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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 Enfield-Town-Government-Newsletter-Spring-2012.pdf1 Town of Enfield 168 Enfield Main Road http://townofenfield.org April 2012-June 2012 Newsletter Enfield Town Boards Meetings are held in the Community Building, 1st floor Town Board: 2nd Wednesday, 6:30pm Town Supervisor Roy Barriere 277-3843 Deputy Supervisor Jean Owens 273-5682 Town Council Members Chris Hern 256-5033 Vera Howe-Strait 273-1413 Ann Rider 277-3478 Debbie Teeter 277-4547 Planning Board: 1st Wednesday, 7pm Virginia Bryant, co-chair 387-9376 Mike Carpenter, co-chair 277-4204 Ann Chaffee 272-6460 Steve Givin 273-7434 Calvin Rothermich 272-5930 Marie Van De Mark 277-4383 Dan Walker 387-6394 Town Offices Town Clerk 273-8256 Alice Linton, Town Clerk Sue Thompson, Deputy Town Clerk Town Office/Clerk Hours: Monday-Thursday, 3 pm - 6 pm Highway Department 272-6490 Barry Rollins, Highway Superintendent Town Highway Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 6 am - 2:30 pm Town Court 273-0363 Justice Poole: Monday, 5:00 pm Justice Varricchio: Thursday, 5:00 pm Code Enforcement Office Community Building, 2nd floor Code Enforcement 277-0266 Alan Teeter, Code Enforcement Officer Code Enforcement Office Hours: Monday thru Thursday 8:30-11 am Wednesday 5-7 pm Town Historian Sue Thompson 272-6412 Enfield Volunteer Fire Company Art Howser, Chief 272-8757 Roger Lauper, Deputy Chief Kirk Vandee, 1st Assistant Chief Ben Giles, 2nd Assitant Chief Shawn Lauper, Captain County Legislators Report from the Supervisor It is with great sadness I write about the passing of a close friend to many - Dave Owens. I know this is old news to most, but for those who hadn’t heard, one of our long-time residents of Enfield and a truly dedicated employee of the Town’s Highway Department passed away earlier this year. He will definitely be missed by many. Due to his initiative to always help those individuals in need, whether through volunteering at the Enfield Fire Company, the Enfield Food Bank, or what have you, he was awarded posthumously the Town’s “Volunteer of the Month” in February. A lot has happened since our last newsletter, most of which has to do with unconventional (high volume hydraulic fracturing) gas drilling. This has been the most controversial and divisive issue I can remember this Town having to deal with. First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to help organize and/or attend the various presentations the Town has hosted on the issue of gas drilling; to write the Town Board on their concerns and opinions; and to attend the Town Board meetings, comment sessions, and public hearing, to voice their concerns and opinions. Also I would like to thank the folks from ENSAW (Enfield Neighbors for Safe Air and Water) for their efforts in keeping the Town Board focused on doing what it needs to do to protect the Town’s environment. Several measures are being reviewed to put in place to protect the Town, if and when the unconventional gas drilling industry comes to Enfield. The Town Board and the Planning Board are currently in the process of updating the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, updating the Town’s Site Plan Review Law, adopting a Road Preservation Law, and planning on an aquifer study in order to adopt an Aquifer Protection Law; some of which has been under review for the past year or so. During the summer of 2011, the Town’s financial books along with the “Employee Handbook” and employee benefit package, underwent an extensive review by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). First of all, the review proved to be very helpful. It gave me a better understanding of the overall budget process, especially dealing with fund balances (savings) and planning for the future. In addition, modifications were made to the 2012 budget based on their recommendations. The main reason for the review was due to how funds were recorded on the budgets going back to 2009. There was also a question about funds allocated for transfer to the reserve fund (for Dave McKenna Enfield/Newfield 564-7243, dmckenna@tompkins-co.org Jim Dennis Enfield/Ulysses 387-4058, jpd821@yahoo.com Annual Spring Household Clean-Up coming in May! Tuesday May 8th - Saturday May 12th 12:00 - 6:00 pm Tuesday - Friday, 7:00 am-12:00 pm Saturday At the New Highway Garage, 475 Enfield Main Road · No Refrigerant/Freon · Tires on Rims ONLY—no Rimless Tires · No construction or hazardous materials or recyclables PLEASE NOTE: This is for HOUSEHOLD Clean-Up ONLY– NOT for the disposal on large amounts of debris from apartment buildings, multi-year accumulations, storage building clean-outs, etc. Town officials reserve the right to turn away anyone bringing a larger-than-typical amount of material. 