Town of Mount Hope Town Board Meeting Oct 7, 2019
The regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope was held at Town Hall on October 7, 2019 at 7:30pm with the following present: Supervisor Chad Volpe, Councilman Matthew Howell, Councilman Brian Carey, Councilman Jim Jennings, Councilman Chris Furman & Town Clerk Kathleen Myers.
OFFICIALS PRESENT: Police Chief P. Rickard, Dep. Chief M. Maresca, B. Bavoso Town Attorney.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Volpe called the meeting to order at 7:30pm. He asked everyone to silence or turn off their cell phones.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- Supervisor’s office budget modification
- Highway request to surplus vehicles
- Police budget modification – AMENDED from August 30, 2019
- Supervisor’s report September 2019
- Otisville Fire Dept. September 2019 call report
- August & September 2019 building inspector reports
- Letter from Ag & Mkts shelter inspection 9-27-19 – satisfactory
- Complaint re: 94 Spruce Road
BOARD REPORTS:
Councilman Howell: New doors were installed at the senior center and completed. Key card access is not complete yet. Supervisor explained we are having IT issues and hoping to have this complete by next week. He reminded everyone of the Veteran’s Day parade on 11-9-19 at 11:00am. Parade route will be from Otisville fire station down Highland Avenue to Main Street to the Veteran’s Park.
Councilman Carey noted that the last board meeting we had – our video cut-off at 1:06:32. We record these on a card that was full. Camcorder shut off at end of meeting so there’s no board comments on that video we posted. The 3 years and 7 months we’ve been recording meetings only 3 occasions that he recalls having an issue with the card. Little League open registration is open for 2020. OMHPC is having a trunk or treat in their parking lot from 5:30-7:30 on 10/31/19. Applications are in the hallway here. One Small Step 5K is 10-19-19, reg is 8am, race starts 9am. Early voting starts 10-26-19 through 11-3-19. There will still be voting on 11-5-19. Free rabies clinic 10-20-19 at T/O Wallkill 11am to 2pm. It’s free for all Orange County residents. Ribbon cutting ceremony for the new walking trail was on 10/1/19. Aileen Gunther came down. It was a nice ceremony. Tomorrow is a CPR course, Oct.9 is First Aid. and NARCAN class is Oct. 10. All start at 6pm.
Councilman Furman: MVYFL had a home game this past weekend. They are doing well. The ribbon cutting was nice to see. It’s one of the only parks you can bring your dog on a leash. The old school community center is holding a Caffeine & Octane on October 19, 9am -12 noon. Tricky Tray was very good. It was a successful event for us. We had over 200 baskets. He thanked everyone for their support.
Councilman Jennings: Planning board meeting is 10-16-19 at 7pm. As of 10-1-19, there are 143 library cards issued. Village Board meeting is Oct 17, 7pm. There were 16 fire calls for September. Village Patriot Tree lighting is on 12/6/19 at 5:30pm. Fire house tree lighting on 12/7/19 at 5:30pm. Otisville fire company will be hosting fire prevention at the Otisville school on 10-8 & 10-11.
Supervisor Volpe: Ad was placed for BI clerk. It was in today’s paper. Will be in tomorrow and Wednesday also. Siding quotes for the youth center specs are written out by engineer. He hopes before next meeting to have info for board members.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Rickard reported the parking tickets are out. We have used some. Judges didn’t want to get involved with fine amounts. Budget modification is an amendment from a prior modification from August. January 1st laws are changing. There’s a change in the agenda in the criminal justice system. It’s gonna have a big effect on us. He’s been meeting regularly with the DA’s office. They’ve been trying to put together policies/procedures. The amount of arrests are going to go down. The DA’s office is working on a list of things they will no longer be charging. Councilman Carey that T/O Minisink is having DA office come after their board meeting on 10/9. He wanted to know if we could look into doing this. Chief: we had a meeting with them. There’s a regional community group that he is on with Chad. They did it a couple weeks ago in the T/O Minisink. On Dec. 17th at 10:00am, Darlene DeJesus Rosenwasser is coming to do Coffee with the Chief at the Otisville Mart. It will be broadcasted LIVE on facebook. The plan is to come out every week with new changes. She will wrap it up on that date. Next Tuesday we will be at Mick’s for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Safe Homes is gonna come & talk. Councilman Howell spoke re: County made a new restriction on Highland Avenue bridge. Chief: the county changed the bridge to no commercial traffic as well as a weight limit of 15 tons.
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That came as a result of Chad and Brian working with Janet and the county to try to come up with some solutions so if you have a commercial registration, you’re not allowed to be on the bridge. You could be issued a ticket. Hopefully the officers will use some discretion. That will be in effect until the bridge is replaced which is 1-2 years down the line. Councilman Carey: the signage is horrible. Your front wheels are on the bridge before you read the sign. Chief: I spoke to them last week about the signs. We are limited- it’s their road, their bridge, their signs. Mr. Davoren: the county messed up so legally the police department can’t write tickets. Chief: it’ll affect any commercial vehicles. They reached out to area businesses that have commercial vehicles that come across the bridge and let them know of the change. The idea is not to give tickets but to change the behavior. School buses are not commercial vehicles. They are under 15 tons. The school district has been spoken to. They tell us they are under 15 tons & not commercial vehicles even when they are loaded.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
Trustee Loeven spoke re: new deputy clerk/treasurer is doing phenomenal. All fire reports are caught up so you should be up to date with them.
MOTION TO APPROVE SUPERVISOR’S BUDGET MODIFICATION:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to approve the following:
Increase Revenue A4089 Other Gov’t. Grant Aid by $98,229.00
Increase Expense A1620.4 Building Contr by $98,229.00; (grant reimbursement for youth center)
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION FOR APPROVAL TO SURPLUS HIGHWAY EQUIPMENT:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to surplus the following:
OLD T-3 2001 Freightliner FL-70 Dump
1FVDBTAKX1HJ 50931
With Front/Wing Plow
OLD T-8 2002 International 4700 Low Pro Dump
1HTSLABL32H551883
With Front Plow
OLD T-11* 2008 Ford F-250 P/U
1FTSX21528EC99077
With 9’ Fisher Plow
OLD T-13 1993 Ford Cargo 7000 Flat Bed
1FDXH70C8PVA37722
With Graco Road Laser Line Striper
OLD T-14* 2008 Chevy 1 Ton Dump
1GBJK34668E17034
With 9’ Fisher Plow
*NOTE: Some Vehicles will remain in Service until Sold.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET MODIFICATION – AMENDMENT:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to approve the following amended modification:
Increase Revenue #1520 by $2,018.88
Increase Expense #3120.4 by $2,018.88.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
LITTLE LEAGUE/BRIAN LATTIMER:
Mr. Lattimer thanked the board for their continued support with the maintenance of the fields. That’s a huge favor to us. He asked the board about fundraising with a coin toss. They’d like to do it on corner of Finchville Turnpike & Mount Hope Avenue on October 26, 2019 and March 14, 2020 from 1-5 pm. He wasn’t sure if we needed insurance information through the little league. He brought it in case we needed it. There won’t be children out there only board members from the little league. Supervisor: what the town would be looking for is your insurance and a hold harmless agreement that we would write up basically saying that the T/O Mount Hope assumes no liability. Town road we can approve – county or state roads we do not have the authority to approve. Finchville is our road. Mount Hope Avenue is a county road. You will need county approval for Mount Hope Avenue. We as a board can approve the dates. Age limit for Otisville little league is 4 -16 years old.
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MOTION TO APPROVE LITTLE LEAGUE COIN TOSS:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to approve Otisville Little League to hold a coin toss on October 26, 2019 and March 14, 2020 on Finchville Turnpike from 1:00pm to 5:00pm pending insurance certificate and signature on hold harmless agreement. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
Mr. Lattimer asked Councilman Furman if the little league would be able to renovate & use the field at the old school. Councilman Furman will speak with him after the meeting. Mr. Lattimer has someone that is gung-ho and wants to come in & grade & re-do the fields. He knows we do mostly the mowing/weed whacking not so much taking care of the infield. Councilman Carey added that the town has a budget for the little league for their clay. If you want the clay drop off in a different location, you need to let us know. Supervisor added that once we get the hold harmless he will need to come down and sign it. Mr. Lattimer thanked the board.
