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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.16.2022_Minutes1 Minutes VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Zoom Meeting ID # 4118425407 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 7:00 p.m. MONTHLY MEETING Present: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbard, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton; Director of Public Works Wiese; Clerk Walker; Treasurer Dolch; Attorney Marcus. Absent: Police Chief Wright. 1. Call to Order: Mayor Woodard calls the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2a. Approval of Meeting Minutes: December 15, 2021 (Exhibit 2022-115) Resolution # 9112 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves the December 15, 2021, meeting minutes as presented. Motion: Trustee Salton Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: Motion Carried 2b. Approval of Meeting Minutes: January 19, 2022 (Exhibit 2022-116) Resolution # 9113 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves the January 19, 2021, meeting minutes as presented. Motion: Trustee Hubbell Second: Trustee McMurry Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: Motion Carried a. Bolton Point Water Pipes Presentation by Steve Riddle: General Manager Steve Riddle is present via Zoom to answer any questions on lead water pipes in the Village of Cayuga Heights. • Mayor Woodard states that she would like to know how many of the six new customers that have been identified by Bolton Point as having potential lead piping have responded to the notification? 2 • S. Riddle states that of the six new customers identified as having a possible lead service line (either from the water main to the curb box, or the curb box to the house), two have responded and samples have been sent to the lab to see if there is lead in the water. • S. Riddle further states that Bolton Point is working to get the remaining 250 customers that are still unknown as low as possible. They are checking photos taken when the smart meters were installed. They are also looking at blueprints for any plumbing permits. • The next step would be to physically excavate around the curve box, which is the valve that separates the Village’s from the Homeowner's portion of the service line. • Trustee Salton asks if Bolton Point knows how many curve stops have never been examined. S. Riddle states that he does not know. Bolton Point would only access those if a customer needed to shut off their water for a repair. • Trustee Salton asks if Bolton Point has any way of knowing what would be installed from the curve stop to the house. • S. Riddle states that no, Bolton Point came online in 1974-1975 and all the previous records were acquired from the City of Ithaca. • S. Riddle states that Bolton Point’s goal is to get ahead of the EPA federal law by having an accurate inventory of any customers that might be impacted by this new law. • Trustee Hubbell asks if there is there a correlation between the age of a house and the likelihood there will be lead piping. • S. Riddle states that it is possible, lead piping was legal to use up until 1986. • Trustee Salton asks if this new federal law will address the lead solder used on piping. S. Riddle states that at this point the new law only addresses lead in the service lines. • Trustee Marshall asks if Bolton Point has an estimate as to how recently lead may have been used between the main and curve box. • S. Riddle states that there is no clear number but from what they see it appears we stopped seeing lead used in the service lines in the 1950s • Trustee Hubbell inquires whether a Village resident could provide a water sample so that Bolton Point could test it for lead. • S. Riddle states that yes, but there are some costs associated. Since the 1990’s Bolton Point has been providing annual testing to fourteen customers in the Village that have lead pipes. Every year Bolton Point has recommended that those fourteen residents upgrade their services, but to date no one has. Also, since the early 3 1990s, Bolton Point has been conducting lead testing and they continue to be classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a low-risk service provider due to their testing results. • In closing, S. Riddle states that if we were to examine the physical pipes then we would have to work with the Village DPW staff since the Village owns the infrastructure. Over the next two months, they expect to conclude their investigation and have a much better idea of how many households have lead issues in the Village. • Village residents C. Van Loan states that his property was recently sent a letter stating that Bolton Point believes there is the possibility of lead in the service line. He would like to know how this was determined. • S. Riddle states that Mr. Van Loan’s property and the other five properties do not have any defining information that told them there wasn’t lead, so Bolton Point is requesting that they provide water samples to test. b. Right-Sizing Culvert Project: Presentation by T.G. Miller’s, David Herrick • B. Cross states that the Right-Sizing Culvert Project for Cayuga Heights Road is ready to go out to bid. • D. Herrick states that T.G. Miller has finished the design plans and has completed the project manual. There are 9 culverts that have been awarded for replacement under this grant, and each culvert is designed to be bid separately. • There will also be a public informational meeting on February 28th, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. Zoom Link • He also states that he would like the bids to be sent out by the first week of March, then open those bids by the end of March with the