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Scipio Town Board Meeting The regular public meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM on Wednesday April 11, 2018 by Supervisor Mutchler with the following people present. Supervisor: Gary Mutchler Town Clerk: Tom Olenych Town Board Members: Gary Whitten Highway: Mark Chamberlain Leslie Baxter Code Enforcement: Howard Tanner Mark Ferrari Vivian Cunningham Guests: Maryl Mendillo, Greg & Becky Rury, Bruce Bessner, Dee Allen, Tim Weir, Conner Bennett, Wayne Pettit and Melissa Clark and Gillian Black both from Abundant Energy. Motion to approve agenda for the town board meeting. (Cunningham / Baxter) All in favor. Issues to come before the board from town residents and guests. 1) Maryl Mendillo brought to the attention of the town board break ins which have occurred at Emily Howland Elementary School and asked what can be done about. She lives close by the school and is worried this could lead to homes in the area being broken into. 2) Supervisor Mutchler introduced Melissa Clarke and Gillian Black, of Abundant Energy, who gave the town board a brief slide presentation which had been prepared by Central New York Regional Planning and Development. The presentation outlined the benefit the town would realize if it decides to place solar panels on either the town offices or the town highway barn. After the presentation there was a question and answer period during which Jeff Eaton, of the Thurston Law Firm, had several questions. He wondered how outdated the equipment, installed at the beginning of the lease, would be 10 or 15 years into the 25-year lease agreement the town would be signing, or for that matter what would happen if Abundant were to go bankrupt before the end of the 25-year lease agreement. Jell also had several concerns with the legal documents including the following: A) Abundant wants the electricity meter to be tested every two years whereas Jeff feels it would be in the town’s best interest if this equipment were tested every year or the town, at least, retain the right to have the electricity meters tested upon request. A proposal Abundant was not willing to accept. B) The contract’s performance guarantees are to be measured every two years on a cumulative basis. Jeff feels it might be advantageous if the town insist this be done on a yearly basis. C) Finally, the tax provisions could be drafted in a much clearer way as to which party is responsible for the taxes associated with the project. Tim Weir, who is the assistant fire chief for the Scipio Fire Department, voiced some concerns the added weight of the solar panels would pose a risk in the event of a fire. ---PAGE BREAK--- Howard Tanner the town code enforcement officer did not feel the added weight posed a problem. Vivian Cunningham inquired about having an emergency shutoff in the event an emergency may occur. 3) Tim Weir approached the board to give an assessment of the current situation regarding the Scipio Fire Department’s efforts to separate from the Scipio – Venice – Ledyard fire district. He told the board the current negotiations are at an impasse, which the Scipio Fire Department feels is due in large part to the ineffectiveness of the lawyers who have been working on behalf of all three fire departments within the fire district. Because of the lack of progress Tim contacted another lawyer, Brad Pinsky of the Pinsky Law Group, who specializes in these types of legal proceeding. Mr. Pinsky told Tim he would put together a presentation outlining what, in his opinion, the Scipio Fire Department needs to do in going forward. The cost of this would be $1,100.00 and Tim asked the town board to approve the town picking up half the cost or $550.00. Leslie Baxter voiced her support feeling the town needs to support its fire department. Vivian Cunningham was OK with this as long as Mr. Pinsky’s presentation include all legal documents pertaining to and outlining what the finished proposal would look like. It was decided that Mr. Pinsky’s presentation would be given at a regularly scheduled town board meeting and the town board members of Venice and Ledyard would be invited to attend. Bruce Bessner feels the town should contact an independent source to do a feasibility and impact study as well, Motion to approve $550.00 to the Scipio Fire Department to retain Mr. Pinsky. (Cunningham / Baxter) All in favor. Motion to approve the minutes of the March 21, 2018 town board meeting. (Mutchler / Ferrari) All in favor. Town Board Members reports: Leslie Baxter: 1) Leslie, along with other members of the Owasco Lake Watershed Rules and Regulations Steering Committee took a tour of Sunnyside Farms to discuss ditching and tiling practices. She explained to the board that farmers use drainage tiles, normally placed 3 feet below grade, to take excess water out of their fields. If this excess water is drained properly from the soil the manure spread on the ground has a better chance of being absorbed into the ground. 2) Leslie will also be attending a meeting, in Seneca Falls on April 19, 2018, along with members of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Committee, regarding Cayuga Lake. The meeting will focus on road ditching and it will feature a speaker from Cornell University. Vivian Cunningham: 1) Vivian told the board WeCare has been contacted and the additional trash dumpsters will be in place and ready to go for the May 5th. Spring Cleanup Day. ---PAGE BREAK--- Mark Ferrari: 1) Mark discussed the rates Clarity Connect currently bills the town. He will contact Clarity Connect because the last bill the town received was at a higher rate than expected. Mark will also look into the town going back to a residential rate as opposed to the commercial rate it is now being bill for. 2) Still nothing on the solarization contract being drawn up for the town. Town Supervisor’s report: 1) Gary reviewed the financial statement and reported an expense for the General Fund of $80,222.00 with a balance of $503,507.00 and an expense for the Highway Fund of $40,502.00 with a balance of $358,310.00. 3) Gary asked the board to approve the following amendment to the town budget: Transfer to A4020.4 Registrar of Vital Statistics $70.00 From A1990.4 Contingent Account Transfer to A7550.4 Celebrations – Contractual $25.00 From A1990.4 Contingent Account Transfer to DA5110.4 Repair of Roads Contractual $110,000.00 From DA 911 Unappropriated Fund Balance Motion to approve transfer of funds. (Mutchler / Whitten) All in favor. Town Officers reports: Assessor: No report. Town Clerk: 1) Tom Olenych reported the Spring Newsletter had gone to the printers and should be in the mail later in the week. 2) Tom told the board tax collection season was over and after a last check to the Cayuga County Treasurer he will also have another check for the town supervisor. Highway Superintendent: 1) Mark Chamberlain reported his crews were still cleaning up snow because of some spring storms. 2) Mark has been looking at all the town roads to access what paving needs to be done during the summer months. 3) Mark asked the board to approve $3,600.00 to have eight new Michelin Radial tires installed on the town’s ditching equipment. Because of the rough shoulders of the roads and the constant rocking back and forth of the ditcher these tires get chewed up fairly quickly. Motion to approve $3,600.00 to have eight new tires installed. (Mutchler / Cunningham) All in favor. 4) Lastly Mark told the board he has ordered flags for Memorial Day. Code Enforcement: 1) Howard Tanner submitted a report listing the permits he issued for the previous month. Howard’s report also noted he has been busy meeting with town residents to answer any questions they may have as well as his meeting with potential buyers of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church which has been vacant for a number of years. ---PAGE BREAK--- Other Business: There was no other business. Approval of vouchers: General 61 – 82 totaling $14,816.03 (Mutchler / Whitten) All in favor. Highway (DA): 33 – 39 totaling $24,256.04 (Ferrari / Cunningham) All in favor. Motion to adjourn: 9:45 PM (Baxter) All in favor. Respectfully submitted, Thomas J. Olenych Scipio Town Clerk