Town Board Meeting February 7th, 2022
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Deputy Police Chief M. Maresca, Attorney D. Bavoso, Highway Supt. D. Hassenmayer.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Howell called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.
MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilwoman Davis that the minutes of the January 18, 2022 meeting are accepted as submitted. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Highway dept budget modification
2. Quotes for nets at the town park ballfield
3. Knight Watch proposal for mag locks at community center
4. Otisville Fair request to use posts on town property to hang fair signs
5. Otisville fair fireworks application
6. Otisville fair park pavilion rental application
7. Vehicle Towing & Impound Lot POLICY #502 for approval
8. Building dept monthly report for January 2022
9. T/O Wallkill snow/ice agreement – fully executed – received 1-26-2022
10. OC mortgage tax receipts for January 2022
11. Hometown Helpers 2021 events & 2021 annual report
12. Letter from John Fuller Engineer re: residential dwelling evaluation SBL 10-1-46
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Jennings reported there were 18 fire calls for January. He informed Dean that the village teamsters union is trying to set up a CDL class. Dean received an email on this. Councilman Jennings noted the generator is going to be delayed. Production is slow. Should be ready by June/July. The switch is in. He asked Dean if one of the guys could go and pick it up for us. Mike Romano had some questions about the breaker information. He was able to help Mike out with that. He spoke re: quotes for poles at the park. Last year little league approached him about this. We held off because we purchased the poles along the parking lot. At that time, Chad had asked for this to be held off until this year. They are looking to get 24 poles installed in the back field between the field and the houses there to prevent damage to the houses there. It would be 24 poles at 20’ in the air. He received 2 quotes. The 3rd company no longer does it. He is not sure how many nets would be required. He is thinking 3. He stated that Mr. Lattimer asked about batting cages. Mr. Jennings doesn’t know if we supply that. Mr. Lattimer will get an estimate. Councilman Carey asked Dean if we have to ability/equipment to put nets up that high. Hassenmayer: not off hand – no. Jennings: how did we do it last time? Hassenmayer: that field was built to be a softball field. Are people really hitting softballs into those people’s yards? Carey: the issue was the body shop. There were several balls that went over the fence that hit some of his equipment. He said something to the little league and that’s where this idea had come up. There was discussion on the Ketcham quote 2 different prices due to pole lengths. Councilman Carey would like to know from the neighbors if they would have a problem with the nets going up. Supt. Hassenmayer asked how often this happens as compared to the cost of putting this up. Councilman Jennings thinks this more to do with when the adults have games there. BI Musial thinks that someone would have to come before the planning board for the use of certain properties for different things over there.
Councilman Furman reported there is no ZBA meeting this month. He spoke with Mike Brock today. They will meet with Matt next week to go over some things that need some attention at the sewer plant. Football league had a fundraiser that he attended. They are excited about starting this year. Their next meeting will be in March. He reported the DCO has his new vehicle. He ordered all the new markings for the car. He stays in contact with Chris & Matt. There’s a few things as far the buildings go that need addressing. He will make a list for Joe. He will send an email to Dean. He was impressed at the COVID test give out. It was very well executed.
Councilman Carey thought the COVID test kit hand out went fantastic. 928 kits were given out. He thanked Dean for opening the gates. Our 2 legislators were here, Lance Davoren (village trustee), fire department personnel. They were given to Devan’s Gate, the local businesses, anyone that called and asked got them as well. He thanked everyone that came out. He and Amanda are on the summer rec committee. After speaking with Brian Monahan, they will be using the school for summer rec. he would like to post for hiring staff from director to counselors.
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Little league pancake breakfast will be March 13 from 8-12 at the fire house. Summer concert series – he’s had people reach out to him to play during this series. He’d like for the band that plays on Night Out to play an hour longer.
Councilwoman Davis reported that she introduced herself to the planning board. They have 2 public hearings coming up in March – 3 lot subdivision on Homestead Lane & 2 lot sub division on White Bridge Road. She and Brian met with the court clerks and they reviewed the annual check list.
