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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-16-2011z� v FEBRUARY 16, 2011 PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1 5:00 P.M. SMALL CITIES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION PALL CORPORATION, PASS EXPANSION AND HOUSING REHABILITATION GRANT APPLICATION CORTLANDVILLE TOWN WIDE REHABILITATION PROGRAM 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, concerning submitting two applications to the New York State for funding under the federal Small Cities Community Development Program: (1) an economic development application on or before March 1, 2011, with a maximum funding request of $750,000, and (2) a housing rehabilitation grant application on or before May 27, 2011, with a maximum funding request of $400,000. 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; Ann Hotchkin and Annalena Davis from Thoma Development Consultants; News Reporters: Jeremy Houghtaling from the Cortland Standard, Eric Mulvihill from WXHC, and Sharon Stevans for Channel 2, Access TV. Supervisor Tupper called the Public Hearing to order. Town Clerk, Karen Q. Snyder, read aloud the published, posted and filed legal notice. Supervisor Tupper offered privilege of the floor to Ann Hotchkin. Ann Hotchkin, from Thoma Development Consultants, apprised the Board the Economic Development Grant of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program is an open application process. Applications may be submitted anytime throughout the year, and are reviewed quarterly by the CDBG board. The first part of the process is for the Town to submit a pre -application to the office. The Town is then invited to submit a final application, which the Town was invited to do. Mrs. Hotchkin stated she was waiting for approval of the final application and completing the second of two required public hearings. Mrs. Hotchkin noted some of the project highlights for the Economic Development Grant. She explained that a $2.9 million investment on behalf of Pall Corp. was made, allowing them to expand in the Town of Cortlandville. The CDBG is about 20% of the overall project cost. The Town intends on doing a combination of a deferred payment loan and a direct loan at 3%. A portion of the grant will be forgiven once Pall Corp. creates the jobs obligated. Mrs. Hotchkin apprised the Board the project would expand Pall Corp's Route 281 facility. Supervisor Tupper questioned whether there was an estimated start date for the project, which Mrs. Hotchkin explained there was not. Mrs. Hotchkin apprised the Board that Part II of the public hearing was with regard to the resubmission of the CDBG for the Town Wide Housing Rehabilitation Program. She explained that the Town did not receive funding in 2010 and opted to resubmit the grant application for 2011. The grant application was similar to the elderly program that was going on in the Town, except there would not be any restrictions on the age of the owner. The grant would be for those who are low -to -moderate income based on family size and the condition of the house. Those with the lowest income and the worst housing conditions would be given priority. Councilman Rocco stated that a low income may be considered high to another person, and requested Mrs. Hotchkin give a range for income and the number of occupants. Mrs. Hotchkin explained that a family of four is based on 80% of the Cortland County medium, which is approximately $46,000. A family of 1 is approximately $31,000. The income increases as the number of people in the family increase. Councilman Rocco questioned whether the owner of the home must reside in the home. 1 1 1 FEBRUARY 16, 2011 PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1 PAGE 2 zq._ Mrs. Hotchkin explained that the home must be the owner's primary place of residence. However, there are special situations for someone who may go to Florida for the winter or for someone who may need to go into a nursing home. Such situations do not happen too often. Mrs. Hotchkin apprised the Board the grant application was due on or before May 27, 2011. The Town should expect to hear back on the grant in early September. No further comments or discussions were heard. The Public Hearing was closed at 5:10 p.m. I.