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MAY 15, 2013 5:00 P.M.
TOWN BOARD MEETING
The Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville was held at the
Raymond G. Thorpe Municipal Building, 3577 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York, with
Supervisor Tupper presiding.
Members present: Supervisor, Richard C. Tupper
Councilman, Theodore V. Testa
Councilman Ronal L. Rocco
Councilman, John C. Proud
Councilman, Gregory K. Leach
Town Clerk, Karen Q. Snyder, RMC
Others present were: Town Attorney, John Folmer; Highway Sup't. Carl Bush; Town
Planning Board Member, Nick Renzi; Town Zoning Board of Appeals Member, David
Alexander; Town Historian, Jeff Guido and his son and daughter; Deputy Town Clerks: Kristin
Rocco-Petrella and her daughter Avery, Chavonne LaPlant, Patricia Romer; Groton Town Clerk,
April Scheffler; Homer Town Clerk, Anita Jebbett; Solon Town Clerk, Margaret Honour; Jeffrey
Betters; Kristina Russell; Town Bookkeeper, Marcia Hicks; Dave Hicks; Brice Smith; Janet
Steck; Stephen A. Furlin; George Duane; Victor Siegle; Randy Young; Mary Heider; Michael
Barylski; Denise Knight; Alison King; Todd Miller; Chris Bushnell; Trudy Wise; Gus Wehbe;
Denise McNeal; Charlotte McNeal; Frank McNeal; Paul Heider; Althea Heider; Gary Loudan;
Ellis McDowell-Loudan; Brianna Head; Deb & John Head; Kimberlea VanderWoude; Peter
VanderWoude; Robert Beard; Roydell S. Hurlbert; Shelly White; Loni Moore; Ed Moore;
Mecke Nagel; Gary Davis; Steve Flatt; Lee Miller; and News Reporters, Katherine Wilde from
the Cortland Standard, Eric Mulvihill from WXHC, and Sharon Stevans for Channel 2 Access
TV.
Supervisor Tupper called the meeting to order and offered privilege of the floor to April
Scheffler.
April Scheffler, Town Cleric from the Town of Groton, and District 6 Director of the New
York State Town Clerks Association, explained that each year, the NYSTCA bestows the honor of
District Clerk of the Year upon one Clerk from each of the 10 Districts in the State. District 6
encompasses the counties of Cortland, Madison, Chenango, Broome, Tioga, Tompkins, Schulyer,
and Chemung. At the NYSTCA convention held in Buffalo from April 28-May 1, 2013, Town
Clerk, Karen Q. Snyder was designated as the 2013 District 6 Clerk of the Year. Town Clerk
Scheffler read aloud the following proclamation presented to Town Clerk Snyder by the NYSTCA:
PROCLAMATION — PRESENTED TO KAREN Q. SNYDER
WHEREAS, it is with honor the New York State Town Clerks Association has recognized and paid tribute to
a Town Clerk who has made strong contributions to her community and serves as a role model for her peers;
and
WHEREAS, KAREN Q. SNYDER was chosen by the New York State Town Clerks Association District Six
Directors, Jane Ilse and April Scheffler, as the District Six Clerk of the Year; and
WHEREAS, she has served the Town of Cortlandville as the Town Clerk for fourteen years and before that
as Deputy Clerk for 12 years; has been a member of the New York State Town Clerics Association for
twenty-six years, serving as former District Director; is a member of the International Municipal Clerks
Association; and is a member of the Cortland County Town Clerks Association, serving as Vice President;
and
WHEREAS, the New York State Town Clerks Association has conferred the Title of Registered Municipal
Clerk upon Karen as she has completed the requirements prescribed by the Association for certification; and
WHEREAS, Karen was nominated by Kristin Rocco-Petrella, Cortlandville Deputy Town Clerk; Richard
Tupper, Cortlandville Supervisor; Elizabeth Larkin, Cortland County Clerk; the Honorable James Seward,
NYS Senator; John Folmer, Cortlandville Town Attorney; Kevin Whitney, Cortland County Legislator;
Bernard Thoma, Thoma Development Consultants; Suzanne Etherington, NYS Archives Region 6 Advisory
Officer; Nicholas Renzi, Cortlandville Planning Board; Katherine Wickwire, Cortlandville Planning Board;
Anthony Pace, Cortland County Legislator; Theodore Testa, Cortlandville Deputy Supervisor; Francis
Casullo, Cortlandville Town Justice; Marcia Hicks, Cortlandville Bookkeeper; Peter Alteri, Jr., Cortlandville
Water and Sewer Department; David Briggs, Assessor; Carl Bush Jr., Cortlandville Highway Superintendent;
Anita Jebbett, Homer Town Clerk; Margaret Honour, Solon Town Clerk; Valerie Hall; Debbie Crandall,
Lansing Town Clerk; Bambi Avery, Dryden Town Clerk; and Robin Cargian, Groton Deputy Town Clerk;
and
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MAY 15, 2013 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2
WHEREAS, she has gone above and beyond her responsibilities to serve her constituents and all who visit
the Town of Cortlandville Town Clerk's Office as Notary Public, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Tax Collector,
and Records Management Officer and by working closely with all other departments; and
WHEREAS, she has contributed tremendously to her fellow clerks by founding the Cortland County Clerks
Association; hosting many NYS Archives Seminars; initiating a countywide program to allow for partial
payment of Town and County Taxes; helping create a countywide spay/neuter program; and always opening
her heart as a mentor and a friend; and
WHEREAS, Karen has given unselfishly to her community by her steadfast involvement as Member of the
Cortlandville Republican Committee; Member of the Cortland County Republican Women's Group; Member
of the Cortland County Records Management Advisory Committee; and former Member of CAPCO —
Cortland County Community Action; being instrumental in the success of many grant applications for the
Town of Cortlandville; playing a major roll in the design of a new Town Hall; and working with the Fire
Department to develop ordinances; now
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the New York State Town Clerks Association does hereby resolve to
recognize KAREN Q. SNYDER for her outstanding and heartfelt commitment to the Town of Cortlandville
and the great State of New York.
