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Scipio Town Board Meeting This year end meeting was called to order at 6:59 PM on Wednesday February 8, 2017 by Supervisor Gary Mutchler with the following people present: Supervisor: Gary Mutchler Town Clerk: Tom Olenych Council Members: Howard Nelson Highway: Mark Chamberlain Leslie Baxter CEO: Mick Piechuta Mark Ferrari Gary Whitten Guests: Keith Welch , Bill Hall & Maryl Mendillo Motion: to approve agenda for 2/08/2017 town board meeting. (Whitten / Baxter) All in favor. Issues to come before the board from town residents: Keith Welch spoke to the board regarding a co-chairperson arraignment for the Town Zoning of Appeals which is currently without a chairperson. Keith suggested that since the chair is paid more than a sitting member the salary for the chair, $200.00 / yearly, and the salary for a sitting member, $125.00/ yearly, be combined and split between the co- chairs or each chair receiving $162.50 each yearly. Motion to approve: (Mutchler / Nelson) All in favor. Motion to approve the minutes of the January 11, 2017 town board meeting. (Baxter / Nelson) All in favor. Town Board members reports: Leslie Baxter: A) Told the board OWLA will be receiving money from separate grants as well as state aid to help with the work it’s doing regarding the water quality of Owasco Lake. B) informed the board that Cayuga County is studying the possibility of a county sewer system and anyone wishing to submit a RFP must do so by April 15, 2017. C) Dr. Benson has agreed to offer a rabies, clinic each spring and fall and it was decided that this year’s spring clinic would be held on Saturday May 13th. Leslie also suggested the town put some money in the yearly budget to help lower income families afford the cost of Dr. Benson’s services. In addition to Dr. Benson’s services Tracey Stevens of Integrated Veterinary Services will offer low cost spay and neuter services. The fees for these procedures are as follows: Dog spay $105.00, dog neuter $95.00, cat spay $75.00, cat neuter $55.00 and rabies / distemper vaccinations $10.00 each. D) There will be free EMT training at the fire house on April 3, 2017 from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM and anyone interested in attending needs to register by March 20, 2017. E) Most of Black Street has been paved with the exception of approximately 1.8 miles running south on Black Street from Walter Road to just south of Manchester. The estimated cost of paving this section is $75,000.00. Leslie suggested that since the highway repair fund budget has a surplus of approximately $65,000.00 that money could be used for this ---PAGE BREAK--- project. Motion to approve using this surplus to finish paving Black Street. (Mutchler / Baxter) All in favor. Mark Ferrari: A) No news on when the renovation of the town offices will begin. B) The town’s contract with Carl Collier, the town dog control officer, was renegotiated and reduced from an annual payment of $4,128.00 to $3,426. Motion to approve the 2017 Dog Control Contract: (Baxter / Mutchler) All in favor. C) There is some confusion regarding the new AT&T bill and Verizon is still charging the town for some phone lines. Mark and Becky will be in contact with both Verizon and AT&T to get the correct billing set up. Howard Nelson: A) Farmland Protection Grant application forms are available. B) Nothing yet on the Solarize New York project but Howard feels he will have more information on this at the March 8, 2017 town board meeting. C) Signs have been made up regarding the transfer station’s expanded summer hours. These hours will also be posted on the town’s website. D) The “No Reservation” sign on Route 34B is inappropriate as this property is owned by the state. A letter to Chris Culver of the State Dept. of Transportation will be sent asking the DOT to remove this sign. Motion to approve DOT letter: (Nelson / Mutchler) Baxter – Aye, Ferrari – Aye, Whitten – abstain. Gary Whitten: A) The new pickup truck has been ordered. Town officer’s reports: Heather Garner / Assessor: The was no report submitted this month. Tom Olenych / Town Clerk: A) The deadline to submit anything for the spring newsletter is March 13, 2017. This allows enough time to get the newsletter worked up and to the printer and mailing service in time to go out to town residents sometime the first week on April. B) Tax season is at the end of the heaviest volume of mail and Tom reported that this season, his second, went more smoothly than the previous season. Mick Piechuta: A) A written report was submitted to the town board. B) Mick has sent a letter to the Raymond’s on Route 34B regarding abandoned vehicles on their property. If he has no response in 30 days he will refer the matter to the town justice. Mark Chamberlain / Highway Superintendent: A) Mark and Bill Hall informed the board that Bill had been involved in a motor vehicle accident on January 27, 2017 at 5:50 AM while plowing snow in a town vehicle. Bill told the board that all his safety and warning lights were on and he was following standard safety procedures when he was struck by a passenger car. Bill also told the board that the original police report was not correct and a new report would be written. Gary Mutchler / Town Supervisor: A) The insurance consortium meets the 4th Thursday of every other month. The prescription drug problems have been worked out and Gary is also looking into the availability of a “wellness” program. In addition Gary told the board that the claims submitted are on the rise and there are more ---PAGE BREAK--- and more large claims or $1,000,000.00 or more. B) The next meeting of the fire commissioners regarding Scipio’s separation from the fire district will be held at the Poplar Ridge fire house on February 14, 2017 at 7:30 PM. The purpose of this meeting will be to begin the process of determining the value of the equipment in Scipio’s inventory. The Venice fire company opposes any further proceedings until this value is received and reviewed. C) Review of financial reports and the transfer of funds. Transfer from: A1990.4 Contingent $40.00 To: A1110.46 Software Support Transfer from: A1990.4 Contingent $90.00 To: A4020.4 Registrar of Vital Statistics Motion to approve transfer of funds: (Mutchler / Whitten) All in favor. D) The following annual appointments were recommended, Timothy Calhoun / Deputy Highway Superintendent, Gary Whitten / Deputy Town Supervisor, Judith Rowlands / Deputy Town Clerk, Debra Kellogg / Deputy Justice Clerk, Rebecca Rury / Bookkeeper, Craig Kukuk / Town Historian and Mick Piechuta / Town Code Enforcement Officer. Motion to approve appointments as listed above: (Whitten / Baxter) All in favor. Other business: A) Mick Piechuta brought up the subject of setting up direct deposit for anyone on the town’s payroll that would like this option. Approval of vouchers: General Fund 13 to 27 totaling $3,927.27 (Mutchler / Nelson) All in favor. Highway Fund (DA): 8 to 16 totaling $9,976.96 (Nelson / Baxter) All in favor. Motion to adjourn: 9:13 PM (Baxter) All in favor. Respectfully submitted Thomas J. Olenych Scipio Town Clerk ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK---