March 10, 2010                                        Work Session                                                   6:30 PM

Supervisor Grant along with Council Members George, Mohun and Frounick audited the Highway, General Fund and Special District claims. Board Members were informed by Zoning Officer Kelly  of people wanting to put a trailer on the former Paul Miller Property on Friedman Road. Discussed with Supervisor Grant and Highway Superintendent town roads with relation to the Road Surface Management Guide prepared in 1997 by a student from Cornell  and possibly hiring Clark Patterson to do up a  “Scope of Service”  to put out to bid.  Mr. Jensen reported the new pick-up truck came in today, doesn’t have the invoice yet, but payment due in 30 days. Mr. Jensen also reported that it was the heater in meter vault that caused the electric bill for Bullis Road to be so high. He turned the heater on when the weather got cold.

 

March 10, 2010                                           Regular Meeting                                                7:30 PM

Supervisor Grant called the meeting to order and asked Council Member Mohun to lead the pledge to the flag. Present were Council Members Frounick, George and Mohun, Assessor Wittmeyer, Zoning Officer Kelly and Highway Superintendent Jensen.  Councilman Gadd absent.

Minutes of the February 10th meeting – Supervisor Grant asked if any correction or amendments. Councilman George noted that his daughter’s name is spelled incorrectly should be Cara not Kara. Council Member Mohun reported with regard to gentlemen purchasing the Austin Dies building in Cowlesville and his not needing any permits, it was discovered after last month’s meeting that he will be needing some permits from the state and he has been informed of such.  There being no other corrections or admendments, a motion was made by George, seconded by Mohun to approve the minutes, voting all ayes, carried.  

Annual contracts from Williamson Law Book for 2010 for Town Clerks Software Support ($495) and for Water/Sewer billing ($825). Motion made by Frounick/Mohun to accept the contracts and authorize the supervisor to execute same. Voting all ayes, carried.

General Fund claims #50 – 78 totaling $17,817.52 presented. Motion made by Frounick/George to approve the general fund claims submitted, voting all ayes, carried.

Highway clams #43-60 totaling $23,338.55 presented. Motion made by George/Mohun to approve the highway claims submitted, voting all ayes, carried.

Special District claims: Cowlesville Street Lighting claim #3 ($109.48) and Cowlesville Water District claim #7-13 ($3437.33) presented. Motion made by Frounick/Mohun to approve the special district claims, voting all ayes, carried.

Supervisor’s Financial Report for the month of February: Supervisor Grant reported that all of the tax money is now in there. Motion made by George/Mohun to accept Supervisor Grant’s financial report, voting all ayes, carried.

Correspondence:

                Letter  dated 2/24 from Zoning Officer Kelly requesting to have the Land Separation Local Law amended due to language change.

                Meeting minutes from the Feb. 3rd Zoning Board of Appeals meeting and the January 20th Planning Board meeting.

                Monthly reports submitted  from the Assessor, Zoning Officer and Town Clerk.

                Land  separation draft application form for town board review.

Notice of the 2010 Spring Land Use Decision Making Training Program  from the Monroe County Dept. of Planning and Development.

                Letter dated  Feb. 2nd from the Wyoming County Department of Health re: Fee schedule

                Certificate of Insurance naming the Town of Bennington as additional insured on their policies received from Cowlesville Fire Company; Tozier Enterprises and the  County of Wyoming.

                Certificate of Insurance naming the Attica Central School as additional insured sent by the Town of Bennington.

Supervisor Grant received meeting minutes from  the Tonawanda Creek  Watershed  meeting held in Corfu  Feb. 24th.

                Notice from the Wyoming County Dept. of Health re:  The annual water quality report for 2009 is due by May 31st 2010. They made some changes to their reporting requirements.

                Notification from the Wyoming County Office of the Aging & Attica Central United Schools in Action’s presentation of “ Game Show” and Senior Citizen luncheon  to be held April 7th  here at the Town Hall.

                Notice from the Wyoming County Office of the Aging re: Senior Ball to be held at the Rita George Recreation Hall in Bliss on May 19th.

                Received the Seneca Trail RC&D Council 2009 annual report

                Notification from Dadd & Nelson re: filing of Local Law #1-2010.

                Correspondence from Chatfield Engineers requesting permit  for the Dept. of Health (DOH 348) application for Approval of Plan for Public Water Supply improvements   and permit (PERM 32) NYS DOT permit for utility work within the DOT right of way for the new water meter pit on Clinton Street.

                Letter from Tompkins Insurance changing our account manager from Ann Lapp to Debra Kirsch.

                Freedom of information law request received from  Feher Rubblish Removal  Inc. wanting hourly rates and benefits to all contractors for our transfer station and documents that they were paying their employees the prevailing wage. Info is requested from January 1, 2007 to Feb. 15,2010.

Letter from the New York State Laborers’ Organizing Fund promoting the use of union workers in New York State.

