Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-3-10minutes Minutes VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS Monday, March 10, 2014 Marcham Hall BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 7:00p.m Present: Mayor Supron; Trustees: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson, and Salton; Attorney Grossman; Superintendent of Public Works Cross; Asst. Superintendent of Public Works Frisbee; Police Chief Steinmetz; Clerk & Treasurer Mangione. Absent: Attorney Marcus Call to Order: Mayor Supron called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes: Resolution #7422 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Minutes of the January 29, 2014 Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees Meeting be approved as written in Exhibit FYE2014-64. Motion: Trustee Salton Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: Crooker Motion carried 2. Approval of Minutes: Resolution #7423 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Minutes of the February 10, 2014 Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees Meeting be approved as written in Exhibit FYE2014-65. Motion: Trustee Riesman Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Riesman, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: Karns Motion carried 3. Report of Fire Superintendent Tamborelle: Submitted report (website – contained in Meeting Packet March 10, 2014) February was a busy month for the department; the first week in March was also hectic with three (3) fires. To avoid Cornell spring break and holiday schedule, the Fire Council held its election of Officers and has scheduled the Annual Installation Dinner a month earlier than in previous years. The slate of officers was presented to the Board of Trustees for approval. Resolution #7424 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves the Slate of Officers for 2014-2015 elected by the Village of Cayuga Heights Fire Council and presented as follows: Chief George Tamborelle (261), Asst. Chief Matt Abbinanti (262), Asst. Chief Dave Openshaw (263), Asst. Chief Joe Price (264), Lt. David Sorensen (281), Lt. John Putnam (282), Lt. Blake Berger (283), and Lt. Rob Shepherd (284) (Exhibit FYE2014-66). Motion: Trustee Riesman Second: Trustee Karns Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion carried 4. Report of Asst. Superintendent of Public Works Frisbie: (Exhibit FYE2014-67) Submitted report (website – contained in Meeting Packet March 10, 2014) All activities have been running smoothly. There was a water-main break at a residence on Hanshaw Road during the Valentine’s Day snowstorm, which required most of the DPW crew to work significant overtime in the bitter cold. 5. Privilege of the Floor (PoF): Graham Gillespie expressed his appreciation to all Trustees who will be continuing to serve and especially to Liz Karns and Diana Riesman for all they have done and all the time they have spent as Trustees. He particularly wished to thank Trustee Riesman for her dedication to starting the Planning Board and working to advance the Village’s Comprehensive Plan. Mark Mecenas thanked the Board for moving expeditiously on approval of the Comprehensive Plan and formation of a Zoning Task Force. He hopes that changes will continue to move forward in a timely manner. PoF ended at 7:18 p.m. 6. Report of Mayor Supron: a. Proposed Local Law B of 2014: Override tax cap. (Exhibit FYE2014-68) The Board discussed the benefit of passing this law as has been done for the last two (2) years. A Public Hearing will be scheduled. Resolution #7425 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The annual Village of Cayuga Heights Organizational Meeting will be held on April 7, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Marcham Hall. Motion: Trustee Crooker Second: Trustee Riesman Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: Salton Motion carried b. The Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustee’s needs to review and discuss the Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2015 at a Budget Workshop. Resolution #7426 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees will hold a meeting for the purpose of a Budget Workshop on March 29, 2014 at 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at Marcham Hall. Motion: Trustee Riesman Second: Trustee Crooker Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion carried c. April Board of Trustees Meeting Resolution #7427 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees will hold a Public Hearing on the Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year Ending May 31, 2015 on April 21, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Marcham Hall. Motion: Trustee Hamilton Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion carried d. Proposed Local Law B of 2014: Override tax cap – Public Hearing Resolution #7428 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees will hold a Public Hearing on Proposed Local Law B of 2014: Tax Cap Override April 7, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Marcham Hall. Motion: Trustee Hamilton Second: Trustee Crooker Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: Salton Motion carried e. Mayor Supron updated the Board on other items. i. Bolton Point For many years there have been complaints about the 10,000 gallon minimum use water rate charge. The Bolton Point Public Affairs & Policy Committee, which the Mayor chairs, has developed a proposal to implement a $8.00 per quarter base fee with a per gallon charge for usage. The “minimum bill factor” has been in effect because more than 50% of the users in the system typically use less than the 10,000 gallon minimum. This purely use-based methodology will be analyzed by a consultant to see if the proposal is workable. An RFP has been written to identify a consultant. This revision to billing will require the Village to rework its sewer billing structure. Although this methodology encourages conservation, it may not have the effect of lowering bills. Users at the 8,000 – 10,000 gallon usage level might see their billing increase. Most costs at Bolton Point are fixed; every year the rate is recalculated. The Village has a treatment dissimilar to other municipalities within Bolton Point regarding ownership of the water line from street to house. A curb box is generally set in toward a house from the main approximately four to five feet; other municipalities own to the curb box. Therefore property owners have responsibility for something over which they have no control. There was recently a situation where it was not possible to determine if the leak was the responsibility of the property owner or the Village. Isolation of the leak’s location is made more easily when a crew can dig to the curb box and shut the water off. The appropriate Village ordinance will be identified for possible modification. ii. The Zoning Task Force At the last Board meeting, formation of a Zoning Task Force was approved. During the interceding month the Mayor has approached various individuals to discuss involvement on this committee. Fred Cowett, possibly Graham Gillespie, Kirk Siegel, Superintendent of Public Works Brent Cross and the Mayor are likely members. There is no prohibition against Zoning Board members serving on the committee. Members of the public will be invited to participate. How many members the committee should have, how many members of the public should that include, how those individuals should be selected, should those individuals represent both the residential and business communities, and should a mailing be sent to each household announcing formation of the committee were among related topics discussed. iii. Election signs have been placed around the Village; it was possible to have twelve (12) signed printed for the budget of $300 approved at the Board of Trustee Meeting on February 10, 2014. iv. Mayor Supron plans to attend the NY Federation of Planning conference in Saratoga Springs. 