2 the highway facility), not being transferred. The main reason for not transferring funds in 2010 was to allow those funds to be available for the new highway facility, if needed. As it turned out, those funds were not needed for the highway facility, and they remained in the fund balance for future needs. This report has created quite a stir and I clearly understand, especially after comments like “the Board does not properly manage Town finances by ensuring that budgets are reasonable and accurate” or “the Supervisor does not have a comprehensive understanding of financial management, especially in relation to fund balance”. However, the issues that OSC had were very much inflated in their report. The Board and I responded to this report, which also included a “Corrective Action Plan”. Both the Examiner’s Report and our response are posted on the Town’s website. If you do not have internet access and would like a copy of the report and/or response, please contact the Town Clerk. Feel free to call me or any of the Board members if you have any further concerns or would like clarification. The new highway facility is completed and we are all moved in. If you didn’t have a chance to tour the facility during the Open House or during any of the presentations we held in the facility, feel free to contact the Highway Superintendent for a tour. We still have one committee position vacancy. We need someone to represent the Town on the Recreation Partnership Committee. This committee deals with youth programs for the County. If you are interested or would just like more information, please contact Councilperson Ann Rider. As of the 1st of the year, we have a new Bookkeeper – Mary Cornell. Pat Podufalski has served as the Town’s Bookkeeper for over 20 years. Towards the end of 2011, Pat decided it’s time to call it quits. I, for one, truly appreciated the time Pat has devoted towards maintaining our financial books, to include payroll and all other aspects associated with bookkeeping. She also agreed to stay on and train Mary for a couple months, to include filing her final annual report. Thanks, Pat, for your years of service! Last, but not least, don’t forget to visit our new and improved website - http://townofenfield.org/content. Please take time to visit the website for meeting minutes, committee reports, agendas, etc… Our Town Board meetings are normally held on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, starting at 6:30 pm. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about any Town issues, please contact any of the Town Board members. Respectfully, Roy Barriere, Town Supervisor News from Code Enforcement With an early spring upon us it looks to be a busy year for building in Enfield. After a slow start, calls are coming in every day with questions about buildings and permit requirements. Many questions involve what does or does not require a permit. In general, regular repairs or maintenance do not require permits. This would include new siding, replacement windows, replacing heating equipment and re-roofing or, in other words, repairing or replacing what you already have. A permit is generally required to add something new such as an addition, a new porch/deck or doing anything structural to a building such as moving walls or adding a new window or door. Another common question concerns the new laws on smoke detectors and CO detectors. These are now both required in existing homes as well as in new construction. These can be battery operated in homes that do not have permanently wired ones. If you have questions regarding the placement of detectors please give me a call as placement can vary from home to home. I am also the lead contact person for Subdivision Approval and Site Plan Review processes. Although both Town laws have been around for some time, not many people know that approval may be required from the Planning Board for either process. The Planning Board has been updating the Site Plan Review law recently and although some changes have been made to the old law the new version is much clearer and tries to reflect the nature of Enfield. If you have any questions about either process give me a call and I can usually give you an answer - if not I’ll find it for you. With the building season upon us I am out in the field more and in the office less. If you need to get in touch with me it's