HomeMy WebLinkAbout1966-05-05 45 -
TOWN OF DANBY
TOWN BOARD MINUTES
May 5 , 1966
The regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Danby was
held at the Town Hall , Thursday , May 5 , 1966 at 8 : 00 P . M .
Present : Supervisor James H . Cortright , Councilman Donald
Barber , Justices Moses Peter and Henry Makarainen .
Absent : Councilman Donald Makie
Also present : Highway Superintendent Chaffee , Zoning Officer
Hatfield and 40 - 50 town residents .
® The meeting was called to order by Supervisor Cortright . Minutes
of the April meeting were approved as read .
- - COMMUNICATIONS
1 . Designation of restricted highway 96B
2 . Observance of May as " Senior Citizens ' Month `. .
3 . Copy of annual audit of the books of the Greater Ithaca
Regional Planning Board for the year ending 12 / 31/ 65 .
4 . From Danby Board of Fire Commissioners re : need for a ' . building
to house fire equipment .
5 . From the Executive Committee of the Community Council opposing
Town Board ' s action regarding Town Office Building .
PRIVILEGE OF FLOOR
Supervisor Cortright made the following statements regarding
Privilege of the Floor :
1 . " Ithas been my practice as Supervisor , to extend the privilege
of the floor to the public , present , at Town Board meetings .
2 . " Most recently this privilege has been abused , thereby , unneces -
sarily prolonging the meetings and disrupting the normal trans -
action of business .
3 ; "Section 63 of Town Law provides for the public at Town Board
Meetings . I asked for an opinion from the Department of Audit
and Control and on January 9 , 1963 received a reply which was
read at the February 1963 meeting . " ( reread by Clerk )
- Justice Peter moved to adopt the following rules of the Board
governing the Privilege of the Floor . Seconded by Councilman
Barber . 4 ayes , 0 noes , carried .
1 . The Supervisor or Chairman , with the agreement of the majority
of the Town Board members present , will extend the privilege of
the floor on the following basis :
A . That each person t1ishing to be heard , when recognized by the
chair , if not known to the Clerk , will stand and give his or •
her name and address .
B . That he or she , as the case may be , will be allowed to speak ,
ONCE ONLY , for a period not to exceed five minutes .
C . That he or she may make a statement or suggestion and if this
be in the form of a question , it may not necessarily be answered
but could be answered at a future time , after due consideration
411 . by the Town Board .
D That no member of the Town Board or other elected or appointed
officials shall enter into debate with any ' , ember of the public
present and / or - speaking .
E . oThat if and when it appears to the Supervisor or Chairman and / or
the majority of the members of the Town Board present that the
meeting is being unnecessarily prolonged or that the normal
transactions of business are being disrupted or hampered , the
privilege of the floor will be withdrawn and the Board will
continue with the business at hand .
F . That it be clearly understood by all present , that the privilege
of the floor need not be extended for any reason and that Citizens
of the Town lack the right to speak at Town Board Meetings except
as provided by the rules of the Board .
• G . That the Clerk will attempt to note the jist of the statements ,
comments , suggestions or questions , but may not necessarily be
required to note each and every word of the aforementioned .
if 46
Supervisor Cortright asked each person present whether he or she
wanted to be heard . Following are some statements by residents of
the Town :
Mr . and Mrs . Donald Wright - poor condition of Jim Brown Road , West Danby .
Mr . and Mrs . Roy Casterline - agreed with the Wrights .
Hugh Barlow - would like to see a speed limit on Jim Brown Road .
Fred Thayer - greetings from the Greater Ithaca Regional Planning
Board whose mer::bers urge the implementation of the
701 Plan .
G ordon Roberts - thanking Town Based and Community Council for sports
program at the school and suggested a letter of thanks
go to Joe Tatascore .
G eorge Clarkson - speaking as a member of a citizens ' committee ,
said the tax load can not stank any more such as
for a building just to be used for offices . He
felt that plans of this committee had not been given rl
consideration . These included hiring an architect
to plan a combination building , of which the fire
house would come first , and use of the present fire -
ahouse as a temporary town office . As a volunteer.
fireman , he felt that a new fire house was very ,
urgent . Also , that etery member of the public should
be heard , even if the meeting lasts until midnight .
N eil Nelson - -President of the Danby PTA , said that organization
favored a combined meeting building , and one of its
future uses might be as a place for a Danby pre = .
school education program .
Leon Oltz - feels it unfair for supervisor or board to set up
rules for privilege of the floor and in the future
should elect men or women who will work for the majority
of the citizens .
G erald Dawson - recreation at Danby Pond is good but would like to
ascertain agreement with the State , such as will it
revert back to the State and they charge admission?
Wendell Bryce - feels privilege , of the floor is important .
Roland Tamblyn - asked if only once to speak ?
Mrs . Joan Stewart - has never seen the supervisor but now is j
drawing .: own conclusions . o
Mrs . Nan Webber - same
Herbert Muzzy - as a member of the Danby Planning Board wonders
why a person is allowed to speak just once .
Frank Muzzy - it would be a disservice to the Town Clerk to work
in an office building , now full time at half pay .
D on Smith - asked on Civil Defense Emergencies , who to notify .
Cortright answered , the Supervisor .
Raymond Boda - rather see a fire house than an office building .
Ralph Sager . - why has state scoremarked pine trees south side of
Gunderman Road clear to bridge ? Supervisor will
see that he is answered . As a volunteer fireman ,
he told the Town Board they have no voice in fire
house construction which is a function of the Fire
Commissioners . If the Town Board thinks or is
w illing to override two organizations , they ' re all
w et :
Joe Loomis - as an elected fire commissioner , hopes that both,
boards can meet together .
Leonard Redeye - supports letter from Community Council and Fire
Commissioners . . 111
II 0
Mr . and Mrs . Weitzel - came to hear all the views .
P aul Smith - this meeting shows that the comment on a great deal
of apathy in the Town is untrue . i
Richard DeSa - surprised over statements on limit of debate . ,
( continued next page )
17 i®
Town Board Minutes - May 5 , 1966 Sheet # 2
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
Highway - none
Zoning - none
Fire - Barber reported Fire Company having a carnival in May .
• Cemeteries - none
Insurance - reply from Bill Scott of Ithaca Agency regarding
clean- up campaign = provided at no additional cost ,
reported by Peter .
Youth - Barber reported dance to be held in the evening of clean -
up day .
,4LD BUSINESS
H ighway - Superintendent Chaffee reported brush cut on Erwin Projects .
and motor rebuilt in R one dump truck .
Zoning - Hatfield reported 2 new - house permits and 1 garagerpermit
issued in April . Attorney Thaler can get a late June or
early July date with the Supreme Court justice .
P lanning Board - Chairman Fred Thayer read minutes of the April
meeting of the Danby Planning Board . He urged that the
two elected boards of this municpality work together
to the utmost .
Appeals Board = none
B oard of Assessors - Chairman absent
Town Hall Study - Supervisor reported no report from Professor
Jacobs as yet .
J ennings Pond - Mr . Bryce reported earlier that the floats are
taken care of . State will put in new fireplaces .
Question as to who polices grounds . Supervisor
reported fence not yet installed , and water has
risen in several places over the dike .
Troy Road Junkyard - Zoning officer reported under Zoning .
West Danby Water District - Supervisor reported still progressing ,
with test well 82 feet deep last report .
Town Office Building - Justice Peter made the motion that the
Town Board prepare a statement giving
reasons for their consideration of a
Town Office Building at this time and
to be presented at a Special Meeting
for the Public V 4 ayes , 0 noes , carried .
Sanitary Land Fill = no report . b c.onored 67 fla Kara. inen
Town Retirement Program - no report .
NEW BUSINESS
Danby Clean- up Day - May 21 . Chaffee gave permission to use
town trucks . No drivers as yet .
Barber moved to pay drivers from the General
Fund at their regular rate of pay . Seconded
by Makarainen . 4 ayes , 0 noes , carried .
Resigning Roads - Makarainen moved to resign all roads in Danby .
Seconded by Peter . 4 ayes , 0 noes , carried .
Supervisor Cortright reminded all Town Board members to read the
proposed revision of the zoning ordinance by next executive session
• so as to set up a meeting with the Planning Board .
Executive Meeting - scheduled for May 26 , 8 : 00 P . M , Danby Town Hall .
Peter asked Zoning Officer if Dobson Enterprise is in violation
of the zoning ordinance . Hatfield said Dobson has made formal
appeal to the Appeals Board .
Peter moved to pay Highway Bills #50 through #55 totalling $ 646 . 19
as listed on Warrant # 5 . Seconded by Makarainen . 4 ayes , 0 noes , carried
Makarainen moved to pay General Fund Bills #30 through #36 totalling
$ 207 . 00 as listed on Warrant # 5 . Seconded by Barber . 4 ayes , 0 noes ,
carried .
Teter moved to accept the Supervisor ' s Report . Seconded by Barber .
3 :. yes , 0 noes , carried .
Peter moved to adjourn at 9 : 25 P . M . Unanimously greed . ((� � CC
Respectfully submitted , ��` ����T lerk