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Scipio Town Board Meeting Wednesday September 9, 2015 This regular meeting was called to order at 8:19 PM on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 by Supervisor Janet Reohr, following the Public Hearing on the proposed new zoning law. The following people present: Supervisor: Janet Reohr Town Clerk: Tom Olenych Council Members: Howard Nelson Highway: Mark Chamberlain Greg Rury Keith Welch Gary Whitten Visitors: Gary Mutchler, Leslie Baxter, George Wilson and David Thurston the town’s attorney. Supervisor Reohr reviewed the agenda. Issues to come before the board from town residents: Gary Mutchler asked about putting a list of all the candidates running for office in November in the town’s fall newsletter. David Thurston advised the board not to do this. Gary Mutchler again spoke to the VanNostrand’s about the road damage done to Cork Street and about the town’s letter to them. He was told they had submitted the letter to their insurance company. Review and approval of minutes: Prior to approving the minutes Keith Welch made a motion that in the future all board members and their votes be shown on all resolutions. Motion: to approve the minutes for the August 12, 2015 board meeting as amended. (Rury / Whitten) All in favor. Clean up Day: The fall cleanup day will Saturday October 10th. Keith Welch passed around a sign-up sheet for anyone offering to volunteer to help. Letter to the farming community – Howard Nelson Howard’s letter was reviewed and accepted with a couple of small changes. Mark Chamberlain gave Howard a list of the farms to be contacted. Tom Olenych will get a list of the addresses of these farms and he and Howard will address and mail out the envelopes. Signs at the corners of Cork Street and Center Road: A letter was sent to Senator Nozzolio’s office stating the town’s concern about the potential dangers at this intersection but the town board does not feel a four way stop would improve safety at this intersection. ---PAGE BREAK--- Basic budget for 2016: The breakdown of the basic budget for 2016 was passed out to the board members for their review and comments. Pertaining to salary increases Keith Welch proposed that the court help pay for some of the increases it is asking for. David Thurston cautioned that the town could not tie court fines into raises for the judge and court clerk. Motion: there is to be a town board meeting held on Monday October 5, 2015 at 7:00 PM at the town offices for further discussion of the tentative 2016 budget. This will be a town board meeting which will be posted on the town’s website as well as in the Auburn Citizen. The public is welcome to attend. (Welch / Nelson) All in favor. Reports: Supervisor: Janet shared with the board her letter to Heather Garner in which she voices the town board’s dissatisfaction with the job she has been doing. In particular her unresponsiveness to town residents who need questions answered. The damage to Cork Street came up and it was noted that the 2nd letter, certified, the town attorney sent to the VanNostrand’s was returned unsigned for. Gary Mutchler added that when he spoke to Sharon she said it was not opened because she knew what was inside. Gary said he told Sharon their insurance rates probably would not go up as a result of them referring the matter to their insurance company. Sharon said she would go ahead and submit this to her insurance company. David Thurston will try and contact her lawyer to see if he knows anything more about this situation. If the insurance contacts Mark Chamberlain first he is to refer what he’s received to David’s office. Jane Reohr brought up the subject of risk management to the town offices and town employees. She had contacted Herrtronic of Auburn and was given a price of $674.00 a year with no installation / labor costs. Leslie Baxter noted the board had previously considered this idea and suggested the installation of “panic buttons” as a way to protect town employees while they are working at the town offices. It was brought up that maybe this money would be better spent on other security measures. The town board will give this further thought. ---PAGE BREAK--- Highway Superintendent: Mark Chamberlain reported that his crews have been busy working on the town’s roads and that most of the work is now complete with a little ditching and some small jobs left to do. Mark also said his crews have also been busy working with other towns on joint projects. The county has agreed to a 5% increase to the town for snow plowing for the upcoming winter season. E&V Energy has put a price cap on propane in effect which should help to keep the town’s propane costs down. Mark told the board that the fan and ventilation parts for the transfer station office have been procured. Town Clerk: Tom Olenych asked the board if they were interested in obtaining credit card machines for the town so residents could now pay for services with their credit cards. The board didn’t feel this was necessary at the time but Greg Rury suggested Tom contact Williamson, the town’s software provider, to see what their thoughts are. It was also suggested that the town court be part of the conversation and how this would work for both offices. Tom told the board the article Howard Nelson drafted regarding the work of the zoning commission will be in the town’s fall newsletter. Code Enforcement Officer: The $100.00 permit fee for solar installations was discussed and it was determined this would stay in place. This determination will be forwarded to Jeanie Gleisner so she can make sure it becomes part of the new town zoning laws. Assessor: Heather Garner submitted a report (available) in which she addressed the issues Janet Reohr brought up in her letter to Heather in August. The board was pleased with her response and thought she had done a much more professional job this month than she has done in the past. In her report she commented on the town’s unwillingness to provide her money for another computer feeling she is an independent contractor and therefore should provide her own tools to do her job. She says she is fine with that but as a result she is submitting an increase of $1,000.00 in the town budget for 2016 for a computer, printer and an increase in revaluation payment. Motion: to provide Heather the 1/6 cost of a new laptop computer that she had requested in August. (Reohr / Nelson) All in favor. Fiscal Report: Motion to approve the fiscal report for August 2015. (Welch / Whitten) All in favor. ---PAGE BREAK--- Vouchers: General: 137 – 156 for a total of $6,677.69 Highway: 79 – 89 for a total of $160,832.34 Motion: to accept. (Whitten / Rury) Other business: None Motion to adjourn: 10:27 PM All in favor. Respectfully submitted, Thomas J. Olenych Town Clerk ---PAGE BREAK---