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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.16.2023-Minutes.1 VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHT August 16, 2023 Zoom ID # 411842540 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 7:00 p.m. MONTHLY MEETING Present: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Hubbard, Marshall, Rennekamp, Salton; Village Engineer B. Cross; Director of Public Works Wiese; Police Sergeant Manning; Attorney Marcus; Clerk Walker; Treasurer Dolch Absent: Trustee Robinson, Police Chief Wright 1. Call to Order: Mayor Woodard calls the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 2. Approval of the July 19, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Exhibit 2024-066) Resolution: 9478 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves July 19, 2023, Board Meeting Minutes as presented. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Biloski Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Bilsoki, Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp Nays: none Abstentions: Trustee Salton Motion Carried 3. Report of Fire Superintendent Tamborelle: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2024-067) •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that the roof project shingles have been ordered and were supposed to be delivered this past Monday. •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that the department is starting to recruit for the fall firefighter’s class. 4. Privilege of the Floor: No members of the public wished to speak 5. Report of Treasurer Dolch: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2024-068) •Village Treasurer Dolch states that the bank to book reconciliations are complete for July and Trustee Rennekamp has signed off on those reports. •Village Treasurer Dolch states that our NYCLASS investments made around $18,000 this month. •Village Treasurer Dolch states that she has started the Annual Update Document for New York State. Approval of Abstract 3: 2 Resolution: 9479 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves Abstract #13 for FYE2023 consisting of TA vouchers 11-14 in the amount of $14,374.94 and Consolidated Fund vouchers 126-206 in the amount of $668,609.16 and the Treasurer is instructed to make payments thereon. Motion: Trustee Rennekamp Second: Trustee Hubbell Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 6. Report of Mayor Woodard: a. Granicus Renewal: •Mayor Woodard states that we were expecting more out of this software. We were led to believe that we could find those individuals who were renting beyond the allowed 28 days under the current Village local law. There is a way to find that information, but it is not easy. •Mayor Woodard states that we are going to set up another web training meeting with Granicus and explain what we are looking for specifically and how they can better provide proof of number of nights rented. •Mayor Woodard states that we are willing to renew the contract for one more year. •Trustee Marshall suspects that there are many ways to avoid the screening process. •Clerk Walker states that the office was hopeful that this software would capture those who have been avoiding the permit process but that has not been the case. •Trustee Rennekamp states that when you meet with Granicus could you ask them how often they scrape the reviews? •Mayor Woodard states that we will have to review their required rental logs to see the actual number of days they rented. •Trustee Marshall states that those who feel our local law is unfair will not be easily swayed to come into compliance. Resolution: 9480 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves Mayor Woodard signing the Granicus renewal contract for Short-Term Rental Monitoring Service for the next 12 months 3 for $4000. Motion: Trustee Bilsoki Second: Trustee Hubbell Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried b. Lawn Maintenance Zoning Changes: •Mayor Woodard states that the number of residents who have let their lawns go and overall clutter in the front lawns including the Village right-of-way has increased dramatically. The Village Public Works Committee has been discussing this issue for several months. •Mayor Woodard states that Village Attorney R. Marcus has drafted a Proposed Local Law removing the section on property maintenance (ecode 305-95) from the Village Zoning Law. •Village Attorney R. Marcus states that he worked out new language that removes section 305-95 B. -2 “Lawn areas shall be kept mowed such that the height of growth in any lawn areas does not exceed 10 inches” and replaces that statement with the following “All lawn areas shall be kept mowed such that the height of growth in any lawn area does not exceed 10 inches. For the purposes of article, the term "lawn area" shall include all areas at ground level of any property that are not occupied by (a) man-made improvements or structures (including driveways and parking areas that are paved or made of concrete, but not including gravel driveways or parking areas), (b) trees or shrubs, (c) ornamental grasses, such as any variation of fountain grass, (d) vegetable gardens, nor (e) flower gardens that are intentionally planted and maintained as flower gardens. The term "lawn area" shall include, but shall not be limited to, (f) any area on which is growing any variation of turf grass, (g) any area on which has been allowed to grow wild flowers, invasive plants or weeds, (h) any gravel driveway or parking area, and (i) any area occupied by a driveway, parking area, path or patio that is constructed with slabs of rock placed at grade, each of which is aligned with the adjacent rock. •Village Attorney R. Marcus states that he reached out to NYCOM’s legal department who advised him that the Village could remove this section from the Village Zoning Law and make the property maintenance a standalone law. Doing this would eliminate any long timely notices and public hearings. •Trustee Marshall states that he is concerned with the fact that Brent will have to use his discretion to enforce this law. •B. Cross states that it has always been a challenge. He has made it a practice to not single out one property but to set a date to canvass the Village and then send out multiple notices. •Trustee Salton states that he finds this overreaching and petty to concentrate on lawn maintenance issues. •Trustee Hubbell states there needs to be some sort of order in the Village when it comes to lawn care. What happened to pride of place. 4 •Trustee Marshall states that there needs to be a reasonable and objective timeframe for violations. •B. Cross is not in favor of having a staff member or contractor go onto someone's property to correct the violation. •Mayor Woodard states that this is the first attempt, and we will need to reach out to the community to gather input before we publicize a Public Hearing. We will need to decide on the number of days to correct a lawn maintenance violation. •B. Cross states that the Village summer intern has canvassed the Village and tagged around 13 properties that are in violation of the current lawn maintenance section of our Zoning Law. Since then he has mailed out letters of violation. •B. Cross states that he would expect some sort of option that would fall into a subcategory of "lawn" in the future. This would allow the Village to know of a particular property and their "intent" of how they plan to keep their lawn, such as a pollinator garden or wildflower garden. •Mayor Woodard suggests a registration process for these types of lawns. •Village Attorney R. Marcus states that this proposed local law allows for exemptions for those in purposely intend to create such gardens. •Mayor Woodard states we should establish 15 days as the rule and 10 days to remedy the violation. c. Walking Safe Cayuga Heights Sidewalk Project Bids: •B. Cross states that Fisher and Associates had sent a proposed bid schedule to NYSDOT. There was a small chance that NYSDOT could commit to that schedule and that did not work out. •B. Cross states that we (the Village) are obligated to advertise for the bids, so Clerk Walker faced with a small window to place the legal ad did just that. It now is clear that we will not be following the schedule as advertised. Fisher and NYSDOT now need to get approval from the Federal Highway. The bottom line is we will have to wait another 30 days. •B. Cross states by this time next month we should have the final bid schedule. d. IAWWTF Pre-Treatment Agreement: •Mayor Woodard states we are ready to schedule the public hearing on the local law pertaining to the Sewer Use Ordinance for Industrial Discharge. •B. Cross states that part of the Plant-to-Plant Agreement is the local law that specifically addresses the restrictions of chemicals for our industrial users to mirror the City of Ithaca's plant restrictions. Resolution: 9481 5 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees hereby schedules a Public Hearing on the local law pertaining to the sewer use ordinance for industrial discharges as part of the Plant-to-Plant agreement between the Village of Cayuga Heights WWTP and the City of Ithaca’s IAWWTF, on September 20th, 2023 at 7:05 p.m. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried e. Retiree Healthcare Plan Change: As part of the Village Retiree Healthcare Plan changes a request to change form must be submitted to the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium. •Clerk Walker states that this form allows the Village to drop the current Classic Blue Retiree Plan and replace it with the Village Retiree PPO 10/35 Plan. Resolution: 9482 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves Mayor Woodard to sign the New Plan Form for the GTCMHIC as presented in Exhibit 2024-072. Motion: Trustee Salton Second: Trustee Rennekamp Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 7. Report of the Trustees: a. GTCMHIC Rates: •Trustee Salton states that on the subject of the GTCMHIC the Board of Directors met and we will be supporting the Consortium Design Committee recommendations to increase the Villages Gold Plan deductible by $300/$600 Single/Family to fall in line with the actual value under the Affordable Care Act. •Trustee Salton also states that we should expect an 8.5% premium increase for 2024. b. Triphammer Road Tree Planting: •Trustee Marshall states that Village Forester F. Cowett has agreed to the location and planting selection for the North Triphammer Road meadow by Kendal. 6 •Trustee Marshall states that the planting should take place in late October. 8. Report of Superintendent of Public Works Cross: a. Cayuga Heights Road Sidewalk Project Selection: The Village was awarded a grant to put sidewalks on Cayuga Heights Road. A Village task force has been evaluating the three engineering firms ( Fisher & Associates, Hunt EAS, and Erdman/Anthony) to engage for this project. •B. Cross states that they hope to decide on selecting a consultant for this project at the September Board Meeting. b. Renwick Brook Culvert Pipe Update: •B. Cross states that we were not awarded the $1,000,000 grant for the Renwick Creek Culvert Pipe Project that we submitted in December. He does not think it is a good idea to wait another year and apply at the risk of not getting it. •B. Cross states that the Cayuga Heights Road Sidewalk Project will go right over this culvert. We will have until the end of 2024 to put a plan together and complete replacing that culvert. c. WWTP Phase II Project: •B. Cross states that the WWTP digesters have been cleaned out of all the old sludge and are ready for their upgrades. After accounting for all the costs, thanks to yaws cleaning out that area we have saved almost $300,000. This keeps the project within the bonding limits of 12.4 million dollars. •B. Cross states that the Blue Heron who is the general contractor is scheduled to complete their work by the end of October. •B. Cross states that the next step is for the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) to determine what our long-term loan amount and payment will be. The Village is hoping to move our project to the next round of financing since we are not close to finishing Phase 2. d. Village Address Changes: •B. Cross states that we had a third-round request from Mr. Timmons who lives at 126 Sunset Drive to change his address to 156 Sunset Drive. This is all to prevent emergency response personnel or mail from being delivered to the wrong address. •B. Cross states that the Tompkins County 911 Dispatch Center spoke to Mr. Timmons and was able to show him that there would not be a mix-up in addresses with his current address. •Village Attorney R. Marcus states that it would be a good idea to have something in writing from the County 911 Dispatch Department stating those facts. •The Village is not taking any action to make any postal address change to deviate from 126 Sunset Drive. 9. Report of Police Sergeant Manning: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2024-073) 7 •Police Sergeant Manning states that he has reviewed the Chief's report and can answer any questions the Board might have. •Trustee Salton inquires when the new patrol car might be in service. •Police Sergeant Manning states that the vehicle is one of eighty cars at Bush Electronics waiting to get outfitted. It will be 4-6 weeks before our vehicle gets into the lineup. 10. Report of Director of DPW Wiese: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2024-074) •Director Wiese states that repairing water main valves has delayed the paving process for the last week. What we have historically found within the village is the bolts that hold the valve together have deteriorated and need to be replaced. This resolution is labor intensive but low cost. Unfortunately, the valves we are encountering have failed in their entirety and need to be replaced. This has resulted in longer than planned work. •Director Wiese states that the hydro-excavating company has started work in the Village. The original schedule intended on having them work August 9th and 10th however due to the difficulty of excavation and required work within the Village we rescheduled the August 10th date to August 16th. To date, there has been only one line that was not copper, and that line was galvanized piping not lead. •Director Wiese states that he intended to hire a seasonal worker to work from June to December however with a lack of sufficient applications we decided to not proceed with hiring anyone. This has resulted in the DPW being short-handed throughout the summer. We also intended on hiring an individual full-time on January 1st to replace a retiring Motor Equipment Operator however with the team being shorthanded I would like to hire someone earlier than January. I would like to open up the application process for a Laborer with a CDL. I would like this individual to be hired by October 1st which would give the individual time to learn the village before the winter responsibilities begin which includes leaf pick up. 11. Report of Clerk Walker: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2024-075) •Clerk Walker states that a Village resident has requested relief of his water and sewer penalties for being late. •Clerk Walker informed the Board of the conversations he had with the Village resident and explained that the Board does not grant relief for late payments but still was interested in presenting his situation. •Clerk Walker states that the resident has now completed the E-billing setup and should be receiving correspondence. •The Board took no action on this request. •In Closing Clerk Walker states that Deputy Clerk Perkins has mailed out delinquent notices to those remaining Village residents with outstanding tax bills. 12. Report of Attorney R. Marcus: Village Attorney R. Marcus requests an attorney-client session at 9:15 p.m. 8 Resolution: 9483 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves entering into an attorney-client privilege session at 9:15 p.m. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried Resolution: 9484 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves exiting an attorney-client privilege session at 10:20 p.m. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, and Salton Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 13. Adjournment: Mayor Woodard adjourns the meeting at 10:21 p.m.