go into executive session to discuss matters related to the appointment, promotion, demotion, discipline, or removal of particular personnel . Ms. Thomas aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Town Board Working Meeting ' 10 July 23 , 2013 Adopted The Board adjourned to executive session at 9 : 45p .m . The Board re-convened the meeting at 10 : 45 p . m. Ms . Zahler moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : Resolved to pay Deputy Clerk, Patty Halloran at a rate of $ 18 . 92 on an hourly basis with a normal] work week of 31 hours per week. Health insurance, dental and vision coverage will be paid as per a class B employee according to the Town of Ulysses Personnel Policy . Hours worked over 40/week will be paid overtime, however permission from the Town Clerk is required to work overtime . Compensatory time off is allowed according to the Personnel Policy. Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Mr. Kerness moved, seconded by Mr. Romer the following : WHEREAS seats for the Town Board, Town Supervisor, Town Highway Superintendent and Town Clerk are Up for election in Fall 2013 and WHEREAS the Town Board is responsible to set the salary for any potential incoming elected officials . THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the base salaries for the following positions are : Town Councilperson : $4 , 117 Town Supervisor: $ 15 ,608 Town Clerk $36,000 for 30 hrs . /week $48 ,000 for 40 hrs . /week Town Highway Superintendent $ 55 ,429 Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Zahler aye Mr. Kerness aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted Hearing no further business the meeting adjourned at 11PM. Respectfully submitted, Marsha L . Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk