REORGANIZATION MEETING, TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE, JANUARY 2, 2018

REORGANIZATION MEETING, TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE, JANUARY 2, 2018
www.townofmounthope.org
The reorganization meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope was held at Town Hall on January 2, 2018 at 7:30pm with the following present: Supervisor Chad Volpe, Councilman Matt Howell, Councilman Brian Carey, Councilman Jim Jennings & Town Clerk Kathleen Myers.

OFFICIALS PRESENT: Deputy Chief J. Corcoran.

The meeting was called to order by Supervisor Volpe following the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30pm. He asked for audience to silence their cell phones.

MOTION TO FILL VACANCY ON TOWN BOARD:
MOTION offered by Supervisor Volpe 2nd Councilman Howell to appoint Dominick Cambareri to fill the vacancy created by Janet Sutherland for the remainder of 2018. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings; carried. (At this time Dominick Cambareri took his seat at the podium.)

MOTION TO APPROVE PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered by Councilman Carey 2nd by Councilman Howell to approve the minutes from Dec. 28, 2017 as printed. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

CORRESPONDENCE:
1. 2018 Appointment List
2. 2018 Salary Schedule
3. 2018 Procurement Policy
4. 2018 Investment Policy
5. 2018 Fuel agreement for approval re: Village of Otisville
6. 2018 Fuel Agreement for approval re: Cornell Cooperative Extension
7. Building Department report December 2017
8. Palmer’s Ark 2017 Impound report
9. Palmer’s Ark December 2017 Impound report
10. B.A.R. re-appointment re: Wayne Melton
11. Planning Board Chairman W. Howell recommendation for K. Yedziniak to fill board seat for planning board
12. Court Audit request
13. Recreation building demo quote from CJBD Construction Specialist
14. 2018 Committee List from Supervisor
15. Corres. from Heidi Volpe Building Dept. Clerk re: well issue on Mount Hope Road
16. End of year budget modifications

BOARD REPORTS:
Councilman Howell – no report.
Councilman Carey: he will seek out info for a grant for the summer concert series. Summer recreation camp has had a lot of requests for people to be on the page.
Councilman Cambareri: no issues at the treatment plant due to the cold weather. He read the fire report from the Otisville fire department. (report on file in town clerk’s office)
Councilman Jennings – no report. Supervisor Volpe welcomed Mr. Jennings to the board.

COMMITTEE LIST:
Supervisor Volpe passed out the committee appointment list. He also explained the checking of the senior center after the weekend functions being on a rotation between the 5 board members.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supervisor Volpe reported that Dean wouldn’t be coming to meeting. He had nothing to report other than the appointment of the deputy highway superintendent.

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POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Deputy Chief Corcoran was present. Everything was covered at Thursday’s meeting.

VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
Trustee Loeven reported the DCO vehicle is up and running and back in service. She reported on 2 medical calls within 3 minutes of each other over the weekend. Both were handled very well.

CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR ISSUE:
Supervisor Volpe spoke re: incident a couple weeks ago with carbon monoxide detectors which were put in over the summer. This building never had them. He has a call in to the alarm company to get it hard wired into our system.

JUSTICE & ALL OTHER TOWN DEPARTMENT AUDIT OF RECEIPT BOOKS:
Supervisor Volpe spoke re: justice audit and all department books. Matt & Brian will pick a date and coordinate with Kathleen.

BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW RE-APPOINTMENT:
Supervisor Volpe asked the board about the Board of Assessment review re-appointment for Wayne Melton. This will be tabled until someone can speak with Dennis.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION TIME LIMIT:
Supervisor Volpe has received comments regarding the 3 minute time limit for the public to speak. He suggested that if the public has anything lengthy to speak about that they get it in writing ahead of time for the board to review. Councilman Carey is looking in to a timer and hopes to have it before the next meeting.

LETTER FROM BUILDING DEPT. RE: WELL ISSUES ON MOUNT HOPE ROAD:
Supervisor Volpe spoke re: letter received from building department about 2013 and 2017 Mount Hope Road properties wells going dry. When everything started with Indigo Creek with the drilling and pumping, our concern was people losing water. About 4 months ago off Murray Road the C/O Middletown built a complete road, put millings down on it & put a no trespassing sign prior to doing that. We went back in the road and saw they had these pumps that fed into the backside of the reservoir that you see when you pass it on Mount Hope Road. They’re far enough away that you can’t see them, hear them nor near anyone. We’ve received complaints from 2 people on Murray Road & a new house on Mount Hope Road that their wells went dry. All information has been forwarded to the town attorney. The complainant was told that the last time any water was pumped out of the reservoir was 2009. Councilman Howell will make a couple phone calls. Councilman Carey knows that they are pumping water from one reservoir to another. We don’t know whether they are pumping water out of these wells. Supervisor: we don’t know that they’re doing it on a regular basis. We know they are pumping there. The county is saying their test wells are capped off. The county is right – they are capped off but the county doesn’t check on that. The county owns the property but the C/O Middletown built the road and has all the pump stuff about a mile in off Murray Road with big no trespassing signs.

