TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY
TOWN BOARD MEETING
MONDAY, 6/10/2019 7:00 PM
ROB YATES, SUPERVISOR PRESENT
DICK SENA, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
DUNCAN MCNEILL, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
LOUISE ORTMAN, COUNCILWOMAN ABSENT
STEVE SENSKE, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
OTHERS PRESENT: Clayton & Helen Emick; Brad Lawson, Zoning C.E.O.; Dave Stapleton, Attorney; Dan Strickland, Highway Sup’t; Jim Kurtz; Charlie & Wendy Klinginsmith; Will Ortman; Howard Peacock, Justice; Robin Miller, Bookkeeper; Nancy Thomas, Town Clerk
Mr. Yates brought the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
- PLEDGE
- MINUTES: 5/13/2019 & 5/20/2019
- MOTION # 72 OF 2019
- MCNEILL MOTIONED TO ADOPT THE MINUTES OF THE 5/13/2019 TOWN BOARD AND 5/20/2019 SPECIAL MEETING AS PRESENTED BY THE CLERK. MR. SENSKE SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, MCNEILL, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- TOWN CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AT BUTTS PARK. UPDATE. REFURBISH DRIVEWAY
Mr. Yates said things are moving along at Butts Park for the Centennial Celebration. He said the driveway has been patched up and the highway plans to clean up additional brush. He said other maintenance work will also be done.
Mrs. Thomas said the next committee meeting will be Monday, July 1, 2019 at 4:00 PM.
- TOWN DOCK EXTENSION COMPLETED (ADDED 20 FEET FOR FISHING ACCESS)
Mr. Yates said the dock sections used for slips have been picked up by Kleinfelter’s and will be sold on commission for the town with Kleinfelter keeping funds to pay for the new sections and paying the town the balance on that (approx. $2,000.00).
- THANKS TO HIGHWAY FOR JOB WELL DONE ON RECOVERY FROM 6/1/19 STORM
Mr. Yates said the department had worked extremely hard and long into Saturday evening to take care of cleanup.
- CHAUTAUQUA LAKE PESTICIDE/HERBICIDE TREATMENT IN TOWN COMPLETED –
WATER TESTING COMPLETE – SIGNS REMOVED
Mr. Yates said Solitude Management reported a total of 388 acres as the treated area. He said North Harmony’s share of the expense is about $42,500.00 and he is still waiting to receive funding from Chautauqua Alliance and Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP). He said hopefully that will be resolved this week. He said the water test samples performed by Solitude and our third-party tester have been completed and based on the determinations, he and Mrs. Yates had removed the signs in the bays. Mr. Yates said he had received some complaints from residents further south who were not treated, and he had advised Mr. Wehrfritz, CLP of this and been told it was his responsibility. He said he responded that he had not solicited donations from the residents, so it was the CLP’s issue to handle.
- PUBLIC COMMENT:
- JIM KURTZ, HOMETOWN HERO’S – Invitation Groundbreaking for Memorial, Wed. 6/12/19 at 2:00 PM at the Mayville Cemetery
Mr. Kurtz said the “Chautauqua Hometown Hero’s” is a program developed at the County seat in Mayville to encompass the entire county. He provided a copy of plans for an octagon Memorial which will be located on land to the left of the entrance at the Mayville Cemetery. He said the outside wall will be used to list sponsors and for memorial bricks that can be purchased through the program. He said the inside walls will be exclusively for Veterans names. He said they also have plans to create a “Wall of Honor” at a location near the creek and are looking to replicate the old-style metal and glass memorials that used to be in every town.
There was discussion that North Harmony has the original glass/metal memorial that was removed when Veterans Park was redone and is currently in storage. Mr. Yates said it is no problem for the town to continue storing the sign until they are ready for it.
Mr. Kurtz said when the Memorial is complete, they plan to install interactive kiosks with information for visitors about veterans, etc. He provided flyers with information for those who want to donate or sponsor a brick (4×8” @ $75 or 8×8” at $100).
Mr. Yates asked if there were any concerns or comments pertaining to donating the glass/metal Veterans sign to the Chautauqua Hometown Hero’s organization.
It was discussed that since the names from the old sign were engraved on the new Memorial wall, there was no reason to keep it.
