HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 Enfield-Town-Government-Newsletter-Jan March 2015.pdf1
Town of Enfield
Municipal Newsletter
168 Enfield Main Road http://townofenfield.org
January-March 2015
Enfield Town Boards
Meetings are held in the
Community Building, 1st floor
Town Board: 2nd Wednesday, 6:30pm
Town Supervisor
Ann Rider 277-3478
ann-rider@townofenfield.org
Vera Howe-Strait
Town Council Members
Virginia Bryant 387-9376
Mike Carpenter 277-4204
Vera Howe-Strait 273-1413
Beth McGee 229-7870
Planning Board: 1st Wednesday, 7pm
Chair, Dan Walker 387-6394
Ann Chaffee 272-6460
Dawn George 273-1247
Steve Givin 273-7434
Calvin Rothermich 272-5930
Red Poney Carpenter 279-2372
Henry Hanstein 727-3746
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
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
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Community Bldg, dwnstrs 882-9958
Town Historian
Sue Thompson 272-6412
Enfield Volunteer Fire Company
Roger Lauper, Chief 272-8757
Tucker Snyder, Deputy Chief
Kirk VanDee, 1st Assistant Chief
Alan Teeter, 2nd Assistant Chief
Tony Carlisle, Captain
County Legislators
Dave McKenna
Enfield/Newfield
564-7243, dmckenna@tompkins-co.org
Jim Dennis
Enfield/Ulysses
387-4058, jpd821@yahoo.com
Report from the Supervisor
Dear Residents of Enfield -
Hope your holiday season was peaceful and calm. We can now look
forward to an extra minute of daylight in the coming days. Always something I
look forward to.
The 2015 budget was passed with little comment. The Black Oak Wind
Farm is continuing its final round of funding with qualified investors. BOWF will
be back here locally for a final round of investing, for residents who want to
invest smaller amounts of money to support this effort to reduce our carbon
footprint on the planet. The Town Board is in the process of writing and then
approving a Findings Statement, a Road Use Agreement, a Community Host
Agreement and security for decommissioning in case of failure. When these
processes are finalized, the Town will issue permits for construction to
commence.
The Enfield Community Council has been talking for many months
about building a Community Building. This building will allow them to expand
their programming for youth and adults in this community. There seems to be
some confusion in residents’ minds about the Town’s place in this project.
Since ECC’s inception in 1976, the Town has had a contract with them to
provide programming for youth. Why does our Town do this? The simple
answer is that our youth are our future and resources that are put into
educating and molding them to become contributing members of society pay
off for us older folk by having a body of younger people who can support
themselves, take care of their families in a responsible way and do the
responsible things that make our community a pleasant and safe place to live.
This contract with ECC to provide programing for youth would continue in the
same way.
The ECC has entered negotiations with the Ithaca City School District
for a long term lease to build the building. Why not on the Town property near
the new highway facility? Several reasons….it’s nowhere near the center of the
community, they can use the playground that the school already has, and
buses can deliver the children to programming. The school is interested in this
project because the teachers will be able to use this space as a specialized
classroom.
There are many reasons why the siting of this building near the school
is a real benefit to the taxpayers of the Town. If this building were built near the
new highway building, on Town property, an additional septic system and
probably a well would have to be installed at taxpayers’ expense. Anything
done by the Town is much, much, much more expensive than the ECC, as a
not-for profit, could afford. ECC can use volunteer help, is not bound by the
stringent rules of bidding that the Town is obligated to use, etc., etc. These are
the main reasons that the siting of this building near the school is a real benefit
to the taxpayers of the Town.
So, I hope it is now clear. The taxpayers of the Town will not be
obligated to pay for this building. The ECC is an incorporated not-for-profit and
as such, has to have a business plan, can borrow money, and has to pay back
the money borrowed. The residents of this Town who want to support this
project can (and they can deduct it from their taxes because it is a not-for-
profit) and the residents who do not want to support it, do not have to. ECC
sees its mission as responding to the needs of Enfield families and residents. It
sees the new community center as bringing the community together with a
facility that meets current needs.
