Town Board Meeting May 16th, 2022
The town board meeting of the Town of Mount Hope Town Board was held at the Mount Hope Senior Center, 7-11 Baker Street, Otisville NY on May 16, 2022 at 7:30pm with the following present: Supervisor Matthew Howell, Councilman Brian Carey, Councilman Jim Jennings, Councilman Chris Furman, Councilwoman Amanda Davis, Town Clerk Kathleen Myers & Deputy Town Clerk Liz Kulynych.
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Police Chief P. Rickard, Deputy Police Chief M. Maresca, Sgt. A. Briceno & Attorney D. Bavoso, .
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Howell called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.
MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman that the minutes of the May 2, 2022 meeting are accepted as submitted. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE TOWN CLERK:
1. Resolution for National Police Week 2022
2. 2023 Fire protection contract between the Village of Otisville & the Town of Mount Hope
3. Mount Hope planning board public hearing notice re: Sweetman, amended site plan, held on May 18 at 7pm
4. Mount Hope planning board public hearing notice re: Martel, 2 lot subdivision, held on May 18 at 7:30pm
5. CR Wolf HVAC quote
6. OC Mortgage tax receipts for April 2022
7. Town Clerk certificate of training for April conference
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Jennings: Happy Mother’s Day to all moms. Village meeting is May 19 at 7pm. Trustee Lattimer will not be able to come tonight due to storm detail.
Councilman Furman: MVYFB sign-ups will go through June 30. They will come to one of our meetings to discuss having an outdoor wrestling event outside under the lights on the football field. There’s finishing work being done at the sewer plant.
Councilman Carey: He thanked Village trustee Lance Davoren for the cancer walk at the village park this past weekend. He thanked the PD for being there.
Councilwoman Davis: She noted the public hearing notices for our planning board. School budget vote is tomorrow 12-9pm at the Otisville Elementary school gym. She spoke with some older adults that would like to have pickle ball at the youth center from the fall through spring. She showed the ball they would be using. She doesn’t feel like it would put a hole in the wall. Supervisor Howell asked if they were looking for a permanent court since he knows they had a temporary court with the taped lines? She added that if they do put the lines down, they would have to be taken down every time there’s a rental. Councilman Carey: they are not willing to do that from when he talked to them because it took a very long time to put the tape down. If someone wants to rent the place for a wedding – there’s tape on the floor. If they can put the tape down every single time – then great. The person will check with Kathleen to see if it is available. The question is, do we really want the tape on the floor when there’s big events. Supervisor agrees if the tape can be removed for events that would be good. Councilman Furman suggested the court be at the other end of the room.
HIGHWAY: NO REPORT.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Rickard: Awards will be done at the end of the meeting. We have 14 for the youth police academy. Insurance is worked out with BOCES. We confirmed a date with E-911 center. August 10th is a tentative date for family movie night. We’ll do it outside the youth center. There’s no movie picked out yet. He spoke/reviewed re: speed trailer reports that he gave to everyone just before the meeting. He discussed the LGS-1 Records Disposition schedule. They are making a list of what they are going to start purging.
Councilman Carey asked if they are still taking kids for the youth academy. Chief: yes.
Councilman Carey asked questions about the speed trailer report.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE: NO REPORT.
52
PLANNING BOARD VACANCIES:
Supervisor Howell noted that the planning board interviews are complete. They need to appoint 2 applicants.
MOTION TO APPOINT JOHN RICHICHI TO THE PLANNING BOARD:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilwoman Davis to appoint John Richichi to the planning board vacancy, term to expire 2024. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
MOTION TO APPOINT JASON BEEBE TO THE PLANNING BOARD:
MOTION offered Councilwoman Davis 2nd Councilman Furman to appoint Jason Beebe to the planning board vacancy, term to expire 2027. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
SHODDY HOLLOW ROAD PROPERTY:
Supervisor Howell stated he received notification from Annie Hansen that there is an offer for the property on Shoddy Hollow Road SBL 6-1-26. He would like to move forward with accepting the purchase offer.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE CONTRACT FOR THE SALE OF THE SHODDY HOLLOW ROAD PROPERTY SBL 6-1-26:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Jennings to accept the purchase offer for the property located on Shoddy Hollow Road SBL 6-1-26. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
(Attorney Bavoso stated that the contracts for this went out late last week.)
