Village of Millbrook Board of Trustees October 14, 2008

Transcription

1 Village of Millbrook Board of Trustees October 14, 2008 Call to Order 6:05 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Ciferri In Attendance: Mayor Ciferri, Trustee Hurley, Trustee Bondus, Trustee Whalen and Trustee Morse Thorne Building Trustee Bondus looked over the proposal for details needed for the projections on the equipment and on the volume from concerts and money. Sales are based on the type of bands or concerts. She asked how the Downings estimate revenues and expenditures. She also asked if the figures and the facts are based on the maximum capacity of the building. Erica stated they estimated $20000 per band on average. Trustee Bondus stated the Board wanted assumptions for the large numbers and hours. Trustee Whalen thought there was going to be verifications of money. Michael Downing stated he had left the last meeting very disillusioned and he wanted more information from the Village. The plans changed and nothing was settled from that meeting. Mike asked why the electric was not taken care of previously by the Village. Mike wants to settle on the rent, on the opening date and on Central Hudson s ownership of the electric boxes. They need positives from the Board. The Village has not shown they are ready and willing to go forward with this proposed project. Mayor Ciferri contacted one potential donor and was told they only meet once a year and this year s money has already been allocated and we are too late. He was informed to try next year. Mike is willing to take the basement to increase the revenue to the Village. Trustee Whalen would be pleased to enter into lease agreement and would consider a loan to move the project forward. Mike asked what space are they willing to rent, for what rental fees and what is the timeframe. He has $206,000 invested in equipment and a plaster contractor who is certified as a historic restorer. Trustee Bondus requires more information. Mike felt it was a waste of time to attend the Thorne Building Revenue Committee s meetings and came up with a vision and acted on that vision. He is concerned about the heat, electric, and the bathrooms. Tom Nicks said transformers do belong to the Village but Central Hudson will assist in any way it can with the installation of replacement equipment. Tom Nicks stated it could be done in phases. First restore just the auditorium and divide the building into parts. The bathroom areas must be renovated to open. Mike stated Phase one could be done by installing base power, Phase two as office space. They will need the electric updated to put offices in since they will require a lot of electric. Ed Loedy felt $250,000 is still sufficient funds to complete Phase one and two. Trustee Morse asked what is required for the bathrooms needs and Tom Nicks stated the zoning regulations are the guide and will also depend upon the occupancy needs. Exit lights are

2 required. Trustee Bondus worked on the numbers with Ed Loedy. The first floor can be left in open status and they can clear an area by cleaning it up and look to grants for funding. Applying for a bond and collecting donations will require time to collect and gather these funds. The Board needs a clear vision so they don t have to step back. The common space will be for the bathrooms. The bathrooms are easy to expand due to the size of the current bathrooms on the basement level. Phase one will take care of Mike s needs first and then the Village can take their plan, which is Phase two, out another year. Mike will be doing the improvements for approximately $150,000. The windows need sealing. He cannot afford a false start if something is not done in phases and properly. Trustee Whalen stated he could draft a letter of intent and meet with Rich Olson, Mike and the full Board to see their way clear to bind the Village to the plan. Trustee Morse stated the need to pin down Mike s space requirements to begin. Tom Nicks said Ed can do up a real drawing to define the lines of space desired. He suggested to do the project in phases so it is not so overwhelming an undertaking financially. A French elevator in the lobby with open intricate steel work would be beautiful in the middle of the building. Tom Nicks stated there is a place in New Orleans getting rid of old ones and the Village may be able to get a hold of one. Mike gave Trustee Whalen his attorney s telephone number. They will meet with Trustee Whalen to prepare a draft instrument. Trustee Whalen is available Friday afternoon. Tom Nicks can do the basic plans to have a plan to work with. Trustee Bondus thought an executive session was necessary. Mayor Ciferri thought this project was not an executive session item. Trustee Whalen is willing to do an executive session after preparing a draft lease. Trustee Bondus is concerned about her support on this draft lease and the project. Mike thinks this is the next step in the process. Mike stated he has benefited from an outpouring of village residents who are willing to help and assist in making this project move forward. This project matters to Mike and many Village residents. Mike is willing to commit and put all connections and friendships on the line. Trustee Whalen requested executive session to discuss a Police employee. Trustee Morse seconded. All were in favor. The Board exited out of executive session at 7:30 with a motion made by Mayor Ciferri. Trustee Hurley seconded. Mayor Ciferri requested committee reports. Fire Department Chief Chris Hawks stated the Fire Department purchased two 100 foot hoses each having a length of 300 feet. Mayor Ciferri added this purchase was part of the Fire Department s budget. The Seagrave needs new brakes and the restoration is expected to be completed soon. The Fire Tanker Apparatus specifications are being rewritten and will be submitted to the Village Clerk soon. Police Department Officer Scribner gave the attached report. Four potential new officers were interviewed. Lori A. Bailey and Jared R.Witt were two candidates that stood out. Lori can start immediately. Jared Witt lives in the Village and works parttime for the Dutchess County Sheriff s Department and is looking for more hours. Jared needs some time to leave his current position. Mayor Ciferri stated the budget is in place

