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Thursday March 16, 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 March 16, 2017 at 7:00 P.M. There were present: Craig Todd, Supervisor Sally Compton, Mary Alice Stetz, and Thane Benson, Members of Council Absent: Patricia Dillon, Council Member Jerry VeVone, CEO Others present: Melanie Funk, Town Clerk Peter Compton, Highway Superintendent Norman Chirco, Attorney Approximately 7 Citizens The meeting was called to order by Supervisor Todd at 7:01 P.M. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag The minutes of the February 9, 2017 meeting – a motion was made by Councilman Benson and seconded by Councilwoman Stetz to accept the minutes as read and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Reports: Supervisor—Craid Todd reviewed the Supervisor’s report and it is on file with the town clerk. Mr. Todd also checked with the First National Bank of Groton about their C.D. rates. After a brief discussion about the rates, Councilman Benson suggested waiting some time to act on that C.D. to see what results may come from the actions of the Federal Reserve. Mr. Todd received an invitation to the Association of Supervisors’ luncheon on March 23, 2017 at the Hollywood Restaurant. He and Highway Superintendent Pete Compton will be attending this event. Also, there is a meeting of the Town Finance School coming up in May that Councilman Benson inquired about. At this time, two representatives present from Zito Media, Inc. were addressed by Town Attorney Norm Chirco in regards to their proposed franchise agreement with the Town of Locke. Mr. Chirco expressed his concerns with the agreement and Colin Higgin responded. The first concern is the length of the agreement which Mr. Chirco feels that ten years is a long term and he would be more comfortable with five years. Next, the franchise fee was addressed and Mr. Chirco suggested a five percent fee instead of the three percent proposed by Zito. The portion of the agreement that involves repairs and restoration being completed within five days seems too long to Mr. Chirco and he suggested shortening it to 48 hours. Also, the office hours of the location in Moravia are from 9:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M. from Monday through Friday which Mr. Chirco believes may be inconvenient for subscribers who work at that same time. Lastly, in what’s called the ‘Violation Clause’, it states that Zito has 30 days to cure any violation and again Mr. Chirco ---PAGE BREAK--- feels that time frame should be amended to ten days. In response to these concerns, Mr. Higgin will agree to the five year agreement term as long as the franchise fee collected by the town is three percent. He also clarified that the ‘Restoration Clause’ pertains to damage that may be done to subscriber’s personal property as a result of repair, not to their internet or cable service from Zito. Mr. Chirco asked for separate clarification in the agreement between service and property repair and/or restoration. Mr. Higgin stated that the main purpose of the local office is for customer’s to make payments and swap out boxes if necessary. Zito provides a 24-hour call center that also accepts payments and makes appointments for service and to swap boxes. Supervisor Todd suggested to Mr. Higgin that they have evening hours once a week and it will be taken under advisement. Lastly, the changes that will be made to the ‘Violation Clause’ will be that material violations will be fixed in ten days and minor violations in 30 days. Mr. Chirco was agreeable to these responses and asked Mr. Higgin to provide the town board with a revised agreement. Councilwoman Stetz inquired as to whether Zito has any plans to expand in the area. The response was that they would need to examine the area and look at certain locations on a case by case basis. Ideally, they hope for a certain minimum number of customers to per mile. Ms. Stetz also asked how many current subscribers there are. Mr. Higgin told her there are approximately 900 internet and 800 cable customers. Supervisor Todd asked the Zito representatives what the franchise fee is based on and if it’s easier to extend internet or cable service? They informed him that the fee is based on cable only and that it’s equally as easy to extend cable as it is to extend internet. A discussion took place about Zito conducting an interest survey, due to the fact that they feel comfortable with having approximately 30 subscribers per mile. If there isn’t an adequate amount of interest, then Zito would collect a monetary contribution from potential customers based on a financial analysis that would take any risk factors into consideration. C.E.O.—Supervisor Todd read the report that was supplied by Jerry VeVone prior to the meeting. Mr. Todd also expressed concern about Mr. VeVone not getting the needed paperwork to Attorney Chirco so he can move forward with taking non-complying Locke residents to court. He asked the board members if they have any suggestions of how to handle the non-urgency on Mr. VeVone’s part. Attorney Chirco suggested sending Mr. VeVone a letter stating that he needs to provide the paperwork by the April 13, 2017 board meeting or to be in attendance to give an explanation of why he has not done this. Councilwoman Stetz made a motion to have Attorney Chirco draft a letter and send it, seconded by Councilman Benson and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. Highway Department—Peter Compton reported that the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado sold at an online auction for $21,000.00 and gave information about what the expense was to operate this truck for three years. Water Department—Peter Compton reported that meters will be read on March 28, 2017. The repair of the water tower will be done in the middle or end of April as long as nighttime temperatures stay about 35 degrees. ---PAGE BREAK--- Town Clerk—Melanie Funk reported that revenue for January was $111.00 February was $70.00. Supervisor Todd mentioned that Country Acres Pet Services has begun doing field visits and will be issuing appearance tickets, if necessary. Town Attorney—Norman Chirco presented the town board with the proposed law for setback and lot area that he compiled. He asked for them to review it and report back on it at the April 13, 2017 meeting. Old Business—Councilwomen Compton and Stetz are continuing to review the information regarding the water rates for the town’s water district but they are in need of a few more items from Councilwoman Dillon. Therefore, any further discussion will be tabled until April. Councilwoman Stetz reported that she and Town Clerk Funk met with Brian Lamb from the county’s IT Department regarding redesigning the town website. Mr. Lamb is going to work on a sample website for the town board to review and make adjustments as they find suitable. Councilwoman Stetz will be attending the Owasco Lake Watershed Committee next week. On May 1, 2017, Councilwoman Compton will attend the Moravia Youth Recreation Committee meeting. New Business—Highway Superintendent Compton inquired as to why the payment for the sold pickup truck does not go back into the highway equipment account. Supervisor Todd will ask the town bookkeeper, Natalie Hingston the appropriate answer to this question. Councilman Benson requested the town’s permission to hold the usual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony at the monument site. Supervisor Todd made a motion to approve this celebration, seconded by Councilwoman Compton and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 3, Abstentions 1 Audit of Claims—A motion was made by Councilwoman Stetz to audit the claims, seconded by Councilman Benson and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. So resolved Ayes 4. General Fund Voucher #46-65 $5616.83 Highway Fund Voucher #19-31 $10336.79 Water District Voucher #13-19 $2983.63 Street Lighting Voucher #3 $595.00 Public to be Heard—Resident Courtney Mantey spoke briefly on the grant money that was awarded to a few local towns and villages, Locke being one, as part of the statewide broadband initiative. New Visions Communications is the company that will eventually be doing the installation process. Resident Dean Donald spoke on the proposed right-of-way that he has requested on behalf of the Locke Community Church. He informed the town board that he was told by the Department of Environmental Conservation that there are no restrictions with allowing a right-of-way to this property with the only exception being that the inlet is not to be disturbed. Attorney Chirco suggested at this point, that the church provide the town board with a written description of their intended plans if they are granted access to the property behind the town hall. ---PAGE BREAK--- Mr. Donald responded that the church doesn’t have any solid plans other than to install a culvert to be able to handle foot and vehicle traffic. Again, Attorney Chirco recommended that Mr. Donald and the church provide the town board with as much detail as possible about their intentions so they can make an informed decision concerning the requested right-of-way. Next, Mr. Donald offered for the church to pay for the dumpster service that they have been using and has been paid for by the town. Mr. Compton will contact We Care Waste and Recycling to get the bill changed over to the church. Lastly, Mr. Donald wanted to reiterate on behalf of the church, their interest in joining with the town to organize events to promote community involvement. Supervisor Todd will work with Mr. Donald on this matter. A motion was made by Councilwoman Stetz to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Benson and upon roll call vote was unanimously carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:31 P.M. So resolved Ayes-4. Respectfully Submitted, Melanie Funk Town Clerk/Tax Collector