anticipation of the Board approving the bids at the April Board Meeting. • B. Cross states that Village Attorney R. Marcus will still need to review the project manual and legal documents before they will be sent out to bid. • D. Herrick also states that there will be some insurance requirements as well. • Trustee McMurry asks about the status of the easements with the adjacent property owners. • B. Cross states that he has made contact with about half of the residents, and he will use the upcoming informational meeting as a method to address this with the remaining property owners involved with this project. His goal is to come back to the Board at the March meeting with a final list. • Trustee McMurry expresses concerns about putting this project out to bid while we are still collecting easements since there is a potential for specifics of the design to change as a result of this public meeting and as a result of those conversations with property owners. • B. Cross states that there is a risk of that happening, but T.G. Miller could amend the bid documents if it is needed for a particular culvert. • Village Attorney R. Marcus states that he has not had any involvement in this project except for these meetings where B. Cross has informed the Board of the progress. He will need to know how soon the easements need to be produced and how soon he needs to review the project manual. • Trustee Salton states that he recalls that most of the work being done on this project is in the Village Right of Way. 4 • B. Cross states that Trustee Salton is correct, except in that the description of what is a potential impact is he would describe as headwalls and wing walls. Usually, no pipe extends into private property, but if there's a stream that runs down between two adjacent property owners, there might be a wing wall or something. •T.G. Miller’s D. Herrick states that the Village being proactive in its procurement of the majority of the significant piping materials gives this project a huge advantage. Contractors will be more eager to bid on a project knowing that they do not have to wait for materials. • Trustee Marshall states that there seems to be some apprehension and he certainly shares that about the possible interplay between the timelines of securing permission and the bidding process. He asks B. Cross if we have adequately anticipated the worst-case scenario of obtaining the easements from the property owners. Is he confident that there is a sufficient workaround should there be any reluctance from property owners on the type of material used for wing walls? • B. Cross states that yes, he is confident that there are sufficient workarounds. • D. Herrick states that their certain parcels that have modifications on their property. This is needed to get stream flow into the culverts. Some are more extensive than others. If we find landowners resistant to the type of grading using headwall and wing walls, then we might have to go with a less attractive design. • B. Cross introduces Michele Palmer who has been assisting the Village with the Rightsizing Culvert Grant. • M. Palmer states that she and D. Herrick had a brief discussion, and she is in agreement with the timeline he has structured. She also states that the granting agencies know that these are extraordinary times, and many projects are not able to fall into the timetables they were given 3 years ago when this grant application was submitted. It may also turn out that when the Village receives the bids, the construction costs will eliminate some aspects of the project. • Basically, there are two scenarios one, is that you do as much work, as you can fund with the current grant, which is a 50/50 match; two, anything that's above that, the Village would have to pay. We did however build into this project about $40,000 of work that is anticipated to be completed by Director of Public Works Wiese, Village Engineer B. Cross, and the DPW crew. If that is no longer needed, then that money could be reallocated. • Trustee Robinson states that we should not anticipate any problems of losing the grant money if we have to cut back on the scope of the project because of the budget. • M. Palmer states that no, the last thing the granting agency wants to do is for you not to do the project and give back the money. • B. Cross states that when he returns to the office, he will reach out to the remaining residents affected by this project. • Trustee McMurry inquires about the methods of supplying notice to residents for the public meeting on February 28th, 2022. 5 • B. Cross states that there was a direct mailing that went out last week. • M. Palmer states that she will reach out to Village Attorney R. Marcus to discuss the type of easement forms needed for this project. There will be nine culverts, eight of them will require permanent easements. • Mayor Woodard asks that if the Village runs into a reluctant property owner unwilling to sign a permanent easement could the Village could just not complete that component of the project. D. Herrick states yes, the Village could bypass it. • Trustee Hubbell wonders if there is a deadline that will make it difficult to complete this project. • D. Herrick states that we have 2-3 months of float built into this project, but the drop-dead date would be the end of October. 3. Report of Fire Superintendent Tamborelle: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2022-117) • Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that things are going well at the fire station. The new ladder truck is in Syracuse getting equipped after a long journey from Florida. • In closing, Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that the installation dinner will take place in September. 4. Privilege of the Floor: No members of the public were present. 5. Report of Treasurer Dolch: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2202-118) • Village Treasurer Dolch states that the financial audit is still ongoing from this fall. Former Treasurer Laskaris is working on wrapping those items up. We are making a principal payment of $100,000 and $6400 in interest on the fire truck ban this week and we have a new fire truck band for $300,000 at a rate of 2.3%. • The December and January bank to book reconciliations are complete and the only action item that needs to be approved is this month’s abstract. Approval of Abstract # 9 Resolution: 9114 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves Abstract #9 for FYE2022 consisting of TA vouchers 64-71 in the amount of $21,938.39 and Consolidated Fund vouchers 638-710 in the amount of $404,508.66 and the Treasurer is instructed to make payments thereon. • Mayor Woodard states that it has been a long time since the books from the previous month have been closed on time. Mayor Woodard thanks Village Treasurer Dolch for doing a great job. Motion: Trustee Rennekamp Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: 6 Motion Carried 6. Report of Mayor Woodard c. Budget Process Update: Mayor Woodard has requested that all Village departments submit their anticipated budget by March 1, 2022. • Mayor Woodard also states that all the Village staff has submitted their budgets and she is in the process of inputting those numbers into the General, Water, and Sewer Accounts. Mayor Woodard further states that she will finish entering in all the data and send out the master excel file by the end of the first week in March. d. Schedule the Budget Workshop: • Mayor Woodard proposes that the Village hold the Annual Budget Workshop on Saturday, March 19th, 2022 from 9-noon. • The Board agrees to hold the Annual Budget Workshop on March 19, 2022, from 9-noon. • Mayor Woodard then proposes to hold the Public Hearing on the Proposed FYE 2022-2023 Budget at the Annual Village Organizational Meeting on April 4, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. Resolution # 9115 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees herby schedules the Annual Village Organizational Meeting for April 4, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. Motion: Trustee Salton Second: Trustee Hubbell Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: Motion Carried Resolution # 9116 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees hereby schedules a Public Hearing to seek comments on the Proposed FYE 2022-2023 Budget on April 4, 2022, at 7:05 p.m. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Rennekamp Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: 7 Motion Carried • Village Clerk Walker reminds the Board that at the March Board of Trustees meeting they will need to decide on proposing a local law to exceed the property tax cap. e. Special Project List: Mayor Woodard has asked that the Board and department heads identify projects that could be funded with the extra budget savings and the second round of American Rescue Funds in March. • Trustee Hubbell suggests that the Village set aside some amount of money for testing Village residents’ water for lead. • Mayor Woodard states that currently, Bolton Point has informed twenty households that they have lead water pipes. Those houses are utilizing a different method of drinking water. The results of the remaining 200 homes in the Village are unknown. To narrow down this massive investigation, Bolton Point knows there is no possibility of lead piping for any home construction after 1985, and two years ago they installed the smart meters, and photos were taken of the connections so they can use that information too. Mayor Woodard further states that she is hopeful that federal money will be available for this project. • Trustee Hubbell states that it is not about the new law but about protecting the public and we need to start testing to show our intent to address this issue. • Mayor Woodard states that the true number of households affected by lead is still unknown. • Trustee Salton inquires about who is responsible for remediation of the work if lead is found in the water. • Trustee McMurry states that Steve Riddle informed us earlier that, as the law is written right now, the Village is responsible for fixing any lead piping from the curb to the house. • Village Attorney R. Marcus states that it is hard to imagine that this component of the EPA law will stand as is and will allow Village staff to work on private property. • Mayor Woodard has calculated if we have 254 households that we have no idea whether they have lead or not, and each test is $25 we would need to set aside $6,250. • Trustee Rennekamp states that what Steve Riddle was saying is they're planning on having this done in the next few months it doesn't do a lot of good to create panic. We can't do anything any faster than the two months. • Trustee Robinson states that we still need to plan on how we are going to investigate identifying which pipes are lead and which are not. • Mayor Woodard states that Bolton Point is going to tell us if they find any more residents with possible lead piping then, they will provide testing. Once Bolton Point has completed its investigation we will send letters informing the remaining households of the possibility of lead in their water and offer to provide testing. 