Town Board Meeting February 26th, 2024
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Police Chief Maresca, Highway Supt. Hassenmayer & Attorney S. Bonacic.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Rickard called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.
7:30PM PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #1-2024 – A LOCAL LAW ADDING CHAPTER 6, ENTITLED “ADVISORY COMMITTEES” TO THE TOWN CODE OF THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE:
Supervisor Rickard noted the legal ad on the table as well as copies of the law. There were no audience questions nor board questions.
MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Furman to close public hearing at 7:32pm. All in favor: Rickard, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
7:32PM PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #2-2024 – A LOCAL LAW AMENDING CHAPTER 21, ENTITLED “ETHICS” OF THE TOWN CODE OF THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE:
Supervisor Rickard noted the legal ad on the table as well as copies of the law. There were no audience questions.
Councilmember Jennings asked who will be on the board of ethics.
Supervisor Rickard replied we will appoint them.
Attorney Bonacic added you ask for people interested in this position and appoint them.
Supervisor Rickard noted the criteria for this. Board member must reside in this town. You can’t hold office on a political party. Once the law is filed, we will advertise for this then we can hold interviews.
Mary Carver: will the law get passed tonight? Supervisor: potentially. Carver: is there something in there that needs to be changed? Or can be changed if it wasn’t thought of? Attorney Bonacic: the ethics board is appointed and they see a shortcoming in the law as drafted, the town board would have the authority to do an amendment. This is being created as a local law so any change would be done via subsequent local law.
Alison Miller: read from section “A”. Noted compromised; should be comprised. Under “H” – will the board meet on a regular basis? Or as needed? Supervisor: it would be up to the board of ethics to come up with their own procedures/inner workings. Miller: is the appointment for a certain amount of time? Supervisor: open-ended. I don’t think there’s an expiration of the term. Miller: are the positions voluntary or will there be a stipend? Supervisor: voluntary. Attorney: an example, if the board needed funds for a stenographer, the town would pay for that.
MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Furman to close public hearing at 7:42pm. All in favor: Rickard, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Davis that the minutes of the February 5, 2024 and February 13, 2024 meetings are accepted as submitted. All in favor: Carey, Rickard, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Copy of Roll-off dumpster service/recycling service
2. Mortgage tax receipts from OC January 2024
3. Letter from OC Dept. of Planning re: Shoddy Hollow Road solar site plan reply
4. Invitation from little league for opening day ceremony April 20, 2024 10am
5. Public hearing notice from Mount Hope ZBA re: Sweetman property – March 6, 2024 7:00pm
6. Request for training re: Curtis Hahne re: NYTOA TacOps North Tactical Conference, Verona NY April 15-19, 2024
7. 2023 end of year budget modifications
8. Resignation from Maria Dickerson, Court Officer effective 12/19/2024
9. Surplus & destroy request for supervisors old computer
10. Estimate from Wash on Wheels re: extra services
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COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilmember Davis: Asian American committee meets tomorrow 7pm at senior center. She is looking into other things we can do instead of community day i.e.: family events.
Councilmember Carey: Village election is March 19, 6am -9pm at village hall. DMV bus will be at village hall 3-8-2024. Defensive driving class will be 3-23-2024. Holy Name Church St. Patrick’s Day dinner on March 10 and fish fry on March 15, 2024. Summer rec info is on our website. Went to AOT last week. Thankful to be able to go. Very informative. She will be looking into the incorporation of town of Mount Hope in 1825. She would like to plan activities and events for this.
Councilmember Furman: attended the AOT. It was eye-opening. The Mount Hope Chinese association has been holding the language classes on Sundays. ZBA meets on March 7 at 7pm.
Councilmember Jennings: Easter egg hunt is on March 24. Girl scouts will help stuff the eggs. Summer rec sign-ups are going slow. He asked Dean if the guys could get the Easter stuff down for him.
Councilmember Furman: spoke re: mirror in the gym; 3×6 or 4×6 shatter proof.
Supervisor Rickard: HV sewer fence repairs were made. We received the check from the insurance company. The engineer will attend next meeting to talk about HV. The bands are set for the concert series. He spoke re: lack of financial report from the supervisor. This hasn’t been done since last October. He can only speak for himself and why he hasn’t done it and that’s because we have had no one to do it. This board has taken some steps to correct this problem. We hired a bookkeeper that is an accountant. She was able to close out our books for 2023. She provided the budget modifications to balance our books for the year. She found deficits in our healthcare line. It turns out we were paying for healthcare for somebody for over 4 years who doesn’t work here. Another example is the new building. There was no budget for it. It’s beautiful. Dean’s guys did a great job. We just kept writing checks. The purchasing process will change.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supt. Hassenmayer asked for a motion to go to bid for the trash days.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY SUPT. TO GO TO BID FOR 2024 SPRING/FALL TRASH DAYS ROLL-OFF DUMPSTER SERVICE:
MOTION offered Councilmember Jennings 2nd Councilmember Furman to authorize the highway supt. to go to bid for 2024 spring/fall trash days dumpster service & to advertise in the local paper; bids due by March 13, 2024 10:00am.
