HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-16-2011353
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
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
Deputy Town Clerk, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella
Absent: Town Clerk, Karen Q. Snyder, RMC
Others present were: Town Attorney, John Folmer; Highway Sup't. Carl Bush; County
Legislator, Susan Briggs; Barb Leach; Steve Flatt; Kevin Whitney; News Reporters: Eric
Mulvihill from WXHC, Matthew Nojiri from the Cortland Standard, and Sharon Stevans for
Channel 2, Access TV.
Supervisor Tupper called the meeting to order.
RESOLUTION #191 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN
PURCHASE ORDER #0082
Motion by Councilman Rocco
Seconded by Councilman Leach
VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to sign
Purchase Order 40082 submitted by Water & Sewer Sup't. Alteri for the purchase of one Homa
Electric Submersible Explosion Proof Pump for the McLean Road Sewer Lift Station from Pump
Service and Supply of Troy, Inc., for the total cost of $4,106.90.
RESOLUTION #192 AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF VOUCHERS —NOVEMBER
Motion by Councilman Rocco
Seconded by Councilman Leach
VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the vouchers submitted have been audited and shall be paid as follows:
General Fund A Vouchers #586 - 619
$241,457.97
General Fund B B 151 - B 154
$ 8,161.48
Highway Fund DB D453 - D473
$234,676.22
Special Grants C36 - C37
$ 11,635.00
Water Fund W244 - W260
$ 55,027.19
Sewer Fund S 136 - S 150
$160,277.34
Capital Project H54 - H54
$ 100.00
Supervisor Tupper offered privilege of the floor to those in attendance. No requests were
made.
The monthly report of the Water & Sewer Department for the
month of October 2011
was on the table for review and is filed in the Town Clerk's Office.
Supervisor Tupper read aloud a letter that Attorney Folmer received from Attorney Carter
Strickland of MacKenzie Hughes, LLP. Attorney Strickland thanked Attorney Folmer for his
help in assembling information with regard to Cortland Chrysler Jeep and its claim against the
State of New York. In his letter, Mr. Strickland stated, "I also hope you will tell Karen Snyder
and her staff that in my 47 years of practicing law, I have never met a more accommodating and
cooperative group of people and I greatly appreciate the assistance that they gave me." The
Board commended the Town Clerk's Office for their assistance.
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NOVEMBER 16, 2011 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2
There was discussion regarding the 2012 Budget. Supervisor Tupper announced that the
2012 Budget for the Town of Cortlandville had a $0.00 tax increase, as did the Cortlandville Fire
District. He also mentioned that the appropriate forms were filed with the State of New York
stating that the Town was officially under the 2% tax cap, which would have only allowed the
Town to increase taxes by $32,000. Supervisor Tupper thanked Bookkeeper Marcia Hicks and
all department heads for their hard work on the budget. On behalf of the Board, Councilman
Testa commended Supervisor Tupper for his work on the budget and for making a difference in
the Town with all that he does.
RESOLUTION #193 ADOPT THE TOWN BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR OF 2012
Motion by Councilman Rocco
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED
WHEREAS, on the 2nd day of November, 2011 the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville,
held a Public Hearing on the Preliminary Budget and proposed amounts to be raised by the
benefit tax on benefited properties in the Town Sewer Improvement District, approved by the
Town Board, and filed with the Town Clerk for fiscal year commencing January 01, 2012, and
having heard all persons in favor of, or against any items therein contained, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, the preliminary budget is hereby approved as filed, and the same is hereby
adopted and established as the annual budget of this Town for the fiscal year beginning January
01, 2012, and such annual budget, as so adopted, is filed with the Town Clerk, and it is further
RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk of this Town shall prepare and certify, as provided by law,
duplicate copies of the annual budgets, hereby adopted, together with the assessment rolls for the
benefit of improvement for the Water Fund and the Sewer Fund, adopted pursuant to Section
202-a of the Town Law and within five days thereof, deliver two copies to the Supervisor of the
Town and the Supervisor shall present the copies of the annual budget to the Legislature of
Cortland County within ten days after his receipt thereof from the Clerk.
Attorney Folmer reported:
Certiorari Tax Proceedings:
Attorney Folmer apprised the Board the certiorari tax proceeding involving the Town and
Gator Cortlandville Partners and New Plan Realty Trust was complete. In comparison to the
County and School District, the Town would have to pay insignificant refunds to both Gator and
New Plan. Several other certiorari tax proceedings involving the Town were pending.