Town Clerk Snyder expressed her gratitude and was honored to be the recipient of such
award, which she felt would have made her predecessor, Pauline Parker Batsford very proud.
Supervisor Tupper recognized and congratulated Town Clerk Snyder for receiving the
award. He stated that there are 932 Towns in the State of New York and it was therefore very
selective for Town Clerk Snyder to win such award.
Anita Jebbett, Homer Town Clerk and President of the Cortland County Town Clerks/Tax
Collectors Association, presented Town Clerk Snyder with a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf
of the Counties Association. The certificate was given in appreciation in honor and recognition she
has brought to the Association as the recipient of the prestigious award.
Town Clerk Snyder acknowledged her children Jeffrey Betters and Kristina Russell who
surprised her with their attendance this evening and her youngest daughter Katlin Snyder who was
unable to be attend. She also thanked her staff and the many people who supported her by writing
wonderful letters of support for her to receive such award.
The Regular Meeting was recessed at this time to conduct a Public Hearing for a Local
Law for Wind Energy Facilities in the Town of Cortlandville.
The meeting was recessed at 5:10 p.m.
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MAY 15, 2013
PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1
5:10 P.M.
LOCAL LAW OF 2013
WIND ENERGY FACILITIES
A Public Hearing was held by the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville at the
Raymond G. Thorpe Municipal Building, 3577 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York, regarding
the enactment of a Local Law for Wind Energy Facilities in the Town of Cortlandville.
Members present: Supervisor, Richard C. Tupper
Councilman, Theodore V. Testa
Councilman, Ronal L. Rocco
Councilman, John C. Proud
Councilman, Gregory K. Leach
Town Clerk, Karen Q. Snyder, RMC
Others present were: Town Attorney, John Folmer; Highway Sup't. Carl Bush; Town
Planning Board Member, Nick Renzi; Town Zoning Board of Appeals Member, David
Alexander; Town Historian, Jeff Guido and his son and daughter; Town Bookkeeper, Marcia
Hicks; Dave Hicks; Brice Smith; Janet Steck; Stephen A. Furlin; George Duane; Victor Siegle;
Randy Young; Mary Heider; Michael Barylski; Denise Knight; Alison King; Todd Miller; Chris
Bushnell; Trudy Wise; Gus Wehbe; Denise McNeal; Charlotte McNeal; Frank McNeal; Paul
Heider; Althea Heider; Gary Loudan; Ellis McDowell-Loudan; Brianna Head; Deb & John
Head; Kimberlea VanderWoude; Peter Vanderwoude; Robert Beard; Roydell S. Hurlbert; Shelly
White; Loni Moore; Ed Moore; Mecke Nagel; Gary Davis; Steve Flatt; Lee Miller; and News
Reporters, Katherine Wilde from the Cortland Standard, Eric Mulvihill from WXHC, and
Sharon Stevans for Channel 2 Access TV.
Supervisor Tupper: Alright. We have a public hearing scheduled this evening and I would ask
Karen if she would please read the notice.
Town Clerk Snyder: Please take notice that a public hearing will be held by the Town Board of
the Town of Cortlandville on May 15, 2013 or as soon thereafter as the parties may be heard at
the Raymond G. Thorpe Municipal Building, regarding the enactment of a local law for Wind
Energy Facilities in the Town of Cortlandville. Copies of the local law are available for
inspection at the office of the Town Clerk during regular business hours or on the Town's
website. At the time and place of said hearing all parties in interest and citizens shall have an
opportunity to be heard with comments on environmental concerns as well as the provisions of
the proposed local law. By order of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you Karen. We have a sign -in sheet for speakers .... I am going to
lay a little bit of the ground rules here and give you a little bit of an idea of how we got here this
evening. We've been working for about two and a half years to come up with an ordinance.
We've decided to do it by local law. The reason we're doing this is because in the future if
somebody comes to the Town of Cortlandville with a proposal to put windmills in we have no
written regulation or requirements. So we decided that should somebody come to us we had
better have something in writing. I want to thank John and Ron and John Folmer. The three of
them made a lot of trips back and forth to Syracuse with our engineering firm to start this. We
sent it to the County and the Town Planning Board and we got incredible comments. Then we
had private citizens come in and clean up and add a lot of technical things to it. And I think that
we've got an ordinance that will protect the Town of Cortlandville from any kind of I say
windmills, I can't ... turbines, thank you, turbines. So we are very, very pleased about that. This
is the first opportunity that the public has had to comment on wind turbines so we are very
pleased that we're the first to do that in the county. We are going to have some restrictions.
Councilman Rocco: May I ask a question?
Supervisor Tupper: Sure.
Councilman Rocco: Perhaps some people didn't know that they needed to sign in or up on that
sheet, and I might ask that we open that up to anyone that wanted to say something but didn't
sign their name on the sheet.
Supervisor Tupper: There is a second sheet here. If you want to put it back out on the table. If
you feel you want to say something go ahead and sign up. In the interest of time and energy we
are going to limit speakers to three minutes. Mr. Folmer will be keeping the clock. He will
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MAY 15, 2013 PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1 PAGE 2
wave at you when you have fifteen seconds left, and when your three minutes are up we would
ask you to close out your comments. The second thing is that this is a public hearing on this
local law. It's not a public hearing on the DEIS or TCI or windmill companies in general. It is
on this local law and we would ask you to limit your comments to what is in the local law.
Councilman Rocco: May I ask how many people have signed up.
Supervisor Tupper: Eight so far.
Councilman Rocco: Okay so if we give each three minutes that's twenty-four minutes and we
had talked earlier about possibly raising that to five or six minutes seeing that there are so few
that have signed up in the event that they would like to.
Supervisor Tupper: Okay.
Councilman Rocco: Six minutes?
Supervisor Tupper: We'll make it, we'll go to five minutes. John, does your calculator do
that?
Attorney Folmer: My calculator will go a lot more than that.
Supervisor Tupper: Okay then we'll go to five minutes.
Attorney Folmer: I can't, but it will!
Supervisor Tupper: And let me. The first name on our list is Brice Smith from Trumansburg.
Attorney Folmer: ... give your name and address.
Supervisor Tupper: And for the record you need to give your name and address so Karen can
have it.
Brice Smith: My name is Brice Smith. My home address is 39 East Main Street in
Trumansburg. I teach at the college up at SUNY Cortland. I am the Chair of the Physics
Department. I won't need the full five minutes. I actually prepared a set of written comments
that I would like to submit. I'm going to allow the discussion to go on. I would just briefly
commend the Board. I think that the draft law upon review has really struck an excellent balance
between the need for a very important energy resource for wind in the future which really does
have a crucial role to play in the future of renewable energy system with protecting the local
public and protecting from the real impacts of wind as opposed to some of the proposed impacts
of wind in terms of sound and the light. My background is I'm a Ph.D. in Physics. My
particular area of interest is in energy and I've studied this for quite some time. There were a
small number of recommendations that I had for places where there were bits that I thought
could strengthen specifying the time limit with respect to the decibel limit for the noise limits. A
few places like that. I've included the references for those as well. I would with that just like to
submit my written comments and I will turn the floor over. Who should I submit these to?
Supervisor Tupper: Karen gets all the written comments. We have other written comments
that have come in also so.
Town Clerk Snyder: Thank you.
Supervisor Tupper: We appreciate it.
Councilman Rocco: You've come a long way. Isn't there one summary comment that you'd
like to make?
Brice Smith: Well I mean the comment I think that I made was that I thought that the law does
strike an excellent technical balance between protecting the local community and still being
reasonably, um, reasonable in terms of what is acceptable for siting, setbacks, and the like. In
almost every criteria the regulations that I saw were either comparable or more protective than
almost any other jurisdiction that I reviewed. So I thought that the draft law was quite protective
overall.
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MAY 15, 2013
PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1
PAGE 3
Supervisor Tupper: Good. Thanks Brice. Lee Miller.
Lee Miller: Hi I'm Lee Miller from McGraw. I have two questions ... my own time. When are
the comments due if we turn in written comments?
Supervisor Tupper: We are going to accept them up to ...
Attorney Folmer: June 13th. Noon on Monday June 1311'
Lee Miller: Okay. And my second 'question I had, will there ever be an opportunity for us to
ask you questions and actually get answers back. Would you ever be willing to hold a session
where, because I have questions for example of how a setback was determined or about such and
such a thing were determined. Could we ever have that?
Attorney Folmer: We will have to consider that based on what we hear this evening.
Lee Miller: Not to put you on the hotseat but I have legitimate questions to know. How did you
come up with that? Or you know what went into your thinking? And I would like to know from
my own elected officials what went into, what was your data? What did you use? And that kind
of thing. So I'm also going to be turning in written comments so I'm just going to briefly touch
on a few. I advocate a total ban. I think that this contributes virtually nothing to anything that's
good in Cortland County. I think that if you do accept these forty-five years from now you're
going to find that you are grossly behind, that you have been woefully left behind the rest of the
country and the rest of New York. There are many things that you are not going to be able to do.
You are not going to be able to pursue tourism in the one area that you still have available to
you. You are going to see stymied growth. God forbid if something should ever happen such as
a turbine part breaks and kills somebody and you have a wrongful death lawsuit I literally don't
think you could recover. I think that the amount you would face in a lawsuit would be
catastrophic to the Town and I don't think you could pull out of that. So the risks so far
overshadow the gain that you ever could possibly get. I have some objections to the findings.
You know the very first finding is that wind energy is an abundant resource of the Town. No it's
not. I mean every single map and Department of Energy maps have listed this as a poor to
marginal area. So I even have, you know, going down through the givens even before we get to
the law I kind of question that and I'll be turning that in in my comments. To me the setbacks
are not far enough. I would urge you to make one setback and make it the maximum you need to
cover the eventualities. Don't have one setback from a property line but then a minimum
setback from a house. That's why we have zoning. If somebody moves the next person may not
want to have a wind turbine that close to their home and you may find that house unable to be
sold, unable to be occupied. I don't know why you have a lesser setback to wetlands. You'd
almost think you'd want a farther setback to wetlands. I would ask that you would consider
farther setbacks from known and identified endangered plant and animal species that have been
identified and ask that you do the same for known historic structures and things that you might
be able to gain an enormous income from tourism from. Consider a much more strident setbacks
for those. I don't know why you would give minimal setbacks to those things. I would also ask
you that when you look at, um, I hope you know by now that tourism is the number one industry
in the state and you want to be on that bandwagon. You want to be on board that because that
can get you the whopping money that you should have coming in. Don't just rely on so far of
what's listed as a state historic site or a federal historic site. Look at what could be eligible for
being listed because there's a lot of places that could really reap you a lot of money that so far
aren't listed. And I would urge you to do that. The same with wetlands. There are federal
wetlands, state wetlands you talked about, but I have a private wetland. I don't even know if
private wetlands are regulated. They probably are but I don't know if the state knows about
them so you may not know that I have a private wetland for example. Bird and bat populations.
When I looked at the DEC for my own property it turns out the last survey was 1985. So don't
just rely on things that you may get from the agencies. I don't know what mechanism you have
but I have had extensive people come on to my property deliberately to try to figure out what
I've got so that I can then relay it to you. So don't just look at things that the feds or the state
may give you because they may be vastly out of date and we may have other data out there. So I
don't know how you are going to gather data on what needs to be protected and what's out there.
Again I guess I'll limit my comment to this because I will certainly be turning in more. I just
want to warn you, or not warn you, just remind you, remind you that tourism is the most
lucrative enterprise you could ever hope to accomplish and Ag is number two. And Ag and
tourism go together beautifully and you could make millions and millions and millions of dollars
and it hasn't been yet developed in the town. This will stop it. It'll stop it dead in its tracks.
MAY 15, 2013 PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1 PAGE 4
Lee Miller continued: So I want to see, I don't want to see us frozen like the land that time
forgot for forty-five years. So please give us the maximum amount of protection and consider
strengthening them by far. Thank you.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you. Janet Steck.
Janet Steck: I'm Janet Steck and my address is 113 Clinton Street, Homer. Before I start I'm
going to read my remarks and they are very brief. I'd just like to say that I'd describe myself
originally as being a pro -wind person. But I am very concerned about the global warming trend
and therefore I've been very interested in looking for and becoming informed about renewable
sources of energy. So when I started my journey I was very open to the idea of wind industry
and the wind turbines which I had experienced while traveling. However, as I became more
informed about them I changed my mind. I believe that there might be some places where they
can benefit us and contribute to the slow -down of global warming but I don't think Cortland
County is the place for them. So if I had my druthers I would prefer a ban. However, having
said that I want to congratulate the Town Board on its design of what I believe is a strong but fair
local law to regulate industrial wind turbine development in the town. I believe as Town
Supervisor Tupper has said, this document protects the citizens and taxpayers of Cortland
County and I would like to add that in my view that works as well for the towns neighboring
communities. It seems to be a very well thought out document. And as most of us know Mr.
Tupper just reminded us that two and a half years have gone into the preparation of this
document. That a great deal of time and energy devoted to scientific investigation and analysis
are the foundations of the documents findings and requirements. So to sum up I would like to
point out in particular five regulations contained in the local law which I believe are especially
important in view of protecting public health, safety and welfare. They are: 1. Setbacks of 3,280
feet from property lines. 2. Decommissioning provisions including the requirement that any
project developer/owner maintain a decommissioning fund. 3. The requirement for any project
developer/owner to hold proof of liability insurance at a total annual policy minimum of
$20,000,000. 4. The limit in height of 500 feet wind energy structures. And 5. A set of
provisions noted as Real Estate Property Value Assurance which would protect non -participating
property owners from property value loss should problems occur due to the construction and
operation of wind turbines. The Cortlandville local law is an important step forward not just for
this municipality but for the entire county. As we meet, now as we are meeting, three other
towns are in the process of creating their own local laws. The Cortlandville local law sets both a
model and a standard for them to follow. I strongly urge the members of the Cortlandville Town
Board to accept this local law as proposed, and I thank you for this opportunity to speak.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you Janet. Chris Bushnell.
Chris Bushnell: My name is Chris Bushnell. I live at 3655 Page Green Road. As many of the
residents in Cortland County and in this room I did not know too much about industrial wind
farms before June 2012. One of the most important things I have learned is there must be proper
and safe setbacks from property boundaries and residences. I would like to thank the Board
tonight for proposing, for protecting the residents of the Town of Cortlandville with this
proposed wind draft ordinance. However the final draft that becomes law must be documented.
At this time I would like to direct this toward Mr. Folmer our town's attorney. It's imperative.
Please be sure that all information in our law is backed up by science and studies with documents
lawyers can find and read. These documents that ... having this documentation is just ... not
having this documentation is just like writing an un-protective or a bad law. Safe setbacks from
residents must be documented. The more science and studies to back-up your numbers for the
setbacks the more credible your law will be in Albany. This is essential. And actually it's not
just the setbacks it's everything else that's in the law. You have to come up with information
that, you know, that backs up why you wrote it in the law. And it's not just for TCI it's for
anybody else as Mr. Tupper stated before. That's why you have to have a law in the first place.
And it's only as good as the documentation you provide to it.
Councilman Rocco: We do have much and that's an excellent idea.
Chris Bushnell: Well from what I found is, is you can find many documents that say close to
the same number. But if you pick a number between whatever those documents tell you then,
you know, your law is going to hold up. And that's really the bottom line is making sure the law
is good. And once again I'd like to thank everybody for all the hard work as well as quite a few
of the folks in this audience. And congratulations Karen!
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MAY 15, 2013
PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1
PAGE 5
Town Clerk Snyder: Thank you Chris.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you Chris. Denise McNeal.
Denise McNeal: Good evening. My name is Denise McNeal. I'm located at 4327 North Road
in McGraw. I have just recently submitted to Mr. Tupper my concerns and my reasoning of how
I would be affected and my son with a disability of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD type C
combined would be affected by the turbines as I would be within close proximity of them. With
that being submitted I'd just like to say I like the fact that the draft law has setbacks calculated
from the property line and I appreciate that. Thank you.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you Denise. And let's see. Scott Flatt.
