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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg Mtg. Minutes 10/15/2001Minutes of the Regular Meeting October 15, 2001 Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees Present: Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Kusse, Lynn, Collyer, Antil and Dunning, Supt. Cross, Treasurer Silber, Attorney Tyler Absent: Mayor Anderson, Police Chief Lansing, and Fire Chief Day Others: Dooley Kiefer, Josh Weismann, Dennis Miller, Steve Bradshaw, Tom Gold, Dick Rhodes, Marie King, Anita Watkins, John M. King. At 7:40 PM. Deputy Mayor Fleming, acting in Mayor Anderson's absence, commenced the Privilege of the Floor. Joan Jurkowich of the Tompkins County Dept. of Planning, and Fernando de Arag6n presented a slide presentation on the Vital Communities Initiative. A draft was distributed to the Board on a draft of the Development and Preservation Principles. Joan asked the Board to review the draft and submit any comments to the Dept. of Planning Department. Deputy Mayor Fleming thanked Joan and Fernando for their presentation. Steve Bradshaw then asked to speak on behalf of the residents of Sheldon Road regarding the Dept. of Public Works property. There have been ongoing discussions, both verbally and written, regarding concerns that the neighbors have with the D.P.W. facility. The two issues foremost on the residents' list are the noise early in the morning and the esthetic value of the area. Mr. Bradshaw stated that both issues have been addressed somewhat, but there was more to be done. The feeling of the neighbors is that the D.P.W. is very focused on the needs of the rest of the Village, but is not sensitive to the immediate neighbors and their needs, i.e. having the D.P.W. use mesh better with the neighboring homes. There was discussion regarding the "looks of the facility and the area." Tom Gold of Pleasant Grove Lane commented that the value of his property decreases in the wintertime when the leaves fall off the trees. The D.P.W. facility is visible and the view he has with the lack of upkeep has done harm to him in terms of real estate value. Dennis Miller of Lowell Place stated that the Village has to open the lines of communication when a decision is made regarding these areas. Dooley Kiefer spoke in Jeff Cox's absence. They walked the property and are concerned about the "slope on the east" of the D.P.W. facility. The slope is not a natural slope, and Dooley and Jeff feel that there should be plantings on the slope including trees to naturalize the area. The neighbors present felt that an ideal solution would be to have a representative of the area meet with the Public Works Committee on an ongoing basis to discuss improvements that need to be made in the area. Deputy Mayor Fleming indicated such periodic communication would be a positive step. Dooley also brought attention to the mold on the water tanks. She suggested that people from the E.M.C. (Environmental Management Council) could meet with Bolton Point to lend their expertise on how to fix the mold on the tanks. Supt. Cross commented that although lie was thankful to Dooley and Jeff for their observations on the D.P.W. property, that since the facility is now gated, he wanted to be sure that all residents visit the D.P.W. facility during regular hours (there had been a problem a couple of months back). ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** There were no corrections made to the Minutes of September 17, 2001. Deputy Mayor Fleming asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Motion by Trustee Lynn, Seconded by Trustee Collyer VOTED to approve the Minutes of the September 17, 2001 Board of Trustees Meeting. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** There was no report of the Mayor. Supt.Cross wanted to report to the Board that he had spoken to the Mayor before the meeting and the Mayor was feeling better and progressing well in his recovery. ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Police Chief Lansing was not present, however his report was on file. Attorney Tyler noted that at the last meeting Chief Lansing asked him to look into the possibility of enacting a Local Law for Lock Boxes in the Village. We need to hold a hearing before a law can be enacted. Motion by Trustee Antil, Seconded by Trustee Lynn VOTED to set a hearing for Monday, November 19 at 7:15 p.m. on the proposal of Local Law #2 for the placement of emergency access lock boxes at the dwellings of those residents of the village who desire to have that option available to emergency workers (fire and police). Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES Trustee Dunning asked about the flags that were missing from the light poles at the entrance to the Village. Clerk Manning reported that it was questionable whether the flags were stolen or had just blown away in the wind. 12 more flags have been ordered and will be hung on the light poles more securely and higher than the others were. Trustee Kusse asked if any kind of a policy is in place in the Village offices for the handling of mail due to the recent anthrax scare. Deputy Mayor Fleming asked Trustee Kusse to contact Chief Lansing and discuss the formation of a policy to deal with this issue. Fire Chief Day was not in attendance, however his report was on file. 1►Ii Josh Weissman was in attendance to speak in his role of Director of E.M.S. for the Fire Department. Josh stated that Chief Day has requested that Truck 202 be Advanced Life Support (A.L.S.) certified. In order to have this truck certified the Fire Dept. has to purchase a new defibrillator —a state of the art model —, which sells for $8063. The Dept. is approximately $3000 short of this price. A suggestion was made to take the money out of the Public Safety Reserve Fund. Motion by Trustee Dunning, Seconded by Trustee Collyer VOTED to pass Resolution 5233 allowing the use of the balance of the Reserve Fund towards the total price of $8063 to purchase a defibrillator for Truck 202. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES Trustee Kusse asked Josh how many bunkers were currently in the Fire Station. Josh said that we currently have 7 bunkers in residence, but that Bob Day was working to get the count up. Attorney Tyler distributed a copy of the Fire Station Use Policy. Upon much discussion, it was decided to defer passing this policy until the next meeting, so that the Trustees could consider it more at length. The liability insurance requirement was debated. Trustee Dunning stated that the Fire Station Open House was a great success. She complimented all involved, and the entire Board echoed her sentiments. Attorney Tyler asked the Board to consider the recommendation of the Fire Company to dedicate the new fire station to Mayor Anderson. Motion by Trustee Lynn, Seconded by Trustee Dunning, to Pass Resolution # 5234 To recommend that the New Fire Station be dedicated to Long Time Village Resident Ronald E. Anderson. WHEREAS Ronald E. Anderson has served selflessly as a volunteer with the Village of Cayuga Heights Fire Company #1 since 1960, and WHEREAS Ronald E. Anderson has served unstintingly the Village of Cayuga Heights as a Trustee from 1967 to 1987, Deputy Mayor from 1980 to 1988, and Mayor from 1988 to present, and In much deserved recognition of his long period of devoted service to the Fire Department and The Village of Cayuga Heights and its citizens, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the new fire station be dedicated in his honor. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Kusse, Lynn, Dunning, Collyer and Antil voted YES 3 Attorney Tyler commented that over the next few months, the Board should adopt and promulgate a policy for the hiring of minors for summer help. Attorney Tyler reported that the Federal Regulations for Employer drug and alcohol testing of employees were revised in the year 2000 and asked Brent if the consultant who prepared out policy in 1995 had advised us of these changes. Brent stated he believed the policy, which the county also has, was current but he would verify that and would report back to the Trustees or the attorney. **************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Treasurer Silber presented his report, which is on file. Motion by Trustee Lynn, Seconded by Trustee Kusse VOTED to approve Abstract of Vouchers as presented with the addition of Burgess Truck for $8000 to be paid next week. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES The Village is awaiting a response from the Town of Ithaca regarding the fire contract. Budget Transfers FY01 Year End are attached. Motion by Trustee Kusse, Seconded by Trustee Dunning VOTED to pass Resolution 5235 approving the Budget Transfers FY2001 (attached) and FY2002 below. FROM TO A01410.410 Clerk Contr. Exp. A01410.200 Clerk Capital Eqpt. $130 A01650.410 Telecom Contr. Exp. A01650.200 Telecom Eqpt. 620 A01680.200 Info Tech. Equipment A01680.410 Info Tech Contr Svc 120 A03120.410 Police Contr. Exp. A03120.440 Police Utilities 500 Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES The fire projects in progress from FY01 and the acquisition of a patrol car ordered in FY01 need to be reappropriated. Motion by Trustee Kusse, Seconded by Trustee Dunning VOTED to pass Resolution 5236 approving reappropriation of the fire projects in progress from FY01 and the acquisition of a patrol car ordered in FY01. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES **************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Supt. of PW Cross presented his report and informed the Board of the unexpected death of Mike Zona's son, Michael, in an automobile accident in Texas. The Board expressed their sympathy to Mike and his family. 