7. Report of the Trustees: Trustee Salton, as the Village’s representative on the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium Board and on the Finance Committee of that group, summarized key current information on the state of the Consortium. It has a $36 million budget with $5.5 million in reserve. By 2018 due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) the Village will be subject to the so called “Cadillac” tax. Plan design in the next years will be critical. At least $0.85 of every dollar collected in premium must be used on claims related matter; currently $0.93 is being used. There are so many variables to be considered in plan design. Although the consortium is self-insured with no employees, it is still tied to an insurance company which sets prices to healthcare providers. All those present were encouraged to remind fellow Village residents to vote on March 18th at Kendal. 8. Report of Chief Steinmetz: (Exhibit FYE2014-69a,b,c) Submitted report (website – contained in Meeting Packet March 10, 2013) a. The old police vehicle sold at internet auction for $11,275. b. Reconfiguration of the police department space is nearing completion. Currently waiting for flooring tile to arrive. A decision was made to purchase a sufficient amount of tile to cover all the floor area in the department. c. The Police Annual Report has been completed and distributed. It is also available on the Village website. d. An applicant’s resume was distributed prior to the meeting. Chief asked for authorization to make an offer of employment to Hillari Forney. The Public Safety Committee had reviewed this applicant’s qualifications. Resolution #7429 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Officer Hillari M. Forney is to be offered the position of part-time officer for the Village of Cayuga Heights and that her hourly rate will be set per the current Police Benevolent Association contract. The appointment is contingent upon an acceptable background investigation. Motion: Trustee Riesman Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson , and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion carried e. Chief Steinmetz extended his heartfelt thanks to Trustee Karns and Trustee Riesman for all their help to him in his first years as Chief. They will be missed. 9. Report of Superintendent of Public Works Cross: a. Update on Phosphorus level approval. No report yet; it is likely that the Village will not get a decision until the DEC determines if this TMDL process is going to happen. b. The Kendal Project will probably be constructed in two phases. He tries to avoid temporary certifications of occupancy; this situation may merit a variance from that policy. There will likely be demolition of some carports over the summer with construction of the new facility during 2015. c. The Village was audited by the NYS DEC for review of its Stormwater Management Programs. The Village is required to maintain these programs based on the 1998 EPA Stormwater Phase II law which in 2003 delegated a portion of the programs to the DEC which in turn filtered down to municipalities like the Village. In 2007 we passed our own local laws. This audit was a new process for the Village and for neighboring villages. A report is to be forthcoming. d. The Village’s Stormwater Management Plan is how we deal with our own laws and how the Department of Public Works executes “good housekeeping” tasks. The Village needs to acknowledge that there is a Plan. The Mayor is in receipt of the Stormwater Management Plan. Part of the process is to generate an annual report measuring how well the Village adheres to its own stormwater plan. One of the goals is to keep spring runoff which contains salt and grit, to a minimum. A component of the plan is training and public outreach; each year the Village contributes $1,500 to a local coalition in Tompkins County which performs this through the Floating Classroom. The coalition performs this function better than a single municipality could on its own. An example of public participation is the site-specific stormwater management assessment during a Planning Board Site Plan Review Public Hearing. e. NYSEG/EnerPath, subsidized through NYSERDA presented an opportunity that seemed promising. The Village is subject to the prevailing wage law which increased the payback to sixty (60) months. 10. Report of Clerk & Treasurer Mangione (Exhibit FYE2014-63a,b) Submitted report(s) (website – contained in Meeting Packet March 10, 2013) Resolution #7430 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Abstract #10 for FYE2014 consisting of Trust and Agency Vouchers 103 – 112 in the amount of $16,599.19 and General Fund vouchers 688 - 758 in the amount of $138,481.06 is approved and instruction is given to the Treasurer for payment thereon. Motion: Trustee Karns Second: Trustee Riesman Discussion: In response to a query by Trustee Karns, it was explained that one of the security cameras used in the Clerk’s office required replacement. Ayes: Crooker, Hamilton, Karns, Riesman, Robinson, and Salton Nays or abstentions: none Motion carried 11. Report of Attorney: No report Mayor Supron recalled that she had been asked if the CHPD respond to rabid animal calls. It was explained that just because a primarily nocturnal animal is seen during the day, it does not mean that the animal is rabid. The CHPD does respond and makes a determination. TimeWarner Cable is not releasing PEG Access funds in the amount of $61,000 that has been withheld from Village of Cayuga Heights cable bills. Public Access has been unable to replace non-functional equipment for the last two (2) years. Mayor Supron will coordinate with the Town of Ithaca and City of Ithaca to urge TimeWarner to turn over these monies. TimeWarner has not segregated these funds and seems to be stonewalling the Access Committee. Chief Steinmetz updated the Board on Policies and Procedures releases in the Police Department Meeting of the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees was adjourned by Mayor Supron at 8:38 p.m.