The workshop meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope was held at Town Hall on May 19, 2014 at 7:30pm with the following present: Supervisor Chad Volpe, Councilman Matt Howell, Councilman Gary Ketcham, Councilwoman Janet Sutherland, Councilman Dominick Cambareri & Town Clerk Kathleen Myers.
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Dean Hassenmayer/Highway Supt., Police Chief P. Rickard, Wayne Howell/Planning Board Chairperson, Attorney David Bavoso.
PUBLIC HEARING 2015 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Volpe called the public hearing to order at 7:15PM. The legal notices were available (in Spanish and English) at the front desk. Supervisor Volpe explained this is a formality to apply for grants through Orange County. A resolution has to be signed if we move forward. The grants being offered are between $20,000 & $100,000. He suggested looking at grant for bathrooms at the ballfield past the football field. He would like to check on any grants that might be available for the old Otisville School. He would like to see if funds would be available for the pool building behind the police station. He asked for any ideas/comments from the board. Mr. Cook: spoke about Community 2000 (in Warwick). They used schools/firehouse for the concept ‘what do you want your town to be like in 10/15 years’. He asked if the town would be interested in something like this. Supervisor Volpe: it’s a great idea. This is time sensitive. We have to have them in by middle of June. The more input the better. He asked for any other ideas from any board members.
RESOLUTION FOR 2015 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PARTICIPATION AUTHORIZATION:
MOTION offered by Councilwoman Sutherland seconded by Councilman Cambareri that the Town of Mount Hope is hereby submitting its application for consideration under FY-15 Orange Urban County Consortium Community Development Program and the Chief elected official or executive officer is hereby authorized to submit this application. They further certify that they have read and understood the Orange Urban County Consortium Community Development guidelines for the FY-2015 program year, and have met all of its applicable requirements and that the information contained in the application is accurate and true to the best of their knowledge. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
RESOLUTION TO APPROVE PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri seconded by Councilman Ketcham that the minutes of the 05-05-14 meeting as submitted are approved. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
RESOLUTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell seconded by Councilwoman Sutherland to close the public hearing at 7:22pm. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- 3 quotes received for camera system
- Letter from Board of Elections: federal primary June 24 (Senior Center)
- Supervisor’s report for April 2014
- Assessor surplus letter
- Recertification letter from Community Development re: CBDG
- 3 quotes for steps received
- Morley’s bar & grill re: liquor license
- April 2014 trash report
- DEC correspondence re: NO violations on petroleum bulk storage
- Letter from Sen. Bonacic re: $100,000.00 grant
- MHFD park use request for July 6th, 2014
- Eight complaints re: homes on Reservoir Road, 1 complaint re: speeding on Greenville Tpk, 1 complaint re: 185 Ledge Rd.
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COMMITTEE REPORTS:
POLICE DEPARTMENT by Chief Rickard:
Chief Rickard reported he sat at the speeding complaint site > an hour. Other officers were there at other times. They can’t seem to find any violations there. Chief asked Town Clerk if an officer is needed for election night. Town Clerk will call Chief in morning.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supt. Hassenmayer informed the board the new wood chipper is here. He needs the old chipper surplussed. (That will be 3 things for the auction site: bucket truck, dump body and wood chipper.) He received 3 estimates for the brickface on front of building. He will provide copies tomorrow in board boxes. Vary from $15400 to $63129. Low bidder was verified with Better Business Bureau re: couple of complaints but they were resolved. He received a request from Howells Fire Co. to put a dry hydrant on a pond on Whitlock Road. In the past, the highway dept. has helped with installation. It does not cost anything; we just need an approval to assist. He reported that Mount Hope Fire Co. has the park reserved for July 6th. Town Clerk reminded the board they would just need to provide insurance certificate.
SUMMER RECREATION by Trustee Loeven:
Ms. Loeven reported the will have a last chance hour for final registration. More fliers will go out; they are asking for people here to spread the word. It will be May 28 from 6-7pm. Only exception would be if someone moves into the district after May 28. She is working on position descriptions. It was pointed out that was never in writing before. She will forward to Chad and Janet. Councilwoman Sutherland: what’s the reason behind the position descriptions? Trustee Loeven: Kathleen Carey pointed out that last year there were 2 separate positions (arts & crafts director & asst. director) which were combined into one this year. They clarified what the duties of the position would be in this description. She thought since doing it for one position, there should be one for all of them. Councilwoman Sutherland: did she call you or meet with you? Trustee Loeven: yes, we met today. Councilwoman Sutherland: what were her concerns? That she feels she is being given too many responsibilities? Trustee Loeven: she claimed she didn’t realize she would be in charge of arts/crafts & she questioned her salary. Councilwoman Sutherland: that’s what the arts director does. And she questioned her salary? What was that question? Trustee Loeven: she felt if she were assuming the bulk positions, that it should be more than what was agreed upon. Councilwoman Sutherland: why did she wait until now? Trustee Loeven: she claimed that no one told her. I wasn’t involved then so I can’t say anything. The Mayor came in while we were talking, (she copied Janet & Chad on it) and she will speak with Chad after the meeting. During the discussions, she realized the 2 asst. positions were parallel. One is medical. One is arts/crafts. But they are parallel, just different responsibilities. Councilwoman Sutherland: was she strong arming us? She had no problem with the pay before. Trustee Loeven: She will let us know by Friday if she wants the position. Councilwoman Sutherland: what were the final #’s? 140’s? Trustee Loeven: yes and whatever we get on the last ditch hour. Councilwoman Sutherland: how are we with counselors? Did Lisa hear from the other 2? Trustee Loeven: haven’t asked her that. We have several applications interested in this position. She will check with Janet on her availability. Discussion on when Ms. Carey was in touch with Trustee Loeven.