                Letter from Victor Farley of the New York State Senate advising he’s working in Senator Volkers’ Office and will be dealing with constituents concerns.

 

Departments:

Zoning: Home Occupation Renewals applications received from: Arthur & Deborah Buckley (The Bettinoll Company); Richard LeFort (Custom Beds & Tables);  Lawrence Zygaj, Residential/Agricultural Professional Land Surveyor); John Brandon (Eerie Design Services); Allan Linsey (Precision Cylinder Head); Gary Arcese  (G. Arcese Enterprise); Paul Dersam (Alden Real Estate Group); Cynthia & Mark Craig (CynMar Marketing); Michael M. Mohun (Law Office of Michael M. Mohun); Diane Lautenschlager (D&L Toy Trains);  Diane Gutowski (Village Fabric & Craft Shop); Stacey Acquard (Acquard’s Dog Grooming); Tom Hudson (Sunset Printing); Jospeh Ciulla (Rispolis Bakery) and  Nathan DeGroot (There’s No End Game calls). No complaints received on any of them. Motion made by Frounick, seconded by George to approve the renewals of the above home occupation permits.  Frounick, George & Grant voted aye, Council Member Mohun abstained.

 

Special Use Permit renewal received from 77 Construction, applied for a 3 year renewal.  No complaints received.  Motion made by Mohun/Frounick to approve the three year renewal. Mohun, Frounick and Grant voted aye, Councilman George abstained.

 Zoning Officer Kelly reviewed her letter  requesting the  zoning change on the land separation law. Would like to see Article VI – Property Owner. The owner  of the property  subject to the proposed land separation, or his/her duly authorized representative (such authorization shall be provided in writing).  Kari would prefer writing and notarized.  Also in Article VI – the first line state   “required by this Subdivision Law shall be  that should read  “ required by  Land Separation Law shall be” Zoning Officer Kelly would like to see a fee for this, a lot of time spent on land separations by the Planning Board and herself, also has a problem with logging them, so there is a record, when a fee,  a number assigned. Told she can still assign a number,  all she has to do is get a ledger/note book and assign them some sort of number  ie  LS 1-2010 etc .

Zoning Officer Kelly reported that Alan Linsey has built that barn for his business, he may now need a Special Permit and not a Home Occupation.

Assessor:  Assessor Wittmeyer reported she’s  working with the senior citizens on their STAR applications. She asked if any questions on her monthly report. Councilman George asked about the resolution, if she had prepared one for the board to review re: assessors against the state combining/consolidating the  Office of Real Property Tax Services with the Department of Taxation and Finance, dissolving the State Board of Real Property tax services as proposed in the governor’s budget. Ms. Wittmeyer stated that’s been put on hold, right now they intend to keep it as it.  Ellen thanked Kandy for her aggressive work with the seniors on the star applications, much appreciated.

Recreation: Kari Kelly reported that the Easter Party is scheduled for the April 15th at the park, rain or shine.  Now having sign-ups for T Ball and soccer, looking for sponsors.  Will have another Chinese Auction, looking to start that earlier this year, also looking to have a Book Sale and serve maybe hot dogs here at the Town Hall on  Scrap Metal Day.

Transfer Station: Board Members given copies of the 2009 Transfer Station Operations annual report. Supervisor Grant reviewed the report.

Highway: Superintendent Jensen reported that until last week, the Highway Dept. has been plowing snow, since then they have patching pot holes and working on equipment. Mr. Jensen reported that there is a pile of electronics up at the transfer station, talked with Ed Arnold Scrap, they are willing to take them, now the town pays to have them picked up and they must be on a skid. Short discussion held, decided that on Saturday, Councilman George will pick them up and take them to Arnolds.

Mr. Jensen asked for board permission to advertise for bids on the new truck (cab & chassis) and have bid opening 6:30 PM at the April 14th.  Motion made by Mohun/Frounick to authorize the clerk to advertise for bids on the new truck, voting all ayes, carried.

Mr. Jensen reported the curb boxes in Cowlesville are getting hard to locate. Informed him that Diane Savakinas is looking into buying a metal detector.

New pick-up truck came in today, doesn’t have an invoice yet, but the payment is due in 30 days. Motion made by Frounick/George to authorize the Supervisor to pay the bill within the 30 day time frame. Voting all ayes, carried.

Kari Kelly reported that there isn’t a road sign on Bailey Road. Mr. Jensen doesn’t know why but there are certain roads in town that the road signs keep disappearing.  Superintendent Jensen also reported that the “Right to Farm” signs are ordered.

Clark Paterson – In the work session talked about Clark Paterson Engineering to prepare a “Scope of Service” to advertise for engineering work, they work off of the report done in 1997 by the student from Cornell  Loads Road Program and recommendations from Superintendent Jensen. Motion made by George/Mohun to contract with Clark Paterson to develop a “Scope of Service” . Voting all ayes, carried.

