TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY
BOARD MEETING
MONDAY, 2/8/16, 7:00 PM
SALLY P. CARLSON, SUPERVISOR PRESENT
RALPH WHITNEY, COUNCILMAN ABSENT
FRANK STOW, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
RICHARD SENA, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
DUNCAN MCNEILL, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
OTHERS PRESENT: Dave Stapleton, Attorney; Louis Rieg, Planning; Penny Best; Helen & Clayt Emick; Robin Miller, Bookkeeper; Nancy Thomas, Town Clerk; Dan Strickland, Highway Sup’t.; Howard Peacock, Justice; Brad Lawson, Zoning CEO; Dan Thomas, ZBA
• PLEDGE
• MINUTES: 12/28/2015 & 1/11/2016
• MOTION # 13 OF 2016
MR. STOW MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE 12/28/2015, YEAR END TOWN BOARD MEETING AS PRESENTED BY THE TOWN CLERK. MR. SENA SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
• MOTION # 14 OF 2016
MR. MCNEILL MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE 1/11/2016 TOWN BOARD MEETING AS PRESENTED BY THE TOWN CLERK. MR. SENA SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
• ANNOUNCEMENTS:
• Mrs. Carlson said Mr. Whitney was not at the meeting because of a prior commitment.
• Mrs. Carlson announced that she has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She said at this time she is not sure what to expect, but if anyone needs anything they can contact any board member or the town clerk.
• PUBLIC COMMENT:
• CORRESPONDENCE:
1. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SERVICE – Reforming the Energy Vision – More efficient use of energy –
“animate” the market and leverage ratepayer contributions
Mrs. Carlson spoke briefly about this and expressed concern about the cost involved.
2. TIME WARNER
3. CHAUT. CO. REAL PROPERTY – FORCLOSURE LIST (13 in North Harmony)
4. CHAUTAUQUA REGION COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Mrs. Carlson said the CRCF is indicating that any fundraising done through their organization must comply with their guidelines.
TOWN BOARD
2/8/2016 (Pg. 2)
5. NYS-DEC – CHESTER OPALECKY – Gravel Pit Permit
6. ARBOR DAY GRANT
7. TAX CAP COMPLIANCE WAS SUBMITTED 8/18/15 AND HAS BEEN RE-SUBMITTED AGAIN (currently no acknowledgement from NYS of receipt)
8. CHAUTAUQUA CO. FINANCE – SALES TAX RECEIPT OF $146,686.61 (up $956.76)
9. ARDEN JOHNSON, SUPERVISOR ELLERY – Received Website that indicates Chautauqua
Co. is the most polluted county in NYS
• OLD BUSINESS:
• ZBA – APPOINT GARY WINGER FOR REMAINDER OF DICK BARTON TERM (EXP. 12/31/17)
Mr. Sena explained that Dick Barton has retired from the ZBA and his term is set to expire on 12/31/17. He said Mr. Winger is a neighbor from Ashville and has retired as Dean of Admissions from JCC. He said Mr. Winger would like to become involved in the community and felt this would be a good way for him to serve. Mr. Sena said he felt Mr. Winger would be a good choice and others have expressed the same opinion.
• MOTION # 15 OF 2016
MR. SENA MOTIONED TO APPOINT GARY WINGER TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS TO COMPLETE THE TERM OF DICK BARTON WHICH ENDS ON 12/31/17, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. MR. STOW SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
• NEW BUILDING – Court Grant received for $25,000 – Site work?
Mrs. Carlson said that we had received the Court Grant in the amount of $25,000.00. She said there are a couple of things we could do in advance and one of them is add signs that indicate “Authorized Parking Only” so that the Justice and Court have designated parking. She said this is one of the recommendations of the Unified Court System. She said they had also indicated a generator would be a very good idea.
Mr. Peacock indicated that he assumed the grant money can be used for site work because the grant application indicated the funds could be used for construction, materials, etc. He said receipts should be kept careful track of.
Mr. Sena said another revision of the addition had been done based on the meeting with the court and architect. He said that is available for anyone interested to review.
Mr. Stow asked if putting the addition on the rear of the existing building had been considered. He said all the utilities are located on the side of the building where the addition is currently proposed and would have to be moved.
Mr. Sena said that the location had been based on the property next door, access to the road and room for parking. Mr. Sena said it had never been discussed in the original talks. There was discussion of relocating the utilities; installing a generator and doing some of the digging and gravel work for the new addition with the grant funding.
TOWN BOARD
2/8/2016 (Pg. 3)
• PENNY BEST – CLERK TO PLANNING BOARD – RESPONSIBLE TO WHOM?
Mrs. Carlson asked Mrs. Best if she would continue to do the minutes for the Planning Board.
Mrs. Best asked who she would be responsible to.
Mrs. Carlson said because Mrs. Thomas already has 2 deputies, the Planning Board Clerk would responsible to the Town Board or the Planning Board.
Mrs. Best declined to take the position of Planning Board Clerk.
Mrs. Carlson said someone would have to be found to take the position.
Mr. Sena said he would discuss it with the Planning Board tomorrow night.
• AUDIT OF COURT BOOKS – Time frame? – Talked to BWB – Mike Corey’s office not interested
Mrs. Carlson said Mr. Sena had obtained a general audit form from the Village Court and maybe the board would like to review that before going further. She said she would get a quote from BWB when the board has a more firm idea of what its expectations for an audit would be.
Mr. Sena said since we only have one justice it would be a good idea to have the audit so that the previous justice’s books are cleared. It was agreed that an outside audit of Judge Bensink’s books would be a good idea and would help the board get an idea of what is required going forward using the general audit forms and guidelines suggested by the auditor.
• SIGN AT BOCES
Has been completed and looks very nice.
• RYAN HINSDALE – ADJUSTMENT TO SALARIES/APPOINTMENTS $18 HR/$27 OT
• MOTION # 16 OF 2016
MR. STOW MOTIONED TO INCREASE THE HOURLY RATE OF RYAN HINSDALE, M.E.O. TO $18/HR ($27/OT) AS OUTLINED IN THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK AND BASED ON MR. STRICKLAND’S RECOMMENDATION. MR. MCNEILL SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
• CARBON MONOXIDE ISSUE AT APARTMENT BUILDING
Mr. Lawson said about three weeks ago the Fire Department had called him regarding a carbon monoxide issue at a home/apartment building. He said the readings were high and the gas company had come and shut off the utility. He said he informed the residents that they needed to vacate the building. He said he had called and left a message with the building owner and she had called him later in the day. He said subsequently a reputable heating company had come in and reviewed the situation. The company wrote a letter giving the building a clean report and he had released the property shortly thereafter. He said he had reservations because the owner had not told the heating company that carbon monoxide was the problem. He said the heating company had turned things back on and indicated that the readings were OK. He said he will continue to pay attention as this was not the first time there was this type of issue with the property.
Mrs. Carlson thanked him for responding.
• 2015 YEAR END FUND TRANSFERS (Copy in Minute Book)
TOWN BOARD
2/8/2016 (Pg. 4)
• MOTION # 17 OF 2016
MR. STOW MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE 2015 YEAR END FUND TRANSFERS FOR THE HIGHWAY FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $8,242.07 AND FOR THE GENERAL FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $9,822.56. MR. SENA SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
• LOCAL LAW ON SIGNS
Mrs. Carlson said the Planning Board has been working on the new sign law language and Mr. Stapleton suggested that a meeting of the board be scheduled to discuss it before a public hearing is scheduled.
Mr. Sena said they are basically modernizing the law to encompass different types of signs; terminology on signs; banners; electronic messaging signs, and provide clarification on billboard sizes.
Mr. Stapleton said he had reviewed the law and has quite a number of questions regarding the different provisions and examples of the signage existing in the town.
Mr. Sena suggested that Mr. Stapleton come to the Planning Board with any questions or possible revisions he might want to suggest.
Mrs. Carlson suggested meeting before the March board meeting to review and discuss the law.
Mr. Sena again suggested that if Mr. Stapleton wanted clarification of the law or has questions/revisions he should come to the Planning Board meeting so that any possible changes, etc. could be formally made to the document prior to review.
Mrs. Carlson said that would make the most sense. She also noted that she and Mr. Sena generally attend the Planning Board meetings.
There was further general discussion and it was decided that questions should be addressed with the Planning Board at their meeting tomorrow night. Mr. Sena, Mrs. Carlson and Mr. Lawson indicated they would be at the meeting as well.
• NEW BUSINESS:
• TREES PURCHASED FROM SOIL AND WATER TO CREATE A NURSERY IN COOPERATION WITH BOCES – Need to get ordered
Mrs. Carlson said Mr. Stow had suggested to her it would be a good idea to establish some tree nurseries so that we would have trees that could be transplanted to various spots where the town might want them. She said she spoke to Dave Spann at Soil and Water and Dan Strickland spoke to someone from BOCES and she feels that we could have a project that would work and benefit all three groups. There was discussion of the different town properties that need trees and could be used for nurseries. She said this would come out of the Tree budget.
• RENEW TRANSFER STATION CONTRACT WITH BEICHNER FOR OPTIONAL 2 YEARS
Mrs. Carlson said when we had entered into contract with Beichner’s for the transfer station they had offered the town an optional 2 years for 2016 and 2017. She said the board needs to exercise that optional 2 year contract.
TOWN BOARD
2/8/2016 (Pg. 5)
• MOTION # 18 OF 2016
MR. STOW MOTIONED THAT THE TOWN RENEW ITS OPTIONAL CONTRACT WITH BEICHNER WASTE TO OPERATE THE TRANSFER STATION FOR 2016 AT $3,200.00 AND 2017 AT $3,200, EFFECTIVE 1/1/2016 THROUGH 12/31/2017. MR. MCNEILL SECONDED.
YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
There was general discussion of traffic patterns at the transfer station and the ongoing issues of getting traffic off the road and keeping a good flow pattern.
• EXTENSION REQUESTED AND GRANTED FOR TIME TO FILE COMPTROLLER ANNUAL UPDATE DOCUMENT FOR 2015
• REPORTS:
KEVIN OKERLUND, ASSESSOR
Mrs. Carlson said the assessor had provided a preliminary report for our equalization rate.
DAN STRICKLAND, HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT
Mr. Strickland said he has the specifications for the new broom tractor (75 Hp; case; 4 wheel drive; front end loader; detachable bucket, broom, 3 point hitch mounted hydraulic angle blade for blacktop patching) at a price of $60,129.00 from National Joint Power Alliance. He said the discount on the tractor alone is $18,049.00. He gave further details of savings to the board.
• MOTION # 19 OF 2016
MR. SENA MOTIONED TO AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF A NEW BROOM TRACTOR FROM NATIONAL JOINT POWER ALLIANCE AT A PRICE OF $60,129.00. MR. STOW SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
Mr. Strickland said the price of oil for asphalt and other products is down so there should be some savings for the highway there. He said he expects to get around $4-5,000.00 at auction for the old tractor.
HOWARD PEACOCK, JUSTICE
Mr. Peacock gave the following January, 2016 Court Report:
$46,133.00 in fines, fees, and surcharges was collected by the court and given to the Town of North Harmony CFO for the court cases reported to the NYS Comptroller for January, 2016. Of this amount, the Town retained $15,841.00. We opened 278 new cases and closed 301 cases in January, 2016.
BRAD LAWSON, ZONING C.E.O. (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
Mr. Lawson gave a brief overview of his written report. He discussed an issue with the Stedman Corners Café. He said they are trying to dig a basement and have run into a spring which will have to be channeled off.
BRAD LAWSON, AFD COMMISSIONER
Mr. Lawson said the striker loader system will be delivered to the department on 2/9/16 and should be installed by the end of the month. He said the fire Chiefs had moved an engine back to the S. Maple Ave. Station.
TOWN BOARD
2/8/2016 (Pg. 6)
JOHN STOW, DCO
Mrs. Carlson gave an overview of Mr. Stow’s report.
NANCY THOMAS, TOWN CLERK (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
Mrs. Thomas said her office has been very busy with tax collection. She said it appears that someone has purchased the Power Boat Club from Northwest Savings Bank at a cost of $500,000.00. She said of the Original Tax Warrant amount of $3,482,218.01, Full Payments in the amount of $2,524,946.12 have been received with an outstanding balance to be collected of $957,271.89. Mrs. Thomas said she would satisfy the Supervisors Warrant tomorrow
• MOTION # 20 OF 2016
MR. SENA MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE TOWN CLERKS REPORT AS PRESENTED. MR. MCNEILL SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
SALLY P. CARLSON, SUPERVISOR (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
• MOTION # 21 OF 2016
MR. STOW MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE SUPERVISORS REPORT AS SUBMITTED. MR. SENA SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
• MOTION # 22 OF 2016
MR. MCNEILL MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE GENERAL FUND VOUCHERS AS AUDITED AND REVIEWED EARLIER IN THE AMOUNT OF $54,915.22. MR.SENA SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
• MOTION # 23 OF 2016
MR. MCNEILL MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE HIGHWAY FUND VOUCHERS AS AUDITED AND REVIEWED EARLIER IN THE AMOUNT OF $38,075.43. MR. STOW SECONDED. YES (4): STOW, SENA, MCNEILL, CARLSON. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
Mr. Thomas noted that Lakeside Campground has finally given Mr. Lawson a map with site location and numbers. He and Mrs. Emick said the ZBA has been requesting this for many years.
Mrs. Carlson asked if it should be filed with 911 Emergency Services. It was also noted that it might be helpful to the Fire Department also.
• MOTION # 24 OF 2016
ON A MOTION MADE BY MR. STOW, SECONDED BY MR. SENA, AND NONE BEING OPPOSED, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:05 PM.
Nancy Thomas
Town Clerk