HIDDEN VALLEY by Councilman Ketcham:
Councilman Ketcham: no report. He asked about the engineers going out there. Supervisor Volpe: we went to all the buildings except Hidden Valley. What you read was for the drainage.
PLANNING BOARD by Chairman Howell:
Chairman Howell: no report. Meeting is Wednesday night. They will be reviewing training records and updating members needing them. Supervisor Volpe: training is imperative.
MOUNT HOPE FIRE:
Chief Doty: up to 12 calls so far this month. 2 people will be graduating from EMT class. Wayne went down to receive the 1st part of the grant for bailout training. Mr. Collins is here also.
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MOUNT HOPE FIRE continued:
- Melton: a couple months ago, we were awarded a grant from the Joey DeBernardo Foundation for firefighter safety. They awarded us $26,452. We got ½ of that. We’re getting 14 bailout systems, harnesses & training that comes with it. We are in possession of ½ the equipment. He showed the giant check to the board/audience. W. Howell: what system are you using? W. Melton: RPI.
OLD SCHOOL:
Supervisor Volpe: there was a meeting last week. Councilman Cambareri: it was organizational, setting up committees, getting pricing on minor repairs; it was productive & they are moving forward.
7 PEAKS:
Atty. Bavoso: at beginning of year, he requested from T/O Mamakating to receive correspondence as an interested party. They never received the letter. Which is why we never received any updates. Last week, he wrote another letter which he needs approval for Supervisor to sign. He will personally deliver same.
RESOLUTION TO APPROVE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN LETTER RE: 7 PEAKS:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri seconded by Councilman Howell to approve the Supervisor to sign the letter as an interested party in 7 Peaks, so we will get all the updates. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
LIFE SAVING AWARD:
Supervisor Volpe: at this time, I would like to say that there’s a lot of us that volunteer and do things because we have a passion for it. And, we have a lot of people that just go above and beyond in many different aspects of life. Mr. Collins is an absolute hero. He didn’t care about his own safety. He cared more about getting somebody out of a burning building and I can do nothing but applaud you from the Town of Mount Hope. Chief Doty: on behalf of myself, and the rest of the fire department, we applaud you on getting her out. When I got there, the condition of the building and the fire; you risked taking your life in your own hands. And continued doing that. Mr. Collins: Thank you, thank you everyone. Supervisor Volpe: (handed him certificate) Congratulations & Thank you. Chief Doty: (handed him certificate) Thank you. <Photos taken by newspaper> Chief Doty: just to let everybody know, she is out of the hospital and living with her son in Slate Hill.
RESOLUTION TO ASSIST WITH DRY HYDRANT:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell seconded by Councilman Cambareri to allow the highway department to assist with Howells Fire Company to put in a dry Hydrant on Whitlock Road. (subject to property owners written permission) All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
RESOLUTION TO APPROVE FIREWORKS:
MOTION offered by Councilwoman Sutherland seconded by Councilman Ketcham to allow the Mount Hope Fire company to use the park on July 6th for the fireworks display subject to receiving insurance certificate. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
SUMMER BOARD MEETINGS:
Supervisor Volpe: he sent email on this. He has not received answers from everyone. He would like to continue to have them every 2 weeks during the summer. Councilman Cambareri: keep the meeting schedule the same. Councilman Ketcham: keep the same.
SUMMER HOURS FOR TOWN HALL:
Supervisor Volpe: I will be here working on the budget with Angie. She is aware of it. Councilman Ketcham: go with same schedule as last year. Councilwoman Sutherland: asked for the hours. Town Clerk: Mon. thru Thurs. 8-5, continuing with Sat. hours. Councilman Cambareri: I think June through beginning of Sept. is ok; whole month of Sept. is not summer.
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RESOLUTION TO APPROVE SUMMER HOURS FOR TOWN HALL:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell seconded by Councilman Cambareri to have summer hours for town hall beginning June 2, 2014 through September 2, 2014: Monday thru Thursday 8-5, closed on Fridays. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
RESOLUTION TO SURPLUS OLD COMPUTER EQUIPMENT FOR ASSESSOR:
MOTION offered by Councilman Ketcham seconded by Councilman Howell to surplus the following: Gateway tower unit (S/N 0028320495), Gateway monitor (S/N QS5322601864), mouse, keyboard & cables. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
$100,000.00 YOUTH CENTER GRANT FROM SENATOR BONACIC:
Supervisor Volpe: close to a month ago, we had an appointment with Senator Bonacic. Dominick and I viewed a few of the buildings. We explained the pool building to him and the idea of a youth center; something for the kids to have something to do when they can’t use the park. He shared our vision and has committed $100,000.00 to start work on the pool building behind police station. Councilwoman Sutherland: do we know how much it will cost to renovate the building. Supervisor Volpe: no, the preliminary thing from the engineer was about $450,000.00 start to finish. I may have secured more money yesterday with Aileen Gunther. There’s no time restraints so we’ll take the $100,000.00 and make the building stop the bleeding. Dean will help fill in the pool to make it safe. Then we’ll see how far the $100,000.00 goes.