Supervisor Howell thanked Steve Neuhaus and his team for providing us with the COVID tests to make them available to our residents. He thanked the board members, Kathleen, police officers, volunteer firemen, our 2 legislators, Lance from the village and the little league’s Brian Lattimer. He received information from the NYS police. They have a hiring session coming up. Info is posted on the bulletin board in the hallway. He was a guest at the Howells FD annual award banquet.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supt. Hassenmayer reported the ladies room at the court house is just about done. Floor, toilets and fresh paint job. The men’s room is painted but they still have the floor to do. Probably in another week we should be done there. Other than that, we are fighting the ice.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Deputy Chief Maresca reported on the towing. The Chief emailed the supervisor the policy that he drafted and along with the town fees from last year when we initiated this the thought was we’d make money on this. That hasn’t happened. We are looking to go back to basically just having the tow company remove the vehicle from our scene. There are some exceptions where we can keep the lot for certain situations upon the supervisor’s approval. David reviewed the policy and thinks it’s good as is. Two people came forward for vehicles that we have impounded. One wrote a letter asking to pay $50/month. First, we have to determine an amount which the board would have to come up with. At the very least, we are looking to get back the tow fee. Or a set amount. They don’t recommend a monthly plan. Councilman Furman asked the attorney: if the people don’t come forward and we don’t have the paperwork, can we still…. Atty. Bavoso: earlier this year we did the mailings. We are proceeding with these as abandoned vehicles under what the normal towing law would be. Once we verified that they received them, they had 10 days to respond to that letter. They were sent regular mail and certified, return receipt. We received one back unclaimed, a couple of them we got the receipts back on; so – for those the timing started. We also received a copy of this letter as well. His recommendation for the board is if you’re going to do a one-time fee then whatever the tow charge was is probably the best way to go. He understands storage fees would have been racked up over time. A lot of the fees is really just the car sitting there. Councilman Furman: what if they don’t send the paper back? Do we have them scrapped? Bavoso: yes – after a certain amount of time has passed. Dep. Chief Maresca: we have to get a new title? Bavoso: no. Supervisor Howell: David, if we make a determination, would you then notify the individuals that are requesting the vehicle back like Mike had mentioned, the payment plan? Bavoso: the police department has been directly in touch with them. We can coordinate on it if we need to.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
Trustee Loeven spoke re: DCO. He has turned in his keys and radio to the village. They had a village workshop meeting last week. A gentleman came who is interested in doing a prostate awareness cancer walk. It’s a fairly new organization. They are looking to do this at the village park May 14th. They do expect food vendors. They expect 100-150 people. She suggested that he also come to the town board to request additional police that might be needed. The village voted to waive the park fees.
MOTION TO APPROVE HIGHWAY BUDGET MODIFICATION:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the following:
Increase Unclassified Revenue D2655 by $675.00 and
Increase Machinery Repairs Contr. D5130.4 by $675.00.
This is misc. income for Sims scrap metal container they picked up.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPOINT TIMOTHY MOOT, ENGINEER OF CLARK PATTERSON LEE FOR TOWN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey to appoint Timothy Moot from Clark Patterson Lee Eng. to be town engineer (to replace Geary Chumard) for environmental issues. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
ARPA FUNDS REQUEST:
Supervisor Howell, 2 weeks ago Tuesday, met with the highway department union rep and a couple of the employees to have a payment through the ARPA funds. He provided a sample of what was done in the town of Wallkill to the board members. Other municipalities around the county have a similar payment for their employees. We have to make a determination on this whether we want to issue a payment to them or not. We got a 1st classification of funding – total amount was split in to 2 payments.
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1st half we received in 2021 the next half we’ll receive this summer. We’ve allocated and used some of the funding for 2021 – we allocated/earmarked to specific projects within the program. If we make a determination to issue any type of payment, we have wait until the next set of funding comes in. If a payment is made – it’s got to cover the town employees in whole not 7, 5 or 2. Everybody worked and did their job during the COVID. In August we will have some workshops on what to do with the next set of funding when that comes in. Councilman Carey added the T/O Wallkill passed a resolution where they’re going to pay the following people: police department, highway DPW and bus drivers. They came up with a premium amount $2.50 for every hour worked between March 26, 2021 and May 19, 2021. It doesn’t include any other department – not the clerk’s office, building department – includes nothing.
JOSEPH KRAWCYK, HIGHWAY LABORER, AGREEMENT:
Supervisor Howell spoke re: employment agreement with Joseph Krawcyk as a full-time employee in the highway department. Joseph signed the agreement. He is looking for board approval to sign this agreement.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN AGREEMENT WITH JOSEPH KRAWCYK:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilwoman Davis to authorize the town supervisor to sign the employment agreement with Joseph Krawcyk. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
KNIGHT WATCH PROPOSAL:
Supervisor Howell spoke re: Knight Watch security system proposal. We had some work done here at the town hall. Made some repairs to the key card access system. While they were here, they looked in to an upgrade to the youth center. If anyone uses it for a rental – when you open the door, if you don’t activate the latch, the door will not close/seal up tightly. They suggested to replace some of the hardware and the locking mechanism so this way you don’t have to manually activate the locks to get the door to close.
Councilman Carey disagrees with – he (Howie) forgot a key component on the proposal. He stated that he & Chris were at the building during the wrestling event. Brian found an ‘allen’ key in the door to do what we do here at town hall in the back door. Anyone that rented that hall through today – there’s no way to keep that door opened especially in the winter. People use a rock to hold the door open. Hopefully no one trips on the rock and all the heat for the building is going out a door that’s being propped open with the rock. He thinks mag locks are important to have on those doors. The proposal doesn’t have a bypass included in it. The proposal will have a key box with a key in it added to it. It was also discussed to get a lock for the kitchen door. Discussion on a door closer. Dean said the guys could put a closer on it. He also spoke to Knight Watch about the town hall front door. He’s working on a proposal for that.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Jennings to approve the following bills (Abstract #3, #4 & #5):
ABSTRACT #3:
GENERAL A: #24-34 $10,489.20
HIGHWAY: #8-13 $27,095.01
SEWER: #6 $ 68.36
and
ABSTRACT #4:
GENERAL A: #35-49 $55,885.70
GENERAL B: #6 $ 2,718.35
HIGHWAY: #14-18 $34,485.33
SEWER: #7 $ 1,155.26
LIBRARY: #1 $ 2,073.13
AND
ABSTRACT #5:
GENERAL A: #50-66 $53,036.18
GENERAL B: #7-8 $ 2,505.19
HIGHWAY: #19-25 $32,734.39
SEWER: #8-9 $ 3,676.08.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE OTISVILLE FAIR USE OF SIGN POST REQUEST:
MOTION offered Councilwoman Davis 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the Otisville fair committee request to use the sign post on town property on Mount Hope Road from August 6 through 31, 2022 for the Otisville fair sign. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman; ABSTAINED: Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO APPOINT A DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FOR THE PLANNING BOARD:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilwoman Davis to appoint Brian Cutler as deputy chairman to the planning board. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
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MOTION TO ADOPT POLICE POLICY 502 – VEHICLE TOWING AND IMPOUND LOT:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Jennings to ADOPT POLICE POLICY #502 – Vehicle Towing & Impound Lot as presented – policy in town clerk’s office. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE OTISVILLE FAIR FIREWORKS PERMIT:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the fireworks permit from the Otisville fair committee for August 28, 2022 pending application sections #2, #3, #4 & #5 to be completed by Mike Romano. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman; ABSTAINED: Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE POLICE REQUEST FOR TOW FEE:
MOTION offered Councilwoman Davis 2nd Councilman Furman to the establish the fee for each impounded vehicle to be actual tow fee for each impounded vehicle. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
DANGEROUS BUILDING SBL 10-1-46:
Supervisor Howell spoke re: 10-1-46. We now have the engineers written report for said building. We also received 2 letters from the fire department – they were there on an emergency response call. With all this documentation we now have, we are able to move forward procedure-wise with the order for this lot. Attorney explained the sum/substance of it is that the property owner has to have the property either secured or demolished. That work has to begin within 30 days of when they are served the order. Then it has to be completed within 60 days of starting the work. If they do not begin within that 30-days, then at that point the town board would have the opportunity to do that work themselves and then apply any cost to the tax bill for the property. Councilman Furman asked if the homeowner does not take care of the repairs/secure it within 30 days, then we would go in; do we only have 90 days to do that? Bavoso: no, you have as much time as it takes. BI Musial: you’re not gonna do the emergency action because what the engineer is recommending is “that the structure be condemned immediately and the owner and other occupants be ordered to vacate the dwelling. In my professional opinion & experiences, this structure is beyond reasonable repair and measures shall be taken to demolition the building at the appropriate time.” Atty. Bavoso: under the emergency procedure in the code, it actually has that 30 day – 60-day requirement. Musial: so they’d still be allowed into the building? Bavoso: essentially for 30 days. Musial: wouldn’t they have to vacate and then still do the repairs? Bavoso: yes. Musial: they can’t occupy? Bavoso: they can’t occupy – no. Musial: that’s what you guys need to know. They CANNOT occupy. They can start the repairs and complete them in the time frame but they need to be immediately made aware that they can no longer reside there. Bavoso: and service of the order will (inaudible). Supervisor Howell: David, we are working on through your office, finding means to get them housing? Bavoso: we may have a solution that was done in another municipality at another time. I need to talk to Glen about it tomorrow then hopefully we can move forward with it. Councilman Carey: how does it work when the structure is taken down as far as all of the cars, metal, scrap, wood and whatever else is in the way before that building can be taken down? Bavoso: all of that having been considered as part of the public hearings and all the violations of the property can be removed. Carey: if the highway department does it, that would – whatever man hours they have in to it – that would get put on their tax bill? Bavoso: correct. Carey: so, the town would actually recoup their money at some point. Musial: the county should make us whole.
