TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY
TOWN BOARD MEETING
MONDAY 2/10/2020 7:00 PM
ROBERT YATES, SUPERVISOR PRESENT
RICHARD SENA, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
DUNCAN MCNEILL, COUNCILMAN ABSENT
LOUISE ORTMAN, COUNCILWOMAN PRESENT
STEVE SENSKE, COUNCILMAN PRESENT
OTHERS PRESENT: Howard Peacock, Justice; Brad Lawson, Zoning C.E.O.; Robin Miller, Bookkeeper; Clayton & Helen Emick; Nancy Thomas, Town Clerk
- PLEDGE
- MINUTES 1/3/2020 & 1/13/2020
- MOTION # OF 2020
- SENA MOTIONED TO ADOPT THE MINUTES OF THE 1/3/2020 AND 1/13/2020 TOWN BOARD MEETING MINUTES AS PRESENTED BY THE TOWN CLERK. MRS. ORTMAN SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Meeting on Municipal Water Study Grant 2/14/20 @ 1:00 PM at Town Building
Mr. Yates said this meeting would include a number of entities to discuss the $45,000 Grant received by North Harmony to complete a water feasibility study to extend water through North Harmony to the Chautauqua Institution. He said this is the first preliminary meeting to discuss the bid process for the study based on the towns procurement policy. He said all are welcome to attend.
- USDA Loans and Grants Literature Available
Mr. Yates said this is information on grants/loans available for low/fixed income persons to help with work on their homes.
- New Town/Court Building Update
Mr. Yates said a lot has been going on; contractors have begun work on the inside, and it is very cold. He said there is a window issue, but with the help of Mr. Lawson they will hopefully get it resolved. He said there may be a meeting coming up this week and Brent would advise them on that. He said there are some change orders needed and other things that were overlooked in the engineering that need to be addressed.
- Ferry update – Sea Lion Project Ltd., David Hohl, Hohl Industrial, will be performing all crane services and welding for project. Hohl will be handling State Safety Inspection coordination.
Mr. Yates said Mr. Hohl is really working hard to get the Ferry repaired and back into the water. He said Mr. Hohl’s company is doing the work on the Warner Dam and has also built two of the Maid of the Mist boats in the Gorge on the Canadian side. Mr. Hohl recommends that the ferry be left into the water until such time it needs to be pulled for repairs.
Mrs. Emick asked what the towns liability would be if the ferry is pulled and located on town property.
Mr. Yates said Mr. Hohl and the Sea Lion Project have their own insurance which would cover.
- PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mr. Yates spoke to Mrs. Emick and said he had not put her letter into the agenda. He said if she would like to comment that this would be a good time.
Mrs. Emick expressed complaints about the town website.
Mrs. Ortman said she heard Mrs. Emick’s concern as well as another resident. She said NYS does not mandate the posting of minutes to a website but recommends that minutes be available two weeks after a meeting and there is no mandate to post an agenda.
Mrs. Emick said it would be courteous since we have taxpayers who are not here all year long.
Mrs. Thomas said she would like to discuss the issue further with Mrs. Emick at another time. She said when you discuss the Bulletin Board as being months behind, what is actually the case is that the format allows for the newest items to be on the top and the older material such as building updates, etc. is left because people may wish a timeline.
Mrs. Emick said it looks bad and she is not the only one who thinks so, but she is the only one who has the guts to say something. Mr. Emick said there is a Bill #4908 pending in the Senate requiring towns to maintain their websites.
Mrs. Thomas provided a recent article from the Post Journal which gave North Harmony’s website the highest ratings for compliance with Bill #4908.
Mrs. Emick said that article is only as good as the paper that put it together and that addresses content, not maintenance.
Mrs. Thomas said meeting dates are up to date and the site is maintained.
There was further discussion and Mr. Yates said the issue could be discussed at another time.
- CORRESPONDENCE: The following correspondence has been received by the Supervisor and is available for review:
- 2020 Governmental Accounting Class
Mr. Yates said the class is available for anyone interested.
- Round Table with Congressman Reed, Andy Goodell and PJ Wendall. Minutes?
Mr. Yates said he attended the meeting and basically Mr. Reed was explaining what is going on in Albany. He said local concern about the lake seemed to be the focus of those attending and consensus is that funding is critical. State funding as well as seeking Federal funding and help from the Army Corps of Engineers for the lake is the most important thing that Congressman Reed could do to help our area. Mr. Yates said Congressman Reed seemed positive about the request. He said he enjoyed meeting Mr. Wendall, County Executive, and felt he would do a good job for the county.
- OLD BUSINESS:
- JUSTICE COURT – AUDIT 2019 BOOKS
Mr. Yates said that on Saturday he and Mr. Sena with the help of Court Clerk Katie Zimmer had completed the audit of the Justice Court 2019 books. He said it had gone very well. He said it was very helpful to have Mrs. Zimmer there.
Mr. Sena agreed and said he and Mr. Yates only question was an overage of approximately $600 that had been addressed by Mrs. Zimmer as a bail money issue that prevented having a zero balance. Mr. Peacock said this was unclaimed bail that they have had a difficult time determining where it should go.
- MOTION # 19 OF 2020
- SENA MOTIONED FOR A SATISFACTORY CONCLUSION TO THE AUDIT OF THE 2019 JUSTICE COURT BOOKS. MRS. ORTMAN SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- Contract with Robbins & Johnson, PC – Attorney for Town of North Harmony
Mr. Yates said although Robbins and Johnson are not present at the meeting, he does have the contract and without discussing numbers in Executive session, he would like to entertain a motion authorizing him to sign the contract which the board had reviewed earlier.
- MOTION # 20 OF 2020
- SENSKE MOTIONED TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERIVSOR TO SIGN A ONE YEAR CONTRACT WITH ROBBINS AND JOHNSON, PC FOR ATTORNEY SERVICES FOR THE TOWN. MRS. ORTMAN SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- Sewer Bill for Sunrise Cove – Mike Sarr (All Good), Signed the BPU Water Agreement and we will receive our copy when the City of Jamestown has signed on
Mr. Yates said there had been a meeting with Mr. Sarr last week. He said there had been a glitch with the County on our tax warrant which they omitted the BOCES Road Push BAN in the amount of $13,580.00. He said Mr. Caflisch, Real Property Tax, will be taking care of that issue. He said the Sewer Maintenance Fund in the amount of $5,000 was also omitted by the county on the warrant and will be resolved in May 2020 which will cause residents of Sunrise Coves an increase in their tax bills. He said he spoke to Mr. Sarr about this and he did not seem too concerned. He said a letter was sent to Sunrise Cove advising that their best option was just to pay their share (approximately $300/per residence). He said both items totaling $18,580.00 were in our budget on the Special District Page which was submitted to the county.
- 2019 Year End Fund Transfers
- MOTION # 21 OF 2020
MRS. ORTMAN MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING 2019 YEAR END FUND TRANSFERS AS SUBMITTED TO THE SUPERVISOR:
HIGHWAY FUND:
Transfer From: DM5130.2 To: DM5130.4 $54,408.32
Transfer From: DS5140.4 To: DR5110.4 $ 1,246.21
Total Highway Fund Transfers: $55,654.53
GENERAL FUND:
Transfer From: A1355.4 To: A1355.2 $ 26.10
Transfer From: A1420.4 To: A1420.2 $ 20.32
Transfer From: A1650.2 To: A1910.4 $ 2,158.67
Total General Fund Transfers: $ 2,205.09
- SENSKE SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- NEW BUSINESS:
- 2020 Tax Warrant to Supervisor Satisfied
Mr. Yates said he had received three large checks from Mrs. Thomas.
Highway Fund Warrant: $ 473,074.00
General Fund Warrant: $ 328,284.00
Special District Warrant: $ 319,194.40
TOTAL TO SUPERVISOR: $1,120,553.40
Mrs. Miller noted that the Special District amount is $18,580.00 short because of county errors discussed earlier.
- Letters of interest in Vacancy on Planning Board & Zoning Board of Appeals
Mr. Yates said he has received one letter of interest in the vacancy on the Zoning Board of Appeals from Jonathan Henck and one from Jim Goodling for the vacancy on the Planning Board. He said it is up to the board to make these appointments.
Mr. Sena said usually the board interviews the candidates and makes a recommendation based on that. He said there is a Planning Board meeting tomorrow night and suggested Mr. Goodling be invited to attend.
Mrs. Thomas said she would contact him.
Mrs. Emick said she knew someone who had sent an email about the ZBA position.
