HomeMy WebLinkAboutTownBoard_Minutes_20190211Danby Town Board
Minutes of Regular Meeting
February 11, 2019, 7pm
Present:
Councilpersons: Leslie Connors, Ric Dietrich (Supervisor), Jim Holahan, Matt Ulinski
Not Present:
Councilperson: Jack Miller
Others Present:
Town Clerk Pamela Goddard
Bookkeeper Laura Shawley
Legislator Dan Klein
Public Ted Crane, Ronda Roaring, Bruce Richards, Susan Franklin, Pat Woodworth,
Katharine Hunter.
Meeting Opened at 7:03pm
Legislator’s Report
Dan Klein made a brief report, updating the status of grant funded project to address flood mitigation
and stream bed restoration Station Road. It is anticipated that this will be complete by the Fall of 2019.
Klein reported that there was a 6.4 percent increase in sales tax revenue during 2018, compared to the
amount collected in 2017. Bookkeeper Shawley clarified that none of this revenue comes directly to the
Town. A portion of this helps offset property taxes, lowering the amount levied from residents.
Privilege of the Floor
Ronda Roaring asked for clarification on two items; that the Joint Scoping meeting is to be held at
6pm on Thursday February 21, to be followed at 7pm by the regular Planning Board meeting. This was
confirmed. Roaring asked whether additional bids were going to be sought for the energy audit, in
addition to the Taitem proposal discussed at the previous meeting. This was confirmed and discussed later
in the meeting.
Ted Crane spoke regarding the draft Code of Ethics. He noted that this it is not significantly different
from the template provided by the NYS Comptroller’s office. He questioned the amount of time,
including attorney time, spent on creating this draft. He again encouraged the Board to include language
from the Fire Department’s Code of Ethics regarding perception of conflicts of interest.
Crane further expressed concern regarding the presentation of a Taitem Engineering proposal during
the previous meeting. He expressed surprise that no member of the board, at the time said, “Stop, this a
conflict of interest.” Crane gave the positive example of the former Planning Board Chair, Frank Kruppa,
removing himself both as Chair and from the table itself during discussions when there may have been a
perceived conflict of interest with his job as Director of the Health Department.
A discussion regarding this particular situation, and conflicts of interest/perception of ethics violation,
followed Crane’s comments. Connors responded that she made a point of making a request of the
bookkeeper to find additional quotes at the time. After the meeting, it was volunteered that Ulinski would
take over this matter. As far as she was concerned, this was cleared up. Dietrich agreed with this
assessment. Ulinski added that such situations are difficult in small communities, where there are limited
resources for such testing. Holahan noted that, since he works for the company in question and does this
for a living, he may have the most knowledge about what is needed for this program. When asked to
provide information he was happy to do so. Holahan said that, prior to the last meeting, he asked that
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additional bids be sought, to help eliminate the appearance of conflict of interest. Holahan added that he
intended to recuse himself at the time when a decision was made.
Appoint Deputy Supervisor
Supervisor Dietrich presented his appointment of Matt Ulinski as Deputy Supervisor. Dietrich
outlined the various projects being undertaken by previous Deputy Supervisor Brenner and those which
will be taken on by Ulinski. Brenner will remain active in developing plans for emergency management
in Danby. Ulinski will take on more current projects and policies. Ulinski takes over all other standard
duties of a Deputy Supervisor, including being the second signatory on financial matters.
RESOLUTION NO. 30 OF 2019 - APPROVE SUPERVISOR’S APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY SUPERVISOR
Resolved that the Town Board of the Town of Danby acknowledges Matt Ulinski as Deputy Supervisor, effective
through December 31, 2019.
Moved by Dietrich, Second by Connors. The motion passed.
In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Dietrich.
Abstain: Ulinski
Energy Audit Proposal
Matt Ulinski led a discussion, providing an update on the process for securing an energy audit for the
Danby Highway Barns. Jim Holahan recused himself. The Highway Department has contacted four or
five local companies regarding quotes on level II energy audits. This list of companies was gathered
through contacts at Cornell University. They are still waiting for replies from those contacted. Some of
the companies contacted, such as Snug Planet, do not do level II energy audits.
Ulinski advised the board that Taitem may still be the best option. He asked that action on this be
delayed until the next Town Board meeting, in order to allow time for additional quotes to come in.
