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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg Mtg. Minutes 1/17/2000153 Minutes of the Regular Meeting January 17, 2000 Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees Present: Mayor Anderson; Trustees, Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt: Treasurer Silber; Attorney Tyler; Supt. of PW Cross; Police Chief Lansing; Fire Chief DiVenti; Clerk Kord. Others: Frank Collyer; Jean Reese, John Kiefer, Kathy Wolf, Andrea Dutcher, and John Gutenberger of Cornell Univ.; Jared Bisogni, and Bill Mackenzie, Ithaca High School students. Mayor Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM and opened the meeting to the Privilege of the Floor. John Kiefer of Cornell University asked to speak relative to the North Campus Residential Initiative. He had requested permission to subdivide a parcel of Cornell owned land located on Pleasant Grove Road for the purpose of moving the Cradit -Moore House to that location. At present the rear portion of the "mother parcel includes a lot under ground lease on which is situated the dwelling owned and occupied by Eric Patterson and T. Forbes. This parcel would be located between properties owned by John Homa and Robert Petrillose. He pointed out that the Cradit- Moore house would be donated to Historic Ithaca on a Cornell 99 -Year Ground Lease with funding provided for moving the house. Historic Ithaca will prepare the site, which includes adding approximately 6 feet of fill to the site, execute the relocation and perform maintenance on the house. They will then sell the house as a single - family residence subject to the 99 -year lease of the home lot from Cornell. The deed will have protective covenants to preserve both the inside and outside of the house. He noted that some tree trimming, as well as temporary overhead wire removal would be necessary at the time of the house relocation in May. He also pointed out that a couple of trees on the parcel will be cut down to accommodate the house, however the site plan includes plantings similar to those existing at the present location of the house. Zoning Officer Cross pointed out that there are nd zoning violations in the plan under the present zoning ordinance, if the two improved parcels were subdivided out by separate titles in the future, and that since Cornell will remain the owner of the land, no subdivision is necessary under Section 13. (More than One Building on a Lot) of the Village Zoning Ordinance. It was the consensus of the Board to allow Zoning Officer Cross to issue the permit. There is on file with the Village Clerk Cornell's 11/30/99 letter to the N.Y.S. Dormitory Authority ( DASNY) outlining conditions Cornell will satisfy in completing the project. DASNY is to provide financing with State Historic Preservation Office over sight (SHPO). Frank Collyer requested an update on the request for funding from Cornell University for a portion of the Firehouse Project. Mayor Anderson reported that a letter of request had been sent asking for a yearly contribution. Cornell responded asking for more information from the Village, specifically, properties covered by the Village Fire Department and the number of calls in the past 5 years. The information is being collected by Mayor Anderson and Fire Chief DiVenti and will be sent to Cornell shortly. 154 Village Engineer Cross and John Gutenberger of Cornell reported on a meeting held by the Ithaca- Tompkins County Transportation Council concerning the North Campus Entrance Committee. The committee has decided on a set of goals, which are on file at the Village Office, and asked that the Village of Cayuga Heights endorse those goals. There was a consensus of the Board to approve the goals and asked Mayor Anderson to write a letter to Fernando de Arag6n at ITCTC indicating support. There were no corrections to the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of December 20, 1999. Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Fleming, VOTED to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 20, 1999 as previously provided to the Trustees in photocopy form. Trustees Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt voted YES. ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Mayor Anderson reported on the following: Paul Curtis of the Deer Study has reported that the study began on 1115100 and that 5 trapping sites have been established and that apple pumice to attract the deer to those sites is being applied. Information brochures will be distributed to Cayuga Heights residents about the study and Mr. Curtis hopes to find more sites. - Intermunicipal projects: e * Bolton Point, the City of Ithaca, and Cornell are moving ahead in their discussions of a joint water system. The City is interested in phasing out their plant and Cornell would continue to use their own plant supplemented by Bolton Point. • Waste Water Treatment - there will be an intermunicipal meeting 1/18/00. • MPO - NESTS are studying the increased Public Transportation and will be reevaluating the current bus stops. • The Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization will hold a public meeting Wed. 1/18/00 at Boynton Middle School at 7 PM. • The Regional Planning Group will meet 1/24/00 at 9:30 AM at Village Hall. There have been meetings with the architect on the fire station renovation to discuss an improved roof structure and several internal changes. There has been a request submitted to .Cornell for an annual contribution (as referenced in the colloquy with Frank Collyer earlier in the evening - see above). Mayor Anderson has received two applications for the Firehouse Project Clerk -of -the- Works. - The annual meeting of the Tompkins County Public Officials will be held at the Lehigh Valley House 1/18/00. - There will be a training session for town, village, and fire district officials and staff held by the State Comptroller 2/17/00 