1.1 There is a paving quality issue at the Fire Station. Christa Construction subcontracted the paving of the station to Mancini & Ferrara Paving, a local company, After final paving, the weather was extremely hot and dry. The paving began breaking up when heavy vehicles turned their wheels when maneuvering in or out of the station. Mancini claimed that after the winter weather, the paving will `cure "; however, Christa wanted Mancini to give the Village a personal warranty that the paving will hold up under all weather conditions, or tear up and repave the driveway. Attorney Tyler advised that the Village should hold Christa responsible. Christa has now agreed to allow the Village to withhold 2X the amount to redo the job till Spring of 2003. Attorney Tyler asked how this figure would be calculated and established. No specific figure was available at that time. Street System — The line striping company that was awarded the bid for Tompkins County is close to using up their supply of paint for the year and would be, therefore, be unable to stripe the Village streets as required before winter. Supt. Cross has called two other painting contractors to try to fit this job into their schedule. Supt. Cross will go with the first company that can get the work done the earliest. A motion was passed on August 27, 2001 to approve the cost of removing the brush pile at the D.P.W. Supt. Cross instructed Burgess Trucking to do the work as soon as possible. Supt. Cross requested that payment be made to Burgess Trucking upon completion of the hauling away of the brush, which should be in the next week. The Board approved that request. Burgess has proposed an alternative method for managing the size of the brush pile. They are willing to come to the DPW yard once a month to haul away the brush that may accumulate from the previous month. They realize that some months may require multiple trips, and other months may not require any service. . Therefore, they are proposing to provide this service for a fixed monthly fee of $650, which will equal $7800 per year. Supt. Cross is working out the details and will get back to the board for a formal resolution. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact the stone mason who agreed to do the repair work at Sunset Park, Supt. Cross has found another stone mason who is available to start working the third week of October. Steams and Wheeler have completed their technical assessment of the Village WWTP for review by the other ISC municipalities. The municipal engineers met to discuss the appropriate method to assess a value to the Village's WWTP. Since no one from the City was present, no conclusions were made. Subsequent meetings have been postponed until further consideration of the financial viability for the Town of Lansing can be discussed with the ISC. The other municipalities are aware that the Village is willing to sell its STP. Personnel Issues — The Village negotiating team has reached an agreement with the Teamster's who were negotiating on terms of the proposed D.P.W. department contract. The Village is waiting for draft documents from the Teamsters, which will need to be reviewed by counsel before being ratified by the entire Board of Trustees. The DPW employees will also need to vote to ratify the contract. - Mike Newhart has returned to work with a note from his doctor without any physical limitations. - Ed Quick is still out with a back injury. - A notice has been posted to all current employees for the position of Sr. MEO vacated by Tim Dupuy. Supt. Cross has received applications from 3 MEO's. Interviews will be scheduled for the third week in October. If none of the applicants meet the requirements, a public notice will be advertised. Regarding ZBA Actions, a variance request by T. McCarthy to construct a 32' high (as defined by zoning) house, which exceeds the allowable height of 25', was granted. A variance request by R. Baer to construct a garage within 1.5' of the front property line, which does not meet the 25' required front yard, has been postponed by Mr. Baer. Motion by Trustee Dunning, Seconded by Trustee Lynn VOTED to enter into executive session at 10:15 to discuss potential litigation of two matters. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES Motion by Trustee Dunning, Seconded by Trustee Lynn VOTED to move out of executive session at 10:22. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES Trustee Lynn reported to the Trustees on current proposed intermunicipal sewer district issues and the DPW salt storage building siting. Motion by Trustee Lynn, Seconded by Trustee Kusse VOTED to adjourn at 10:25 PM. Deputy Mayor Fleming, Trustees Collyer, Kusse, Lynn, Dunning and Antil voted YES Norma Manning Clerk 0