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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAug 8 2011 BOT minutes.pdfVillage of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 1 DRAFT MINUTES PRIOR TO BOARD APPROVAL Present: Mayor Supron, Trustees: Andolina, Crooker, Hamilton, Riesman, Szekely, Attorney Marcus, Police Chief Boyce, Superintendent Cross, Asst. Superintendent Frisbie, Clerk Mills Absent: Trustee Karns, Fire Superintendent Tamborelle, Treasurer Greenberg Mayor Supron called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM Public Hearing – Proposed Local Law “E” - Sewer Rents shifting from a unit basis to a water consumption basis effective June 1, 2012. VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS PROPOSED LOCAL LAW “E” OF THE YEAR 2011 A LOCAL LAW AMENDING ARTICLE XII, SEWER RENTS, OF THE VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS ARTICLES Be it enacted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cayuga Heights as follows: Section I. PURPOSE AND INTENT. The purpose of this local law is to amend Article XII, Sewer Rents, of the Village of Cayuga Heights (the “Village”) Articles and to set forth the terms and provisions for the collection of sewer rents for the purpose of producing revenue, such revenue to be used as hereinafter provided. The Village hereby finds and determines that the most equitable manner of collecting funds from the various properties within the Village served by its sewer system is to charged based upon the consumption of water on the premises connected to and served by the Village sewer system. The sewer system or the part or parts of the sewer system for which such rents shall be established and imposed are as follows: (a) The sewage treatment and disposal works with necessary appurtenances including pumping station, and the extension, enlargement, or replacement of or additions to such sewage treatment plant; and (b) The operation, maintenance, and repairs of the entire Village of Cayuga Heights sewer system, including the sewage treatment plant and the collection system. Section II. AUTHORITY. This Local Law is enacted pursuant to the grant of powers to local governments provided for in (i) Section 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law to adopt and amend local laws not inconsistent with the provisions of the New York State Constitution or not inconsistent with any general law relating to its property, affairs, government or other subjects provided for in said Section 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law, (ii) General Municipal Law Article 14-F, (iii) General Municipal Law Sections 451 and 452, and (iv) Village Law Article 14. Section III. AMENDMENT OF ARTICLE XII, SEWER RENTS. As of the effective date of this Local Law, Article XII of the Village’s Articles shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following language: SECTION 1. Establishment of Rents and Amounts Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 2 The Village hereby establishes and imposes sewer rents for the use of the sewer system or for any part or parts thereof and establishes and imposes a minimum sewer rent charge. The manner of collecting funds from various properties within the Village served by the sewer system is to be based upon the consumption of water, as measured by the Village or its agent by water meter or similar device, on the premises connected to and served by the Village’s sewer system. Pursuant to the aforementioned laws, the Village Board shall, from time to time, set by resolution such sewer rents and charges. Such resolutions shall be adopted after a public hearing upon five days’ public notice. SECTION 2. Minimum Charge There shall be a minimum base charge for regular quarterly bills in an amount equal to the sewer rents based upon 10,000 gallons of water consumption, regardless of actual usage. For the treatment of trucked or hauled waste, there shall also be imposed a minimum base charge equal to the sewer rents based upon 10,000 gallons of water consumption, regardless of the size of the deposit,. Any such treatment must be separately permitted by the Village Board and comply with all rules and regulations of the Village. SECTION 3. Cooperation by owner of real property The Village Engineer may require each owner and/or occupant of real property within the Village connected to the Village sewer facilities to furnish such information as may be necessary and reasonable in order to carry out the provisions of this Article. Any duly authorized officer, employee, contractor, or agent of the Village or other person duly authorized by the Village, including employees or other persons associated with the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission, shall be permitted to enter on any property at reasonable hours for the purpose of reading meters, inspecting, disconnecting, repairing or for any other purposes reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions or purposes of this Article. SECTION 4. Payment and collection; liens for unpaid sewer rents A. All rents and charges due hereunder shall be payable quarterly together with the billing for water service and shall be billed on the following dates each year: February 1st for billing period 10/16 – 1/15, May 1st for billing period 1/16 -4/15, August 1st for billing period 4/16 – 7/15 and November 1st for billing period 7/16 – 10/15. Sewer rents and charges shall be paid to the Village Clerk at the Village Offices at 836 Hanshaw Road, Ithaca, New York, except for such rents and charges which are due and payable to any other entity to whom billing authority for sewer rents has been given or delegated by the Village. B. The Village Clerk or other person authorized by the Village Board shall keep a record of all properties within the Village which are connected to the Village water system and the Village sewer system, and sewer bills shall be mailed to the owner or any other person to whom a water bill is addressed, billed, or mailed by the Village or other entity performing water billing services for the Village, and at the address appearing on said water bill. Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 3 If property is connected to the Village sewer system but not to the Village water system, unless the property owner has directed the Village in writing to use a different address, the sewer rent bill shall be sent to the address to which real estate tax bills for the property are sent. The failure of any owner or other user to receive a bill shall not excuse nonpayment thereof, nor shall it operate as a waiver of the penalty herein prescribed. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Article, all sewer rents, surcharges or other fees or charges relating to sewer service, shall be a charge against the owner of the premises connected to the Village sewer system, and such owner shall be liable for the payment of all such rents and charges, including penalties and interest. C. In the event any sewer rent is not paid within 30 days of the date of the bill, there shall be added a penalty of 10% for late payment. D. Sewer rents and any other charges payable hereunder shall constitute a lien on the real property served by the sewer system. The priority of such lien and the enforcement thereof shall be in accordance with Article 14-F of the General Municipal Law which presently provides that the lien shall be prior and superior to every other lien or claim except the lien of an existing tax, assessment or other lawful charge enforced by or for the state or a political subdivision or district thereof. E. The Village may bring an action a) as upon contract, for sewer rents, surcharges thereto, and all other charges incurred by the owner of property in connection with sewer service, which are in arrears, together with interest and penalties thereon, or b) to foreclose liens for such sewer rents and surcharges. Also, in the alternative, the Village Board may cause any unpaid sewer rents, surcharges, or other charges to be levied and collected in the same manner and in the same time as the Village tax in accordance with the provisions of Article 14-F (Subdivision 4 of § 452) of the General Municipal Law, or any amendment thereof. SECTION 5. Collection of other costs. Any costs and expenses or other charges other than those hereinbefore described, incurred by the Village because of any repair or other work to the sewer system or otherwise for which the owner of any property served by or connected to the sewer system is obligated under this Article or any other local law, ordinance, statute or provision of law, shall be collected in the manner provided for the collection of sewer rents in this Article, and shall be a lien upon the property and enforceable in accordance with the provisions of this Article, or any other applicable provision of law. SECTION 6. Correction of errors. V9 6.20.11 No speakers participated – Mayor Supron closed the floor for the Public Hearing at 7:08PM Mayor Supron read the Privilege of the Floor (PoF) guidelines Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 4 Mayor Supron opened the PoF at 7:10 PM M. Mindlin – Asked if there was an RFP for the building addition and it’s location for review. Where there other architects who submitted bids? And why wasn’t there a public hearing on the $100,000 to be used for the addition? S. Grubb – Does not agree with the revised Fence Ordinance changes and will also submit a document by e-mail (see item in appendix A) E. Mount – Agrees with S. Grubb’s views and also does not agree with the revised Fence Ordinance. People with small properties are still obligated to follow the set-back guidelines and get a variance. M. Tabacchi – supports both S. Grubb and E. Mount. She is concerned that the Board has not figured out a way to protect properties with the use of fencing. Also, spoke against killing the deer. A. Baker – spoke in opposition to the adopted deer management program; comments primarily personal attacks on Trustees. Trustee Hamilton stated such comments were not appropriate. Mayor Supron asked her to end her comments and she did. J. Cowen – asked for clarification on getting a permit for “any” fence and to discuss with B. Cross for compliance. There seems to be a lot of work to be incompliance the way the revised fencing ordinance guidelines indicate needing to be 18 inches from the longest branch from a particular plant. E. Root – asked if the Board has listened to the opinions of the public. Spoke against the Board’s plan of net and bolt. Mayor Supron closed PoF at 7:26PM Mayor Supron reminded the public that Privilege of the Floor is not a time for a discussion with the Board of Trustees during the Board meeting. However, office hours are available to the public wishing to have a discussion with the Mayor. Call the office to make an appointment. Attorney Marcus pointed out that many municipal boards do not have Privilege of the Floor. The Board’s response to many comments made tonight during PoF can be seen on the Village website as well in the DEIS, FEIS and the exhibits thereto. Approval of Minutes – July 18, 2011 Motion: Trustee Riesman Second: Trustee Hamilton Resolution #6935 to approve July 18th minutes as submitted. Discussion: none All approve – no nays; Trustee Szekely abstained - Motion carried Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 5 Report of Fire Superintendent Tamborelle – absent  Submitted report – no discussion Report of Asst. Superintendent DPW Frisbie –  Submitted report and opened up for questions – none  Update – Paving being done on Upland, West Upland and The Parkway  Paint sprayer is working well – with no overtime incurred  Bus shelter at Pleasant Grove is underway  Crosswalk at Kendal will begin in the next couple of weeks Report of the Mayor –  Proposed Local Law “E” Sewer Rents shifting from a unit basis to a water consumption basis effective June 1, 2012. Comments from Supt. Cross - The amendment to the local law would establish how the Village would bill Village residents for sewer through a revision from a unit charge applied to the Village tax bill to a separate consumption charge for sewer based on water usage. This will lead to the removal of the unit charge from the Tax Bill – technically it is not a tax but a usage charge. The current water bill will have two separate line items with two separate charges: one for water consumption and one for sewer charges. Then there is a contractual charge for usage with the “outside” sewer customers: the Town of Ithaca, Town of Lansing, Village of Lansing and Town of Dryden. The towns have a different billing cycle and need to plan ahead for their budgeting cycle. Motion: Trustee Szekely Second: Trustee Hamilton Resolution #6936 to approve proposed local law “E” Sewer Rents shifting from a unit basis to a water consumption basis effective June 1, 2012. Discussion: Attorney Marcus noted for the record that this is exempt from SEQR. All approve – no nays or abstained - Motion carried  Deer management update – Mayor Supron and Supt Cross are working with B. Blossey to identify sites within the Village and Cornell locations to use natural areas.  