at TC3 at 6:15 PM. - Electronic signatures are now legal for records. - WilIiamson Law Book representatives will be installing the new water billing software at Bolton Point in the near future and will then come to each municipality to install the system in their offices. `A 155 Police Chief Lansing presented his report, which is on file, and reported on the following: The new radar trailer has arrived and will be put into use soon. Officer Lanning will be attending the DARE program instructor training in Syracuse. The department had funding from the Stop DWI Office of Tompkins County for extra patrols during the New Year's weekend. Fire Chief DiVenti presented his report, which is on file, and reported on the following: The form of the monthly report has changed. The Board expressed its approval of the completeness of the new form. The firehouse plans are about complete and should be ready to go to bid in approximately 4 weeks. Ladder truck #231 is repaired and the bill was negotiated down somewhat because of the length to time for repair and the difference between the original estimate and the final bill. - The rescue vehicle was inspected on 12/28/99 and it meets all current requirements. - New ID's are being made for all rescue personnel. - There is a change to the Fire Advisory Board membership. Roy Knaur declined membership and Jeff Randel will be substituted. - 8 new sets of turnout gear are needed for the Fire Company. Resolution 5159 - Permission to purchase turnout gear. Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Meinhardt, VOTED to grant permission to Fire Chief DiVenti to purchase 8 sets of turnout gear priced at $850.00 each. Trustees Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt voted YES. Superintendent of Public Works Cross presented his report and reported on the following: The capacity for dumping yard waste, concrete/asphalt waste, and other highway construction debris is reaching its limit at the Village Barn facility. Supt. Cross is looking into the possibility of an off -site rural location for future dumping. Supt. Cross expressed the need to have Human Resources assistance to handle Workers Compensation Insurance and Retirement issues. There was a brief discussion of the current situation and Treasurer Silber will investigate possible solutions and personnel. A previous inquiry for a consultant for the Village was not fruitful. The Express Mart has contacted Zoning Officer Cross that they will be making a proposal for and addition and remodeling to the Mobil Station on Hanshaw Road. This site plan may require a zoning variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Attorney Tyler requested his report be deferred to Executive Session. Treasurer Silber presented his report, which is on file, and reported on the following: KI 156 Budget development letters for the 2000/2001 Budget have been sent out to department heads to be completed by 2/11/00. He is requesting a "Zero Growth" Budget. There are continuing problems with the MCS Spectrum software and Treas. Silber has sent a letter to MCS Spectrum requiring quick action in remedying the situation. There is a need to upgrade both the Treasurer's and Supt. of PW's computers. The Police Department and the Village Barn can use the old computers. Resolution 5160 - Approval to purchase two computers Motion by Trustee Fleming, seconded by Trustee Kira, VOTED to approve the purchase of two computer systems from the Computing Center, one for the Treasurer, and one for the Supt. of PW, at a total cost of $3,600.00. Trustees Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt voted YES. Treasurer Silber has been looking into alternative telephone companies in order to save on the costs of phone service. Police Chief DiVenti and Treasurer Silber attended the most recent Town of Ithaca Board Meeting in order to have a better understanding of the Town's fire contract with the City of Ithaca. The Abstract of Warrants was presented with two corrections: Add to the General Fund; Cornell Univ., A8020.41, Planning, Deer Study, $5,000. And remove from the Sewer Fund; True, Walsh & Miller, G8130.41, SP Cont. Exp., Attorney, $3,591.71. Motion by Trustee Dunning, seconded by Trustee Kira, VOTED to approve the Abstract of Warrants, as amended, in the following amounts: General Fund, $45,999.10; Sewer Fund, $41,929.43; Water Fund, $1,130.28; and Capital Fund, $485.00. Trustees Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt voted YES. Clerk Kord reported on the following: Carl King of 4 Highland Park Lane was charged for 2 units of Water and Sewer for his residence on his 1999 taxes. It was found that on 3/16/98 by Resolution #4900 the units were changed to one unit each. The Board approved a refund of $85.00. The clerk will confirm the correct billing will be assessed in the future. There have been two complaints about the traditional method of calculating Sewer Back - charges from the dates of application,'since properties frequently are not connected to the sewer for some time after the application is made. The Board declined to make a change in the policy since it is not always known when the properties are connected. Charges begin occurring once the sewer permit is issued. Resolution 5161- Enter Executive Session Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Fleming, 4 157 VOTED to enter Executive Session at 9:40 PM for a specific personnel issue of a specific individual and also for the purposes of consulting counsel. Trustees Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt voted YES. Motion by Trustee Fleming, seconded by Trustee Meinhardt, VOTED to move out of Executive Session at 10:40 PM. Trustees Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt voted YES. Motion by Trustee Dunning, seconded by Trustee Kira, VOTED to adjourn at 10:42 PM. Trustees Dunning, Fleming, Kira, Bisogni, Kusse, and Meinhardt voted YES. Elizabeth Kord Village Clerk 1 1