Town of Mount Hope Town Board Meeting July 6, 2020
The regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope was held at Town Hall on July 6, 2020 at 7:30pm with the following present: Supervisor Chad Volpe, Councilman Matt Howell, Councilman Jim Jennings, Councilman Christopher Furman and Deputy Town Clerk Paula Bird. Not present: Kathleen Myers, Town Clerk and Councilman Brian Carey.
OFFICIALS PRESENT: D. Bavoso –Town Attorney, Highway Supt. D. Hassenmayer.
Supervisor Volpe called the meeting to order at 7:30PM, following the Pledge of Allegiance.
MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to accept the minutes from the June 15, 2020. All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- Village newsletter
- Budget modification building dept
- Email re: proposed bicycle event August 13
- Otisville Fire Dept June call report
- NY Ag & Mkts DCO Inspection report 6/12/2020
- Letter from Assessor response to property class designation 45 Lake Claire Dr.
- Letter from Enel Green Power re: Walden Hydroelectric Project
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
COUNCILMAN HOWELL reported through Association of Towns he learned the new executive order from Albany pertaining to municipalities and police departments as well as information from the police chief, we are in line with meeting the expectation to comply with the deadline of the mandated order which is April 2021 and we will be eligible for state funding. Supervisor Volpe assumes we will have everything done before the end of the year.
COUNCILMAN JENNINGS reported the village held their 1st open meeting last Thursday. The next village meeting is July 17th at 7PM.The planning board meeting will be held on July 15th at 7PM.
COUNCILMAN FURMAN reported there is no ZBA meeting this month. Youth football and cheer will have open enrollment until July 17th online only. The website is minisinkyouthfootball.com or Facebook page is Minisink Valley Youth Football League. They are hoping to continue a season this year. The parks and playgrounds are now open. If anyone sees anything that needs attention please let us know.
SUPERVISOR VOLPE reported that we go into phase 4 tomorrow. We will be allowed to have gatherings of 50 people. The conference calls are informative. There aren’t too many changes in phase 4. Gyms, movie theaters and indoor malls have been taken out of phase 4. There is no phase 5. Other states are seeing spikes. They are taking things out of the guidelines as we go on. He will notify everyone as he learns more. He received a complaint that was given to Brian Monahan regarding 6 kids playing lacrosse to the right of the entrance at the lacrosse fields of the Otisville elementary school. By the time he got there to check there was nobody there.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT: Supervisor Volpe stated tomorrow Spectrum will be going to the Youth Center to install phone lines. Wednesday Joe Warren Electric will be finishing his work. Hwy Supt Hassenmayer said floor guy will be starting. He is aware of the July 24th grand opening date and feels there is no problem to get everything done on time. Paving is done for the year. The center lines will be painted by the end of the month. A company from the Finger Lakes area will be coming to do the job. They will be using the Wallkill bid so they will do the job the same time as they do Wallkill’s.
POLICE: Supervisor Volpe reported for police regarding the fireworks calls. There were 2 on Friday and 4 on Saturday. There were no fire departments dispatched for fireworks calls.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE: Trustee Loeven stated she may not be at every meeting but can be reached any time with questions or concerns. Village newsletters are done and will be sent out tomorrow or the next day. The village wants to share the concerns about the access roads and the village parking lot. Prior to shutting down for COVID, they began meeting with the county about opening the access road. It needs to be determined whether it will be one way or two-way. The concern is for larger delivery and fire trucks. If it’s made two-way, they may not be able to make the turn coming out. Also, prior to COVID the village was negotiating acquiring the parking lot from the railroad. In the negotiations it was recommended to provide comparables. After that, the village had a formal assessment done. Since COVID they have not had another board meeting and everything has been on hold. They are still actively negotiating and anticipating getting the parking lot. The owners of Grogans and the hardware store have also shown interest in purchasing pieces of the railroad parcel. The Mayor has met with the owners of the 2 businesses and explained once the village has ownership of the parcel they can discuss re-drawing the property lines so they have better access to their property.
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Councilman Furman questioned the access road and Wallace St. Trustee Loeven explained Wallace St will be closed during the construction of the bridge. The access road will go from Main St to Kelly Hill Rd. Councilman Howell asked if there’s anything the town can do to support the access road to be opened. Trustee Loeven advised maybe addressing a letter to the highway department of the county from the board. Supervisor Volpe said he and Dean have expressed to the Mayor how important it is for the road to be open. Councilman Furman is concerned about the local businesses being able to survive while already going through tough times. Trustee Loeven says the village master plan shows Main St Ext. will be beneficial to keep open but thinks Kelly Hill Rd will need to be improved in the future.
Supervisor Volpe reports that we are still working with New Windsor on the 2020 Concert Series. Councilman Jennings questions guidelines in the contracts on payment if cancelled due to COVID. Supervisor Volpe will look at contracts as they come through. The grand opening for the Youth Center is still on schedule for July 24th at 5PM rain or shine. He would also like to do fireworks on July 25th. He has already talked to Mike Romano. We will not be able to have vendors, People can stay in cars and families stay together. He wants to get flyers out and let roads know of the event. Time will be 8:30/9:00. The board agrees.
MOTION TO APPROVE BUILDING DEPARTMENT BUDGET MODIFICATION:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the following modification:
Increase revenue line B1560 Building Safety Inspection by $426.00 AND
Increase expense line B3620.4 Building Safety contractual by $426.00.