- MOTION # 73 OF 2019
- SENA MOTIONED TO DONATE THE GLASS/METAL VETERANS SIGN PREVIOUSLY LOCATED AT VETERANS PARK TO THE CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY HOMETOWN HERO’S PROJECT FOR USE AT THE PROPOSED COUNTYWIDE MEMORIAL IN MAYVILLE. MR. MCNEILL SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, MCNEILL, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- CORRESPONDENCE:
The following correspondence has been received by the Supervisor and is available for review:
- SEWER WESTSIDE CHAUTAUQUA LAKE – Kickoff meeting with South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District Friday, 6/14/2019 at 2:00 PM S&CCLSD in Celoron
- JAMESTOWN BPU – SUNRISE COVE SEWER LINE
Mr. Yates said he had received a phone call from the BPU indicating that they had to install a new lift pump on the town owned sewer lines in Sunrise Cove. He said the estimated cost to the town for that is $10,000.00. He said we do not have a fund in our budget for this and in the future this type of repair will have to be addressed.
It was discussed that the town had signed a memorandum of understanding with the County stating they were willing to turn the lines owned by the town over to them when the sewer lines go through.
- CHARTER/SPECTRUM – Quarterly Franchise Fees Received $1,937.18
- NANCY BARGER – Letter thanking town for checking Transfer Station Stickers and Recycling Job being done by the town by Beichner
There was general discussion that Beichner has been checking stickers vigilantly for the last few weeks and enforcing the regulations in a professional manner.
- 2019 TAX COLLECTION – Certificate of Satisfaction of Warrant received from County
- CLAYTON & HELEN EMICK – email regarding shrubbery on corner of Lakeland and Stow Ferry Rd. impeding vision and traffic safety
Mr. Yates said he had contacted the owner of the property and they had taken care of the largest portion of the problem. He said there is still a little trimming to do and he would take care of that.
Mrs. Emick said the action will take care of a serious visibility problem there and thanked the board.
- BOB SCHAEFFER – Re non-permitted transient rental of residential homes in an R-4 District
(i.e. Air BnB, etc.)
Mr. Lawson said the Planning Board is working on addressing that currently.
- OLD BUSINESS:
- NEW TOWN/COURT BUILDING – RESULTS OF RE-BID OF GENERAL CONSTRUCTION PORTION OF NEW BUILDING
Mr. Yates said the original bids received on 5/9/2019 for the General Construction portion of the project had come it too high and the board had authorized a re-bid on that portion with bids to be opened on 6/7/2019. He said only 2 bids were received as follows:
*indicates apparent low bid
General Construction: Re-bid 6/7/19 Original Bid 5/9/19
*Empire Development $1,110,160.00 $1,309,670.00
G.L. Olson $1,152,000.00 $1,405,000.00
Mechanical:
*Citadel (not re-bid) $ 232,420.00 $ 232,420.00
Electrical:
*Sullivan Electric (not re-bid) $ 188,349.00 $ 188,349.00
Plumbing:
*Wm. T. Spaeder (not re-bid) $ 80,588.00 $ 80,588.00
TOTAL $1,611,517.00 $1,811,027.00
Mr. Yates said changes to the specifications for the roof (metal to shingle); elevation of site plan; and removal of paved access road, have resulted in a savings of about $200,000.00 on the general construction portion of the project. He outlined other areas that may be looked at for cost savings as noted in the bid sheets.
- MOTION # 74 OF 2019
- SENSKE MOTIONED TO AUTHORIZE LEGAL NOTICE FOR A SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING TO BE HELD ON FRIDAY, 6/14/2019 AT 5:00 PM AT THE COMMUNITY BUILDING, STOW, NY TO DISCUSS AND APPROVE THE FINANCING OF A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT GENERALLY CONSISTING OF, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE CONSTRUCTION OF A TOWN BUILDING FOR MUNICIPAL/COURT FACILITIES AND FURTHER, TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERVISOR TO SEND OUT LETTERS OF INTENT TO PROJECT BIDDERS. MR. MCNEILL SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, MCNEILL, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- NEW BUSINESS:
- AUDIT OF BOOKKEEPERS 2018 BOOKS
Mr. Yates asked any board members who had not yet audited the Supervisor’s books to please make arrangements to do so at their earliest convenience.
- TOWN PROPERTIES – Appraisal and possible sale
Mr. Yates said Mr. Sena had suggested that a meeting should be held pertaining to the town properties that the town may sell in the future. He said it is time to start thinking about this: appraisals and on which properties; which properties should be for sale; etc.
Mr. Sena said he feels that the gravel pit property on Panama-Stedman should be appraised. He said all the other parcels are small and we already have an appraisal for the Mitchell property as well as the town building. He said then they could sit down and discuss sales.