8 • Mayor Woodard asks if the Board should fund $6,250 for water testing. • Village Attorney R. Marcus states that the Village needs another component to this plan because regardless of how many people you end up buying tests for some of those will be positive and for those Homeowners, they will want to know what the Village is going to do next. • Trustee Salton is still questioning the language in this law on who is going to pay for replacing any lead piping on private property. • Village Attorney R. Marcus states that the village is going to pay for replacing a lead pipe from the main to the curb box. The way things stand there is no responsibility in any legal sense for the municipality to replace a pipe from the curb box to the House, regardless of whether it's lead or not. • Trustee Salton disagrees and believes that most municipality's water infrastructure continues to the meter on the house. • Trustee Marshall suggests that we determine the facts of law first and foremost in planning what to do. -The Board moves back to the discussion of Exhibit 2022-119 Special Project List. • Trustee McMurry would like to know what defines a project as a special project versus a budgeted item or if they part of American Rescue Funds. • Trustee Robinson informs the Board that the Village Finance Committee will be discussing the creation of reserve funds in the next fiscal year. • Village Clerk Walker states that he recommends designating ARF projects first, and include the projects that are slated to be completed with the first $184,000 before assigning projects to the second round of funding. • Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that the actual quote for replacing the air-conditioning units was $82,000, not $100,000 as marked in the agenda. • After a short discussion the Board agreed to investigate re-engineering the heat and air-conditioning system at the fire station and determine the most economical cost. • Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that there is one air-conditioning unit that cools the bunker living area that will need to be replaced regardless of the outcome. • Director of Public Works Wiese states that he also has an air-conditioning project for the DPW office area. • Director Wiese also states that he has listed a garbage truck. The current truck's motor is consistently having issues. Repairs this year have totaled over $10,000 and there is no guarantee that the repairs will work. He further states that he has been quoted $80,000 to $100,000 to replace the engine. A new truck would cost around $150,000. 9 • Mayor Woodard suggests that since we have put a lot of money into the truck this year, we wait one more year before making any bigger decisions. • Mayor Woodard states that one of the things that we are going to do differently in this year’s budget is to adjusts the contingency fund to 4% of the total budget in General, Water, and Sewer. • Trustee Robinson states that we need to circle back around to what projects have already been allocated under the ARFs and what has not. • Mayor Woodard states that she envisioned the Board saying let’s spend money here and not there. • Trustee Robinson and Trustee McMurry remind the Board that any unused or undeclared ARFs would be used for completing sidewalk gaps. • Clerk Walker states that the Board approved the following ARF money to the following projects in June of 2021. 1. Village Website $6200 2. Video Conferencing $8000 3. Sidewalk repair and gaps $30,000 4. Rt 13 Sewer Study $20,000 5.DPW Roof $22,500 6. Two New Streetlights on Wycoff Road $8000 (likely spent next year) 7. Walking Safe Cayuga Heights Fisher Amendment $13000 8. Air-Spade Tool $2500 9. Sewer Line Sleeve on Pleasant Grove Road $94,380.72 • Trustee McMurry states that she would love to see more money invested into Sunset Park. A few years ago the Village was awarded a Park and Recreation Grant from Tompkins County for $5000. Clerk Walker confirmed that the County has not continued that grant since the onset of COVID-19 but he is hopeful that money will be offered again next year. • In Closing Mayor Woodard states that she will present a final list at the next Board meeting. • Mayor Woodard asked the Board if they wanted to discuss Chief Wrights budget proposal for a seventh officer. • The Board agreed that he must be present to answer more detailed questions beyond what he has submitted in his report • Trustee McMurry states that the Public Safety Committee did have an extensive conversation about the financial side of the position, but also talked about the less tangible benefits of having more hours from a full-time officer versus a part-time officer. The consensus from the committee was that there is a community advantage to a full- time officer that is committed to the department that you don't necessarily get with a part-time officer. 10 • Trustee Robinson stated that the Board has a fiduciary responsibility to see what the overall costs are, and also a need to see the breakdown of the part-time hours versus another full-time position. • Mayor Woodard states that one of the things that Chief Wright stated to her in support of this seventh position was the number of calls for service outside the Village. Mayor Woodard believes that other departments are taking advantage of the Village and that is wrong. This is similar to what the City of Ithaca Fire Department was doing with the Village Fire Department. • Trustee Marshall would like to incorporate into that conversation that part-time police officers are vital because they come in when you need them and they fulfill a demand efficiently. • Trustee Salton suggests that this discussion be tabled until Chief Wright can be present for this discussion. • Mayor Woodard states that we will continue this conversation at the March Board of Trustees Meeting on March 16, 2022. 