Mr. Jensen reported that the bill from D&D Alarm was for repairing the alarm system at the town barns. Snow had blown in creating a short in the system.

Superintendent Jensen asked for permission to attend Highway School in Ithaca this June. Motion so made by Mohun/Frounick to allow Mr. Jensen to attend. Voting all ayes, carried.

Clair Kroh thanked the Highway Department for the work done on Woodley Road last year, turned out very well, road in excellent condition right now.

Public Concerns: M/M Savalgia purchased the Miller property up on Friedman Road and want to put in a seasonal trailer for recreational and hunting purposes, which they own and is presently at Skyline. At present they do not know the exact size, will be skirted, has vinyl siding. Told they would have to have well & septic. They are not sure of what is there now, there is a pipe in the ground for septic, but not sure where it leads. It’s a 2003 trailer.  This comes before the Town Board because there is a moratorium on trailers and informed them that each case is considered differently. Told that if they got the paperwork to the clerk within a week, could hold a public hearing at the April meeting. After a short discussion, a motion was made by George/Frounick that if they got their paperwork filed with the clerk, to authorize the clerk to advertise for a public hearing at the April meeting. Voting all ayes, carried.

 Old business: 2010 Census -  Supervisor Grant reported that the census packets are due to be mailed out next week to households and  advised residents that it’s very important that people complete  the census report  and return it. This report is used for many things including funding that comes  to communities and our representation to the state and federal government, as well as county matters.  She went on line and during the 2000 census, the town of Bennington had 90% participation, which was higher that many of the communities around us. Town is scheduled to have a census worker stationed  here at the town hall from mid March to mid April, a couple of hours, three time per week,  to help residents fill out the forms.

New business: Set Holidays for office closing for 2010: May 31, July 3-5, Sept. 6th and Dec. 25th. Discussion held. Motion made by Frounick/George to approve the town offices being closed on the above holidays, voting all ayes, carried.

Scrap Metal/Tire Day – Motion made by Frounick/George to set Scrap Metal / Tire Day for May 15th     and to authorize the clerk to advertise twice, voting all ayes, carried.

Senior Citizen of the Year nominations – Office for the Aging is looking for nominees for seniors who  performs volunteer work in the community. Has to be in by mid April.

Sheriff’s Substation – Supervisor Grant talked with the Sheriff and yes they are definitely transferring the sub-station from the office upstairs to Java  which will take place by the end of this month. They just have some equipment upstairs in the room. 

Letter of Support – Legislation on small employers health insurance  - Supervisor Grant reported that she received a request for a letter of support regarding legislation for small employers health insurance and read the resolution. An organization called Flexcare, Inc. is looking for support in favor of Assembly bill #A2246 and Senate bill #S5080 which will provide an exception to the health insurance community rating laws for municipalities with 50 and under employees.  After a short discussion, a motion was made by George, seconded by Mohun to table until the April meeting. Voting all ayes, carried.  Supervisor Grant  will print our copies of the bills for board members.

Big Game Hunting (deer & bear) with Rifles in Wyoming County – Supervisor Grant reported that at the County Board of Supervisor’s meeting, they passed on a vote of approx. 900 – 600 in favor of a one year trial period to allow hunters to use rifles to hunt deer and bear in Wyoming County. She believes that this is something that goes from the county to the state legislative for home rule authority (Wyo. County has to request home rule authority from the state senate). I t probably won’t be the upcoming hunting season, it will probably be the 2011 – 2012 season.

Floors at the town hall – Councilman Frounick was approached by the gentleman that cleans the floors and asked Board Members if they want to set the schedule now to have done a couple of times per year. Told to have him do them in April and then again in November.

Councilman Frounick also mentioned that the Bennington Fire Company was hosting a gun raffle on March 21st and that the Cowlesville Fire Company has one scheduled for April 10th and Harris Corners is having  theirs on April 10th.

Local Law to amend the Land Separation Law – Motion made by George/Mohun to schedule a public hearing for the April Town Board Meeting to amend Local Law #5  of 2008. Language changes. Voting all ayes, carried.

Councilmember Mohun asked if anything on the Wind Law.  Supervisor Grant reported nothing back from the town attorney yet.

Councilman George asked about the Wyo. Co. Youth Board meeting. Supervisor Grant said they meet quarterly, not sure when. The County Youth Board has been notified of Molly & Cara’s appointments and was suppose to contact/welcome them.

There being no further business, a motion was made by George/Mohun to go into executive to discuss the union contract. Voting all ayes, carried. Town Board entered into executive session at 9:12 Pm.

Motion made by  Mohun/Frounick  to come out of executive session at 9:25.  Voting all ayes.  Motion made by Mohun/George  to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned  at 9:25.

 

                                                                                                                Respectfully Submitted:

                                                                                                                Judith Brown, Town Clerk