Steve Flatt: He's not here now ...
Supervisor Tupper: Steve. Steve Flatt.
Steve Flatt: Scott died in 2008.
Supervisor Tupper: You didn't. You put S. Flatt.
Steve Flatt: I did not. You know me!
Supervisor Tupper: I know I do but. Steve Flatt for the record.
Steve Flatt: My name is Steve Flatt and I live on Levydale Park in Cortlandville. I was made
aware of this about two years ago. Mr. Rocco asked me some questions. I told him I didn't
know anything about wind, and had no experience in it. And so I've been following this on and
off since. Okay. And I read the first version last August. I realized before I made any
comments that there was going to be another version. And before I got to read that I realized
there was going to be yet a third one. So this one I have gone through and I have written up
comments that I'll give you in a minute. And I'll let those stand as they are. I may go back and
submit some more if you're going to give us until the 13th of June. The only other thing I have, I
have a couple of items here that I thought were serious enough to bring to your attention to talk
about. Oh I should say you've got a lot of cleanup to do on your document. You've got some
outlining errors and some ... stuff like that. The more I saw I put a ... I put a note in my other
comment.
Councilman Rocco: Spellcheck.
Steve Flatt: Well not spellcheck. English grammar. There is one thing that concerns me. If I
go through and read that there is no provision for setting aside normal towers to collect weather
information. Unless you do that you're basically including towers like the ones they have at the
airport that take weather observations for pilots. You're including towers that the school system
may set up for training and teaching at the high school. And you're going to expect me to live
by that law that my six-foot weather pole out in the backyard that has an anemometer on it and a
weather head on it that does all of the measurements that you would find on these wind survey
towers, you're going to probably be in jeopardy for having to go through your permit process.
And I don't want to do that. I don't think it's necessary. So that is something I'd like you to
look at. The other thing that concerned me was independent consultants that you mentioned ...
what not. I see that you're trying to make sure that the applicants pay for all of the expenses. I
think that's a good thing. I don't like the term independent because in my mind at least, and Mr.
Folmer may have a different opinion, that sets up kind of an arbitration system where you have
the town on one side and the applicant on another and some independent entity out here that may
or may not have the power to make a decision. So I'd like to see that changed. Okay.
Councilman Rocco: We make the decisions. Those are basically ...
Steve Flatt: So take the, take the independent part out. Because you don't want them
independent. You want me coming in as an applicant and I'm going to provide engineering for
my customer. And then if I'm working on your behalf, if you're on the other side, then I'm
going to be working on the town's behalf and there is no independents on either side. I've never
seen an independent thing like this in any requirement. So, I think and if you want to talk about
it more detail I can do that.
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MAY 15, 2013 PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1 PAGE 6
Steve Flatt continued: The other thing I noticed in there that kind of gave me a little heartburn
was you have a section in there requiring some sort of certification to do audio acoustic
measures. Alright. Now a licensed engineer is going to object to that. The state is going to
uphold that because the whole licensing process at the state level is to avoid that sort of thing for
a town to come in and set up requirements to do professional work. If you're going to do it with
contractors that's fine but you're going to have to exclude the licensed engineers from that
because it is up to the licensed engineer to decide what work he can do, what he has to do to
prepare himself for new work, or work he may not have done a lot of in the past. And I have had
personal experience with this. About twenty years ago Cayuga County tried to make me go to a
course to measure septic tank viability and as an engineer, you know, that's what the licensing
process is for. But they had it in their law that everybody that did this was required. I've talked
to John McNeal who is on the licensing board in Albany and I don't know what he did or who he
talked to but the next day I had a call waiting for me when I came in that said oh we
misunderstood, and we're sorry you can do these tests without coming to our course. So you
have to be careful with that.
Councilman Rocco: May I ask you Mr. Chairman. I think I should address the question to you
because this is important. I mean if I have a heart problem I'm going to go to a heart surgeon.
I'm not going to a general surgeon. If I have an electrical problem that requires circuitry and just
not general electrical hookup in a house I'm going to go to a circuitry engineer. I don't
understand what the difference is by specifying the specific field of engineering of acoustical
measurement because it is a separate field of engineering. And that not all as has been proven by
our own experience with our own engineering firm, not everyone has the ability to give advice in
all areas of engineering.
Supervisor Tupper: We'll take that into consideration.
Steve Flatt: We know what our confidences are. And we know what our capabilities are. And
that's pretty much what's up to us by the state as to whether we want to get involved in
something that comes under our licensing. I have a couple more things. I wanted to thank you
for including my concerns on the ground vibration transmission issue that I brought up earlier. I
think you may find that that's becoming more important in the future. And I also think these
three gentlemen here especially have done a phenomenal job and they deserve all the credit that
we can give them for coming up with a very comprehensive, very well thought out law. The
only ...
Attorney Folmer: I hate to stop you when you are being so nice but the time is about to expire.
(laughter in audience)
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you Steve.
Steve Flatt: But I did put that in my last paragraph in the cover letter ... So I'd like you to look
at that. I think you did a great j ob.
Supervisor Tupper: Brianna Head.
Brianna Head: Hi everyone. I'm Brianna Head and I live on 4500 North Road. ... and four of
our children. For the past four to five years we have been slowly developing our future home on
a parcel of land that's adjacent to the one we live on now. We have put a driveway in, our pole
barn ... Sorry ...
Councilman Testa: A little louder please.