NYS Bar Association Journal:
Attorney Folmer provided the Board with a copy of an opinion piece from the NYS Bar
Association Journal regarding homeowners and gas drilling leases. He noted that the article was
written by an attorney for attorneys, and categorized the article as anti-hydrofracking. Attorney
Folmer explained that he would provide the Board with as much information as possible.
FOIL Request:
Attorney Folmer commented on the correspondence received from Attorney Carter
Strickland, which he stated "underscores the kind of work that the Clerk's office does" when
asked to research specific topics. Attorney Folmer also noted that the Clerk's office received the
same praise from Attorney Frank Sarat of Homer, New York with regard to the FOIL request
that he submitted.
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NOVEMBER 16, 2011 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3
RESOLUTION #194 RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD, TOWN OF
CORTLANDVILLE, CORTLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK,
ACCEPTING REVISIONS TO THE "POLKVILLE
WATERLINE EXTENSION PROJECT — FORM E"
Motion by Councilman Proud
Seconded by Councilman Leach
VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED
WHEREAS, the Town of Cortlandville Town Board has reviewed Form E, for the Polkville
Waterline Extension Project, Capital Outlay Budget categories, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town of Cortlandville, Town Board hereby modifies the following
administrative budgeted items on the Form E based on Form E No. 4 as follows:
- Move from contingency $179.37 to A-8 Miscellaneous
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the reason for the budgetary amendment increase is due
to not enough was budgeted in the miscellaneous line to cover current invoices, and be it further
RESOLVED, the budgetary amendment resulted in a decrease of contingency by $179.37,
bringing total contingency from $268,981.89 to $268,802.52.
RESOLUTION #195 AUTHORIZE USE OF THE RAYMOND G. THORPE
MUNICIPAL BUILDING FOR THE DEFENSIVE DRIVING
COURSE FOR THE YEAR 2012
Motion by Councilman Proud
Seconded by Councilman Leach
VOTES: ALL AYE ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Safety Council is hereby authorized to use the Raymond G.
Thorpe Municipal Building to conduct their Defensive Driving Course for the year 2012 per the
submitted schedule, and subject to the availability of the municipal building.
Supervisor Tupper questioned whether there were any other matters to come before the
Board.
Attorney Folmer apprised the Board that he and Supervisor Tupper attended a meeting
with officials from TC3 concerning problems at the College Suites student housing complex. A
meeting was also scheduled with the management from College Suites, however the meeting was
cancelled. The meeting would be rescheduled for a later date.
According to Attorney Folmer there is very little the Town can do under its zoning and
planning regulations. Attorney Folmer reviewed the file regarding the College Suites, and found
that the conditions set by the Town and County Planning Boards were specific to the
construction of the buildings. The officials at the college are frustrated and concerned with the
serious problem. Attorney Folmer spoke with Town Justice Casullo and the Assistant District
Attorney who handles the Cortlandville Court to see what steps could be taken to try and bring
some measure of control at the College Suites. Attorney Folmer assured the Board that the
Town is doing what it can at this time.
Councilman Proud questioned whether there was anything the Planning Board could have
done during the planning process that would have changed the situation. Attorney Folmer stated
the real problem is that the owners of the buildings are not providing the monitoring and the
securing that they indicated in their presentations that was going to take place. The Planning
Board was told that the facilities would be occupied by Juniors and Seniors from SUNY
Cortland and Graduate Students, which has not happened. Many students from TC3 are living in
the facility, which they have the right to do, however there are residents who are no longer
enrolled at TC3 who remain at the facility. There have been significant safety concerns, which
include the fire department needing a police escort in order to enter the building. Also, there are
students who are allegedly being mistreated; a couple of students have left school because of
their concerns. Attorney Folmer stated the situation is very frustrating for the college, the police,
the fire department, and for the Town.
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PAGE 4
Attorney Folmer hoped that monitoring of the College Suites would increase. It was his
understanding that the people who were providing the security were going to be replaced by
security cameras. However, he stated that on -site management was not picking up the slack as
they should do. Attorney Folmer compared the College Suites to the West Campus student
housing facility owned and operated by SUNY Cortland. According to Justice Casullo, he could
count on one hand the number of times he has dealt with conflicts at West Campus. Attorney
Folmer assured the Board that he was doing what he could with regard to the situation.
No further comments or discussion were heard.
Councilman Proud made a motion, seconded by Councilman Leach, to adjourn the
Regular Meeting. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m.
Resp tfully 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 December 2, 2011.
The draft version of this meeting was approved as written at the Town Board meeting of December 21, 2011.
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