Town Board Meeting December 21st 2020
The town board meeting of the Town of Mount Hope Town Board was held at the Mount Hope Town Hall on December 21, 2020 at 7:30pm with the following present: Supervisor Chad Volpe, Councilman Matt Howell, Councilman Brian Carey, Councilman Jim Jennings, Councilman Chris Furman and Town Clerk Kathleen Myers.
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Police Chief Rickard, Dep. Police Chief Maresca, Attorney D. Bavoso, Highway Supt., D. Hassenmayer.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Volpe called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.
MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey that minutes of the December 7, 2020 meeting are accepted as submitted. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- Amended 2021 library contract with Port Jervis library
- Purchase agreement for Shoddy Hollow Road property (SBL 6-1-25)
- Shared services agreement for the highway department for 2021
- Supervisor’s report for 11/2020
- Public hearing notice for T/O Mount Hope planning board for OYA: (CANCELLED)
- Mount Hope ZBA resolution for OYA: (APPROVED)
- Mount Hope ZBA resolution for Verizon Wireless (Cty Rte 61): (APPROVED)
- Palmer’s Ark impound report November 2020
- Letter from OC Health dept re: Devan’s Gate
- Building Dept. monthly reports for July, August, Sept. 2020
- V/O Otisville ZBA public hearing notice re: 3 lot sub-division @ Otisville fire dept. Jan 6, 2021
- Planning board monthly report for Jan-Dec 2020
- RESOLUTION: Governor’s Executive Order Continuing Temporary Suspension & Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency (for Senior & Disability Exemptions; 467 & 459C of the Real Property Tax Law)
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Jennings: Jan 7, 2021 is village board meeting. January 20, 2021 is the planning board meeting at 7pm.
Councilman Howell: The annual receipt book audit will be done very shortly after the 1st of the year.
Councilman Furman thanked the Otisville fire dept for bringing Santa around town. Hidden Valley: we are updating the labs there. Dean & guys are working there. Our budget was passed and approved by the state. We put aside money for new bathroom at the town park by the football field. He’d like to move forward with that after the 1st of the year. There was previous discussion about putting new playground there as well. Supervisor: once we get the prices all in; the bathrooms are gonna be #1. I think we’ll be ok for both. Councilman Furman spoke re: stepson contracting COVID. He thanked everyone for their support.
Councilman Carey: Ketcham Fencing will be fixing the broken fence at the park possibly between now and the 2nd week of January. It depends on the weather. He hopes everyone had a Happy Hanukah. He wished everyone Merry Christmas.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supt. Hassenmayer reported that they picked up the last of the building supplies that were on order: windows/doors. We haven’t decided on the siding. We talked about vinyl siding. Some of the guys suggested metal siding to match the other buildings there. He didn’t know the boards’ preference. Supervisor: whatever is gonna last and it will be fine with all of us. H’way Supt: one of the windows we picked up was broken. He doesn’t know when they will get back there – maybe if the weather breaks. The roof was buttoned up and the walls were stripped – he had a truck out there for garbage. We dis fairly well through the storm. One truck got stuck the first ½ hour out. We had to get a heavy wrecker to winch him out of the ditch. We had a water pump go on another truck. Everything is back running 100%. He is working on getting prices for the town hall expansion. The CHIPS – when he filled it out, he wasn’t sure of the #’s. There was said to be a 20% reduction. The state DOT adjusted the #’s on our filing & sent them to me initials & Kathleen sent them back out today. Hopefully we’ll have that check next week. He won’t be putting bills in this week. He should have all the final 2020 bills next week. He purchased today a rototiller for the park. It was $1,700.