2018 APPOINTMENT LIST:
Supervisor Volpe went over a couple changes to the list. The planning board chairman suggested replacing a board member with the alternate Kathie Yedziniak since she comes to every meeting. Another change is with the engineering firm to go from KC Engineering to be replaced with Pitingaro & Doetsch Engineering. Also, highway superintendent requested to have Robert Wickham as the deputy highway superintendent.

MOTION TO ACCEPT THE 2018 APPOINTMENT LIST:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Cambareri to approve the 2018 Appointment List as presented. (list attached to these minutes) All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Cambareri, Jennings; carried.

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MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2018 INVESTMENT POLICY:
MOTION offered by Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to approve the 2018 Investment Policy as presented (copy attached to these minutes) All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

MOTION TO ACCEPT THE 2018 PROCUREMENT POLICY:
MOTION offered by Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to approve the 2018 Procurement Policy as presented (copy on file in town clerk’s office). All in favor – Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

MOTION TO APPROVE 2018 FUEL AGREEMENT WITH VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE & CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2nd Councilman Carey to approve the 2018 fuel agreements with the Village of Otisville & Cornell Cooperative Extension and allow the Town Supervisor to sign the agreements as presented – copies on file in Town Clerk’s office. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

DEMOLITION OF NEW RECREATION BUILDING:
Supervisor spoke re: copy of email he gave to all board members with regard to the recreation building demolition. There is a lot of debris in the building to be cleaned up. This price will get us down to broom clean. Quote is $3,770.00 including hauling fees. He knows it’s last minute but would like to get this approved. We are $43,000 into our $100,000 grant money. Councilman Carey asked about taking pictures. He would like to get some pictures and put them online.

MOTION TO ACCEPT QUOTE FOR DEMOLITION/CLEAN-UP OF NEW RECREATION BUILDING INTERIOR:
MOTION offered by Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to accept quote from CJBD Construction Specialist for $3,770 to demo the interior of the new recreation building. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

RESOLUTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS – ABSTRACT #1:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell 2nd by Councilman Carey to approve the following bills:
GENERAL A:​#1-9​$ 7,308.75
GENERAL B:​#1​$ 6.59
SEWER:​#1​$ 1,829.75 .
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT YEAR END BUDGET MODIFICATIONS #1:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to accept the year end budget modifications as follows:
FROM ​SS8130.4 Sewer Contr. ​TO​Hidden Valley Cap.​$1,700.00
FROM ​SS2770 Misc. Local Sources​TO​Hidden Valley Cap.​$3,347.01
FROM B8020.2 Planning Bd Eq.​TO Capital B​$ 500.00
FROM DB5130.2 Mach Eq. ​TO​Capital Highway​$88,250.00
FROM DB5140.2 Misc. Brush/Weeds​TO​Capital Highway​$3,025.70
FROM DB5142.2 Snow Removal Eq.​TO​Capital Highway​$25,000.00
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT YEAR END BUDGET MODIFICATIONS #2:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2nd by Councilman Howell to accept the year end budget modifications as follows:
Decrease B2115 Planning Bd. Rev & Increase B8020.4 Planning Bd Contr.​$4,693.53
Decrease B1990.4 Contingent​& ​Increase B3620.4 Bldg. Dept. Contr.​ $856.12
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