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO SIGN THE 2023 FIRE CONTRACT WITH THE VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the 2023 FIRE CONTRACT WITH THE VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE and authorize the town supervisor to sign the contract. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried. (COPY ON FILE IN THE TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE.)
RESOLUTION FOR NATIONAL POLICE WEEK 2022:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilwoman Davis: (read by Town Clerk Kathleen Myers)
To recognize National Police Week 2022 and to honor the service and sacrifice of those law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty while protecting our communities and safeguarding our democracy.
WHEREAS, there are more than 800,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across the United States, including the dedicated members of the Town of Mount Hope Police Department;
WHEREAS, since the first recorded death in 1786, more than 23,000 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice and been killed in the line of duty:
WHEREAS, the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC;
WHEREAS, 619 new names of fallen heroes are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial this spring, including 472 officers killed in 2021 and 147 officers killed in previous years;
WHEREAS, the service and sacrifice of all officers killed in the line of duty will be honored during the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s 34th Candlelight Vigil, on the evening of May 13, 2022;
WHEREAS, the Candlelight Vigil is part of National Police Week, which will be observed this year May 11-17;
WHEREAS, May 15 is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day, in honor of all fallen officers and their families and U.S. flags should be flown at half-staff;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board Town of Mount Hope will observe May 11-17, 2022, as National Police Week in the Town of Mount Hope, and publicly salutes the service of law enforcement officers in our community and in communities across the nation.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
HVAC FOR POLICE/SENIOR CENTER BUILDING:
Supervisor Howell noted that everyone received a copy of the 2nd quote for the HVAC system from CR Wolfe. He is hoping for a 3rd quote. He asked the attorney – some of the contractors are having trouble securing the actual equipment – if for that reason we are not able to obtain more quotes, are we able to award a contractor? Attorney Bavoso: yes, as long as you follow the publication requirements & gave those other contractors opportunities to bid on it and the chose not to, you’re fine.
53
Chief Rickard added that the AC is broken at the station and the center had a renter over the weekend and they probably weren’t happy. It’s critical that this gets done.
Supervisor Howell: the beginning of April we received the 1st quote from Westar Tech Svcs. He would like to award the contract tonight. We did and RFP for this and received no bids. He’s been getting contractors in to award a bid through the procurement policy. Out of 5 contractors, we received 2 quotes. CR Wolfe quote is $74,619. Westar quote is $40,735. We had authorized $38,000 of the American rescue funds money to this project. We will have to come up with about a $2,000 difference. He’d like to award Westar Tech the job. $40,000 is what we allotted for the job so we need $735 out of the current fiscal year budget.
MOTION TO ACCEPT THE WESTAR QUOTE FOR HVAC AT SENIOR CENTER/POLICE BUILDING:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Jennings to accept the quote from Westar Tech Svcs in the amount of $40,735.00. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilwoman Davis 2nd Councilman Carey to approve the following bills (Abstract #18 & #19):
ABSTRACT 18:
GENERAL A: #228-237 $ 4,362.29
HIGHWAY: #76-80 $ 2,098.28
SEWER: #41-42 $ 12,804.19
AND
ABSTRACT 19:
GENERAL A: #238-248 $ 10,153.14
GENERAL B: #34-40 $ 12,937.39
HIGHWAY: #81-88 $ 11,474.23
SEWER: #43-44 $ 218.27.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
KAREN KROGSLUND RECOGNITION CEREMONY:
Supervisor Howell spoke re: Karen Krogslund. He received a request from the school to recognize Karen Krogslund with her 51 years of educating in our community. June 1st is a recognition ceremony at the school for her. He provided the board members with what will be put into a proclamation for her years of service to the community.