All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
COURT REQUEST: Supervisor Volpe met with the court to go over concerns of social distancing. Court clerks were advised to let town clerk’s office know of the court dates to use the senior center. Supervisor explained the procedure for entering, exiting and payment during court session. The court has requested additional court officer due to the changes. There would be an officer at entrance in front, an officer at exit at back door by ramp and they would like an additional officer at the court entrance for payment. Councilman Howell had email correspondence with Judge Goldsmith re: requests in order to follow guidelines to social distancing. Councilman Howell asked if they could have payment in the same section as court session (senior center) instead of leaving the building to go to the court clerk’s office to pay. Supervisor Volpe is unsure due to the credit card reader, although their office is secure and protected. Councilman Jennings stated his concerns of leaving one building to go to the next. Further discussion on procedure ensued. The board decided to set up a site visit with the judges to discuss the safest procedure.
Supervisor Volpe discussed with police chief Rickard the proposed bicycle event Bike4Chai to be held on August 13, 2020. There will be no facility use, no extra police or no road closures. Chief Rickard approves. Councilman Howell questioned the insurance certificate which was resolved.
MOTION TO APPROVE BIKE4CHAI BICYCLE EVENT:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to approve Bike4Chai Bicycle event on August 13, 2020 and to allow bicycles through the town. All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Jennings to approve the following bills (Abstract #25, #26, #27):
Abstract #25:
GENERAL A: #365-370 $ 2,299.42
GENERAL B: #56 $ 40.04
HIGHWAY: #97-98 $ 1,140.95
SEWER: #52 $ 170.58
AND
ABSTRACT #26:
GENERAL A: #371-386 $ 51,063.78
GENERAL B: #57 $ 6,002.99
HIGHWAY: #99-106 $ 25,423.07
SEWER: #53-54 $ 1,205.46
AND
ABSTRACT #27:
GENERAL A: #3387-397 $ 4,607.14
GENERAL B: #58-59 $ 166.70
SEWER: #55 $ 1,507.81
MOUNT HOPE FIRE CO: #2 $ 132,925.00
All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Diane Loeven asked what the status of the senior center is. Supervisor Volpe stated it can be rented at this time up to 25 people until tomorrow which goes to 50. It has not been rented out yet. The seniors are highly advised not to meet yet, so the senior center will not be used by the seniors. There have been some meetings held outside. There will be an outdoor meeting held by Orange County Senior Council at Thomas Bull Memorial Park on July 17th.
PROPOSED FEES FOR 2021 BUDGET:
Supervisor Volpe explains some proposed changes in fees for 2021 budget with the board due to the effects of COVID. The proposed fees were figured by comparing with neighboring municipalities. He explains fees associated with the Highway Dept: driveway permits, burial fee, cremation, fee for cleanup of abandoned property by Highway Department and impound fee.
Hwy Supt Hassenmayer leaves meeting. 8:26PM
Supervisor Volpe continues to explain proposed fees in other departments- Town Clerk, Police, Building Dept and Planning Dept: Howells Cemetery Plot, Hauling Permit, Games of Chance, Library, Towing Permit, Municipal Search, Amended Planning Application Fee, and Mailing Lists (up to 50 names). There were no votes. Atty Bavoso explained that anything that requires a local law, the local law will be able to change that section so it can be changed by resolution if needed in the future.
TOWN OWNED PROPERTY:
Supervisor Volpe continued to explain various properties owned by the town and the desire to sell some buildable properties to put them back on the tax rolls. Supervisor Volpe consults Atty Bavoso about the process of selling property. Atty Bavoso explains hiring a realtor by motion having a bidding process, a contract is negotiated, the board will need vote to give the supervisor authorization to sign the contract. That motion would be subject to a 30 day referendum period for public to file a petition. If no petition is filed, the motion is good. If a petition is filed then it will go to referendum. Once all is complete it would proceed as any other closing. Councilman Howell verified that using a realtor is an option. Atty Bavoso reminds that the Procurement Policy has been changed from ‘highest offer” to “best offer”.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Supervisor Volpe: Board comments on fees?
Councilman Howell: Abandonment fees in Wallkill are called unkempt properties. Atty Bavoso explained the process of how those fees would happen.
Councilman Jennings: Questioned if we are still selling plots in the old part of Howells Cemetery. He is concerned that there could be complaints regarding the difference in fees between the old sections and the new section. Discussion on how the new fees are justified.
Councilman Furman: Thinks we will eventually need to do this.
Supervisor Volpe: Board comments on properties?
Councilman Howell: Regarding parcel off Stage Rd, he stated his concern with the previous negotiations with the state. Supervisor Volpe stated there have been several email correspondence but there was never a contract and doesn’t think the state is still interested.
Diane Loeven commented on the towns previous purchases from the county. She questioned the 2 parcels on Shoddy Hollow Rd purchased from Chris Dul and what was the board’s reason. Supervisor Volpe stated the original reason was to take the house down from the property and straighten the road. Ms. Loeven commented on the proposed library fees and how it may affect those who are in need. She suggests a lower amount and to raise the fee slowly if needed. Supervisor Volpe questioned the library cards have been issued to date. Process of issuing library cards is explained.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Furman to adjourn the meeting at 8:59pm. All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Furman, Jennings; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for July 20, 2020 at 7:30pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Paula Bird, Deputy Town Clerk for Kathleen Myers, Town Clerk
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