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RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT YEAR END BUDGET MODIFICATIONS #3:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2nd by Councilman Howell to accept the Highway year end budget modifications as follows:
Decrease DB5110.4 Gen Rprs. Contr. & Increase DB5142.4 Snow Rem Contr.​$2,573.92
Decrease DB5110.4 Gen Rprs Contr. & Increase DB5140.4 Misc. Brush/Weeds Contr. $49.51.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT YEAR END BUDGET MODIFICATIONS #4:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2nd by Councilman Howell to accept the year end budget modifications for General A as follows:
Decrease A1110.4 Justice Contr. & Increase A1010.4 Town Bd. Contr. $92.27
Decrease A1220.1 Supervisor PS & Increase A1410.1 Town Clerk PS $16.60
Decrease A1220.4 Supervisor Contr. & Increase A1610.4 Central Svcs Admin. $1,119.00
Decrease A1355.4 Assessor Contr. & Increase A1440.4 Engineer Contr. $937.50
Decrease A1355.5 Assessor Contr. & Increase A1620.4 Bldgs. Contr. $10,132.12
Decrease A3120.2 Police Eq.​ & Increase A3120.4 Police Contr. $1,538.49.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Diane Loeven went over the Hometown Helpers yearly report for 2017. She thanked the clerks for all their help.
Mary Maurizzio asked the Supervisor for the name of the person from Middletown who told you that they’ve not been pumping water since 2009. Supervisor: the man that I talked to that said he was having the issue – I don’t know who he talked to from the Middletown water department. The supervisor did not personally speak to the water department person.
Stephanie Knapp – the person with the dry well. She has less than 5’ of water in her well. Supervisor just found out today. We have people working on it. He doesn’t know what power our board has. Mrs. Knapp stated that the reservoir is dry. Councilman Carey asked how deep her well is. She stated 91’. Councilman Carey asked her if she’s talked to the county. She stated that her neighbor has been the one speaking to the county. Councilman Carey went down with a couple of the other board members to make a statement awhile back. He suggested that she go to the county meeting on Thursday night at the 911 center in Goshen. She asked if there’s a way to get water back in to the reservoir. Councilman Cambareri stated that the reservoirs don’t belong to us. They belong to the C/O Middletown. We don’t own any water systems in the town except for Hidden Valley and that’s a private water system owned by a private company. Mrs. Knapp added that C/O Middletown completely denies anything. She asked if there’s anything the town can do to give her water. Supervisor doesn’t think there is. We have an engineer & an attorney that are specialized in this. She added that she is dry and her neighbor is dry. She spoke to the other neighbor that has a 400’ well & they are not having a problem. Supervisor asked if she was the one that thought there was a problem with her pump. Mrs. Knapp: yes. Mr. Carey asked how new her house is. Mrs. Knapp: May of this year. Mr. Cambareri asked about the well. Mrs. Knapp stated the well was existing; the pump was 3 years old. The well served the house for 45 years. She gave her phone number to the town clerk. She added that on social media, there are several in the area having the same problem. Councilman Howell spoke to people that were either on or were on the city council and their attitude is ‘there’s no way we can hurt the water in Mount Hope’. People at the county say the same. He suggested that she and her neighbors go to the county meetings and C/O Middletown meetings. The city’s attitude is it’s a municipal clash – Mount Hope & Middletown don’t agree on this topic. He suggested the news: Times Herald Record. Supervisor Volpe stated we did get a stipulation in the agreement which is not much. When he expressed his concern at the county level they basically told him we have enough votes and have a nice day. One of the stipulations was anyone affected by the drilling if their well is to go dry a certain amount of feet – but it was what we were able to get into it. Discussion ensued. Supervisor: we had them go out to Old Mill beach because windows were vibrating. The DEC went there, slapped them on the hand and told them to shut the pumps off. The next day they were pumping somewhere else. Knapp: there’s a lot of activity back there. Supervisor told her that somebody on the board will call her tomorrow. He apologized for her issue.
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CONTINUED:
Kathie Yedziniak asked why we sell gas to the Cornell Coop. Extension. Supervisor: it’s been going on since I’ve been here. Mrs. Yedziniak: so if you’re a business you can? Supervisor: they’re a not-for-profit. Councilman Howell: it’s for their machinery not cars. Councilman Cambareri: it was set up that way before we came 4 years ago and we just continued the agreement. The village does the same.

BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilman Jennings: no comments
Councilman Cambareri: guard rail looks great. The guys did it in the freezing cold.
Councilman Carey: guard rail looks great. He went up there the other day.
Councilman Howell welcomed Jim.
Supervisor Volpe wished everyone Happy New Year.

MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to adjourn the meeting at 8:29pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.

