Town Board Meeting June 17th, 2024
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Police Chief Mike Maresca, Attorney Scott Bonacic.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Rickard called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.
7:30PM: PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #4-2024 RE: VEHICLE WEIGHT LIMITS:
Supervisor Rickard explained the public hearing is for proposed local law #4-2024 re: Vehicle Weight Limits. The public notices (one for the meeting venue change and one for the public hearing) are on the table with copies of the proposed law. The local law was written to limit the weight limit on the Spruce Road bridge (bridge #2232120). The bridge has been yellow flagged. It’s the 1st step to let us know there are some issues. The engineer has looked at it and made a recommendation that we limit the weight. This will give the police department the ability to enforce the weight limit. It’s not meant to be a punitive thing. We just want people to not drive on the bridge. If people ignore it, then at least we have the PD to enforce it. The bridge is gonna have to be replaced at some point. We are gonna try to get some funding for that. There were no board member comments.
MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING:
MOTION offered Councilmember Jennings 2nd Councilmember Davis to close the public hearing at 7:32pm.
All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO ADOPT LOCAL LAW #4-2024 RE: VEHICLE WEIGHT LIMITS:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Furman to adopt Local Law #4-2024 re: Vehicle Weight Limits. (Copy on file in Town Clerk’s office) All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Furman that the minutes of the June 3, 2024 meeting are accepted as submitted. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Budget modifications from June 17, 2024
2. Supervisor’s monthly report for May 2024
3. Letter from Lucy Joyce (CCE) requesting town assistance with borrowing several different things for the fair
4. Building dept. monthly report for May 2024
5. OC mortgage tax receipts May 2024
6. Hidden Valley Annual Drinking Water Report 2023
7. Letter from Lions Club re: date change for one of the tractor pull dates
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilmember Davis: June 14th movie (Sandlot) was cancelled and rescheduled for 6/28. A resident called her about the ‘heat’ in the gym. The AC resets itself to heat. She will call Andrew tomorrow. Supervisor will speak with ASTAR in the morning.
Councilmember Carey: Village will be renovating their boardroom in July. A contractor was approved at their last meeting. IMA between village and town court was approved for property violations. They are working on a village wide burn ban. She gave fire department call numbers. They now have 10 EMT’s. Summer concert series starts July 2. She attended the Reverend Farley day celebration.
Councilmember Furman did not attend Reverend Farley day celebration. He is an outstanding person and has done so much for this community. August 17 Mighty Mites football has a scrimmage. November 16 is the Mighty Mites Superbowl – this is an all-day event. He asked the attorney about the FB league mowing the grass when the town can’t get to it in time for lining the field. The attorney would like to see a hold harmless agreement at a bare minimum. Councilmember Furman stated the coaches for the FB league need to be AED certified. Is there anyone we can refer them to? Supervisor: Bob Decker does it. There is a cost. The league would have to pay for it.
Councilmember Jennings noted he gave the board members the mulch quotes. He spoke with 3 local vendors. 2 have certified mulch for playgrounds, one did not. (Mulch Mart & Mulch Rite) Mulch Mart wanted $32/yard. Mulch Rite $20/yard.
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Councilmember Jennings cont.: We would have to pick it up and bring a voucher for it. He will speak with Dean for how much we would need. Broken playground equipment at the FB playground was taken out. CAB meeting is tomorrow at 9:30am at FCI training center. Councilmember Carey would like to have Dean check the state bid price for the mulch. Councilmember Furman asked to remove the merry-go-round at the FB playground. Councilmember Davis thinks it is fine to remain there. Parents need to monitor their children better. There have been kids hurt on it but they are using it improperly. The attorney suggested getting a sign for this. Supervisor added that Comp. Alliance is coming Wednesday so when we go to the park, I’ll have him look at it.
Supervisor Rickard:
-Thursday is a department head meeting at 10:00am to go over budget prep.
-NYS required training was not done last year. Instructions will roll out tomorrow for all employees via email.
-He went over ransomware. He had our IT guy come do some work for us. He would like to get a quote for ransomware insurance.
-He discussed the use of town hall for class for the summer. There’s only 1 person coming to the class. It was suggested to use the resource room at the gym. He will speak with Mela.
-He spoke re: large events open to the public at the park. The event last week needed to have an electrician come to tap into the town electric panel. Speaking with the attorney – this is a no-no. We have to draw a distinction between someone renting the park for a large-scale event that is open to the public and someone having a birthday party. Furman and Jennings will work on this together. We definitely don’t want people tapping in to our electric.
-Brian, Rory, Scott & the supervisor have had discussions re: agreement between the town and village for prosecutions of village code. Currently, if the village has a village code violation, they have their building inspector, their prosecutor goes to town court and if someone is found guilty, the village gets nothing back on it. We, the town, gets the fine money. This agreement is going to allow for if there is a fine associated with the conviction, that it would be given back to the village since they’re prosecuting it and we have nothing to really do with it – minus the court fees. The attorney explained the fine money allocation and the intermunicipal agreement. Supervisor: this is just village code violations prosecuted by the village.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN INTERMUNICPAL AGREEMENT WITH VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE RE: REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES FOR VILLAGE CODE PROSECUTIONS:
MOTION offered Councilmember Davis 2nd Councilmember Furman to authorize the town supervisor to sign an intermunicipal agreement with the Village of Otisville for reimbursement of expenses for village code prosecutions. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Maresca spoke re:
-Junior Academy is last week of August. There are 5 registered already. Will cap at 25. Priority to town residents.
-National Night Out: 1st Tuesday in August. Accepting vendor applications and sponsorships. Send email to Charlotte.
-We are looking at the list for a FT officer. Doesn’t look like we will be hiring off this list. Will re-visit in a couple months.
-We are doing a background for another PT applicant. When it’s complete, I will let you know.
-Speed trailers have been moving around to cover complaint areas.
-Animal control – both are on vacation. PD will handle dog complaints in the interim. That car is at the PD. He discussed private citizen vs. police department dropping dog to humane society. They are more accepting of a private citizen than the PD.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
Mayor Carey spoke re:
-thanked everyone for what they said about Rev. Farley. It was a good 2 days for him.
-he requested to use the senior center for the village board meeting due to their board room re-model on July 8.
-he requested to use senior center on August 24 for defensive driving class.
MOTION TO ALLOW VILLAGE TO USE SENIOR CENTER FOR THEIR BOARD MEETING ON 7/8/2024:
MOTION Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Carey to allow the village of Otisville to use the senior center on July 8, 2024 for their village board meeting due to their board room re-model. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE AT SENIOR CENTER:
MOTION Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Davis to allow the village to use the senior center on August 24, 2024 for defensive driving. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
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FIRE AND BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEM:
Supervisor Rickard:
-reminded board members re: receiving quotes for the alarm system. it wasn’t very equal. Each of the quotes that came in suggested different things.
-he spoke with Jason (town engineer) who came up with a bid sheet for things we need per the code.
-he would like to put out to bid the town hall fire and burglar alarm system.
MOTION TO GO TO BID FOR TOWN HALL FIRE & BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEM:
MOTION offered Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Jennings to advertise going to bid for town hall fire & burglar alarm system; bid opening August 5, 2024 at 11:00AM. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
HIDDEN VALLEY UPDATE:
Supervisor Rickard:
-check valve has not been installed; we are still waiting for a part
-we are now one full week of under 30,000 gallons; ranging from 23-26,000
BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE UPDATE:
Councilmember Carey:
-next meeting is 6/20/2024 @ 7:30pm
AMBULANCE UPDATE:
Supervisor Rickard:
-we met last week at a special meeting to talk about options with the ambulance board
-the board is interested in speaking with an attorney to set up a special ambulance district to see what it would entail
-our attorney has had some experience with different types of districts; he will look at the criteria & verified that it would be townwide with the supervisor
-Supervisor noted that ambulance meeting was very informative; the Greenville guys came & gave great info
-Thursday, he met with Empress, T/O Wawayanda & C/O Middletown
-Empress wants to make a proposal to us to provide ALS service for a cost
-Empress was able to give a breakdown of what kind of reimbursements Mount Hope provides in terms of Medicare, Medicaid & insurance
-they were able to give us how much money they are losing in Mount Hope in a year and how much money they are bringing in
MOTION TO ACCEPT THE SUPERVISOR’S REPORT:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Davis to accept the supervisor’s report for May 2024 as presented. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Jennings to pay the bills for Abstracts #22 & #23:
Abstract 22:
GENERAL A: #311-325 $13,725.48
GENERAL B: #60-65 $ 1,958.98
HIGHWAY: #43-45 $ 7,987.83
SEWER: #46 $ 5,500.00
Abstract #23:
GENERAL A: #326-337 $19,406.29
GENERAL B: #66-68 $ 461.18
HIGHWAY: #46-47 $26,751.74
SEWER: #47 $ 139.77
All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO HIRE CHARLOTTE FORMOSA AS FULLTIME, REDUCED HOUR CLERK EFFECTIVE 6/18/2024:
MOTION Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Carey to hire Charlotte Formosa as fulltime, reduced hours clerk for the police department effective June 18, 2024. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE DESIGNATING JUNE 19, JUNETEENTH DAY, AS A YEARLY TOWN HOLIDAY:
MOTION offered Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Davis to approve June 19 (Juneteenth Day) as a yearly town holiday. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman, Jennings; carried.
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MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE OTISVILLE LIONS TO BORROW TOWN LIGHT TOWERS:
MOTION Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Carey to authorize the Otisville Lions Club to borrow 2 light towers for the upcoming fair. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman; ABSTAIN: Jennings; motion carried.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE OTISVILLE LIONS CLUB TO AMEND THE DATES TO USE THE TOWN PARK FOR TRACTOR PULLS:
MOTION Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Furman to authorize the Otisville Lions to use the park on July 27, 2024 and cancel the June 8, 2024 date for the tractor pull at the town park. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Furman; ABSTAIN: Jennings; motion carried.
CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION REQUEST:
Supervisor Rickard:
-CCE is requesting to use the highway dept side by side, to use barricades and barrels for traffic control, the use of the football field parking lot for amusement ride employees & the field adjacent to the Willis field property, the grass football field and the field across from the LL field should it be necessary for parking.
-Councilmember Carey asked about the rides parking request. Supervisor stated its for the ride employees to park and trailer storage.
-Councilmember Carey is concerned with the LL and the dates for the All-Stars. Councilmember Jennings stated its mostly at night for fireworks if they had to go that far down – for overflow, if need be.
-This is tabled until next meeting, July 1st.
MOTION TO PAY FOR THE EMERGENCY PURCHASE OF AC UNIT FOR THE TOWN HALL MEETING ROOM:
MOTION offered Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Carey to authorize the emergency purchase of an AC unit for the town hall meeting room from Westar in the amount of $14,785.00. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE BUDGET MODIFICATIONS:
MOTION offered by Councilmember Carey 2nd Councilmember Furman to approve the 6/17/2024 budget modifications as follows: (read by Supervisor)
FROM
AA1990 400 CONTINGENT $1,75.00
TO
AA1010 400 LEGISLATIVE $325.00
AA1220 400 SUPERVISOR $750.00
HH 6300 000 DUE TO OTHER FUNDS ($77,362.20)
HH XXXX 900 INTERFUND TRANSFER FROM B – REVENUE $77,362.20
BB 3910 000 DUE FROM OTHER FUNDS $77,362.20
BB 9901 900 INTERFUND TRANSFER TO CAPITAL – EXPENSE ($77,362.20)
All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
John Richichi asked for an update on 278 Brola Road. Attorney Bonacic: we met almost 8 weeks ago now. We agreed to take samples of the surrounding wells, a topographical survey was requested by the town engineer to figure out how much fill was actually brought in; recently the property owner’s attorney sent him the proposal that was submitted to the property owner from the environmental engineer – there was no cost associated with that. The attorney for the property owner was trying to get some assurances of what the town would, if they went forth with the expense/effort, what the town would allow them to do or not do. Our attorney said that would not be acceptable because we had an agreement. He spoke with the building inspector today and brought her up to speed. We did sign an escrow agreement – the town & the property owner. He put deposited $5,000.00 with the town for costs the town may incur. In his conversation with the building inspector today was if the property owner doesn’t do anything, it’s been long enough, we will take the position and do the sampling ourselves and use the escrow funds for that.
Diane Loeven thanked the board for the MOA re: the courts. She asked the police chief if he received the insurance paperwork yet for the village wide yard sale. Chief: we are still waiting on that. She clarified that if residents take a dog to the shelter, isn’t there a fee? Chief: no. Supervisor: we pay a fee. Councilmember Carey believes there is no fee if it is a stray.
MaryBeth Horzepa still has calendars for sale. The Father’s Day pancake breakfast went well.
Mike Meere asked what the schedule is for lining of the manholes. Supervisor: maybe the fall but likely the spring. Meere asked about the time frame with the money. Supervisor explained the first $23,000 is available for another year. The remainder has been approved but hasn’t been approved. We’re gonna get it but it’s in the process.
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Supervisor cont.: Everything had to be submitted by last Friday – which it was. It is probably gonna be next spring for everything. Meere: it’s 2 different contracts then> Supervisor: correct.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilmember Carey congratulated the graduating class of 2024.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilmember Furman 2nd Councilmember Davis to adjourn the meeting at 8:16pm. All in favor: Davis, Carey, Rickard, Jennings, Furman; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 1, 2024 at 7:30pm at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers, RMC
Town Clerk
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2024 POLICE AWARDS
CERTIFICATE OF COMMENDATION FOR RUNNING THE YOUTH POLICE ACADEMY:
POLICE OFFICER ROBERT DECKER
POLICE OFFICER JAMIE JOHNSON
LIFE SAVING AWARD:
POLICE OFFICER ROBERT DECKER
20 YEAR SERVICE AWARD:
POLICE OFFICER PATRICK CAHILL
DEDICATED SERVICE AWARD:
POLICE OFFICER JAMIE JOHNSON
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