MOTION TO ADOPT PROPOSED ORDER FOR DANGEROUS BUILDINGS/PROPERTIES (SBL 10-1-46):
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to adopt the proposed order for dangerous buildings/properties for SBL 10-1-46 pending the amendment as stated for section 94-13. (see full order attached at end of these minutes) All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Diane Loeven followed up with talking about the doors at the youth center. There is also an issue with the door at the gym. Councilman Carey: we didn’t talk about that because there’s gonna be no bypass on it. She spoke re: Hometown Helper report. She thanked all the volunteers.
Alison Miller expressed her appreciation for the town for the COVID-19 test kit distribution. She was there. It went very smoothly. Kudos to all involved. People might want to check the expiration dates. They are kind of close. She added: spending that kind of money to put up posts/nets for a little league situation that’s not something that happens on a regular basis – I don’t feel should be paid for by the town. The town is not the one creating the problem.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilwoman Davis had a resident ask about the window between the gym and the rental side of the youth center. The machines under the window face the window. He (resident) was wondering if the machines could be turned around. Councilman Carey said that the window is being tinted on Wednesday.
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Councilman Carey informed the board that he will not be in attendance at our next meeting.
Councilman Furman is saddened that NYC lost 2 police officers. People should start thinking what’s the right thing to do in NYS. It’s a sad day that a DA that’s appointed in NYC that doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with somebody flashing a gun. His heart goes out to people that post their family members. Our community has a lot of NYPD that lives here. It’s a sad day in NYS when people think that thugs are worth more than police officers.
Councilman Jennings asked Dean to tell the guys thank you on these past storms that we’ve had.
Supervisor Howell asked Diane to tell everyone at hometown helpers that all their work is much appreciated.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey to adjourn the meeting at 8:20pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Davis, Furman, Jennings; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for February 22, 2022 at 7:30pm at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers, RMC
Town Clerk
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ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE
WHEREAS, Chapter 94 of the Code of the Town of Mount Hope prescribes the method by which Unsafe Buildings shall be addressed within the Town of Mount Hope; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to §94-5 of the Code of the Town of Mount Hope, the Building Inspector has investigated the subject property to determine if it has become dangerous or unsafe to the general public; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to §94-5 of the Code of the Town of Mount Hope, the Building Inspector has determined that the subject property is a danger to the health, safety and general welfare of the public and is unfit for the purposes for which it may lawfully be used. Notice of this determination was provided to the owner of the subject premise pursuant to §94-8 of the Town Code. The form of Notice was consistent with §94-7 of the Town Code; and
WHEREAS, the Building Inspector has made a report, in writing, to the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope, of her findings and recommendations in regard to the building; and
WHEREAS, the Building Inspector states to the Town Board that the building located at 1641 Route 211 West, Town of Mount Hope, Orange County, New York, identified as Section 10, Block 1, Lot 46 on the Tax Map of the Town of Mount Hope, presents a danger to the health, safety and general welfare of the public and is unfit for the purposes for which it may lawfully be used; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope, pursuant to §94-9 of the Town Code, held a public hearing to hear testimony regarding the subject premises. The public hearing was opened on November 22, 2021, at 7:30 P.M. The public hearing was adjourned to December 6, 2021, at 7:30 P.M. at the request of the owner of the subject premises. Further testimony was received on December 6, 2021 and the public hearing was adjourned to December 20, 2021, at 7:30 P.M. Further testimony was received on December 20, 2021 and the public hearing was closed; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope has considered the testimony received at the public hearing, and reviewed the report of the Building Inspector and is in agreement that the subject property is a danger to the health, safety and general welfare of the public and that it is unfit for the purposes for which it may lawfully be used; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board, pursuant to §94-13 of the Town Code, finds that the premises present a clear and imminent danger to the life, safety or health of any person or property unless this unsafe building or structure is immediately repaired and secured or demolished
THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that based upon the report provided by the Building Inspector, and the review of that report by the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope, the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope determines the building on property located at 1641 Route 211 West, Town of Mount Hope, Orange County, New York, more particularly identified as Section 10, Block 1, Lot 46 on the Tax Map of the Town of Mount Hope, to be an unsafe property under Chapter 94 of the Town Code.
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BE IT ALSO ORDERED, that the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope finds the subject structure to present an emergency case as set forth in §94-13 of the Town Code of the Town of Mount Hope, and further directs the Code Enforcement Officer to immediately cause the repair or demolition of such unsafe building or structure.
BE IT ALSO ORDERED, that the expenses of such repair or demolition shall be a charge against the land on which it is located and shall be assessed, levied and collected against such property.
Dated: February 7, 2022
Motion to Adopt: Councilman Carey
Second to Motion: Councilman Furman
Ayes: Davis, Carey, Howell, Furman, Jennings
Nays: none
Abstentions: none
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE
________________________________
KATHLEEN MYERS, TOWN CLERK
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