The next meeting is scheduled for January 16, 2018 at 7:30pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen A. Myers
Town Clerk​

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​​​TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE
2018 APPOINTMENT LIST

ACCOUNTANT – Kelli Walsh
ASSESSMENT REVIEW BOARD CLERK – Laura Sedita
ASSESSOR CLERK – Angela Cangialosi
BOND ATTORNEY – Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP (Doug Goodfriend)
BUDGET OFFICER – Chad Volpe
BUILDING INSPECTOR – Julie-Ann Musial
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER – Julie-Ann Musial, Laurie Powrie
FIRE INSPECTOR – Julie-Ann Musial, Laurie Powrie
CLERK – Heidi-Jo Volpe
CONFIDENTIAL SECRETART TO THE SUPERVISOR – Angela Cangialosi
COURT CLERKS – Lisa Bacigalupo, Francine Heppes
DEPUTY HIGHWAY SUPT. – Robert Wickham
DEPUTY SUPERVISOR – Dominick Cambareri
DEPUTY TOWN CLERK – Paula Bird
DOG CONTROL OFFICER – Thomas Yonskie
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR – Paul Rickard & Chad Volpe
HIDDEN VALLEY PLANT OPERATOR – Michael Brock
ASST. PLANT OPERATOR – David Brock
HISTORIANS – Anita Goldsmith & Nancy Craig
HIGHWAY CLERK – Amy Hassenmayer
PLANNING BOARD MEMBER – Kathie Yedziniak (term to expire 2025)
PLANNING BOARD CLERK – Linda Franck
ASST. CLERK – Angela Cangialosi
PLANNING BOARD ENGINEER – Pitingaro & Doetsch Consulting Engineers
PLANNING BOARD ATTORNEY – Glen Plotsky (Bavoso & Plotsky)
POLICE CHIEF – Paul Rickard
POLICE CLERK – Sherri Clarke
P/T ASST. CLERK – Carol Dolan
REGISTRAR OF VITAL STATISTICS – Kathleen Myers
DEPUTY REGISTRAR OF VITAL STATISTICS – Paula Bird
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR (for conflict cases) – Scott Russell, Esq.
TOWN ATTORNEY – David Bavoso (Bavoso & Plotsky)
TOWN ENGINEER – Clark Patterson Lee Eng. P.C. (Environmental) & Pitingaro & Doetsch Consulting Engineers
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEMBER – Kathy Hosking (term to expire 2023)
ZONING BOARD ATTORNEY – Glen Plotsky (Bavoso & Plotsky)

DESIGNATED BANKS – Greater Hudson Bank, Orange Bank & Trust, First National Bank of Jeffersonville, Wallkill Federal Savings & Loan
MEETING NIGHTS – 1st AND 3rd Monday Nights unless otherwise approved by Town Board & except as follows: Meetings for Jan. will be 2nd & 16th, Feb. will be 20th, Sept. will be 4th, Nov. will be 8th.
POSTAGE & UTILITIES PAID PRIOR TO AUDIT

DELEGATE/ASSOC. OF TOWNS MTG. – Delegate –Chad Volpe / (alternate – Dominick Cambareri)
DESIGNATED NEWSPAPER – Times Herald Record
INVESTMENT POLICY – Reviewed with changes
MILEAGE – .54 1/2 cents per mile/rate established by the I.R.S. to be examined quarterly
PROCUREMENT POLICY – Reviewed with no changes

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TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE
2018 INVESTMENT POLICY
​
Motion by Councilmember Brian Carey

The Town Supervisor is designated to make all investment transactions for the

Town. The Town of Mount Hope investment policies are governed by the

statutes of the State of New York, however, the Town must have a stated and

approved investment policy. The Town funds are deposited in F.D.I.C. insured

banks located within the State. The Town uses demand accounts

and may use Certificates of Deposit. Collateral is required for all funds on

deposit not covered by Federal deposit insurance. Obligations that are pledged

as collateral shall be obligations of the U.S., its agencies, New York State, its

municipalities and school districts. The collateral should be placed in a third

party bank and the third party bank is to give the Town notification of possession,

the depositories for the Town investments shall be First National Bank of

Jeffersonville, Greater Hudson Bank, Orange Bank & Trust Company & Wallkill Valley Federal

Savings & Loan.

The investment policy of the Town shall be in accordance with the statutes of New York

State and be periodically reviewed and revised as necessary to reflect changes in

available investment opportunities and market conditions. Investment records and

controls should be within the guidelines of policies and procedures set forth by the Office

of the State Comptroller.

Seconded by Councilmember Matthew Howell

AYE​NAY

Supervisor ​​Chad Volpe​​X​ ​
Councilman ​​Matthew Howell​​X​
Councilman ​​Brian Carey​​X
Councilman ​James Jennings ​​X
Councilman ​​Dominick Cambareri​​X​

Approved at Town Board meeting held on January 2, 2018.

Kathleen A. Myers, RMC
Town Clerk

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