Town of Ulysses. Regular Town Board Meeting. May 10, 2011 ** Audio available at

Transcription

1 Town of Ulysses May 10, 2011 ** Audio available at Present: Supervisor Roxanne Marino; Councilpersons Elizabeth Thomas, Lucia Tyler, David Kerness and Kevin Romer; Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Attorney Marlette Geldenhuys. Others Present: Village Trustees Debra Watkins and Robert Cassetti; Planning Board Chair Ken Zeserson; Jacksonville Association President Diane Hillman; John Coggin, Anne Koreman, Carolyn Kreisel, Richard and Millie Carmean, Vernon and Diana Collins, Lysle Gordon, Don Smith, Anne Furman, Kathy Beauregard, Jane Penrose, Eric Slocum, and John G. Wertis. Supervisor Marino called to meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS moved, seconded by the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves vouchers # s 181 through 229 in the amount of $30, APPROVAL OF MINUTES moved, seconded by the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the minutes as corrected for the Regular Town Board meeting of April 12, 2011and Special Town Board meeting of March 1, abstained REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Tompkins County Representative Jim Dennis absent Trumansburg Fire Department/EMS Chief Fulton left a report. Trumansburg Village Trustee Debra Watkins reported that the Village sent a response to the Town Board s questions on the EMS plan. The Town Board noted that they had not received the response as of the start of the meeting. Ms. Watkins thought they had been ed and will check to make sure the document was sent. Also a packet of information and a disk was provided to the Town Board with information on the EMS. The Village is going to drill and test a different well for a second source of water at the Boy Scout Camp on Frontenac Point. The Farmers May 10, 2011 Page 1

2 Market opens June 1 st. The Village is holding a Public Hearing on their Zoning Ordinance May 23, PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Diane Hillman restated some of the Zoning changes that the hamlet of Jacksonville would like to see put in place. The list was brought to the Town Board by Mr. Coogan at the last Town Board meeting. Don Smith, President of the Lakeshore Home Owners Association, stated that he felt the Town Board is dragging their feet on the adoption of the proposed zoning law and expressed how important it is to move forward. Lysle Gordon stated that while he feels that the Town Board should more forward as quickly as possible, he also feels that it needs to be done right, citing the example of what happened with the cell tower ordinance. Vernon Collins noted that he telephoned the Town s Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) reporting on the property across the road that has been converted from a single-family home to a duplex and where there also appears to be a dog grooming business started. He has not heard back from CEO yet and asked if he should be contacting someone else. The Town Board confirmed that he does need to speak with the CEO. Mr. Collins also reld an issue occurring on his neighbor s property related to a potential inaccurate survey. The Town Board directed him to contact the Tompkins County Assessment Department. Eric Slocum addressed the hydrofracking issue and said everyone needed to pull together to get the update to the zoning ordinance in place. Ken Zeserson said he has much respect for the Town Board but pointed out that the proposed zoning law changes were presented to the Board February 8th and it is now May 10th. Jane Penrose said she had received communication from the Coalition to Protect New York and they feel it is a real sense of urgency to pass legislation on protecting against hydrofracking. John Coggin said that when people signed gas drilling leases they had no idea about the dangers associated with hydrofracking. TOWN REPORTS Planning Board Chairman Zeserson reported that the Planning Board is working on one part of the proposed zoning law change and also they are finishing up the work of the Lakeshore Zone. Mr. Zeserson announced that there will be another gas drilling informational meeting on May 20, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at the Trumansburg Fire Hall. Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported: Clutch work on 98 Mack truck Work on 1-ton truck and pick-up before NYS Inspections Racking sod and grading shoulders Cleaning up after wind damage Pulled all salt boxes off the of trucks Town Clerk Marsha Georgia reported: Monthly fees collected for April. Inquiries about voting District #2 (Jacksonville area) and why the change and how to get it back to Jacksonville. The house-to-house dog enumeration is completed. Now letters will be written to nonresponders. Winter Festival 2011 and if the Town Board wants to participate and at what level of monetary participation. Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun absent and no report distributed. Supervisor Marino reported: May 10, 2011 Page 2

3 Distributed financial report Reported mortgage tax up from last year Youth update on financing and Karen Coleman will come speak to the Town Board next month Fax from Cornell about the Diversity Roundtable on June 9th Contract with LaBella for Pavement Management System sent to Dan Walker Local Law #1 filed with New York State EMS packet received from the Village Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde reported she received a draft of the Illicit Discharge Law from Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District. She will review it before passing it on to the Town Board. She will also be getting back to work on the Ag and Farmland protection plan to get that to a final draft for the Town Board. Town Board and Committees attended the Health Care Consortium meeting at which they reviewed the 1 st Quarter report and found no big surprises. They are looking to develop a wellness plan. said that the Lakeshore Zoning Law committee has put together a presentation to be given to the Planning Board on June 22 nd. The Town Board is welcome to attend this. reported: TCCOG Gas Drilling Task Force and Gas Drilling Request to extend DSGEIS comment period to 90 days Passed by TCCOG, TANG By October hope to have a resource binder together. Will be missing some information as there is not enough time to compile every topic to cover but will cover the following. o What municipalities should know about gas drilling operations o What they can do o Model legislation Fate of Darby Kiley s position as funding is running out Public safety recent tornadoes highlight need for emergency planning Community impacts documentation is easier to find. June 15 th there will be a presentation on the landscape impact if all leases result in a drilled well. Need to change the time of the Town Board meeting from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. TCCOG NY Power Authority (NYPA) has money to help municipalities finance costs of becoming more energy efficient o Start with municipal buildings municipalities help educate individuals o Subsidize alternative energy investment o NYPA knows contractors/auditors the want to help o Brian.Vattimo@nypa.gov NYMIR (municipal insurance reciprocal) o Giving money back to municipal members o NYMIR costs for insurance going down o Offer on-line training programs TCCOG the Lead agency for the Tompkins County comprehensive plan update Hazard mitigation County is coordinating o Done every 5 years o Engage all municipalities Census report Tompkins County population over 100,000 Youth - Last meeting cancelled Summer camp signup Grassroots funds for parking on school agreed to but unclear where funds will go. May 10, 2011 Page 3