best to call in the morning to see when I will be available; I can generally accommodate your schedule. I will also continue to be in the office Wednesday evenings from 5-7 p.m. for those who can't make it in during the weekday. Alan Teeter Code Enforcement 277-0266 Town Beautification The Enfield Town Beautification Committee has submitted a 2012 budget request to the County Beautification program, which is funded through tourism money. We are excited about continuing the improvement of our visual impact to the community, both residents and tourists. We have received positive comments about the improved Memorial Garden in front of the school. The Park & Ride at the corner of Route 79 and Route 327 was quite well maintained last year, with the Town dumping gravel in the washed out areas both last fall and this spring. Our Park & Ride is filled to capacity because the one in Mecklenburg closed last year. We also placed a bike rack which is very well used. Some of the funding received will employ two Enfield youth part time over the summer. While the work is hard at times, they learn a lot of basic horticultural and landscaping skills. We plan to get the south-end “Welcome to Enfield’ repositioned and the base planted. We will replicate the established sign on the north-end and take some of the grasses from this bed for planting in the new bed. Daylilies and other shrubs will be donated by Ann Rider. Our committee consists of Debbie Teeter, Helen Hetherington, Larry Stillwell, Linda Stillwell and Ann Rider—other community members are welcome to join, even if it’s just for one afternoon’s activities! 3 From the Town Clerk As of the writing of this article, it seems that spring has certainly arrived. If you are thinking you might want a fishing license, please remember that you can purchase yours at the Town Hall. Also, if you’re getting a new dog, be sure to obtain a dog license. You can stop at the town hall, call and ask us to send you a form for licensing, or print the dog license form from our website: www.townofenfield.org. A rabies clinic will be held at the old highway facility (the same place as in past years) sometime in May. You can call our office for the date, or look for a listing in local newspapers. Our office hours will continue to be Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. If those hours aren’t convenient for you, give us a call at 273-8246 and we’ll be glad to open the office at a time that works for you. Alice Linton, Town Clerk Sue Thompson, Deputy Town Clerk From the Highway Department It’s been a mild winter, and with that people have commented that the Highway probably saved a lot of money. Partly that is true, however because the ground did not freeze solid and between the plows (the few times we did plow) and the wheel ruts, we will have to do repair work. So the extra money that we saved will be put back into rebuilding our dirt roads. Also with the winter being mild it gave us time to move into the new Highway garage. The New Highway garage has had its own set of quirks that are still being worked out, but the guys and I are enjoying the bigger work areas. Feel free to stop by visit and look around during office hours which remain the same from 6:00 am-2:30pm. The town will be holding spring clean up at the new Highway building the second week of May. Some of the projects for this summer are South Van Dorn Rd between Enfield Center and Gray Rd. And others as they come our way. Ditching, shoulder cutting, brush as always. Call the Highway if you would like fill dirt or wood chips and we will put you on the list when we are working in your area. Or you can pick up your own wood chips across from the Town Hall/Old Highway building. Enjoy this weather and we’ll see you on the roads. Buddy Rollins, Sr. Enfield Highway Superintendent 272-6490 Need a Space to Meet? The Enfield Community Center is available for Enfield community events and activities, and has tables and chairs available. To reserve space, or report a problem with the facility, contact Chris Hern at 256-5033. From the Enfield Town Historian Sue Thompson Our Municipal Historians group is finishing up the Tompkins County Religious Structures of Tompkins County book. I helped take pictures of all the Town of Ulysses churches. If you want to see a unique church take a trip over to Waterburg and see the Methodist Church (now privately owned). It’s a beautiful building. George Boyer, professor of economic history at ILR at Cornell presented the MH Group with information on the Tompkins County Civil War Commission's program called Adopt a Soldier. He