MOTION TO APPROVE THE KAREN KROGSLUND RECOGNITION DRAFT PROCLAMATION:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilwoman Davis to approve the draft proclamation to be formatted and presented to her on June 1st. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE THE DUMPSTER AGREEMENT WITH THE VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Furman to authorize the town supervisor to sign the contract with the Village of Otisville for the dumpster service. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Conor Wilson spoke re: Smokin’ Grate BBQ. He & his wife run this business. They wanted to expand and open up a mobile bar for catered events. NYS liquor authority authorizes 4 events per year where he can actually make a sale of alcohol. The Otisville fair is a big event in town. He’s been in contact with Sue Marshall to see if this is allowed at the fair. She seems to be in favor of it but it’s at the discretion of the town due to the fact that it’s on town property. Town of Wawayanda is hosting a food truck festival he will be at with his BBQ and alcohol. There are a few guidelines we have to meet with NYS liquor authority which is no problem. We have to provide insurance. He printed a few copies of the insurance for the board to see his insurance coverage: commercial liability & liquor liability. Councilman Carey asked where Conor is planning to park the trailer. Depending on where you’re planning to park might mean a village board approval. Where you were parked for community day was technically the Village of Otisville. Councilman Jennings noted this is the 1st he is hearing of this. This would have to be approved by the Lions Club. The fair has been 30+ years without alcohol. This is a Lions Club decision. Mr. Wilson added that he and his wife are tip certified bartenders which is a certification that is recognized by NYS as well. Everything on his end is in line it’s approval we need. Councilman jennings will speak with Sue Marshall.
Diane Loeven agreed with Councilman Carey with regard to the placement of the trailer and the sale of alcohol actually being on the village property. The town has responsibility also as it’s not just the sale of the alcohol but the consumption of alcohol. Unless you’re going to tell them they can’t leave the village part of the property, it would have to be that both municipalities were in the approval of it. Mr. Wilson added that is a requirement of the NYS liquor authority that it has to be in a confined area.
54
Diane Loeven cont.: reminded everyone about the village newsletter and the movie night can be added in it. Next publication will be in July.
Amanda Rider introduced herself. She has newly relocated to Mount Hope. She’s noticed the vacancies in the town & a village building located at 18 Main Street. She’s been eyeing it for an herbal café to display a lot of local artists, creators & to use it for organic, ethically sourced artisan coffees & herbal teas with the end mission and goal to end prohibition of cannabis use within our municipalities. She thinks joint cooperation of the town and village and other departments that would be incorporated with restoring a historical building & reforming zoning laws we could really profit everybody lucratively. Councilman Carey asked the attorney: the village and town passed the opt-out law for cannabis sales. How would that work if we want to opt back in? The attorney would have to look at this again to verify the procedure. He thinks it would be the same procedure for adopting a local law. But, once you opt-in you cannot opt out. Mrs. Rider: opting out is very strategic because there was no legislation when there was a deadline for that which was respectable. Now there is proposed legislation & they have distributed licenses for cultivators within our communities. They are going to release those dispensary licenses. Chief: there’s still no regulations for dispensaries released yet. Jenn Metzger is in charge of this committee. None of the regulations have been released. His concern would be until the regulations are fully not only released but approved, we would be in the position of taking the chance. Mrs. Rider: that would be her end goal. It’s a proposed legislation right now. She follows the website (NYS Office of Cannabis Management) daily. May 19th 1:00pm is a webinar on this.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilman Furman reminded everyone about the school vote tomorrow.
Councilman Carey reminded everyone to go vote.
Supervisor Howell informed everyone about the Historic Society Mastodon event on June 5 from 12-3:30pm. The historic society research center barn is in need of a roof replacement. They’ve received some quotes to get this work done. She asked for a quote from us. They may request additional funding from the town. Supervisor Howell reached out to a contractor to get a quote for this.
ROSE PHILLIPS RESOURCE ROOM:
Supervisor Howell spoke re: resource room at youth center. She replaced some damaged and missing items for the resource room. They like to consider a comment/suggestion box for this room. Councilman Carey spoke ie: air conditioning not working this past weekend at the senior center. He noted that we don’t have an emergency call list for a renter to call if there’s an issue when renting. Supervisor Howell would like to add the resource room to the rental checklist and after board discussion board member phone numbers will be given out with rental keys.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilwoman Davis to adjourn the meeting at 8:09pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Furman, Jennings, Davis; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for June 6, 2022 at 7:30pm at the Mount Hope Town Hall, 1706 Route 211 West, Otisville, NY.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers, RMC
Town Clerk
55
2022 POLICE AWARDS:
Life Saving Awards:
Officer Christopher Mazzella
Officer Stephen Hayes
Officer John Skoufis
Officer Thomas Miller
20 years of service:
Officer Gregor Toussaint (20 years)
Officer Robert Decker (21 years)
25 years of service:
Officer Angelo Vellake (26 years)
Dedicated Service Award
Marie Cris Bubilo
56