7. Report of The Trustees: No reports at this time 8 . Report of Police Chief Wright: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2022-120) • Chief Wright was absent from the meeting. 9. Report of Director of DPW Wiese: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2022-121) • Director of Public Works states that the DPW discovered and fixed a water main break on Devon Rd. The break was flowing into a culvert underground. • Director of Public Works M. Wiese states that there has been a lot of groundwater that is freezing on Hillside Drive. The DPW staff has installed a drain line under the roadway to help keep the water off the road. • Director of Public Works M. Wiese states that he would like to move laborer T. O’pray, who recently completed his CDL license, into the Teamsters contracted hourly rate of a Laborer with a CDL. Resolution # 9117 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves and authorizes the hourly rate change for Village employee Terence O’pray from a laborer rate of $17.60 per hour to a Laborer with a CDL rate of $18.20 per hour as stated in the Teamsters June 1, 2019- May 31, 2022 contract. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee McMurry Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: Motion Carried 11 • In Closing Director, Wiese thanked the Board for their support over the last five years. The DPW has grown into a great work environment and the staff is very appreciative of everything. 10. Report of Village Engineer Cross: • Village Engineer B. Cross left the meeting at 7:58 p.m. 11. Report of Clerk Walker: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2022-122) • Clerk Walker states that he is confident that the new Village website will be launched by the end of the month. The time and effort to get through to the domain name host has caused numerous delays since it has been sold and transferred several times. • Clerk Walker further states that the Village IT Committee met with HPM Technologies who oversees our computer networks. After discussing several issues with phishing and spoofing attempts and one successful scam, the committee agreed to move all 365 licenses to two-factor authentication as well as staff education on cyber- attacks and increase password security. • Clerk Walker states that Exhibit 2022-123 is a General Code proposal to create and organize our Village Employee Handbook and Village Policies. • Trustee McMurry states that the General Code has a great depth of experience and would easily be able to provide insight on what we might be missing. • Trustee Salton does not see the need for paying for this service and feels that this is a copout for staff not completing a new employee handbook. • Mayor Woodard asks where the money would come from to pay for this service. Clerk Walker states that there is still money left from the video conferencing set up as well as the website re-design. 12. Report of Attorney Marcus: No report at this time. 13. Executive Session: Mayor Woodard asks the Board for an Executive Session at 9:55 p.m. Resolution: 9118 WHEREAS: The NYS Open Meeting Law §105 prescribes matters for which a public body may conduct an executive session; and, WHEREAS: Upon a majority vote of its total membership, taken in an open meeting pursuant to a motion identifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered; and, WHEREAS: The conduct an executive session for these enumerated purposes only, provided, however, that no action by formal vote shall be taken to appropriate public money: THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT An Executive Session of the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees are conducted for the purposes of subsection (F), the medical, financial, credit, or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person or corporation. 12 Motion: Trustee Robinson Second: Trustee Marshall Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried Resolution: 9119 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees exits the Executive Session and returns to an open meeting. Motion: Trustee Salton Second: Trustee Marshall Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried Resolution: 9120 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves and authorizes Mayor Woodard to sign the 2022 White Buffalo Inc. contract once Village Attorney R. Marcus has reviewed the contract. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Rennekamp Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried • Mayor Woodard asks for another Executive Session at 10:22 p.m. Resolution: 9121 WHEREAS: The NYS Open Meeting Law §105 prescribes matters for which a public body may conduct an executive session; and, WHEREAS: Upon a majority vote of its total membership, taken in an open meeting pursuant to a motion identifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered; and, 13 WHEREAS: The conduct an executive session for these enumerated purposes only, provided, however, that no action by formal vote shall be taken to appropriate public money: THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT An Executive Session of the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees are conducted for the purposes of subsection (F), the medical, financial, credit, or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person or corporation. Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried Resolution: 9122 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees exits the Executive Session and returns to an open meeting. Motion: Trustee Robinson Second: Trustee Marshall Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, McMurry, Rennekamp, Robinson, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 14. Adjournment: Mayor Woodard adjourns the meeting at 10:32p.m