MOTION TO APPROVE BUDGET LINE CREATION:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to approve the creation of the following 2 budget lines:
B3889 Other Culture & Recreation Revenue AND
B7145.4 Joint Recreation Projects Expense Line.
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO APPOINT RITA RICH AS ZONING BOARD MEMBER:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Carey to appoint Rita Rich to permanent ZBA member from Alternate effective immediately. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARING FOR 2020 PRELIMINARY BUDGET:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2nd Councilman Howell to schedule public hearing for the 2020 Preliminary Budget on October 21, 2019 at 7:30pm at the town hall. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE SUPERVISOR’S MONTHLY REPORT:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Howell to approve the September 2019 Supervisor’s report as presented. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Furman to approve the bills (Abstract 29 & Abstract 30):
Abstract 29: GENERAL A: #599-618 $ 29,191.69
GENERAL B: #76-77 $ 240.69
HIGHWAY: #131-134 $ 80,086.60
SEWER: #83-84 $ 545.00
CAP RES H’WAY EQ: #1 $ 22,256.00
Abstract 30: GENERAL A: #619-633 $ 48,858.09
GENERAL B: #78-81 $ 3,818.29
HIGHWAY: #135-138 $ 23,692.28
SEWER: #85-88 $ 14,633.91
CAP RES H’WAY EQ: #2 $ 39,046.00
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to enter into executive session at 7:58PM to discuss police chief personnel issue. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
MOTION TO RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION:
MOTION offered Councilman Furman 2nd Councilman Jennings to reconvene regular meeting at 8:06PM. THERE WAS NO ACTION TAKEN IN THIS EXECUTIVE SESSION. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Liz Cook updated the board about her insurance. She went to her company today and received a different version. They told her that Otisville fire department has to call ISO. Diane Loeven is pretty sure that’s been done already but she’ll take the information and follow up. Supervisor: after a little research on our end, it seems like it is only 1 company. Cook: they’re telling me no; there are other insurance companies waiting for the report from ISO. Loeven: the report is done.
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Mary Maurizzio said her questions were answered this evening. She posted a couple statements on her facebook page regarding the last meeting.
Diane Loeven: To make people aware, there’s been a # of reporting’s of a car that it seems to be mostly in rural areas which is Kohler Road, where I became aware of it, and the car is pulled off to the side of the road taking pictures of the property. Or at one point they were seen behind a bush taking pictures. When they were approached, the person jumped in the car and left. There’s been reporting’s on Route 1 as well, not just Mount Hope. Chief: they had a call on it last week, they checked on it. It was a private investigator.
Brian Lattimer: asked about the key fobs. Supervisor: we are having internet issues. We’ll be in touch.
Diane Loeven: asked if Dean put the old locks back in. Supervisor: no. She will get key for tomorrow’s meeting from Kathleen. Supervisor explained that the cylinder is the issue.
Mary Maurizzio: asked when last meeting’s minutes will be done. Councilman Carey: by next meeting. Town Clerk stated there were 8 hours of minutes to go through. The 23rd which is the longest one went from 6pm to midnight. A week later we had another budget meeting.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilman Furman invited everyone out for Caffeine & Octane 10-19-19, 9am to 12noon.
Councilman Carey noted the current Towns & Topics magazine we received has information on pet cemeteries.
Councilman Howell reminded everyone of the public hearing for the budget on October 21.
Supervisor Volpe thanked everyone for coming to the ribbon cutting. It was great. Hopefully by the end of the year, we will have one for the youth center.
MOTION TO ADJOURN:
MOTION offered Councilman Howell 2nd Councilman Carey to adjourn the meeting at 8:16pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Furman; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for October 21, 2019 at 7:30pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Myers RMC
Town Clerk
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