130
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Rickard wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. He thanked the board for their support this year. He thanked Dean for getting the new battery in the Humvee right before the storm and getting the plow on for us. The reform committee is moving along. The surveys are set up. A postcard will be sent to town residents with a QR code and web link. Questions are all set. Not sure if we can get it in before Dec 31st. Hopefully, the 1st week in January the postcards will go out. Then we’ll get the survey results by end of January. It’s a scientific survey. The police foundation is running it. There’s also an internal survey for the internal employees. Councilman Furman asked when the body cameras will start to be used. Chief: that already started. There are a few technical issues. They are well received by officers and public.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
Trustee Loeven: the village ZBA is holding a public hearing in January. That’s a proposed 3 lot subdivision on the corner of Seybolt Avenue/Orchard Street. One of the lots doesn’t quite meet the standards. It will be at the fire house due to COVID. The parking lot purchase is looking good. We hope that at the next meeting we can authorize the mayor to sign the contract for that. John Doty was promoted to foreman to Raphael’s position effective 12/23/2020. The mayor will be away for a week. Ike Palmer will be acting. From her board to ours: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year & healthy new year.
PORT JERVIS LIBRARY CONTRACT FOR 2021:
Supervisor stated we talked about this at last meeting. There needed to be a few changes. Renewals will be done here. They’ll get a slip. They will now pay $10. David made the changes to the contract. He’d like a motion to approve this.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN 2021 CONTRACT WITH PORT JERVIS LIBRARY:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey to approve our 2021 contract with the Port Jervis Library. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
HOWELLS CEMETERY:
Supervisor asked the attorney about the Howells Cemetery. Attorney Bavoso hasn’t started on that because they’ve been backed up due to closings. This and a couple local laws will be 1st on his list for the first of the year.
GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER CONTINUING TEMPORARY SUSPENSION AND MODIFICATION OF LAWS RELATING TO THE DISASTER EMERGENCY (FOR THIS RESOLUTION: SENIOR AND DISABILITY EXEMPTIONS; 467 AND 459c OF THE REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW, RESPECTIVELY: (READ BY TOWN CLERK):
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the resolution as read by the Town Clerk. (complete resolution at end of these minutes) All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR THE SHODDY HOLLOW ROAD PROPERTY (SBL 6-1-25):
Supervisor noted that board members should have received the purchase agreement packet. He asked the attorney how we do this. The attorney stated they would do a motion to authorize him to work on the contract. It’s not until you are authorized to sign the contract for the permissive referendum. His office will put together the contract, we’ll go back and forth with the buyer’s attorney until we have something to present to the board. Then at that meeting you will authorize the supervisor to sign the contract; that starts the 30 days for the permissive referendum. You need a motion to authorize me to work on the contract based on the purchase offer that was received. Councilman Carey asked: if we get another offer between now and then that’s higher than the asking price, how does that work? Attorney: then you go with that one. Realistically, you’re not bound to anything until the town has signed the contract as the seller. Councilman Carey: we only had one offer? Supervisor: yes. Councilman Carey: what about the other piece of property? Supervisor: nothing; that’s the one everyone was saying should be combined because it has the creek running through it. Councilman Howell: at this point, do we need to give you any recommendations for a response to this other than to draw up contracts? Attorney: no. Basically, I have a standard form for when municipalities are selling properties – so we’ll use that. He will let the board know if there are any changes and what we advise. Councilman Howell: if we have specific questions about this sale, would we go in to executive session? Attorney: yes, before to authorize the supervisor to sign.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE ATTORNEY TO PUT TOGETHER A DRAFT CONTRACT AGREEMENT FOR SALE OF SHODDY HOLLOW ROAD PROPERTY SBL 6-1-25:
MOTION offered Councilman Jennings 2nd Councilman Furman to authorize Attorney David Bavoso to put our purchase agreement contract together for the property on Shoddy Hollow Road SBL 6-1-25. All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; ABSTAIN – Carey; motion carried.
131
SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supervisor Volpe asked the board if they had any questions with regard to the shred services agreement. They didn’t have any questions. Dean explained that if any town needs our help – they all understand that no one leaves this town until our roads are complete. Attorney Bavoso explained the attorney from the Town of Wawayanda asked him about a model – this is actually an agreement before I started working for Mount Hope. Biggest features are assigning liability and hierarchy as to who is gonna be in charge on what site.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to authorize the Supervisor to sign the shared services agreement for highway services between Town of Mount Hope, Village of Otisville, Town of Greenville, Town of Deerpark, Town of Minisink & Town of Wawayanda. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE SUPERVISOR’S MONTHLY REPORT:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the November 2020 Supervisor’s reports as presented. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS RESOLUTIONS FOR OYA AND VERIZON WIRELESS:
Supervisor noted that the ZBA resolutions are on file and approved for OYA (Shoddy Hollow Road) and Verizon Wireless (County Rte 61).
