Town Board Meeting March 1st, 2021
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Deputy Police Chief Maresca, Police Chief Rickard, Attorney D. Bavoso, Highway Supt. Hassenmayer.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Volpe called the public hearing to order at 7:15pm.
7:15PM PUBLIC HEARING FOR POLICE REFORM & REINVENTION PLAN:
Supervisor Volpe asked the board members if they have any questions on this plan.
Chief Rickard gave a quick overview. The committee created by the town supervisor and with the assistance of the National Police Foundation, created this 5-point plan to address identified in executive order 203. For the last 7 months we’ve been working on it. There’s been numerous meetings. There’s been 2 public forums. After the meetings, the forums & survey, as well as interviews with other community leaders, we came up with this plan. We are here to answer any questions. The you need to adopt the plan as required by the Governor. He thanked everybody for their time and what they put in to this.
**Councilman Jennings entered the meeting at 7:17pm.
The keys to this – this plan is measurable, achievable & affordable. We can do this within our budget. 1st part of the plan is the establishment of a community engagement team which will be created formally – it’s a formal system to assess public sentiment & regularly measure the intended & unintended impact & outcomes of policing in all the neighborhoods. The state police will be a part of that. Number 2 – is increase officer training. Number 3 – continue the culture of transparency within the police department ie: body cameras, policies that we have online. Number 4 – implement arrest aversion plan which we’ve done with the OC DA office & also “Hope not Handcuffs”. Number 5 – implement an officer wellness program ie: improving our chaplain program. He gave them board members the actual survey; it’s kind of confusing the way it is worded. You have to take your time to go through it. 92 people responded out of 2,400 surveys sent out. This survey will be online. He asked if anyone had questions.
Councilman Carey had no questions but added that it’s interesting to read through this about body cameras. I know we just adopted this but “Body cameras worn by police; does it make you feel safer?” It’s interesting, the numbers that came out: agree, strongly agree.
Councilman Furman had no questions but commented that it’s interesting to see it’s more a positive note than a negative note.
Supervisor Volpe thinks it would have been a lot better had we gotten more responses back.
No further questions from anyone.
AT THIS TIME, IT WAS NOTED THAT THE LEGAL AD FOR THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS ON THE TABLE.
MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to close the public hearing for the POLICE REFORM & REINVENTION PLAN at 7:22pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE THE POLICE REFORM & REINVENTION PLAN:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to APPROVE THE mount Hope Police Reform & Reinvention Plan as presented. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
**Councilman Howell entered the meeting at 7:23PM.
MOTION TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey to enter in to executive session at 7:24pm to discuss a PILOT & a police matter. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Furman to reconvene regular meeting from executive session at 7:42PM. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN IN THIS EXECUTIVE SESSION. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
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MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell that the minutes of the February 16, 2021 meeting are accepted as submitted. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1. Offer from buyer to purchase SBL 6-1-24 (Shoddy Hollow Road property)
2. Memo from H’way Supt. Hassenmayer re: request for approval to purchase 7-ton equipment trailer
3. Copy of request from Otisville Lions Club to use town park for the Otisville Country Fair 8-19 through 8-22, 2021
4. Copy of fireworks application from Otisville Lions Club to have fireworks on 8-22-2021 at fair
5. ZBA public hearing notice from T/O Wallkill held on 3-8-2021 @7:30pm for an area variance at 711 Route 211 East, Middletown
MANDATORY SEXUAL HARASSMENT TRAINING:
Supervisor Volpe gave the dates again for the sexual harassment training dates: via ZOOM on March 23, 2021 at 1:00pm or March 24, 2021 at 6:30pm via ZOOM or on the big screen at the Youth Center.
SHODDY HOLLOW ROAD PROPERTY SBL 6-1-25:
Supervisor Volpe updated the board members and thanked David. He went to his office the other day. He signed everything and we have now closed on the 1st piece of property and he received the checks tonight.
SPECTRUM:
Attorney Bavoso updated the board members. Spectrum gave a cost which would be about $8,000/household. Although they seem to neglect the question we had, which was ‘would the density be calculated from different angles – would that still fit it in the franchise agreement?’ They are going back to do that again – check it from a different radius in order to see if they can somehow fit it in to the density requirement. He checks in with them pretty much every week.