Brianna Head: Do you want me to start over or just continue?
Councilman Testa: Continue. A little louder, please.
Brianna Head: We have put a driveway in, pole barn, septic service in and hope to do more in
the future but we have put everything on hold due to the setbacks that were set previously. Now
that the new setbacks ... the new setbacks ... I really do like the fact that the draft law has the
setbacks calculated from the property line so we can hopefully continue with our dream. And
also I have a daughter with ADHD who will be greatly affected by these if they are put in so I
am very much in favor of these setbacks. Thank you very much.
r�
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MAY 15, 2013
PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1
PAGE 7
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you.
Councilman Rocco: Is your husband, is he the one who works in or outside Cazenovia near
Fenner? No. Okay. There is another person building a house up there ...
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you. Paul Heider.
Paul Heider: My name is Paul Heider. I live at 4378 Syrian Hill Road, McGraw, in the Town
of Solon. I came up here to mention a couple of things about the ordinance. The first is I've
been researching wind turbines since 2008 and I believe the setbacks that are in your local law
will mitigate most of the impacts that I've read about and researched. I believe the 3,280 feet is
right where we need to be. I also want to reinforce Mr. Bushnell's thoughts on documentation. I
believe we might be heading to Albany with this law sometime in the future. It has been told to
us. Documentation I would really like to make sure we have in place before the law is approved
by the Board. I think that's very important. The other thing I would like to ask about is on page
20 of your local law under setback distances. I'll just read it. Under number one. 3,280 feet
from the nearest site boundary property line notwithstanding any other provision of this local law
regarding waivers or setbacks easements. No WECS shall be within 1,200 feet of any residence
whether or not said residence has okayed it in the Town of Cortlandville. My understanding of
the 1,200 feet from residences might be from people who have signed to be involved with the
project. My thoughts are that the law needs to protect even those people who are involved with
the project. Giving them a lesser setback I don't see how it would be protective of them. If they
want to ... My thoughts are if they want to agree to have a lesser setback it should be done with
an attorney and the Town of Cortlandville because that setback does not protect them. I really
like this setback to protect even those that want to be involved in the project. Those are my
thoughts. Thank you very much for your draft. It's an excellent law.
Supervisor Tupper: Did anybody else sign up on the additional sheet?
Councilman Rocco: I'd just like to mention that Mr. Heider brought to the attention of the
Attorney General the misdeeds of a wind company concerning ...
Supervisor Tupper: We don't have any wind companies that we're talking about tonight Ron.
The only thing we're talking about is an ordinance. Thank you.
Councilman Rocco: Yes. I know that. But, I mean, what I'm saying is he had a great deal to
do with a lot of people ...
Town Clerk Snyder: I think you've got one more that may want to speak.
Supervisor Tupper: ... somebody else ...
Town Clerk Snyder: Gary. I think.
Supervisor Tupper: Okay.
Councilman Rocco: ... I salute him for ... it takes a lot to get the Attorney General to issue a
fine ...
Supervisor Tupper: ... Do you have additions?
Unknown: One more.
Supervisor Tupper: Okay. Thank you.
Councilman Rocco: ... He was able to do it through his perseverance and his policeman
background.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you. Gary Davis.
MAY 15, 2013 PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1 PAGE 8
Gary Davis: Hi. I'm Gary Davis. 4515 North Tower Road, Solon. Cincinnatus Post Office.
I'm President of the McGraw Sportsman Club and President of the County Federation. And my
biggest concern is the wildlife. You can talk about protecting people and all that stuff but there's
not many people that will speak for the wildlife. I worry about turkeys in particular ground
nesting birds. I know in the Midwest they've had problems with not allowing wind farms near
traditional nesting grounds for endangered species ... because they won't nest near them. I have
not heard of any scientific studies of grouse states trying to reintroduce spruce grouse wild
turkeys. Those are great tourist attractions for Cortland County because there are a lot of people
who come here to turkey hunt. And I have no idea if it would affect fish ... stream or not. So I
think those are things that need to be strongly looked at before you agree to have something that,
ah, but other than that your ... law is drafted way better than the original.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you Gary.
Councilman Rocco: Turkey almost became the national bird by the way instead of the bald
eagle.
Supervisor Tupper: We want to thank you all for your comments. You gave us some ... We
want to thank you for your comments. Basically you gave us some ideas. There's a couple of
things in here that I know that we thought we covered every single item after two and a half
years, but it looks like John's going to have to do some legal research on a couple of the items
you brought up. So we appreciate that. We are not going to take this up for a vote until June
19th
Attorney Folmer: 15tn. Is it the 15tn?
Supervisor Tupper: Today is the 15tn
Councilman Rocco: Wednesday the 151h
Town Clerk Snyder: 19th
Councilman Rocco: Our meeting on Wednesday, June ...
Supervisor Tupper: Wednesday the 19tn
Attorney Folmer: 19tn
Councilman Rocco: The 191h
Attorney Folmer: Correct.
Supervisor Tupper: We are going to take this up on Wednesday, the 19tn at our Town Board
meeting. We are going to accept comments up until noon on the Monday before that.
Attorney Folmer: Which is the 17tn. I misspoke. It's the 17t" not the 13th.
Supervisor Tupper: So we'll be accepting comments up until the 17tn If you have any written
comments you'd like to make we certainly would like to see them. Again it helps us if it's in
writing. And we do appreciate it. We've got a couple other people in the audience that we know
put a lot of effort into this. Mike Barylski retired from the DEC and Victor Siegle from Homer.
