TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY/HARMONY
JOINT PUBLIC HEARING
JUSTICE COURT STUDY
TUESDAY, 11/29/2022 6:00 PM
ROBERT YATES, NORTH HARMONY SUPERVISOR PRESENT
LOUISE ORTMAN, NORTH HARMONY COUNCIL PRESENT
DICK SENA, NORTH HARMONY COUNCIL PRESENT
STEVE SENSKE, NORTH HARMONY COUNCIL PRESENT
MIKE PFEIL , NORTH HARMONY COUNCIL PRESENT
JOHN BROWN, HARMONY SUPERVISOR PRESENT
DAVID HINDERER, HARMONY COUNCIL PRESENT
PETER RADKA, HARMONY COUNCIL ABSENT
TIM COVEY, HARMONY COUNCIL ABSENT
JEFFERY JORDAN, HARMONY COUNCIL ABSENT
OTHERS PRESENT: Stephanie Gibbs, Deputy Town Clerk; Katie Zimmer, Court Clerk; Lori Holder, Court Clerk; Kelly Johnson, Attorney
- JOINT PUBLIC HEARING – HARMONY/NORTH HARMONY JUSTICE COURT STUDY
Mr. Brown brought the hearing to order at 6:00 PM with the Pledge.
Mr. Brown said he is very thankful to the Town of North Harmony for being willing to take on the Harmony courts
Mr. Senske asked Mrs. Johnson, Attorney to explain the next step.
Mrs. Johnson said after this hearing the resolutions will go back to each board and the boards will review the plan and vote to except it or not. She said if one town votes no it is done, and they will not be able to move forward with a one justice court. If both towns vote yes, the next step is to send it to the Legislature for approval. She said it is required to be on the ballet next fall to be voted on by both towns if approved by legislature and will be affective in 2024 which also coincides with the justice.
Mr. Brown said the records will be kept separately for both towns.
Mr. Pfeil asked if our justice will be up for reelection the fall of next year at the same time as the referendum on the ballet. He asked when the Town of Harmony Justice is due on the ballets for reelection.
Mrs. Johnson said the Town of North Harmony judge will be up for reelection at the same time at the referendum. She said upon approval by the legislature the plan would go into place which means Town of Harmony judge position is eliminated.
Mr. Pfeil asked what their normal cycle would be.
Mr. Brown said in the fall as well.
Mrs. Johnson said whoever runs for judge can be from either Harmony or North Harmony.
Mr. Pfeil questioned how one judge will run for election in the fall when the referendum has not been voted on yet.
Mrs. Johnson said once legislation approves it, it is put in place. Once it is approved by legislature the files can start coming over.
Mr. Sena verified that we will be moving forward with the merger after legislation approval not after election.
Mr. Yates said in the past our judge has always been a resident of North Harmony. He asked if we need to change our law.
Mrs. Johnson said yes but they must still be someone from the Town of Harmony or the Town of North Harmony.
- MOTION #163 OF 2022
MR. SENSKE MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 6:10 PM. MR. PFEIL SECONDED. YES (7): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, PFEIL, YATES, BROWN, HINDERER. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
Stephanie Gibbs
Deputy Town Clerk
TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY
EMERGENCY MEETING
UTILITIES
TUESDAY, 11/29/2022 6:15 PM
ROBERT YATES, SUPERVISOR PRESENT
LOUISE ORTMAN, COUNCIL PRESENT
DICK SENA, COUNCIL PRESENT
STEVE SENSKE, COUNCIL PRESENT
MIKE PFEIL , COUNCIL PRESENT
OTHERS PRESENT: Stephanie Gibbs, Deputy Town Clerk; Kelly Johnson, Attorney
- EMERGENCY MEETING – UTILITIES
Mr. Yates brought the meeting to order and stated this emergency meeting was called for utilities at 6:15 PM.
Mr. Yates saidthis meeting is pertaining to the gas service to the Highway Department. He said we received a contract from PPP, and it has been reviewed by the board and by the Town Attorney and have come to an agreement that the contract from PPP is not going to serve the town. Mr. Yates said he received a contract and a cost from Chautauqua Utilities. He said after we are connected to Chautauqua Utilities, they will still have the option to purchase gas from PPP or from Chautauqua Utilities. He said the cost to the town to connect will be as quoted last year at a cost of $4,900.00.
- MOTION #164 OF 2022
MRS. ORTMAN MOTIONED TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE CONTRACT TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH CHAUTAUQUA UTILITIES. MR. PFEIL SECONDED.
Discussion
Mr. Senske asked if the attorney had reviewed the contract.
Mrs. Johnson said this is the first time seeing this contract.
Mr. Senske asked if there will be any additional fees on an ongoing basis on top of the NYMAX rate.
Mr. Yates said no
Mr. Senske asked if there is a minimum charge.
Mr. Yates said if we don’t use any gas, it will be $12/mo.
Mr. Senske said the contract should state that.
Mrs. Johnson said we need to clarify.
Mr. Sampson entered the meeting via speaker phone.
Mr. Senske said he wants to clarify what they are being charged on a monthly basis.
Mr. Yates asked will there be any add on fees beside the gas consumption.
Mr. Sampson said the way the bills work is there is a $12.24/mo. minimum fee. He said the gas is on a tiered basis that the more gas you use the less it costs. He said it will be similar to the house bills.
Mrs. Ortman asked if there is any fee beyond the actual gas fee.
Mr. Sampson said there are two components to gas. He said there is the cost of the physical commodity of gas, and the delivery charge of gas. He said the customer pays the same for the gas as
Chautauqua Utilities does because they can’t mark up the gas as approved by the Public Service Commission. Mr. Sampson said the delivery charge is also approved by the Public Service Commission. He said there isn’t anything Chautauqua Utilities does that isn’t approved by the Public Service Commission. He said monthly they have to send their price of gas to the Public Service Commission to be approved.
Mr. Senske asked Mr. Sampson if he has an average number.
Mr. Sampson said no, it is based on the marketing conditions.
Mr. Yates questioned the statement on the PPP contract that states the state rate plus $1.50. He asked Mr. Sampson if he was going to add a fee similar to that.
Mr. Sampson said no what you’re paying for is the reliability of the supply.
Mr. Yates asked if there were any other questions for Scott.
YES (4): SENA, ORTMAN, PFEIL, YATES. NO (1) SENSKE. THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
MR. SENA MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 6:36 PM. MRS. ORTMAN SECONDED. YES (5): SENA, ORTMAN, SENSKE, PFEIL, YATES. NO (0). THE MOTION WAS CARRIED.
Stephanie Gibbs
Deputy Town Clerk
