Board Minutes - Monthly
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Board Minutes - Monthly |
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June
13, 2022 A regular meeting of the
Village Board held on the above date was called to order at 6:00 p.m. at the
Village Hall, 1 West Main Street, Clifton Springs, NY 14432.
Presiding:
Mayor
James Keyes Village
Trustees Present: Earl Lincoln, Jeff
Linsner, Bryan Gray, Brian Rickerson Village Trustees Absent: None Also Attending: Street & Water Supervisor
Jason Lannon, WWTP Chief Operator, Eric Merkley, Village resident Diana Cort. Minutes:
The
minutes of the meeting of May 9, 2022,
were approved upon motion by Trustee Lincoln 2nd by Trustee Gray. All members present voted AYE. Carried. Vouchers:
General, Water and
Sewer Vouchers #1 through #65 were approved for payment by Trustee Lincoln 2nd
by Trustee Rickerson. All members
present voting AYE. Carried.
General Fund = $ 203,470.96 Water Fund = $ 14,854.32 Sewer Fund = $ 47,867.14
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR:
J. Lannon – street and water report Jason Lannon, Street & Water Supervisor appeared
before the Board. Street report:
Supervisor Lannon is temporally
holding off on the online auction to sell the loader, until the Village has a
confirmed date on the arrival of the new loader. Once the loader is online, the Board is
agreeable to Supervisor Lannon accepting a bid, if the bid exceeds $66,500
(trade in value). CHIPS funding is
expected to be $101,000. This is $11,000
more than budgeted for. Concrete gutter work
is scheduled for the mid to end of July.
A section near the top of Pleasant Street will need to be cut back out
of the gutter line. Supervisor Lannon
said the crew could do a temporary fix until Hynes Concrete does the concrete
gutter. The Board was agreeable to the
short- term fix. Once the gutter work is
completed, the storm water from the street should go down Pleasant Street and
turn on to Dewey Avenue, reducing some of the water problems some residents are
currently experiencing. Mayor Keyes will
talk with the owner of 31 Pleasant Street regarding the temporary fix. Some sidewalks will be replaced on the south
side of Teft Avenue. One of the trucks
needed the springs replaced. Pay increase S. Groover Laborer S. Groover is doing well and has been with
the Village for six months. Supervisor
Lannon recommends a $1.00 per hour pay increase. Motion was made by Trustee Lincoln 2nd
by Trustee Gray to increase S. Groover to $20.00 per hour, effective June 13,
2022. All members present voting
AYE. Carried. Water report:
All water valves are being exercised.
This is part of the annual maintenance of the water system. So far one valve will need replacement. All hydrants have been flushed. The two above ground water tanks will be
cleaned this fall. The Crate Street water
valve reconfiguration project hopefully will begin in July. E. Merkley, sewer report Eric Merkley, Chief Operator, appeared before the
Board. Approximately 150 third graders toured the
wastewater plant. The sewer connection
for a new home at 14 Dewey Avenue has been completed. The Department of Environmental Conservation
has the compost permit for review. The
plant had a violation and EPA was notified in April 2022. An automatic response to this violation was
received. The violation was immediately
rectified. No further action is
needed. Meeting of June 13, 2022 continued: No one applied for summer help at the wastewater
plant. The summer help working with the
street department can help at the wastewater plant approximately 10 hours per
week. The Village of Phelps sewer plant has asked if the
Clifton Springs plant would take a load of sludge once a week and add it to our
process. Phelps currently uses a
trickling system. Chief Operator Merkley
will run some numbers and see if this is feasible, along with discussing this
with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. The Board does not want to commit to this
until more information is known and also until the Village completes the
disinfection and possible upgrades in the next one to two years. Discussion was held on the possibility of seeing if
the Leach Road Land Company might be interested in selling approximately .5
acre of land that adjoins the Village property by the sewer plant. This property would be helpful with the
upgrades to the sewer plant. Clerk Reals
was authorized to send a letter to the Leach Road Land Company to see if a
meeting can be arranged to discuss this possibility. A brief discussion was held on sewer rates. The Board agreed to look closer at the rates,
once the sewer project has been bid and more firm numbers are known. The Board discussed the headworks project and agreed
to have Hunt Engineering bid both disinfection and headworks. The Board agreed that with the grant funding
that has been awarded and the hardship that allows the loan to be at no
interest, that now is the time to consider the headworks. The final decision on the proceeding with
head works will be determined once the bid numbers have been received. Chief Operator Merkley hopes to obtain
generator bid specs for the plant soon, as currently generators are six to
eight months out for delivery. Work at the lift station, behind Ashton Place, is
nearing completion. Still waiting on a
door to arrive and some electrical items will need to be moved. Pay increase Z. Watts Chief Operator Merkley recommends a $1.00 per hour
pay increase for Z. Watts. Motion was
made by Trustee Rickerson 2nd by Trustee Linsner to increase Z.
Watts by $1.00 per hour, effective June 13, 2022, this will make his hourly
rate $19.00 per hour. All members
present voting AYE. D. Cort – storm water concern D. Cort, 3 Dewey Avenue, appeared before the
Board. She was present to discuss
concerns with storm water on Pleasant Street, to Dewey Avenue. As this was addressed during Supervisor Lannon report no
additional discussion was held. CORRESPONDENCES:
Proposed short term
rental law Comments
from Ontario County Planning Board, regarding the short-term rental law and
email from Attorney Graff responding to the comments. The
County recommends this law be its own separate chapter in the code, not part of
the zoning code, the Village Attorney agrees.
Trustee Linsner questioned if the Board really felt they needed to
proceed with this. The Board members
agreed that the Village should make the short-term rental law its own chapter
and proceed with sending this on to the Village Planning Board for review. Trustee Gray stated that this follows the
code and is consistent with eliminating single family home conversions. Motion was made by Trustee Gray 2nd
by Trustee Rickerson to have Attorney Graff draft this local law as its own
chapter in the code and then have Clerk Reals send this on to the Village
Planning Board for review. All members
present voting AYE. Attorney Graff had indicated
this did not need to go back to the County, if the Village Board was following
the County Board recommendations. Meeting
of June 13, 2022 continued: Proposed short-term
rental law Copy
of the short-term rental law. This was included because of the comments above,
to help with easy reference. Reviewed
in the discussion with the County Planning Board comments. Financial Advisor –
sewer rates Email
from Bernard Donegan (Financial Advisor)
regarding sewer rates. Bernard
Donegan’s office has reviewed the last 3 years of financial reports submitted
annually to the State Comptroller and this email is their response regarding the
sewer rates. The review shows the sewer
fund should be able to carry the debt on the proposed sewer project, if the
numbers actually come in as estimated. Financial Advisor –
projected debt schedule Projected
debt schedule (estimate only) if the Village did the entire sewer project, both
disinfection and headworks improvements.
This
schedule includes no interest on the debt , as the Village has qualified for a hardship
and no interest would be charged. This
is all estimated and can not be finalized until the project is bid and actual
numbers are received. Local Law 1-2022 filed
with the State Letter
that shows local law 1-2022 has been filed with the State. Reviewed. This law pertains to Code and Zoning
Enforcement. C. Forbes, request for
seven dogs Letter
from Cheryl Forbes, 9 Teft Avenue, asking to continue to have seven dogs. Motion
was made by Trustee Lincoln 2nd by Trustee Rickerson to allow the
seven dogs with the following conditions: 1)
The
permit is for seven dogs. As the code
allows residents to have two dogs, it is required that as a dog passes or
permanently leaves the residence that Mrs. Forbes does not replace that dog,
until she gets down to two dogs. 2)
The
dogs are to be confined to the side of the house with an invisible fence. Should the invisible fence not confine the
dogs, she will be asked to install a solid fence in the yard to keep the dogs
on your property. 3)
Initially,
this was brought to the Village’s attention by people complaining about the
barking of the dogs. Mrs. Forbes needs
to continue to be considerate of the barking.
4)
The
permit is good for one year from June 2022 until June 2023.
As a reminder the Village code reads as follows: Section 49.1A, of the
Village Code “Such special permit may be granted for a period of one year unless
it shall appear from complaints of neighbors or otherwise that the keeping of
the animal in question is objectionable or offensive by reason of noise, smell
or other cause. Such a special permit
shall be revocable at any time by the Board of Trustees.” 5)
After
a one-year period, should the permit still be in effect, Mrs. Forbes is responsible to appear or write to the Board
for the permit to continue. All
members present voting AYE. Carried. Meeting
of June 13, 2022 continued: Training certificate
for S. Janas. Copy
of the certificate of training for S. Janas, Planning Board Chairman. The
Board appreciates Mr. Janas obtaining training. Possible mural on the
YMCA Palace building Carry
over from the last meeting – email between Mayor Keyes and NYCOM pertaining to
the mural. This was carried over as only
three members were present at the last Board meeting. Before
discussion was held Trustee Linsner stepped away from the meeting as he has
declared a conflict with the mural as he knows the artist. Discussion was held. Mayor Keyes stated he is in favor of transferring
$5,000 from the ARPA (Covid funds) to the YMCA for the mural. Mayor Keyes stated that a mural trail is
being started and this could be part of the trail and bring people to Clifton
Springs. Trustee
Lincoln questioned who would maintain the mural? Trustee Lincoln stated that G.W. Lisk Company
Inc. owns the parking lot and is not giving up two parking spaces for the
mural. Trustee
Gray questioned, even if this is being considered, why should the Village
transfer the entire $5,000? Mayor
Keyes stated that he believes this is great for public relations. Trustee
Gray is concerned that if we transfer $5,000 to the YMCA (not for profit) that
other non for profits will be asking for funds as well. Motion
was made by Trustee Gray to not move forward and to not transfer $5,000 of ARPA
funds to the YMCA for the mural project.
Trustee Lincoln 2nd the motion. Trustee
Rickerson voted NAY and Mayor Keyes voted NAY.
They both would like to move forward with transferring funds to the
YMCA. Trustee
Linsner has declared a conflict and abstained from voting on this item. As
there was no majority vote, with two Board members voting against transferring
funds to the YMCA and two Board members wanting to transfer funds to the YMCA
and one Board member abstaining, this vote did not carry. Sewer Plant – Leach
Road Land Co. vacant land Possible
letter to send to Leach Road Land Company, for a potential purchase of
approximately a half of acre of land – needed for the sewer project. Reviewed. This was discussed under privilege of the
floor and the Board agreed to send this letter on to Leach Road Land
Company. Financial support to
Clifton Springs Library Proposed
financial agreement with the Clifton Springs Library. Motion
was made by Trustee Gray 2nd by Trustee Linsner:
WHEREAS, the Library desires to enter into a contract with
the Village to furnish such Library privileges to the people of the Village, Meeting of June 13, 2022 continued: NOW THERFORE BE IT AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
All members present voting AYE. Carried. Financial Support to
the Clifton Springs YMCA Proposed
financial agreement with the Clifton Springs YMCA. Motion
was made by Trustee Gray 2nd by Trustee Linsner: WHEREAS, the
Village desires to enter into a contract with the YMCA Youth Program whereby
the YMCA Youth Program will provide organized recreational programs to the
youth of the Village, and WHEREAS, the
YMCA Youth Program desires to enter into a contract with the Village to provide
organized recreational programs to the youth of the Village. NOW
THERFORE BE IT AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
All members present
voting AYE. Important to note that the
Town of Manchester has changed the wording for the funds the Village receives
from the township and the funds are now designated as “park” funds. The Board agreed for this year to use the
money toward youth recreation as this is how the budget was drafted, but the
funds from the town are no longer required to be used specifically toward youth
recreation. STREET
DEPARTMENT: This report
was covered under privilege of the floor. WATER
DEPARTMENT: This report was covered under
privilege of the floor. SEWER DEPARTMENT: This report was covered under privilege of
the floor. ZONING &
PLANNING DEPARTMENTS: Trustee
Gray reported the following: Need to replace
Dan McGrath on Planning Board There is an open seat on the planning board, which was vacated by Dan
McGrath. Short term rentals Reviewed under correspondences. FIRE DEPARTMENT: Trustee Linsner had
nothing to report. PARK
– YOUTH DEPARTMENT: Meeting of June 13, 2022 continued: Parks Mayor
Keyes will be sending a letter to several people regarding discussion on the
parks – John Brown Memorial Park, John Fabrizi Memorial Park, G.W. Lisk
Community Park, Rotary Park. Mayor Keyes
wants to discuss what the Village owns and what the Village leases. Discussion will also be held on the role of the
Park Advisory Committee and a possible dog park. Parks – ARPA funds Discussion
was held on using some ARPA funds for park upgrades. Clerk Reals was authorized to work with Todd
Freelove, YMCA Director and Earl Lincoln, Trustee liaison to the park to meet
and bring back possible ideas to the Village Board. The Village Board will make any final
decision on possible park upgrades. Discussion
was held that a Village resident is interested in doing a “Go Fund Me” for the
dog park. Clerk Reals will look further
into this, as she is unsure this can be done for a municipally owned park. SOCIAL MEDIA: Nothing was reported.
POLICE DEPARTMENT: Nothing was reported. MAYOR KEYES REPORT: Mayor Keyes report was also covered
throughout the meeting. Community Garden Mayor Keyes and others would like to have a community garden. More discussion will be held on this. No location has
been determined. Sulphur Springs
Festival – Y Fair The
YMCA will be holding an informational meeting to discuss a Sulphur Springs
Parade and a Y Fair, the first weekend in June 2023. Mayor Keyes plans to attend the meeting. CLERK REALS REPORT: Clerk Reals
provided the Board members a copy of the abstracts thru May and year to date revenue and expenses thru May
and bank statement for May. OTHER
BUSINESS: Premium Pay-ARPA funds Mayor
Keyes and Trustee Gray are looking into premium pay for employees. The county, several towns and villages have
provided premium pay to employees who worked thru the Covid 19 pandemic. This pay comes from ARPA (Covid19 funds) that
have been provided to the Village from the Federal government. No decision was made. Cemetery wall(s) Discussion
was held on the Pearl Street cemetery wall(s) that need repair. The Village has money that was left in trust
to the cemetery, which can only be spent at the cemetery. The Board would like to obtain some pricing
to repair the front wall that faces Pearl Street. Chief Operator Merkley may know of an
independent contractor who might be able to give an estimate. Trustee Lincoln has reached out to numerous contractors,
but none have provided estimates. Museum Day Museum
Day will be held at the Foster Cottage on June 18, 2022. Meeting of June 13, 2022 continued: Adjournment There
being no further business to come before the Board, motion made by Trustee Lincoln
2nd by Trustee Rickerson to adjourn. All
members present voting AYE. Meeting
adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted,
Lori
A. Reals Clerk/Treasurer |