Ann Rider, Supervisor
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From The Highway Superintendent
Hope this finds you getting through the 2014-2015 winter
safe and having had good holidays and maybe even some time off. We at the
Highway have been in full gear with snow and ice as we were able to add
another truck to our snow plow routes. We converted the two man plow truck
to a one man plow truck. This enabled us to add a fourth truck to our snow/
ice services. The new route would be starting at Aiken Rd working back
toward the center of town, and Enfield Center Rd.
We had some major issues with the 1998 Excavator which was out
of service for approximately four weeks and was fixed at a cost of $9,500.
We also had issues with the 1997 Loader, it was down for three
weeks, the fly wheel came off the engine, the cost to fix this machine was
going to be anywhere between $3,000-$20,000, if we had to send it out,
depending on what was found to be the issue after taking it apart. We pulled
the engine and did the repair in house for $300.00 (Your new Highway Shop
at work!) This Loader is 17 years old, this is one of our main pieces of
equipment.
There are also transmission issues, which was another estimate of $15,000-
$20,000 if we decided to repair.
In an effort to be completely transparent with purchases and needs
of your Highway, after a great deal of assessment and thought, rather than
continue to pour more money into this 1997 Loader, it was decided the first of
the year we will be purchasing a new loader. The board also gave the
Highway enough money in the budget for a Pickup truck. This truck is a 2003
with 130,000 miles on it at this time. (Not trusty, but rusty!)
Winter work is snow and ice, trimming trees and ditching when
possible, maintenance on summer equipment. Drive safe, we’ll see you out
on the roads.
Buddy Rollins, Enfield Highway Superintendent
Highway@townofenfield.org/607-272-6490
From Code Enforcement
New e-mail for the Code Office:
code-officer@townofenfield.org
The local code offices in Tompkins
County have been working with the
County clerk and County assessment
on how approval for tax map changes
are handled at both the local level and
the county level. In the past, with every
town, city, or village having different
rules for land division, it made it very
difficult for the county clerk or
assessment to know what was allowed
where without prior approval. What was
happening was unapproved
subdivisions could be recorded with the
county and when building permits were
applied for, the new owners would have
to go backwards and ask for planning
board approval. What this means for
the Town of Enfield is that as of the first
of the year, County assessment will
require property splits and subdivisions
to be signed off by the Town before
they are accepted.
As some of you may know, but
many are unaware of, the Town of
Enfield has had subdivision regulations
in place since 1994. These regulations
require planning board approval for
some property splits, and all major and
minor subdivisions. The way it will work
is if you are dividing property, you
should contact me with any questions
on what needs approval, and once the
property is surveyed, I can sign off if
planning board approval is not needed
or send it to the Planning Board for
approval. Then the County will accept
and file the survey and change the tax
map. This does not mean that every
survey done needs to be approved,
only when you are dividing and selling
property, or if you want the tax map
changed to divide parcels. Surveys can
be done at any time, it is only when you
chose to file them that they will need
approval.
At the town’s request,
consolidations and boundary
corrections do not need approval and
will be accepted without the Town
signing off. Hopefully this will make
splitting or subdividing property a
smoother process and done in the
proper order. Any questions feel free to
give me a call.
Alan Teeter
Code Enforcement Office
607-277-0266
Comprehensive Plan Update
The Enfield Comprehensive Plan Committee continues its work on
the Plan and always welcomes new participants and resident input. If you
would like to participate, please feel free to attend our meetings. Upcoming
meetings are January 21st and 28th at 7:00 PM in the Enfield Community
Building.
In preparation for working on the Agriculture section, we hope those
in the Enfield Agricultural community will attend an Open House to share
their experiences in Enfield Agriculture to help inform the Comprehensive
Plan.
WHEN: Saturday, February 21st, 2015, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
(drop in at your convenience during those times)
WHERE: Enfield Community Building (upstairs)
Beverages and snacks will be provided.
Topics to consider sharing:
· What has been positive for you in your experience working in
Agriculture in Enfield?
· What has been negative?
· What would you like Agriculture to be like in Enfield in 5,10, 20
years?
· What are you worried/afraid it might be like in 5, 10, 20 years?
· If you'd like, please share details of your agriculture practice,
such as location, size, types of activities, length of time.
Feel free to give any other input you'd like to share. We look forward
to seeing you there and learning from your experiences.