Mr. Yates said a woman had come in and spoken to him about it, but he had never received anything from her.
Mrs. Emick advised Mr. Yates to double check his email so he doesn’t get into hot water. She said the interested person had sent the email to her as well, but she has already deleted it.
There was further general discussion and no decision will be made at this time.
- Louis Rieg – Resignation from Planning Board – Effective 1/31/2020
Mr. Sena said it would be appropriate for the board to thank Mr. Rieg for his dedication and service on the Planning Board. All agreed Mr. Rieg did an outstanding job and performed many tasks such as taking photos, providing assessing information, etc. that were very helpful in the decision-making process of that board.
- Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF) – Shared Services Grant Authorization for sponsoring institution, Lead Agency: Southern Tier West; Partner: Town of North Harmony
Mrs. Thomas said the town had applied for that shared service grant through Southern Tier West for the past two years and unfortunately no funding had been awarded. She said she would like to participate in that process again in 2020 in hopes of success with funding for records management purposes. She asked the board for authorization to participate.
- MOTION # 22 OF 2020
- SENSKE MOTIONED TO AUTHORIZE PARTICIPATION IN A LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT FUND (LGRMIF) GRANT APPLICATION WITH LEAD AGENT, SOUTHERN TIER WEST. MR. SENA SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- Dick Sena – Snow Totals
Mr. Sena said as of today we have had 106.5” of snow (last year 114” at end of February). He said we are a little behind at this time.
- REPORTS:
HOWARD PEACOCK, JUSTICE
Mr. Peacock he was unable to find his report for the board meeting. He said the Court has received a grant from JCAP in the amount of $14,800.00 which is about half of what was applied for. He said the funds must be utilized within 180 days.
There was general discussion of how the funds would be spent (i.e. walk through metal detector; conference tables; stackable chairs; file cabinets; shredder, etc.).
DAN STRICKLAND, HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT
Mr. Yates said Mr. Strickland is not present but noted that there was a very large bill for salt and there will be a large payment to be made soon on the new truck that was ordered.
BRAD LAWSON, ZONING C.E.O. (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
Mr. Lawson reviewed his report for those present. He said permits are slow and he had issued a demolition permit for the home at Grandview. He said the issue with the cars on College St. was brought before the Judge and hopefully that matter is resolved, but he will keep an eye on the situation. There was discussion of the person who initiated the complaint.
JOHN STOW, DCO
Mr. Yates said Mr. Stow’s report indicated that he had two calls this month for dogs running at large; one on Stow Ferry and the other at Butts and Stoneledge Roads.
NANCY THOMAS, TOWN CLERK (Copy of Report in Minute Book)
Mrs. Thomas said her office has been very busy with tax collection; in the last four weeks of a $3,660,385.75 Warrant, $3,096,786.45 has been collected and unpaid taxes are $563,599.30.
- MOTION # 23 OF 2020
- SENA MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE TOWN CLERKS MONTHLY REPORT FOR JANUARY 2020 AS SUBMITTED. MRS. ORTMAN SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
ROBERT YATES, SUPERVISOR (Copy in Minute Book)
Mr. Yates reviewed his report for those present.
- MOTION # 24 OF 2020
- SENA MOTIONED TO ACCEPT THE SUPERVISORS MONTHLY REPORT FOR JANUARY 2020 AS SUBMITTED. MRS. ORTMAN SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- MOTION # 25 OF 2020
- SENA MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE GENERAL FUND VOUCHERS AS REVIEWED AND AUDITED EARLIER IN THE AMOUNT OF $54,539.14. MR. SENSKE SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- MOTION # 26 OF 2020
- SENA MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE HIGHWAY FUND VOUCHERS AS REVIEWED AND AUDITED EARLIER IN THE AMOUNT OF $144,285.66. MRS. ORTMAN SECONDED. YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- MOTION # 27 OF 2020
- SENA MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE CAPITAL FUND VOUCHERS AS REVIEWED AND AUDITED EARLIER IN THE AMOUNT OF $124,304.65. MR. SENSKE SECONDED.
YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
- MOTION # 28 OF 2020
ON A MOTION MAKE BY MR. SENA, SECONDED BY MR. SENSKE AND NONE BEING OPPOSED THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:00 PM.
Nancy M. Thomas
Town Clerk