It was discussed that with sewer coming to the area that could make a difference to the assessed values of the Mitchell and Town Building properties. It was further discussed that the town is under contract to have the gravel pit land timbered and perhaps the appraisal should be done after. It was discussed that although the gravel pit had not been a source of gravel for the town for many years the DEC will probably require some type of closure/reclamation of the gravel permit and formal notification.
Mr. Sena asked if it was possible to get comparables from someone at the county level for the gravel pit.
Mr. Rieg said the Assessor should be able to provide that information in recent sales of vacant land.
Mr. Senske noted that the Assessor’s report indicated that the current local rate of assessment on vacant land was found to be at approximately 80% of market value.
There was discussion that this was not a fair analysis.
- NYS-ORPTS – FINAL EQUALIZATION RATE FOR 2019 IS 93.75% (2018 rate 98.80%)
Mr. Yates noted that in 2019 our rate is down 5.39%. He said his assumption is that is based on sales of properties at higher than assessed rates, that puts the rate up which puts us on the losing end. He said there is a concern that this might cause a town wide re-valuation to get us up to 100% and he has been assured that until the rate reaches a 12-15% drop there will be no call from NYS for a revaluation.
Mr. Lawson said that he understood from Steve Sorg, Assessor Appraiser that there would be a revaluation in 2020.
Mr. Sena said that at a certain percentage the revaluation is mandatory and preceding that the town has the authority and has voted on the issue of a revaluation in the past to forgo the process for 3 years.
There was discussion that the town had not been made aware of any revaluation at the Assessor level.
- REPORTS:
PIERRE CHAGNON, LEGISLATOR
HOWARD PEACOCK, JUSTICE
Mr. Peacock read the following report for those present.
COURT REPORT FOR MONTH OF MAY 2019
June 10, 2019 Board Meeting
$22,819.00 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 May 2019. We opened 294 new cases and closed 163 cases.
KEVIN OKERLUND, ASSESSOR
Mr. Emick, Board of Assessment Review, reported that of the cases heard before the Board of Assessment Review on Grievance Day the overall assessment of the town was decreased by $50,000.00. He said the County has some readjusting to do and they will also decrease by $50,000.00 for an overall total of reduction on assessed value of $100,000.00 from the eight (8) cases heard.
BRAD LAWSON, ZONING C.E.O. (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
Mr. Lawson reviewed his written report for those present.
Mr. Yates asked Mr. Lawson his opinion on the possible consolidation of the Planning Board (PB) and Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). He asked what the benefit of having them separate was when our basic town plan is in place. He indicated this had been brought to his attention and he was curious.
Mr. Sena said the Planning Board does more study and in-depth work when it comes to zoning laws and makes recommendations to the Zoning Board and Town Board on referrals, etc. He said the Zoning Board hears cases and votes on whether to allow an action based on the laws. He said he understood that some towns have combined the two boards because they are having difficulty finding persons to fill those positions. He said our Planning Board is very active and rarely has people who miss meetings.
Mr. Lawson said the Planning Board performs site plan reviews up to a certain point and if they fall into a larger category, they go to the Town Board. He said in some instances in a town with a ZBA the Town Board acts as the PB and in other instances (i.e. villages) the Town Board acts as the ZBA. He said our PB has been given more responsibility in developing our zoning. He said if the site plan review were to be given to the ZBA, in some cases it could lead to a very long evening.
There was discussion that some boards meet twice a month (a work session and regular meeting).
NANCY THOMAS, TOWN CLERK (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
Mrs. Thomas said she had nothing further to add to her written report.
- MOTION # 75 OF 2019
- SENA MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE TOWN CLERKS REPORT AS SUBMITTED. MR. MCNEILL SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, MCNEILL, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
ROBERT YATES, SUPERVISOR (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
Mr. Yates reviewed the report for those present.
- MOTION # 76 OF 2019
- SENA MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE SUPERVISOR’S REPORT AS SUBMITTED. MR. MCNEILL SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, MCNEILL, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- MOTION # 77 OF 2019
- MCNEILL MOTIONED TO PAY THE FOLLOWING VOUCHERS AS AUDITED AND REVIEWED EARLIER IN THE AMOUNT OF:
GENERAL FUND $26,665.27
HIGHWAY FUND $35,025.76
CAPITAL FUNDS $ 3,312.40
- SENA SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, MCNEILL, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- MOTION # 78 OF 2019
ON A MOTION MADE BY MR. SENA, SECONDED BY MR. SENSKE, AND NONE BEING OPPOSED THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:05 PM.
Nancy Thomas
Town Clerk