They gave us a lot of technical advice in areas that we really didn't have. So we want to thank
the two of them for their comments. (Applause from audience)
Councilman Rocco: Dick, I think we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the Planning Board.
Supervisor Tupper: I did.
Councilman Rocco: Oh you did. Very good.
Supervisor Tupper: I mentioned them. Yes. I don't think I missed anybody. If I did I
apologize.
1
Attorney Folmer: Mr. Tupper, before you close the public hearing I'd like to add two things ...
MAY 15, 2013 PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1 PAGE 9
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Supervisor Tupper: Okay.
Attorney Folmer: ... Four things to the record of the public hearing if you don't mind.
Supervisor Tupper: Okay.
Attorney Folmer: First of all we did receive two written comments. One from Judy Wade. It
was received by us on May 14th. It's dated the 13th. It's a handwritten note and that should be
part of the record. And we did in fact receive written comments from Ms. Denise McNeal as she
referred to earlier. That should be part of our record as well. I had two verbal thoughts
expressed to me. I've had more than two but the two that I think we should put here. I was
asked whether or not the regulation should include some description or limitation on the effect of
the flicker effect on a residence within an annual period of time and that is something that we
will look at but I want it part of the record. And the second question I had had to do with the
measurement of the setback depending upon irregular topography, because theoretically I guess
if you measure this way up a hill you could end up with the facility being closer than the setback
to the actual building. I am advised and believe by people who know more about this than I do
that there is a method that surveyors use to measure horizontally so that they make the world
what is in effect pre -Columbus or flat. And once they have done that, once we have satisfied
ourselves that that is the way that this should be done I think we should consider putting that into
the ordinance so that everybody is clear. Other than that I've had no other comments. But I
think the record ought to include the four that I have mentioned. And I thank you.
Supervisor Tupper: Thank you John. We're going to close this public hearing.
The Public Hearing was closed at 5:50 p.m.
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MAY 15, 2013
5:55 P.M.
TOWN BOARD MEETING
The Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville was held at the
Raymond G. Thorpe Municipal Building, 3577 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York, with
Supervisor Tupper presiding.
Members present: Supervisor, Richard C. Tupper
Councilman, Theodore V. Testa
Councilman Ronal L. Rocco
Councilman, John C. Proud
Councilman, Gregory K. Leach
Town Clerk, Karen Q. Snyder, RMC
Others present were: Town Attorney, John Folmer; Highway Sup't. Carl Bush; Town
Zoning Board of Appeals Member, David Alexander; Town Historian, Jeff Guido and his son
and daughter; Michael Barylski; Denise Knight; Steve Flatt; and News Reporters, Katherine
Wilde from the Cortland Standard, Eric Mulvihill from WXHC, and Sharon Stevans for Channel
2 Access TV.
Supervisor Tupper called the meeting to order.
Councilman Rocco questioned where'the written comments regarding the proposed Local
Law for Wind Energy Facilities would be available for public review. Supervisor Tupper
indicated that the comments would be available through the Town Clerk's Office.
Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa, to receive and file the
Cortlandville Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes of March 26, 2013. All voting aye, the motion
was carried.
Councilman Leach made a motion, seconded by Councilman Proud, to approve the Draft
Town Board Minutes of April 24, 2013. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
Councilman Leach made a motion, seconded by Councilman Proud, to approve the Draft
Town Board Minutes of May 1, 2013. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
RESOLUTION #109 AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF VOUCHERS — MAY
Motion by Councilman Leach
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE — Tupper, Testa, Rocco Proud, Leach NAY — 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the vouchers submitted have been audited and shall be paid as follows:
Funds A, B, DA, DB
Voucher #414-476
General Fund A
$ 26,914.06
General Fund B
$ 3,290.76
Highway Fund DA
$ 0.00
Highway Fund DB
$ 20,520.54
Funds CD I, CD3, CD4
Voucher #20-22
BMills Rehab CD 1
$ 0.00
Town Wide Rehab CD3
$ 10,232.09
Business Devl CD4
$ 0.00
Fund HC, SS, SW
Voucher #147-168
NYS Rt 13 Sewer Rehab HC
$ 0.00
Sewer SS
$ 7,141.06
Water SW
$ 4,929.52
Funds SF, TA, TE
Voucher #(none)
C'Ville Fire District SF
$ 0.00
Trust & Agency TA
$ 0.00
Expendable Trust TE
$ 0.00
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MAY 15, 2013
nl
TOWN BOARD MEETING
PAGE 2
Supervisor Tupper offered privilege of the floor to Jeff Guido.
Town Historian, Jeff Guido first congratulated Town Clerk Snyder for her hard work and
dedication to the Town. He then gave the Board an update regarding things that he has been
doing as Town Historian. He apprised the Board he attended the Association of New York
Public Historians meeting in Liverpool, New York last month.
Mr. Guido recalled that the Board authorized Reverend Robert Calvert to install a new
headstone at his relative's grave located in the Town of Cortlandville's South Cortland Cemetery
located on Route 13. Mr. Guido informed the Board that Reverend Calvert would be placing a
new headstone at his Great-Great-Grandfather's grave on June 15, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. and that
the Board was invited to attend the ceremony. Flags would also be placed at the tombstones of
veterans who are buried in the cemetery. Mr. Guido notified the VFW and the American Legion
and they would provide the flags.
Supervisor Tupper indicated that the Town Highway Department was replacing the post
and rail fence at the South Cortland Cemetery. The work should be complete prior to the June
15, 2013 ceremony.
The monthly reports of the Town Clerk, Tax Collector, Town Justice, Supervisor, and
Water and Sewer Department for the month of April 2013 were on the table for review and are
filed in the Town Clerk's office.