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A Note From Enfield Fire Chief, Roger Lauper
As 2014 draws to a close, I’d like to update the community on Fire Company responses for 2014, and officers for
2015. Our volunteers logged 2,133 training hours, and when added to responding to calls, they put in a total of 8,584
hours.
Calls for 2014 (through the end of November):
Structure Fires 7
Carbon Monoxide 4
Smoke Alarm Investigations 11
Propane Gas Leaks 9
Authorized/Unauthorized 10
Motor Vehicle Accidents 27
Vehicle Fires 2
Storm Related Calls 2
Service Calls 17
EMS Calls 194
Mutual Aid Calls
Trumansburg 7
Newfield 6
Mecklenburg 3
Ithaca 4
Ovid 1
Officer for 2015, elected by the membership at the December general meeting, are:
Chief, Roger Lauper 2nd Assistant, Alan Teeter
Deputy Chief, Tucker Snyder Captain, Tony Carlisle
1st Assistant, Kirk VanDee
Be safe and take care for 2015—Roger
From The Town Clerk
By now all residents who own property in the Town of Enfield should have received their tax bill, unless they
have an escrow account with a bank or mortgage company. This year we are pleased to announce that you can look up
your tax bill information on-line by going to www.townofenfield.org and clicking on the "tax collection" tab. You will be
able to see if your tax payment has been processed, print copies of your bill or receipt, and look up prior year's bills. For
anyone who doesn't have access to our website, we are still glad to provide information when you call our office.
In January we will have extended hours as follows:
Mondays 3-6 Thursdays 9-12 and 3-6
Tuesdays 9-12 and 3-6 Saturdays 9-12
Wednesdays 3-6
The remainder of the year our hours will be Monday - Thursday from 3-6 p.m. Throughout the year if our hours
don’t work for you, please give us a call at 273-8256 and we’ll be glad to accommodate your schedule.
The Town of Enfield recently joined the Tompkins County Electronic Document Management System
(Laserfiche). This program has enabled us to scan important documents, such as town minutes, and place them on the
“cloud". This system will ensure that our town documents will be around for future generations. We have also been
granted space for “public” documents we think the community would like to view. More documents will be added as time
goes by. This is the link for the “public” space: https://LFWeb.Tompkins-Co.org/WebLink8/Login.aspx?dbid=5. Many
thanks to Sue Thompson, deputy town clerk and historian, for her efforts in adding documents for the public to view. If
you'd like to see some really old recipes, take a look under the historian link at this site!
Stay warm and safe this winter, and enjoy the snow.
Alice Linton, Enfield Town Clerk
Enfield Town Web Site – www.townofenfield.org
We hope you have been enjoying our new Town Web Site. Many thanks to Beth McGee for setting the site up.
We have recently made some new additions to the site. One is the Tax Collection (top menu) and under
“Resources” (top menu) then Documents, Public Laserfiche.
If you have questions or additions such as events or community news let Sue Thompson know (susan-
thompson@townofenfield.org).
Top Ten Responders for 2014:
1. Jim Whittaker
2. Tucker Snyder
3. Roy Barriere
4. Jessica Elliott
5. Luke Apgar
6. Pam Whittaker
7. Alan Teeter
8. Larry Stilwell
9. Wayne Snyder
10. Kirk Vandee
Chief’s Award recipient: Art Howser
Note: The Chief and Deputy Chief hours are
not considered for the Top Ten Award
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Town of Enfield
168 Enfield Main Road
Ithaca NY 14850
Dates to Remember
January
7 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm
7 Volunteer of the Month nominations due
14 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm
February
4 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm
4 Volunteer of the Month nominations due
11 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm
March
4 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm
4 Volunteer of the Month nominations due
11 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm
Volunteers of the Month
For November, eight 7th and 8th grade Enfield youth were recognized for their hard work in helping to make the
Enfield Harvest Festival a success. Crew attended Enfield Town Board Meeting to be honored as Volunteers of the
month! Each young person was honored individually at the November 12th Town Board meeting. The Town is happy to
recognize those who help make a positive difference in the community, and it is refreshing to honor some of our young
people.
The students above are: (back, from left) Vanessa Lopez-Drake, Jade Gonzalez, Darie Burlingame, Teddy
Trenchard, (front, from left) Jacob Carl, Oscar Vasquez, Michael Predmore, Brandon Kelly.