3 to fill the vacant positions now. The Board wants to review the personal application and their resume to be prepared to make a decision at the October 28, 2008 meeting. The Department has been enforcing speeding on Alden Place and on Church Street but they found mostly parking violations since the police car was more of a deterrent than giving tickets. Trustee Bondus inquired about closing certain Village streets on Halloween where two officers will be on duty. Officer Scribner stated there are so many people waling on the streets that traffic moves at a crawl pace. Mayor Ciferri asked whether the Village wanted to consider putting a curfew in place. Trustees Bondus and Morse both felt this was not necessary. Joe Still questioned if the Village ever had a curfew in place in the past. Mayor Ciferri stated not to his knowledge. Highway Department Bob Collocola see attached. Bob added the new pump will soon be installed on the diesel tank and in the interim they have been using the other tank. Water/Waste Water Cathy Meier sees attached. The waste water issues at Cardinal Hayes have been fixed. Mayor Ciferri stated he has spoken to the DEC who wants more data from before and after any corrections have been made to date. This is in the Village s best interest so the EPA, who has the Village s Annual Rolling Average application under review, has all pertinent information. Mayor Ciferri requested VRI to get the desired data to the DEC as quickly as possible and they will in turn send it off to the EPA. The waste water problems on Ciferri Drive need to be fixed before cold weather begins. Mayor Ciferri has been in contact with Scott from VRI to locate the house lines and use a camera to find the lateral and blind lateral lines. He wants to see if they are connected to the system. Mayor Ciferri stated Thursday is best for him. Bob Collocola stated he checked with the Town of Washington to see if they had any reclaimed asphalt left for the Village to use. They do not. Bob stated they use this in combination with oil to put down as a base and to bind the materials. Building/Zoning Kenneth McLaughlin Ken met with Joe Spagnola at the Thorne building to see about shutting off the heat. It is not recommended due to the possibility of the pipes freezing. He suggested better heat zoning which can limit heating certain areas as an alternative. Ken is concerned about the broken windows letting in cold air and freezing the pipes. Trustee Bondus stated she has several volunteers available to install plastic on the second floor windows. Ken discussed the illegal signage and lighting issues in violation. Local businesses have been very cooperative and intend to use shrouding to dim the lights. The Department of State is pushing the Village to adopt the administrative procedures tonight. Section 1203 of the NYS standards updates are what had been submitted for Board approval. Ken stated re roofing is considered property maintenance and does not require a building permit. Trustee Hurley read her concerns about the specifics mentioned in the code. Ken stated NYS s use of language is utilized by almost every municipality. Trustee Hurley is concerned about the enforcement and about being fair and equitable to all residents. Ken recommended the Board accept the Uniform Standards and the Board may amend these standards in the future. Amendments may include specific exemptions which are areas of concerns. Trustee Bondus proposed

4 to accept the Uniform Standards as submitted and the Board will gather the information in the next two months. Trustee Hurley made a motion to adopt the Uniform Standards. Trustee Whalen seconded. All were in favor. The public hearing was closed on this issue. Clerk/Treasurer Linda Wiltse informed the Board that she had heard from Mike Haggerty who informed the Village is still in the running for the Greenway Grant. Linda requested the Board pass a resolution changing the name on M&T Bank investment from a former to Village Clerk/Treasurer. Trustee Comments Tax Exemption Trustee Hurley requested the Village and the Town of Washington add handicap and cold war Veteran exemptions to cover all veterans regardless of the years of service. The handicap exemption is similar to the senior citizen exemption. She was going to ask the Village to change the income exemptions but the Village is already in line with the Town of Washington. Trustee Hurley will have available for the November meeting legislation for the Board to consider as administrator of exemptions. All exemptions are due by March 1 st. Village residents will still have time to apply with a November approval date. Trustee Bondus raised concerned about the huge numbers that may be involved. Trustee Hurley stated she believed the numbers are not huge. The veteran exemption maxes out at $25,000. The Board gave Trustee Hurley permission to submit the legal language on the exemptions at the November meeting. Sheriff Speed Wagon Trustee Morse informed the Board the first speed wagon malfunctioned and was replaced 10 days later. It has been operational on Alden, Church, