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Thursday February 9, 2017 The regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Locke, Cayuga County and State of New York was held in said town at the Locke Town Hall, Main Street, Locke, NY on February 11, 2016 at 6:30 P.M. There were present: Craig Todd, Supervisor Sally Compton, Mary Alice Stetz, and Thane Benson, Members of Council Others present: Norman Chirco, Attorney Peter Compton, Highway Superintendent Melanie Funk, Town Clerk Approximately 3 Citizens Absent: Patricia Dillon, Council Member Jerry VeVone, CEO The meeting was called to order by Supervisor Todd at 6:40 P.M. Pledge of Allegiance The minutes of the January 12, 2017 meeting – a resolution was made by Councilwoman Compton to approve the minutes as written, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. A resolution was made by Supervisor Todd to go into executive session at 6:41P.M. for the purpose of auditing the 2016 town books, seconded by Councilwoman Compton and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. A motion was made by Councilwoman Compton to come out of executive session at 7:05 P.M., seconded by Councilman Benson and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4 A motion was made by Councilwoman Compton to approve the audit of the Town Clerk/Tax Collector books for the year 2016, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4 A resolution was made by Councilwoman Compton to approve the audit of the Supervisor books for the year 2016, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4 A resolution was made by Councilwoman Compton to approve the audit of the Justice books for the year 2016, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4 A resolution was made by Councilwoman Compton to approve the audit of the Water Collector books for the year 2016, seconded by Councilwoman Compton and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4 Reports: ---PAGE BREAK--- Supervisor—Mr. Todd reported that he would like to move town money from a general savings account into a Certificate of Deposit. A motion was made by Councilwoman Compton to authorize Supervisor Todd to move the town funds, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Councilwoman Compton made a motion to authorize Supervisor Todd to move town money from a highway department savings account to a C.D., seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Mr. Todd read a letter from the Town Historian, Esther Thornton outlining the past year’s events she has been involved with in belonging to the Cayuga Historical Society. Next, Mr. Todd read the report from C.E.O. Jerry VeVone. An update was requested on the progress with the property owner that was sent a letter about cleaning up his property. Attorney Chirco reported that he is still waiting to hear from Mr. VeVone so he can be prepared with the next step in contacting this property owner. Mr. Todd will speak to Mr. VeVone about this. There is a used computer and printer that has been obtained from Locke resident Greg LaBar now ready for use in the town hall for the C.E.O. and members of the Planning and Variance Boards. Mr. LaBar also volunteered to assist with the town website, if needed. Mr. Todd also read a letter from the Association of Towns of New York State explaining the need for a county-wide tax saving shared services plan because there currently aren’t enough shared services. This statement was handed down by the New York State Governor’s office and if a county-wide plan is not developed, the state can no longer guarantee any A.I.M (Aid Investment for Municipalities) funding. CEO—Jerry VeVone was absent from the meeting. Highway Department—Peter Compton reported that he has prepared the Section 284 spending agreement. Included in the agreement is 24.93 miles of general repairs for a sum of $100,000.00. As a major repair, Mr. Compton seeks the Town Board’s approval to cold pug mill mix a 1.4 mile section of Erron Hill Road from Tollgate Road heading west for a cost of $109,906.00. A motion was made by Councilman Benson to approve these repairs, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Also, options for auctioning the 2014 Chevrolet pickup that has been replaced were discussed. Mr. Compton will look into it and gather more information to report at the next meeting. Water Department—Mr. Compton reported that the repair on the water tower will not be happening until spring. Also, he has been looking into a quote from a different company that could possibly do the repairs for a lower cost. Councilwomen Compton and Stetz spoke at this time on the research they have done concerning billing for the water department. A spreadsheet was compiled using certain assumptions and then projections with varied yearly increases. It was decided that more information is needed from Natalie Hingston about the particulars of the water loan before any decisions can be made about changing ---PAGE BREAK--- water rates. Supervisor Todd made a motion to table changing water rates pending finding out about the loan, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Town Clerk—Melanie Funk is very busy with tax collection and had nothing to report otherwise. Town Attorney— Attorney Chirco reviewed the Town of Locke Local Laws pertaining to setback and lot area, as requested by Supervisor Todd at the January meeting. Mr. Chirco feels that all three laws have discrepancies and issues with them. His suggestion would be to consolidate them into one clear, concise law. A motion was made by Councilman Benson to have Attorney Chirco continue to review them and codify these laws for the town board’s review, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Also, Mr. Chirco further reviewed the franchise agreement presented by Zito Media and found some things to be disapproving to him. He feels the ten year term is too long, the three percent fee seems low, and he is not satisfied with the advertised customer service hours of operation. Basically there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the agreement and he suggested having a Zito representative come to the March meeting. Supervisor Todd will call Zito to make this request. Lastly, Mr. Chirco complimented Mr. Compton for resolving the matter with the Locke Volunteer Fire Department and their request for snow removal. Old Business—Councilwoman Stetz received a phone call from Brian Lamb from the IT Department at Cayuga County regarding the help we requested with the town website. She was told it will take about 15 hours of work to get the website how the town board wants it. Councilwomen Compton and Stetz spent more time making corrections to the website so the information is most accurate. There should be two administrators trained and Councilwoman Stetz and Town Clerk Funk were suggested to do that job. Councilman Benson made a motion to have Councilwoman Stetz and Ms. Funk go to the county office building to receive training on the town website, seconded by Councilwoman Compton and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Councilwoman Stetz inquired about the status of the dog enumeration that began last spring. Mr. Todd informed her that he has been in contact with Country Acres Pet Services and as a follow-up to letters sent to town residents with unlicensed dogs, representatives from Country Acres will soon begin making house visits. Also, Mr. Todd is hoping to set up a rabies clinic for some time in May. New Business— Supervisor Todd made a motion to move the March 9, 2017 meeting to March 16, 2017, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Audit of Claims— A motion was made by Councilwoman Stetz to audit the claims, seconded by Councilwoman Compton and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. General Fund Voucher #27-45 $10129.09 Highway Fund Voucher #9-18 $5567.53 ---PAGE BREAK--- Water District Voucher #5-12 $2596.35 Light District Voucher #2 $661.84 Public to be Heard—None at this time A motion was made by Councilman Benson to adjourn, seconded by Councilwoman Stetz and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:08 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, Melanie Funk Town Clerk/Tax Collector