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to approve audit of claims Abstracts #50 & #51:
ABSTRACT 50:
GENERAL A: #735-758 $ 65,207.45
GENERAL B: #116-122 $ 5,268.19
HIGHWAY: #206-215 $ 42,184.64
SEWER: #100-102 $ 10,442.90 AND
ABSTRACT 51:
GENERAL A: #759-771 $ 6,156.01
GENERAL B: #123-125 $ 2,112.44
HIGHWAY: #216-220 $ 7,174.47
SEWER: #103-105 $ 1,642.58
All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings, Carey abstains from ‘General A’ voucher #768 A & B; carried.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Attorney Bavoso: With regard to the shared services – He thinks it is quite an accomplishment; these 6 municipalities represent the western part of Orange County. When he 1st started working with his father, some of these municipalities would never think of talking to each other. This is a pretty good deal.
FROM FACEBOOK LIVE: ALISON MILLER WROTE: I want to acknowledge our Mount Hope Police for their transparency in involving the community in police reform activities. I’ve spoken to residents of many other towns and villages in Orange County who do not feel nearly as included in these efforts, so I thank our local department for that. I also really appreciate their facebook posts about COVID safety guidelines, reminding residents of social distancing, hand hygiene and the importance of wearing masks in public & when less than 6 feet from others. I appreciate all our public officials who set good examples for others, so thank you. And I hope there are a lot more dance battle videos coming in the future.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilman Carey – Happy New Year; next meeting Jan. 4th. He will update the meeting schedule on FB.
Councilman Furman – Happy holidays, Merry Christmas. Have a safe & healthy New Year.
Councilman Jennings – He thanked Dean and the guys for a great job during this snowstorm. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.
Councilman Howell – Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
Supervisor Volpe – Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to adjourn the meeting at 7:55pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
The re-organization meeting is scheduled for January 4, 2021 at 7:30pm at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted, Kathleen A. Myers, RMC, Town Clerk
132
GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER CONTINUING TEMPORARY SUSPENSION AND MODIFICATION OF LAWS RELATING TO THE DISASTER EMERGENCY (FOR THIS RESOLUTION: SENIOR AND DISABILITY EXEMPTIONS; 467 AND 459c OF THE REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW, RESPECTIVELY:
WHEREAS, on March 7, 2020, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York issued Executive Order Number 202.83, declaring a State disaster emergency for the entire State of New York; and
WHEREAS, on December 18, 2020 a portion of said declaration includes a local option pertaining to Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities partial tax exemption, Subdivisions 7, 7-a, and 8 of section 459-c of the Real Property Tax Law (Partial Tax Exemption for Persons with Disabilities), and subdivisions 5, 5-a, 5-b, 5-c and 6 of section 467 of the Real Property Tax Law (Partial Tax Exemption for Low Income Senior Citizens), to the extent necessary to permit the governing body of an assessing unit to adopt a resolution allowing the assessor to grant exemptions pursuant to such section on the 2021 assessment roll to all property owners who received either of those exemptions on the 2020 assessment roll, thereby dispensing with the need for renewal applications from such persons, and further dispensing with the requirement for assessors to mail renewal applications to such persons, and
WHEREAS, the Town is desirous in adopting such resolution while also allowing the assessor to require a renewal application to be filed when he or she has reason to believe than an owner who qualified for the exemption on the 2020 assessment roll may have since changed his or her primary residence, added another owner to the deed, transferred the property to a new owner, or died, and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope hereby adopts the portion of the Executive Order 202.83 of the Governor of the State of New York, that permits the town to dispense with the need for renewal applications in regard to partial tax exemptions of persons with disabilities and limited incomes senior citizens that are already approved on the 2020 Assessment Roll as having such exemptions, for the 2021 Assessment Roll except in the case that there is a change of status that would no longer qualify the homeowner.
RESOLVED, that the Town Board is authorized to pass such resolution, and that the assessor is instructed to take any such necessary actions in the above-described directives.
Dated: December 21, 2020
133