� FEBRUARY 16, 2011 5:10 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; Ann Hotchkin and Annalena Davis from Thoma Development Consultants; News Reporters: Jeremy Houghtaling from the Cortland Standard, Eric Mulvihill from WXHC, and Sharon Stevans for Channel 2, Access TV. Supervisor Tupper called the meeting to order. There was discussion regarding the Draft Town Board Minutes of January 19, 2011. Councilman Rocco was concerned that Supervisor Tupper made a statement that was not true, yet it was included in the minutes. He referred to Page 7 of the minutes, which stated the following: Supervisor Tupper agreed, and stated that wind turbines cannot be "zoned out of the Town" and must therefore write wind turbine regulations for the Town. The Board planned to have regulations in place before the moratorium on wind turbines expires. Supervisor Tupper recalled making the statement that wind turbines cannot be zoned out of the Town. According to Councilman Rocco, industrial wind turbines can be zoned out of the town. He offered to provide a list of the towns in the State of New York who have done just that. Supervisor Tupper stated, "right now we want to make sure whether this is an accurate statement it probably should stay in the minutes, if not we should correct it." Attorney Folmer disagreed and did not believe that an amendment to the minutes was appropriate. He stated, "the minutes are intended to reflect what actually happens at a meeting, and you did in fact make that statement. Whether it may be inaccurate or not, the fact of the matter is the statement was made, and it's reflected, and I don't believe that the minutes should be corrected. I think they accurately reflect what was said and they should remain in their present form...." Discussion continued on the matter. Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach to approve the draft Town Board Minutes. Councilman Rocco questioned whether Supervisor Tupper wanted to make a statement tonight to correct what he said. Supervisor Tupper stated, "it's not an error if I said it. It might not have been a true statement but I said it. That's the difference." He continued by stating "the minutes reflect what was said at the meeting. If it was an inaccurate statement then it was an inaccurate statement. But I said it. I remember saying it." Town Clerk Snyder suggested the Board approve the other two draft Town Board Minutes and give her to opportunity to listen to the January 19, 2011 Town Board Meeting again to make sure the wording of the section in question was correct. Supervisor Tupper was sure the draft Minutes were worded correctly. However, both he and Councilman Rocco agreed with Town Clerk Snyder's suggestion to approve the January 5th and February 2°a draft Town Board Minutes, and to allow her the opportunity to review the language. Councilman Rocco stated he wanted it to be "perfectly clear that we can zone these things out and if there was an error made that you just were unaware of it ... ." Councilman Proud amended his motion, in consideration of Town Clerk Snyder's suggestion, to approve all three of the draft Town Board Minutes, unless the tape shows that Supervisor Tupper did not make the statement; otherwise they are approved. Councilman Rocco requested Town Clerk Snyder provide them with exactly what was said, which she agreed to do. Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to approve the Draft Town Board Minutes of January 5, 2011. All voting aye, the motion was carried. Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to approve the Draft Town Board Minutes of January 19, 2011, subject to Town Clerk Snyder's review. All voting aye, the motion was carried. zy3 FEBRUARY 16, 2011 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2 Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to approve the Draft Town Board Minutes of February 2, 2011. All voting aye, the motion was carried. RESOLUTION #48 AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF VOUCHERS - FEBRUARY Motion by Councilman Leach Seconded by Councilman Testa VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED BE IT RESOLVED, the vouchers submitted have been audited and shall be paid as follows: General Fund A Vouchers #83 - 118 $ 23,086.82 General Fund B B 14 - B20 $ 2,963.37 Highway Fund DB D53 - D70 $ 57,628.77 Special Grants C4 - C7 $ 6,057.42 Water Fund W30 - W47 $ 69,102.08 Sewer Fund S7 - Sl l $ 2,015.66 Capital Project H9 - H12 $ 322.52 Supervisor Tupper offered privilege of the floor to those in attendance. Councilman Rocco apprised the Board he was told by one of the new members of the Airport Committee that the runway of the airport cannot be lengthened, which may be significant to people who live around the airport. Councilman Rocco also informed the Board that a committee of seven people was formed to help oversee the airport manager. The committee would be meeting for the second time on February 22, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. at the County Highway Department. The public was invited to attend the meeting. Councilman Leach apprised the Board he audited the financial records of the Highway Department and found everything to be in order. The monthly reports of the Town Justice, and the Cortland County SPCA for the month of January 2011 were on the table for review