RESOLUTION TO APPROVE THE SUPERVISOR’S REPORT:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell seconded by Councilman Cambareri to approve the Supervisor’s report for April 2014 as written. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
KC ENGINEERING GRANTS:
Supervisor Volpe: all board members should have received the engineering report for the possible grant for KC Engineering. Basically, everyone should read it and it covers everything on our wish list. We’ll see which grants we want to go after. With the board’s direction, he will pursue whichever grant you want. We can discuss at next meeting.
CAMERA QUOTES:
Supervisor Volpe: we just got the prices today. We will table until next meeting.
STEPS QUOTES:
Supervisor Volpe: received quotes today. We will table until next meeting.
RESOLUTION TO SURPLUS OLD WOOD CHIPPER:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell seconded by Councilman Cambareri to surplus the old wood chipper. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
RESOLUTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri seconded by Councilman Howell to approve the following bills:
GENERAL A: #275-311 $85,941.51
GENERAL B: #41-44 $ 1,491.77
HIGHWAY: #65-74 $59,084.40
SEWER: #47-50 $ 1,016.57
CAP RES MACH: #1 $20,401.10
All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
LICENSE AGREEMENT:
Councilman Howell: with the license agreement we’ve discussed the last 2 meetings, the use of approx. 4 acres of the park land. That was prepared by David. With the board’s approval, I’d like to put that and give the public 2 weeks to apply for that at the clerk’s office. Hoping to pick an applicant at next meeting.
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LICENSE AGREEMENT continued:
- Fairweather: what’s the criteria? Do you have anything for spraying criteria? How long will it be for? Season to season? Year to year? Councilman Howell: it will be through a growing season of a year. It will be a duration of this year’s growing season and end in the fall. And then it can be re-applied for again next year. L. Fairweather: what’s the criteria for spraying? The dog park is right next door. Councilman Howell: the applicant would give us those details to apply for use of farmland. L. Fairweather: but some farmers do spray. And a lot of them don’t have licenses to spray. Councilman Howell: we would be furnished the information by the applicant. Atty. Bavoso: Ultimately, whoever applies would have to submit the details of what they are doing. Any agreement entered into would be a license not a lease which means the town would be able to terminate it at any time. If at any point they operate outside the parameters of what they are proposing, such as spraying something not approved, the town would be able to cancel it then remove that individual from the property. The applicant would supply the insurance on this. Anyone operating any machinery would have to be of a proper age and properly licensed or with proper supervision. L. Fairweather: this is town property. If they spray something and it gets in the water system; 1 applicant said they were gonna use round up. That’s a bad chemical that’s being sprayed and getting into water systems. There is wetland there. Atty. Bavoso: Any agreement that we would enter into would certainly be taken into account the worst case scenarios. We would be crafting it to make sure the town is covered and protected.
RESOLUTION TO ALLOW APPLICANTS TO APPLY FOR A LICENSE AGREEMENT:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell seconded by Councilman Cambareri to allow applications to be applied for – for the license agreement for the park land. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
Supervisor Volpe apologized for having to leave (8:05PM). He turned the meeting over to Deputy Supervisor Cambareri. He noted the retired police car in the parking lot which will be used by town employees. There will be a log book and all authorized employees have a key.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
- Cosme: spoke re: drainage problem on White Bridge road/Quigley Road. Water coming from the 2 new houses across the street. Dep. Sup’r Cambareri suggested she start with the building department to make a complaint.
- Stiles: reminded everyone of the school vote tomorrow.
- Loeven: reminded everyone of the senior trip tomorrow to Mohegan sun. There are openings available if anyone is interested.
- Cook: spoke re: round-up being used on the park land property. He has documentation proving it is a bad chemical. He will bring it in.
- Kowalczik: (to the attorney) status on the check? Atty. Bavoso: still looking into it.
- Higby: spoke re: joint meeting and asked to be brought up to speed. Dep. Sup’r Cambareri: that was preliminary. We need to talk to both fire companies. J. Doty: not available weekends, weeknights are better. Dep. Sup’r Cambareri: (to Chief Doty) I will have Chad contact you.
- Loeven: to let you know – you don’t have to be a senior to go on the trip.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilwoman Sutherland: areas around the backstops being weed wacked. J. Doty: it was done.
RESOLUTION TO ADJOURN:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell seconded by Councilman Ketcham to adjourn the meeting at 8:17 pm. All in favor: Howell, Ketcham, Volpe, Sutherland, Cambareri; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for June 2, 2014 at 7:30pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers
Town Clerk
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