HOWELLS CEMETERY:
Attorney Bavoso updated the board members. He collected a check this evening. There’s a way to close on it without having to file the maps since we’re exempt from your own zoning however, he though it a better idea for the town to file the maps so it’s recorded in the towns’ map. We got that. He’s working with the title company – he’s hoping that will be closed within the next 2 weeks. He will most likely be in touch with the supervisor to get a new check to replace the previous check that is now since expired. He is hoping by next meeting to have an update.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Howell asked the attorney: when we did our zoning update and comprehensive plan, we put in a aspect for conservation subdivision. The planning board through Glenn and your office had put in a request to change some phrasing or verbiage – is that something that has been drafted or is it still in the process? Attorney: it’s been drafted. There was 1 concern I had and I’m not sure Glenn shares it but basically the way the engineer wants to change the language is to say that ‘an applicant may apply for conservation subdivision’. The way that it was before was if you were above a certain # of lots in your subdivision, you had to provide both a regular map that’s a conservation subdivision and one that’s not. The board would typically accept the conservation subdivision. The only problem I have with the wording from the engineer is that it almost seems like it’s kind of a ‘you can do a conservation subdivision if you want to’ which was not the intent at that committee level. I had proposed kind of a waiver for the board where they could waive doing the conservation subdivision. I don’t believe the engineers like that idea. It does leave discretion which you don’t necessarily want the planning board having a lot of. It was my understanding that the planning board was looking at both versions of it. Both of them are drafted – it’s a matter of setting them up for public hearings.
Councilman Jennings spoke with both fire departments for the Easter parade on April 3rd. Both are good to go. Planning board meeting is 3-17-2021 7pm. The village will be donating a tree for Arbor Day. They don’t have a date yet or time because they are waiting on little league for that. The tree will be donated in memory of the COVID victims at the village park. The Federal Prison in Otisville is looking to hire corrections officers within the next 3-4 months. They plan to have a job fair. The next village meeting is 3-4-2021 at 7pm. The school is looking to bring back the kids 4-5 days per week. That’s good news. It’s tough to do the virtual learning.
Councilman Furman had the rentals this weekend. The new tiles are in at the new senior center. What a difference. Nice job. The doors at the rec center on the gym side – unless you close it from the inside – it wasn’t locking right. Supervisor: Knight Watch is supposed to have a solution for that. There’s a white dust and grease spots on the floor at the rec center. He doesn’t know if it’s from the ceiling or what.
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Councilman Carey went to a little league meeting with Councilman Furman. They appreciate the notice on the sign out front. www.otisvillell.com The summer concert series will not be getting grant money for this. The county is not doing this for 2021. Our concert series normally starts in June and runs for 8 weeks. Last year we only did 4. He hopes we can do 8 this year. The senior center: the echo in senior center is last week’s news. It’s gone. We came $144.60 under budget from the quote from Marjam. He noted he brought up at the last meeting about the lights and the NYSERDA rebate. Before the rebate they were $49.29 for the lights. We got them for a total price of $38.35 each. He noted the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Port Jervis on March 7th. Holy Name Church having corned beef & cabbage take out on March 14 3pm-6pm. There was a rental on Saturday at the senior center. They had no lights in the main hall. There were lights in the restrooms and kitchen & not in the main room. He spoke to the person that hosted the party. He would like to return their money for the rental. Dave Hoovler put something out on 2/26/2021; (Councilman Carey read into record the following): The Orange County DA Dave Hoovler on Feb. 26th issued a warning to orange county residents about fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits. Claims made by fraudsters, using other people’s social security numbers, Orange County has seen an uptick in fraudulent claims. If this happens to you, go to: identitytheft.com. He will have more info on the dedication sign for the youth center for the next meeting.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supt. Hassenmayer requested permission to go to bid for the trash days dumpsters for 2021. He’d like to open the bids on April 1st and award the bid at the April 5th meeting. He wants to upgrade the trailer we have. He has 2 quotes for a new 2021 equipment trailer. One from Paul Congelosi Trailer Sales for $8,266.00 and one from NY-NJ Trailer Supply for $8,645.00. He recommends Paul Congelosi quote. He questioned park rentals and COVID. Supervisor stated for regular rentals it will still be 50 people. There’s been no updates as far as that. The Governor announced that as of April 3rd, outside venues: fairs, carnivals, and camps can be at 35% capacity – the county/state has no idea what that means. He’s suggesting to abide by the 50 people guideline for now. Supervisor asked the highway supt. if the dates for the Otisville fair are good. H’way Supt. received it but hasn’t looked at the dates. Supervisor Volpe has no problem waiving the fee like we’ve done in the past. He noted that he received the fireworks application but it is not complete and will be tabled. Councilman Carey thanked Dean for sending the guys to Newburgh to pick up the tiles, to Goshen to pick up the lights, sending them up Friday to pick up all the trash & all the lights.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY SUPT. TO GO TO BID FOR BULK TRASH DAYS FOR 2021:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey to authorize the Highway Supt. to go to bid for the Spring & Fall 2021 bulk trash days. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT TRAILER:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to allow the highway supt. to purchase a 7-ton equipment trailer from Paul Congelosi Trailer Sales for $8,266.00. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Rickard requested permission for the Supervisor to sign the 2-year inter-municipal agreement with Port Jervis to use their range facility.
