A Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Otsego was held on the 12th day of July, 2006 at the Town Building, Fly Creek, NY at 7:00 PM.
Those present were:
Thomas Breiten Chairman
Orlo Burch Councilman
Ann Geddes-Atwell Councilman
John Schallert Councilman
Meg Kiernan Councilman
Others Present:
Pamela Deane Town Clerk
Bryan Pernat Highway Superintendent
Martin Tillapaugh Town Attorney
Chairman Breiten called the regular meeting to order and asked that everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Councilman Geddes-Atwell asked that the minutes of the June 14th meeting be changed to read that the study Jim Ainslie submitted was a study of the Syracuse area, not this area.
MOTION by Councilman Burch, seconded by Councilman Kiernan, to accept the minutes of June 14th as amended and June 29th as presented.
Chairman Breiten publicly thanked the Town Highway crew and the Fly Creek Fire Department for their hard work during the flood disaster on June 27th. He also thanked the Village of Cooperstown and Town of Exeter for their help in lending the Town Highway Department road cones.
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
Chairman Breiten reviewed correspondence received since last meeting:
Chairman Breiten opened the floor for comments.
Dale Davidson, a resident of Fly Creek, mentioned that she has asked the highway department for the last two years to clean out the ditch in front of her house. As a result of the ditch not being cleaned, she experienced two feet of water in her basement, ruining everything including her hot water heater, washer and dryer, and furnace during the flood disaster on June 27th. She respectfully asked that the ditch be widened and cleaned out so this does not happen again.
Sheila Ross of Fly Creek reported attending a County meeting where they identified a lot of the problems during the flood being a direct result of Town’s not ditching and culvert pipes being too small. They recommended that all culvert pipes be replaced with at least a 48” pipe.
Highway Superintendent Bryan Pernat wrote down Ms. Davidson’s address and promised to send the highway crew to address the ditching problem in front of her house.
Chairman Breiten submitted a financial report. Balances are as follow in the various accounts:
General Savings: $ 17,520.47 General Checking: $ 9,208.11
Highway Savings: $ 30,503.69 Highway Checking: $ 30,666.72
MBIA Gen: $ 386,546.62 MBIA Hwy: $151,934.17
6-month Certificate of Deposit: $900,000.00
MOTION by Councilman Kiernan, seconded by Councilman Geddes-Atwell, to accept the financial report as given.
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
MOTION by Councilman Kiernan, seconded by Councilman Geddes-Atwell, to pay the following invoices and make the necessary transfers.
GENERAL: #138-#152 $ 18,675.43
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
Bryan Pernat gave Superintendent of Highway report. Fuel expenses are as follow:
FUEL GALLONS TOTAL COST/MONTH YTD GALS YTD EXP.
Gas 131 $ 301.23 824.7 $ 1,614.55
Diesel 1,413.5 $ 3,293.08 7,735.8 $ 16,531.00
Heating -0- $ -0- 5,017.6 $ 9,140.13
Svc. $ -0- $ 512.36
Pernat reported that most of the roads are passable now with the exception of Stone House Road, which needs a bridge replacement.
Chairman Breiten announced that he is awaiting a report from engineer Wayne Bunn, who spent two days conducting a preliminary evaluation on the Town’s bridges and culverts. Mr. Bunn recommended that the town hire Ryan and Biggs Engineering to evaluate the Stone House Road Bridge, make a recommendation, and generate a general bid for construction. He estimated the study to cost between $6,000-$8,000. After a short discussion it was decided that Chairman Breiten will E-mail the Board members the cost estimated as soon as it arrives. If there are no objections, he will hire them to conduct the Stone House Bridge evaluation.
Pernat stated that he had been approached to place “No Parking” signs at the north end of Cemetery Road. The Board agreed that “No Parking” signs in that area might be a good idea. Town Attorney Martin Tillapaugh explained that, without the Board adopting a Local Law, the signs are not enforceable, and offered to draft a Local Law for the Board to review at their August meeting.
Pernat requested to buy a new pickup and plow off of State bid, at a total cost estimated to be $28,100. This would replace the 1996 pickup with 106,000 miles. Councilman Schallert felt that it would be in the Town’s best interest if we purchased a 1-ton truck with a dump box and plow instead of a pick-up truck. He pointed out that the Town already has two pick-up trucks and a 1-ton dump truck is more versatile. After a short discussion, Pernat was directed to get prices on a 1-ton dump truck and plow.
Zoning Enforcement Officer’s report was given by Mike Miller. He reported permits issued since last meeting as being:
Zoning and Planning Permits: 8 Stop Work Order: 2
Miller reported receiving 1 noise complaint form against the Glimmerglass Lodge.