4 OLD BUSINESS Resolution to Establish Environmental Planner Position said that the job description was approved by Tompkins County Personnel and now the Board has to approve. moved, seconded by the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses adopts the job description for the Environmental Planner E13.doc which modifies the Tompkins County job description adding the Town of Ulysses. The Board discussed the number of work hours, rate of pay and benefits. The Personnel Policy is currently being revised, but in the meantime a resolution is proposed for a 0.75 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) in order for the position to attract a talented applicant pool. moved, seconded by the following: Whereas the Town of Ulysses will be seeking a professional planner in the near future at the 0.75 FTE level, and Whereas, the Town Personnel Committee is in the middle of a major revision of the personnel policy, Be it resolved that the following temporary change be made to the personnel policy, in order for the position to attract a talented applicant pool. Employees who are working 0.75 of a full-time equivalent, or 0.75 FTE, up to but not including 1.00 FTE will be eligible to receive a 0.75 pro-rated health insurance benefit for either single or family coverage from the Town. will work with Deputy Supervisor Poelvoorde to advertise the position. Proposed Zoning Law Amendment A summary of the actions the Town Board has taken to date was distributed. Ms. Geldenhuys reported that she is working with the attorney from the Town of Ithaca and a Town Board member from the Town of Dryden so they can pool their efforts to speed things up. Ms. Geldenhuys reviewed their progress. moved, seconded by the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses authorizes Supervisor Marino to sign the Confidentiality and Joint Protection agreement. May 10, 2011 Page 4

5 Phase 1 Zoning Law Amendment Update said that after some discussions with Mr. Rachun and others, it has become evident that a joint meeting with the Town Board, Planning Board, our Attorney, and other professional planners that have worked on the Comprehensive Plan is needed to give a whole perspective on the relationship of the Comprehensive Plan and the zoning law updates. The meeting has been re-scheduled for June 8, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall. After talking further with the Attorney and the Chair of the Planning Board it has been decided that Ms. Geldenhuys will put together a short training session that will begin the meeting covering procedures and good practices for meetings and other information how the Town Law governs the establishment and operation of the Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals. The Zoning Board members will also be invited. The invitation was also extended to the Village of Trumansburg Planning and Zoning Boards. NEW BUSINESS Resolution Supporting 90 Day Comment Period moved, seconded by the following: Resolution Asking the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to Establish a Minimum 90-Day Comment Period for the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Regulations for Shale Gas Drilling Whereas according to the Executive Order No. 41 (Requiring Further Environmental Review), signed by Governor David A. Paterson on December 13, 2010, the Department of Environmental Conservation was ordered to publish a Revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (sgeis) on or about June 1, 2011 and Whereas that Executive Order also called for the Department to accept public comments on the Revised Draft for at least thirty (30) days, and Whereas we understand the tremendous effort required by the NYS DEC to address the complex technical and regulatory concepts that must be included in the Revised Draft sgeis, and Whereas due to the extent of the complexity of the Revised Draft sgeis, we are concerned with the time and effort it will take for the public and for agencies to review the revised document upon its release, and Whereas the public is entitled to have adequate time to review this important document. Therefore Be it resolved we are requesting that the NYS DEC establish a minimum ninety day public comment period following the promulgation of the Revised Draft sgeis. Be it also resolved this resolution be sent by U.S. mail to Commissioner Joe Martens; Governor Andrew Cuomo; NYS Senators Dean Skelos, Brian Kolb, Thomas O Mara, James Seward, and Michael Nozzolio; Speaker Sheldon Silver; Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton; Chair of Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation Mark Grisanti; Chair of Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation Robert Sweeney; Attorney General Erik Schneiderman; U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand; Representatives Diane DeGette, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Representative Richard Hanna and Representative Maurice Hinchey; EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, May 10, 2011 Page 5

6 EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck; New York State Association of Counties; New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYASCHO); the Tompkins County Board of Health; Tompkins County Legislature; Town Supervisors and Clerks within Tompkins County and NYS Association of Towns. Town Actions Related to Hydrofracking said that the Ithaca Journal reporter had asked for a list of actions the Town Board has taken on gas drilling. prepared this list and shared it with the citizens of Ulysses and the Town Board. Public Comments opened the floor back up to public comments. These comments can be heard on the audio version available at Emergency Preparedness There was a joint meeting held with the Village of Trumansburg on emergency preparedness. also attended two other meetings. The last plans were written in early 90 s. Mr. Romer highlighted what needs to be done and will work on the checklist. A list of contact numbers should be compiled as a first step. Scheduled Meetings The Board has their second Board meeting scheduled for June 15 and in lieu of this meeting there will be a presentation by the Tompkins County Gas Task Force where a number of visualizations will be presented to help people understand what hydrofracking looks like when it comes to a community. May meetings May 18 9:00 a.m. May 24 6:30 p.m. June meetings June 14 7:00 p.m. June 15 7:00 p.m., gas drilling presentation June 28 6:30 p.m. Hearing no further business, moved, seconded by to adjourn the meeting. Unanimously approved, meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG: mlg May 10, 2011 Page 6