and are filed in the Town Clerk's office. Under communications, Supervisor Tupper apprised the Board the Cortland County Soil & Water Conservation District would be conducting a meeting regarding hydro fracking on February 28, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at the Cortland Grange. The public was invited to attend. With regard to hydro fracking, Councilman Rocco recalled a presentation that was held at a past Town Board Meeting. The people giving the presentation were landowners, in which 60% of the land surrounding them was leased to gas companies. The gas companies would pay the royalties, but he questioned whether the gas companies were allowed by law to drill on the property or under the property. Attorney Folmer stated that as he understood it, the gas companies could drill under the property. He stated, "if there is in an area a certain percentage of a given area which is leased ... 60% I think is right, then if I'm encompassed by that I think they have the right to go under. But I do not believe they have the right to use the surface of my land. That may be incorrect but that is my understanding as of right now." Councilman Rocco agreed and thanked Attorney Folmer RESOLUTION #49 AUTHORIZATION TO FILE AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDS TO THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY RENEWAL Motioned by Councilman Proud Seconded by Councilman Leach VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED Zy� FEBRUARY 16, 2011 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3 BE IT RESOLVED, the Town of Cortlandville is hereby authorized and directed to file an application for funds from the New York State Office for Community Renewal under the federal Small Cities Community Development Block Grant - Economic Development Program for Fiscal Year 2011, for the Pall Corporation -PASS Expansion, in an amount not to exceed $750,000, and it is further RESOLVED, the Supervisor of the Town of Cortlandville is hereby authorized and directed to sign said application on behalf of the Town and upon approval of said request, enter into and execute a grant agreement with the State for such financial assistance to the Town of Cortlandville. RESOLUTION #50 AUTHORIZATION TO FILE AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDS TO THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY RENEWAL Motioned by Councilman Leach Seconded by Councilman Proud VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED BE IT RESOLVED, the Town of Cortlandville is hereby authorized and directed to file an application for funds from the New York State Office for Community Renewal under the federal Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program -Housing Rehabilitation for Fiscal Year 2011, for the Cortlandville Town Wide Rehabilitation Program, in an amount not to exceed $400,000, and it is further RESOLVED, the Supervisor of the Town of Cortlandville is hereby authorized and directed to sign said application on behalf of the Town and upon approval of said request, enter into and execute a grant agreement with the State for such financial assistance to the Town of Cortlandville. There was discussion regarding the request made by Dr. J. Lee Ambrose for the removal of the Water and Sewer Benefit Tax for two of his properties located on Commons Ave. and Route 281, which was discussed at the February 2, 2011 Town Board Meeting. Supervisor Tupper spoke with Assessor Briggs, who came to the same conclusion as he has in the past that the Board should not reduce or remove the benefit tax. Councilman Testa made the suggestion that if Dr. Ambrose did not want to retain ownership of the Route 281 parcel in front of the Renaissance Development, then perhaps the Town could use the parcel to expand the retention pond at the bottom of the development. Highway Sup't. Bush stated that the Town could make the retention pond a little bigger, however Phase III of the Route 281 project may infringe on being able to bring the pond right out next to Route 281. Supervisor Tupper explained that Dr. Ambrose's property on Route 281 was approximately 20 ft. deep and 500 ft. along Route 281. The property would have some value to the Town, but no value to Dr. Ambrose. Councilman Rocco stated it would be a good idea for the Town to take the parcel if Dr. Ambrose wanted to offer it. He was concerned however, that any disruption of the roadway could impact the residents of Bell Drive. Supervisor Tupper suggested Attorney Folmer write a letter to Dr. Ambrose regarding Councilman Testa's suggestion. Town Clerk Snyder apprised the Board she received notification from Cortland Country Club, Inc. and Walden Oaks Country Club. Inc. regarding the renewal of their liquor licenses. Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa, to receive and file correspondence and the Renewal Application Notice Form from Donna Deering, Business Manager, dated February 7, 2011, regarding the renewal of the liquor license for Cortland Country Club, Inc., located at 4514 Route 281 in the Town of Cortlandville. All voting aye, the motion was carried. z 457 FEBRUARY 16, 2011 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 4 Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa, to receive and file correspondence and the Renewal Application Notice Form from Pomeroy, Armstrong, Casullo & Monty, LLP, dated January 28, 2011, regarding the renewal of the liquor license for Walden Oaks Country Club, Inc., located at 3369 Walden Oaks Blvd. in the Town of Cortlandville. All voting aye, the motion was carried. Attorney Folmer reported: Wind Turbine Sub -Committee Meeting: Attorney Folmer reported that he, Councilman Proud, and Councilman Rocco met with James Trasher of Clough Harbour & Associates on Wednesday, February 16, 2011. The group had a preliminary discussion regarding the wind turbine issue and came to some agreements. The first agreement was that, "whatever regulation we would write would be applicable to all people who might wish to construct these facilities, and that we are not dealing with any particular individual company. We are dealing with an overall regulation." Secondly, it was agreed that Mr. Trasher would provide a sample ordinance that had been adopted in another municipality, however he would remove the references specific to the municipality. The committee would review the sample ordinance word by word to see if it was fitting for what the Town needed to do. Attorney Folmer also mentioned that they talked about the fact that there are three categories: residential, commercial, and industrial. All three categories would be dealt with. Mr. Trasher would provide information concerning topographical data for the towns, "and talk about where, if these things are to be located, might they be located." At this time, Attorney Folmer had not yet received the information. Once the committee receives the information they would take time to review it, and would then meet with Mr. Trasher to discuss it. In the meantime, Attorney Folmer asked Councilman Rocco to provide him with the list of those towns that have zoned wind turbines out. He stated he was not sure that he agreed with the proposition that wind turbines could be absolutely forbidden. Noise caused by J-Brakes: Attorney Folmer recalled that at a prior meeting the question was raised as to whether or not an ordinance could be adopted to deal with the use of "J-Brakes" on trucks. Highway Sup't. Bush provided him with a copy of an article from Talk of the Towns, which contained an informal Opinion from the Attorney Generals' Office indicating that unless the State of New York has delegated the authority to the Town to adopt such regulation, we cannot do so. As of the date of the reading, no such delegation had been made. Attorney Folmer explained that the regulation of state and other highways is mandated and controlled by the Vehicle and Traffic Law. Therefore, the Town has no authority to adopt such an ordinance. Discussion continued amongst the Board. Councilman Leach questioned how the County would approach the state to make the request. Attorney Folmer stated they would have to ask Senator Seward or one of the Assemblymen to introduce a bill that would pass both the Senate and Assembly and be signed by the Governor, that would grant that authority to some locality, be it a county, town or village. RESOLUTION #51 AWARD BID FOR THE EXTERIOR CLEANING, PATCHING AND COATING OF 2-1.0 MG CONCRETE WATER STORAGE TANKS TO NATGUN CONCRETE TANK SERVICE IN THE AMOUNT OF $94,900.00 Motion by Councilman Leach Seconded by Councilman Proud VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED WHEREAS, bids were advertised for the Exterior Cleaning, Patching and Coating of 2-1.0 MG Concrete Water Storage Tanks (Blue Creek Road and NYS Route 215), and WHEREAS, sealed bids were opened on February 2, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. and provided to Water & Sewer Sup't. Peter Alteri Jr. for review as follows: zgC0 FEBRUARY 16, 2011 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 5 NATGUN Concrete Tank Services $94,900.00 11 Teal Road Wakefield, MA 01880 BE IT RESOLVED, the bid as recommended by Water & Sewer Sup't. Alteri is hereby awarded to NATGUN Concrete Tank Service of 11 Teal Road, Wakefield, Massachusetts, in the amount of $94,900.00. Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to receive and file correspondence from the Lime Hollow Nature Center, dated January 26, 2011, requesting to be permanently exempt from the Water and Sewer Benefit Tax for property located on Stupke Road, tax map #95.15-03-23.100. All voting aye, the motion was carried. Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to receive and file correspondence from Town Assessor, David Briggs, dated February 3, 2011, regarding the request made by Lime Hollow Nature Center to be exempt from the Water & Sewer Benefit Tax for property located on Stupke Road, tax map #95.15-03-23.100. All voting aye, the motion was carried. There was discussion regarding the request made by Lime Hollow Nature Center to be exempt from the Water and Sewer Benefit Tax for its 11.39-acre parcel located on Stupke Road, tax map #95.15-03-23.100. Supervisor Tupper explained that the parcel was donated to the Lime Hollow Nature Center. The parcel is tax exempt, except for the Water and Sewer Benefit Tax, which equated to $1,338.19 on the 2011 Town and County tax bill. Lime Hollow Nature Center claimed that the property would be forever wild as long as they owned the property. However, Assessor Briggs recommended the Board not remove the benefit tax completely, but consider reducing the benefit tax to 1.0 units each for water and sewer. Councilman Proud stated his concern was that the parcel was a separate and distinct parcel from the properties that Lime Hollow Nature Center owns now. He did not object to granting the relief that they suggest, but stated they should consider adding a clause that if Lime Hollow were to sell the property in the future, the amount of money they saved in benefit tax be added at that time. Councilman Proud apprised the Board it would be similar to some State Forest Practice Laws where you get some relief from tax. The intent is to keep the property wild forever. If the property doesn't remain wild, it would increase in value and Lime Hollow would reap the benefit. Attorney Folmer questioned whether Councilman Proud was suggesting that if in the future the property was sold that some calculation be made as to what the benefit tax would have been from today to the date of sale, to collect back? If so, Attorney Folmer would want to look into the matter. He also discussed tax exemptions under §501c-3 of the Internal Revenue Code, and was not sure that Councilman Proud's suggestion would apply to a non -for -profit organization. Discussion continued on the matter. Supervisor Tupper suggested the Board table the matter to a later date as there was no urgency in a decision at this time. The decision could be made later in the year as long as it was made prior to Town Clerk Snyder's deadline for submission of the benefit tax to the County. Attorney Folmer requested the Board table the request to the March 16, 2011 Town Board Meeting. RESOLUTION #52 TABLE REQUEST OF LIME HOLLOW NATURE CENTER FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE WATER AND SEWER BENEFIT TAX FOR PROPERTY LOCATED ON STUPKE ROAD TO MARCH 16, 2011 Motion by Councilman Rocco Seconded by Councilman Testa VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby table the request of the Lime Hollow Nature Center for the removal of the water and sewer benefit tax for property located on Stupke Road, tax map #95.15-03-23.100, until March 16, 2011 to allow the Town Attorney time to review the request. FEBRUARY 16, 2011 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 6 zy7 RESOLUTION #53 REFER AQUIFER PROTECTION PERMIT APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY INTERTEK TESTING SERVICES NA, INC. TO THE TOWN AND COUNTY PLANNING BOARDS FOR REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS Motion by Councilman Proud Seconded by Councilman Leach VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED BE IT RESOLVED, the Aquifer Protection Permit application submitted by Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc. for property located on Route 11, owned by Electrical Testing Labs Inc., tax map #87.00-03-17.100, shall be forwarded to the Town and County Planning Boards for review and recommendations. Supervisor Tupper informed the Board that Councilman Leach made a suggestion that he be allowed to look into possible solar energy projects for some of the Town's buildings. Councilman Leach was interested in researching the issue to determine whether there would be savings to the Town to use environmentally clean energy. The Board agreed with Councilman Leach's suggestion, and authorized him to move forward with his research. No further comments or discussion were heard. Councilman Testa made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to adjourn the Regular Meeting. All voting aye, the motion was carried. The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m. 1 Res p ctfully submitted, 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 February 28, 2011. The draft version of this meeting was approved as written at the Town Board meeting of March 02, 2011. 1