Jonathan Bass, resident of Fly Creek and Planning Board Chairman, stated that he filed the noise complaint which also impacted 7 other residents. He pointed out that the Land Use Law doesn’t address people disturbing the peace. He called the Sheriff’s department but was told there wasn’t anything they could do. He feels recourse should be available through the Town’s Land Use Law should this ever happen again. The Board agreed to review any recommendation the Planning Board was willing to draft.
Bass reported that the Town of Stark is reviewing an application for seventy-five windmills. This project will need SEQR review. Under the Environmental Review Process, the Town has an opportunity to request to be an interested party. The windmills may or may not impact the Town of Otsego. The Board agreed that they were interested in knowing more about the project. Chairman Breiten will write a letter stating that the Town of Otsego wishes to be an interested party.
Watershed Committee report was given by Councilman Kiernan. Inspections for 2006 have begun, but are getting off to a very slow start. Three of the six demonstration sites have been selected, and one has been installed in the Town of Otsego (Silvernail/Pondolfino). The heavy flooding which occurred June 27th caused major problems with the lake. Sediment loading from the watershed’s streams and along the shoreline was huge. With the lake cresting at 4 feet above normal, septic systems close to the shoreline were flooded. Unofficial testing for fecal coliform by SUNY BFS showed increased counts. Testing will be repeated to check for changes.
Councilman Geddes-Atwell reported that the Comprehensive Planning Committee met on June 26th with consultant Nan Stolzenberg. Stolzenberg showed what the Town would look like maxed out with everything allowed by the current Land Use Law. It would mean an estimated population of 17,000 people with an additional 2,000-3,000 more school children. The rest of the evening was spent focusing on subdivisions and what types of development the Town would like to encourage.
Chairman Breiten reported that the Village of Cooperstown has found a consultant they would like to hire for the Linden Avenue project and are in the process of negotiating a price.
Chairman Breiten stated that he would like to schedule a Hazard Mitigation Committee meeting with the Fly Creek Fire Commissioners and the County Planning Department to discuss drafting a simple plan that could be easily and quickly implemented in the case of another emergency. It was decided to schedule a meeting for July 26th at 7:00 PM.
Councilman Kiernan reported meeting with Art Andrews, who has land on County Highway 26 with a pond that he would like to rent to the Town for $1.00 a year for 50 years. The Town would be responsible for maintaining the site. Access would be from County Highway 26, not Day Road. After a short discussion, it was decided that the Board members would visit and assess the site individually before the August meeting.
Councilman Burch stated that the highway garage on Cemetery Road has been power-washed, it is scheduled to be painted within the week, and dirt for the burm to go along Cemetery Road continues to be delivered.
Town Attorney Martin Tillapaugh reminded the Board that the Town is in litigation with Key Bank over their assessment. Key Bank has just been sold the property for $650,000. One of the terms of sale is the right to lease back the property over the next 30 years. Previously the Board voted to split the cost of hiring Bookhout with the Village of Cooperstown but not to exceed $1,500, to look at the lease backs with Key Bank and see if the terms of the lease back would depress the sale price. Bookhout quoted a fee of $5,000 to review the lease backs. The Village is still willing to pay half.
MOTION by Councilman Burch, seconded by Councilman Kiernan, to make and additional appropriation of $1,000 for Bookhout to review Key Bank’s lease backs.
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
Chairman Breiten stated that FEMA has now agreed to pay 100% of all flooding damages verses 75%. In the meantime he submitted a plan for supplemental appropriations to pay for highway repairs.
MOTION by Chairman Breiten, seconded by Councilman Kiernan, to appropriate $45,000 in the “A” account and $620,000 in the “DB” account.
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
Chairman Breiten revealed that many of the Town’s street signs are missing. Zoning Enforcement Officer Mike Miller volunteered to make a list of the missing signs.
Dale Davidson asked that the Board request from NYS D.O.T. that Goose Street speed limit be reduced to 35 MPH.
MOTION by Councilman Kiernan, seconded by Councilman Burch, to honor Davidson’s request.
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
MOTION by Councilman Kiernan, seconded by Councilman Burch, to go into Executive Session to discuss the Highway Employee CSEA contract.
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
Once out of Executive Session, Chairman Breiten stated no decisions were made.
MOTION by Councilman Burch to adjourn.
MOTION CARRIED: Chairman Breiten and all Councilmen voted aye.
The next regular meeting will be August 9th at 7:00 PM at the Town Building in Fly Creek.
Meeting ended at 9:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pamela Deane
Town Clerk