Code of Ethics
Ulinski distributed the most recent draft Code of Ethics for continued discussion. He addressed
Crane’s concern regarding re-inventing a CoE in place of the template available through the
Comptroller’s office, stating that the template was designed with larger municipalities in mind. That
template is not always applicable to small Towns like Danby. Ulinski stated that review by the Town
Attorney has been necessary to assure that this meets Danby’s needs and meets all requirements by law.
Ulinski and the Board went through a section by section review of the document. The document is
posted on the Town Board page of the Town of Danby website. Much of the draft is, in fact, identical to
the NYS template. Some pieces were left out intentionally, as not appropriate for this size Town. This
CoE has a lower threshold for gifts, at $50 where other municipalities have a limit of $75. Comments on
the draft will be gathered until March. Ulinski gave a time-table of final presentation at the first TB
meeting in March and a resolution of acceptance at the second March meeting.
Roaring commented that she supports in the inclusion of a paragraph addressing appearance of
conflict of interest or violation of ethics.
Dog Control Impoundment Fees
Clerk Goddard presented information on an initiative to have consistent impoundment fees among the
municipalities contracting with Tompkins County Animal Control (TCAC). Each municipality must set its
own impoundment fees, enacted through a local law. The current impoundment fees in the Town of
Danby are $10 for a first offense, $15 for a second offense, and $20 for a third offense in a calendar year.
These fees are remitted to the Town. These rates have not changed in more than ten years. The proposal is
to increase impoundment fees to $25, $50, and $75 in a calendar year. This would bring the fees into line
with the Towns of Ithaca, Enfield, and Caroline, and the City of Ithaca. Clerk Goddard has a template
Local Law from the Town of Ithaca. With Board approval to proceed, she will prepare the Local Law and
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have it reviewed by the Town Attorney. This can then be presented for a public hearing and consideration
of adoption.
Ulinski expressed concern as to whether this would be onerous for low income residents. He stated
that while this is not a lot of money, it might make it difficult for low income people to reclaim their dogs.
Clerk Goddard noted that the Town of Enfield has a comparable population and has this Impoundment fee
in place. She also noted that the information sheet presented by TCAC notes that, “Public Assist’s do not
pay impoundment fees.” She informed the Board that she would get more details on this service and share
that information with them.
The Board agreed that this proposal be moved forward.
2017 Financial Audit Review
Bookkeeper Laura Shawley presented detailed information from the financial audit of the 2017
records. Shawley informed the Board that, due to regulations that apply to all levels of Towns, small
municipalities regularly receive “adverse opinions” as they do not have all the systems and protocols in
place used by larger municipalities. For example, smaller municipalities often work on a cash basis rather
than doing full accrual accounting and do not show depreciation of assets, etc. Shawley said that Danby
works on a modified accrual system. The auditors have found that, in most cases, this is not a problem,
and is rather appropriate for municipalities the size of Danby.
A report was made of areas for improvement. In example, financial record keeping procedures will be
implemented for the West Danby Water District so that there are more checks and balances in this system.
The auditors had recommendations for policies related to the transfer of funds between accounts. Shawley
advised the Board that such measures can move forward, particularly in the area of improved policies and
procedures.
Shawley asked whether the Board wanted to hear from the auditors directly. Members of the Board
indicated that they would prefer to review the auditors’ report on their own. If there are additional
questions or concerns, they will consider making an appointment with the auditors at that time.
Code Report
Supervisor Dietrich gave, on behalf of Paul Hansen. Hansen is retiring in the month of February. John
Norman is in trainin, to take over as Code Enforcement Officer. Transfer of staff should be in place by the
end of February. John Norman will only be doing code and fire inspections.
Dietrich informed the Board of various options being considered for the management of special
projects, particularly grant oversight and administration. He is considering hiring a special projects
manager on an “as needed” hourly basis. Dietrich estimates that this would be, on average, 20 hours or
less per week. This person would work primarily, with the Planning office. This would, more than likely,
be a permanent position, taking the responsibility off of other staff. This administrative staff time can be
written into grant proposals, and therefore funded by the grant.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:33 pm. !!!!!
______________________________________
Pamela Goddard, Town Clerk
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