Draft of proposed local law “I” on fencing was provided to the Board and the public for discussion. The following comments are provided by Supt Cross: 1. regarding the definition of natural grade, I would like it to acknowledge that surface re-grading is not prohibited. Also, if an area of land is raised for some purpose such as a driveway, I think that we should not prohibit a fence along the top of embankment. I currently use a 3’ setback measurement. 2. regarding section III.D. there is a reference to section 5 above. I think that this is relative to the Zoning Section 5 Building Height. Should we be more specific? Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 6 3. should we still describe the type of materials required for an exclosure to qualify for no permit? 4. regarding section B about ZBA, it looks like it is suggesting that the applicant must “appeal” the code officer’s denial to seek a variance. I would prefer it suggest that the they can seek relief from the zoning restrictions by applying for a variance. A discussion continued addressing all the points from Supt Cross and various suggestions from the Trustees. Attorney Marcus will apply all the comments for change to the proposed local law “I” in the table and bring back for review by the Board of Trustees at the September meeting. The Mayor pointed out that comments from the Floor are not appreciated at the time the Trustees are in topic discussion and again indicated to make an appointment to discuss their comments at a later date. Report of Police Chief Boyce -  Submitted report  The Chief advised the Trustees that due to unforeseen medical issues with two of the full time officers, there would be a large amount of overtime next month as he will attempt to cover these shifts. Report of Superintendent Cross –  Submitted report  The Village of Cayuga Heights is required to submit an annual report to the DEC on the Stormwater Management program. A copy of the report may be found on the Village website and in the Village office.  Supt Cross provided more information regarding replacing the current radio system used by the DPW to the system currently used by the Village of Cayuga Heights Police and Fire departments. The current system is not renewable due to the County deleting the frequency currently being used. Tompkins County vendor pricing is $1500 for each radio: equipment and software. There would not be the need to invest in a radio for each truck as the handheld radios would follow the crew/team using the equipment. The purchase of only 6 radios will be monitored over a period of time to determine if there is a need for additional radios. Motion: Trustee Andolina Second: Trustee Szekely Resolution #6937 to authorize the purchase of six (6) radios and supporting accessories to be used by the DPW in place of the current radio system not to exceed $10,000. Discussion: It is assumed that Tompkins County will assume all licensing fees. The money will be funded from existing equipment accounts. All approve – no nays or abstains – Motion carried Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 7 Report of Clerk Mills –  Submitted report  The Board of Trustees authorized Clerk Mills to attend the NYCOM conference in September. Motion: Trustee Riesman Second: Trustee Andolina Resolution #6738 to authorize Clerk Mills to attend the NYCOM Fall Training School to be held at Saratoga Hilton September 19-22 at a cost not to exceed $950. Discussion: none All approve – no nays or abstains – Motion carried  A request was made by the Trustees to be notified when and who the new people are moving into the Village in order to greet and welcome them.  The Clerk reminded everyone of the “Block Party” on August 31st planned by the Chemung Canal Trust Company. Report of the Treasurer Greenberg – absent  Mayor Supron indicated Treasurer Greenberg was out of town and there needs to be a special meeting to approve this months abstract. The meeting will be scheduled for Tuesday, August 16th - 1PM at Marcham Hall. Trustee Privilege of the Floor – Trustee Hamilton formally welcomed Trustee Szekely back to her seat on the Board after recovering from a medical issue. It was noted that the September 12th regular Board of Trustee meeting will be held at the Village of Cayuga Heights Fire Department conference room. This will provide the opportunity for Chair Martin Harms, of the Planning Board Committee, to participate from Hawaii via Skype in the Planning Board’s presentation of the Comprehensive Plan. Motion: Trustee Andolina Second: Trustee Hamilton Resolution #6739 to move the location of the September 12th Board of Trustee regular meeting from Marcham Hall to the Village of Cayuga Heights Fire Department conference room, 196 Pleasant Grove Rd to begin at 7PM. Discussion: none All approve – no nays or abstains – Motion carried Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 8 Attorney Marcus asked the Board of Trustees to enter into a private attorney session to discuss pending litigation and contract negotiation. Motion: Trustee Andolina Second: Trustee Szekely Resolution #6740 enter into executive session at 9:23 PM to discuss pending litigation and pending contract negotiation. Discussion: none All approve – no nays or abstains – Motion carried Motion: Trustee Andolina Second: Trustee Szekely Resolution #6741 exit executive session at 9:50 PM Discussion: none All approve – no nays or abstains – Motion carried No actions taken in executive session Meeting adjourned at 9:50 PM Submitted by: Clerk Mills Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees August 8, 2011 Page 9