presented the process of research and discussed what we might learn from information available here and on the Internet, and how to teach others. If anyone wants to research a family civil war soldier and needs help let me know. I recently had a request regarding the Newman family on Bostwick Corners. Otho was a blacksmith in the early 1940's and had a horse farm in the 1930's. Otho came with his family from Ohio. There were three brothers and one sister. While researching the family history I found this rather humorous article in a 1919 newspaper; I don’t know the ending sentence$ Malodorous Case for Enfield Jury A Jury Trial in Enfield today will decide whether mistaking a skunk for a raccoon is a serious affair, according to Attorney J. J. McGuire, who represents Albert Newman, the man who made the mistake. Mr. McGuire says that three young men, Charles Bower, Frank Lanning and Albert Newman, properly armed and duly licensed, in the Open Season for coons, went out by night to hunt these fur-coated beasties. In the dark, however, it came to pass that a small animal took refuge under a culvert and was pursued there from by Newman's dog. Now the time was not the open season for the species of American multiline carnivores of the genus Mephitis less elegantly known as Skunks, and so, according to his attorney, Newman is accused of hunting said carnivores out of season. The prosecution will' be represented by Attorneys E. M. St. John and M.S. Halladay. April 18, 1919 Ithaca Daily News Planning Board Activities The Planning Board recently welcomed newest member Marie Van De Mark and looks forward to working with her. Marie is a life-long member of the Enfield community and Enfield business owner. The Board wrapped up its work on updating the Town’s Site Plan review law and has passed it on to the Town Board and Town Attorney for comment and review. The Board is now beginning to work on reviewing and updating the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, which will be a time-consuming task. This process will include the opportunity for community input, so think about what is important to you and where you think the Town could make improvements or changes for the better. 4 Dates to Remember April 4 Planning Board Meeting Community Building, 7 pm 4 Volunteer of the Month nominations due 11 Town Board Meeting Community Building, 6:45 pm May 2 Planning Board Meeting Community Building, 7 pm 2 Volunteer of the Month nominations due 8-12 Spring Clean-up (pg 1) At New Town Barn 9 Town Board Meeting Community Building, 6:45 pm TBA Rabies Clinic (pg 3) Highway Garage, 6:30 p.m. June 6 Planning Board Meeting Community Building, 7 pm 6 Volunteer of the Month nominations due 13 Town Board Meeting Community Building, 6:45 pm Town of Enfield 168 Enfield Main Road Ithaca NY 14850 Volunteer Recognition Volunteerism runs strong in the Enfield Community; here’s a “Thank You” to our most recent Volunteers of the Month: February 2012: Dave Owens I am writing to nominate Dave Owens to be recognized as Volunteer of the Month (or Quarter, as appropriate) in the Town of Enfield. I suspect that others may share my sentiments and write similar nominations. It is my honor to be one of those writers. It is with great regret that I didn’t write this letter prior to Dave’s passing. As you well know, Dave would help anyone do anything; period. Dave had a huge heart, and many of the residents of Enfield know that first hand. From the Enfield Fire Company, to the Enfield Food Pantry and more, Dave gave countless hours of assistance; often sweaty, back-breaking assistance, and never complained or asked for anything in return. Dave’s volunteer work ethic was an inspiration to me, and I will miss that, and so much more. I know others share those sentiments. It is with that in mind that I ask you to forward this nomination to the Town Board of the Town of Enfield for their action, and recognize David H. Owens posthumously as Volunteer of the Month. Thank you for your consideration. Greg W. Stevenson Do you know someone who goes above and beyond for our community? Submit a letter of nomination for Volunteer of the Month to Roy Barriere at the Town Hall by the first Wednesday of each month for consideration. Helpful Tompkins County Web Sites (all begin with http://www.): Government: co.tompkins.ny.us Legislature: tompkins-co.org/legislature Assessment: tompkins-co.org/assessment Board of Elections: tompkins-co.org/boe Clerk: tompkins-co.org/clerk Health Department: tompkins-co.org/health Highway Department: tompkins-co.org/highway Solid Waste: recycletompkins.org