All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Maresca thanked OMHPC for the goodies/cards. Chinese New Year went well. A few minor hiccups but nothing bad. He recommends a new hire – Timothy Fenfert as a part time non-competitive police officer. He is seeking approval for Deputy Chief to attend training in April.
INTRODUCTION OF PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #3-2024 – A LOCAL LAW AMENDING CHAPTER 185, ENTITLED “SEWERS” OF THE TOWN CODE OF THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE:
Supervisor Rickard introduced proposed local law #3-2024 re: sewers. He noted a couple violations from the DEC. One violation was that we lack a local law for sewers. We need to set a public hearing.
MOTION TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #3-2024 – A LOCAL LAW AMENDING CHAPTER 185, ENTITLED “SEWERS” OF THE TOWN CODE OF THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE:
MOTION Offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Furman to schedule a public hearing for PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #3-2024 – A LOCAL LAW AMENDING CHAPTER 185, ENTITLED “SEWERS” OF THE TOWN CODE OF THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE on March 18, 2024 at 7:30pm at town hall. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO ACCEPT RESIGNATION FROM MARIA DICKERSON, COURT OFFICER:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Furman to accept the resignation from Maria Dickerson, court officer, effective December 19, 2023. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO HIRE RAMON RODRIGUEZ AS COURT OFFICER:
MOTION offered Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Carey to hire Ramon Rodriguez as court officer. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO HIRE TIMOTHY M. FENFERT AS A PART TIME NON-COMPETITIVE POLICE OFFICER:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmemebr Furman to hire Timothy M. Fenfert as a part time non-competitive police officer. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO HIRE CINDY DODD AS A DATA COLLECTOR FOR THE ASSESSOR’S OFFICER:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Jennings to hire Cindy Dodd as a data collector for 300 hours for the assessor’s office. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
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MOTION TO APPROVE THE PARTIAL ROAD BOND RELEASE FOR MOUNTAINVIEW III LLC:
MOTION offered Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Carey to approve the partial road bond release for Mountainview III LLC in the amount of $43,633.00 (SBL 16-1-51.12). All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE TRAINING REQUEST FOR DEPUTY CHIEF CURTIS HAHNE:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Furman to approve the training request for Deputy Chief Curtis Hahne, NYTOA TacOps North Tactical training, at Turning Stone Casino, April 15-19, 2024; training/lodging $783.45. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE 2023 YEAR END BUDGET MODIFICATIONS:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Carey to approve the budget modifications as per list attached to end of these minutes. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO ACCEPT WASH ON WHEELS ESTIMATE FOR DEEP CLEAN SERVICE AT YOUTH CENTER:
MOTION offered Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Carey to approve the estimate from Wash on Wheels for deep clean service to include grout & tile for the youth center kitchen, men’s restroom and ladies restroom, windows and carpets for $1,168.00. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman; NAY: Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO SURPLUS THEN DESTROY OLD COMPUTER FROM SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Carey to approve to surplus then destroy an old computer the supervisor’s office: Dell Inspiron 23, model # 5348 series, CN-057DNV-74431-4SE-0012-A00, service tag 8904XS1. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO SIGN AGREEMENT WITH GLEN PLOTSKY, ATTORNEY FOR PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD SERVICES:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Furman to authorize the town supervisor to sign the agreement with Glen Plotsky, Attorney for services for the planning board & zoning board for 2024. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Jennings to approve the bills (Abstract #6, #7, #8):
ABSTRACT #6:
GENERAL A: #67-90 $ 16,940.62
GENERAL B: #23 $ 134.65
HIGHWAY: #9 $ 621.00
SEWER: #11-12 $ 648.53
AND
ABSTRACT #7:
GENERAL A: #91-104 $ 20,088.01
GENERAL B: #24 $ 299.00
HIGHWAY: #10-11 $ 7,750.43
SEWER: #13-14 $ 249.68
ARPA: #1-2 $ 14,272.00
AND
ABSTRACT #8
GENERAL A: #105-114 $ 10,115.37
GENERAL B #25 $ 65.00
SEWER: #15-16 $ 2,425.10.
All in favor: Rickard, Davis, Furman, Jennings; ABSTAIN: Abstract 6, voucher 79; motion carried.
PIKE COUNTY LIBRARY:
Supervisor Rickard noted that the Pike County library contract will be voted on at the next meeting.
MOTION TO APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A NEW COMPUTER FOR THE BOOKKEEPER’S OFFICE:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Davis to authorize the purchase of a new computer for the bookkeeper’s office from (state contract) Dell for $1,142.74; paid with ARPA money. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
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PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mike Meere spoke about the # of homes in Hidden Valley. He asked about the fines from the DEC. He asked about getting time clocks for the Hidden Valley operators.
Alison Miller asked about the procedure to rent the town facilities for not-for-profits.
Diane Loeven noted the village hall is used for meeting space. A key gets checked out to be able to do this. She gave a senior update.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilmember Jennings would like to look into moving the elections to the youth center from the senior center.
Councilmember Carey noted the little league pancake breakfast will be March 10, 2024.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Jennings to adjourn the meeting at 8:24pm. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
The next town board meeting is scheduled for March 4, 2024 at 7:30pm at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers, RMC/Town Clerk
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