Chief Rickard stated that Christopher will start on March 15th. He has gone through the county process quickly.
Chief Rickard stated that Night Against Crime will be August 3rd. He’d like to do this again like last time in conjunction with the concert.
Chief Rickard spoke re: having 2 possible movie nights for the children this summer.
Chief Rickard gave an update for the murder/suicide this past week. He did not put it on the NIXEL app. Because they were no looking for anybody.
Chief Rickard credited his Administrative Asst. Marie Bubilo with a lot of the work being done for the Police Reform & Reinvention Plan.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO SIGN INTERMUNICIPAL AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF PORT JERVIS:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey to authorize the Town Supervisor to sign the inter-municipal agreement with the City of Port Jervis for the use of their range training facility. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
Chief Rickard explained the next steps with the Police Reform & Reinvention Plan. There’s a certification in the back of the Governor’s paperwork, Supervisor has to sign and Town Clerk needs to put the seal on it. Then this plan and certification gets sent to Albany.
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SHODDY HOLLOW ROAD OFFER – DISCUSSION:
Supervisor Volpe added that we received an offer as of last meeting for $130,000.00 – the asking price $150,000.00. The board rejected the offer. We received an offer since then for $150,000.00.
Attorney Bavoso explained that the board needs a motion to accept that offer. He would get to work on the contracts and transmit them to the buyer’s attorney. Once we have the finalized contract, you would vote again to authorize the supervisor to sign the contract; 30 days from the date of that vote is the time frame for the permissive referendum. Once the 30 days expires, you will be free to close.
MOTION TO ACCEPT OFFER FOR SHODDY HOLLOW ROAD PROPERTY SBL 6-1-26:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to allow the town to go into contract to sell SBL 6-1-26 (Shoddy Hollow Road) allowing the attorney to do the contracts accepting the offer of $150,000.00.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
SWEETMAN PILOT:
Supervisor Volpe noted that they talked about a proposed PILOT for Sweetman solar farm. Glenn will continue to negotiate.
SUMMER CAMP:
Supervisor Volpe spoke re: summer camp. He’s inquired everywhere about possibly having it this year. What he’s found is that you can have between 25-35% occupancy for outside venues effective April 4. The county health department is waiting for guidance from the state. Discussion ensued. Supervisor doesn’t see how we’d have everything in place. He thinks we should wait another year. Councilman Howell agrees with the Supervisor. Board members agree to wait at least one more meeting.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to approve bills: (Abstract #7 & #8):
ABSTRACT #7:
GENERAL A: #89-104 $ 62,108.06
GENERAL B: #13-14 $ 5,536.82
HIGHWAY: #25-30 $ 61,385.09
SEWER: #14-15 $ 1,272.31
AND
ABSTRACT #8:
GENERAL A: #105-114 $ 5,882.39
HIGHWAY: #31-33 $ 5,541.68.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
AT THIS TIME – Chief Rickard and Deputy Chief Maresca met with the Centennial committee from the village – they are planning the parade to be on the Saturday of that weekend. They are planning this together.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Jennings to adjourn the meeting at 8:25pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
The next Town Board meeting is scheduled for March 15, 2021 at 7:30pm at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers, RMC
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