There was a brief discussion regarding correspondence from Time Warner Cable.
Supervisor Tupper mentioned that Time Warner Cable would be reorganizing its channel lineup
by category. Channels 1 through 99 would remain the same, however channels over 100 would
now be organized by genre. The change would be effective on or about June 18, 2013.
Supervisor Tupper questioned Town Clerk Snyder if Time Warner would be notifying the public.
Town Clerk Snyder was not aware and suggested that Supervisor Tupper contact the Town's
Cable Commissioner to inquire.
Councilman Leach made a motion, seconded by Councilman Proud, to receive and file
correspondence from Time Warner Cable, dated May 14, 2013, regarding the reorganization of
its channel lineup by category. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
Town Clerk Snyder apprised the Board that the New York State Town Clerks
Association conference, which she recently attended in Buffalo, New York, was very
educational. Numerous changes were forthcoming for Town Clerks in the State of New York.
One such change, which she did not have too much information on at this time, was the possible
future elimination of Town Clerks as issuing agents for conservation licenses.
Town Clerk Snyder thanked the Board for their support with regard to being honored as
District 6 Clerk of the Year. She stated she was lost for words, and that it was an honor to serve
the Town of Cortlandville, and to put Cortland County on the map with the New York State
Town Clerks Association.
Attorney Folmer stated that one of the most pleasant things he has had the opportunity to
do as Town Attorney was to write a letter in favor of Town Clerk Snyder's award. He stated it
was impossible for him to say just how much support that she and her staff give to the office of
the Town Attorney. He stated that he thanks his "lucky stars every day that she is our Town
Clerk."
RESOLUTION #110 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE AFFIDAVIT
REGARDING THE TOWN'S 2011 COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT HOUSING
REHABILITATION PROGRAM BETWEEN THE TOWN AND
HERBERT T. AND SHERRY L. HICKS
Motion by Councilman Proud
Seconded by Councilman Leach
VOTES: AYE — Tupper, Testa, Rocco Proud, Leach NAY — 0
ADOPTED
aal�,
MAY 15, 2013 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize the Supervisor to sign the Affidavit
regarding the Town's 2011 Community Development Housing Rehabilitation Program, between the
Town of Cortlandville and Herbert T. and Sherry L. Hicks, 4097 Hicks Hill Road, McGraw, New
York regarding the extension of loan funds by the Town's CDBG Program for the total amount of
$28,602.09.
RESOLUTION #111 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE OWNER -
OCCUPIED LOAN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND
HERBERT T. AND SHERRY L. HICKS FOR THE TOWN'S 2011
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT HOUSING
REHABILITATION
Motion by Councilman Rocco
Seconded by Councilman Leach
VOTES: AYE — Tupper, Testa, Rocco Proud, Leach NAY — 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize the Supervisor to sign the Owner -
Occupied Loan Agreement between the Town of Cortlandville and Herbert T. and Sherry L. Hicks,
4097 Hicks Hill Road, McGraw, New York, for a 100% deferred loan for the 2011 Community
Development Block Grant Housing Rehabilitation Program in the amount of $28,602.09.
RESOLUTION #112 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE AFFIDAVIT
REGARDING THE TOWN'S 2011 COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT HOUSING
REHABILITATION PROGRAM BETWEEN THE TOWN AND
DALYCE HEWES
Motion by Councilman Leach
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE — Tupper, Testa, Rocco Proud, Leach NAY — 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize the Supervisor to sign the Affidavit
regarding the Town's 2011 Community Development Housing Rehabilitation Program, between the
Town of Cortlandville and Dalyce Hewes, 2284 Blodgett Mills Road, Cortland, New York
regarding the extension of loan funds by the Town's CDBG Program for the total amount of
$1,275.00.
RESOLUTION #113 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE OWNER -
OCCUPIED LOAN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND
LEAMON AND DORENE EATON FOR THE TOWN'S 2011
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT HOUSING
REHABILITATION PROGRAM
Motion by Councilman Leach
Seconded by Councilman Rocco
VOTES: AYE — Tupper, Testa, Rocco Proud, Leach NAY — 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize the Supervisor to sign the Owner -
Occupied Loan Agreement between the Town of Cortlandville and Leamon and Dorene Eaton,
1596 Oakcrest Street, Cortland, New York, for a 100% deferred loan for the 2011 Community
Development Block Grant Housing Rehabilitation Program in the amount of $273.09.
1
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0199
MAY 15, 2013 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 4
There was a brief discussion regarding correspondence from the Internal Revenue
Service regarding the recent compliance check of the employment tax of the Town. Supervisor
Tupper mentioned that a representative from the IRS spent about 2 %2 hours with the Town
Bookkeeper and found her records to be in great shape and did not find any reason to continue
the audit.
Councilman Leach made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa, to receive and file
correspondence from the Internal Revenue Service, dated May 3, 2013, regarding the recent
compliance check of the employment tax of the Town of Cortlandville. All voting aye, the
motion was carried.
Supervisor Tupper reminded the Board and the public that the next Town Board Meeting
would be held on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Blodgett Mills Independent
Baptist Church.
No further comments or discussion were heard.
Councilman Leach made a motion, seconded by Councilman Rocco, to adjourn the
Regular Meeting. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
4 e,/
4-A� C� -dLt-�
Karen Q. Snyder, RMC
Town Clerk
Town of Cortlandville
*Note:
The draft version of this meeting was submitted to the Town Board for their review on May 22, 2013.
The draft version of this meeting was approved as written at the Town Board meeting of June 5, 2013.
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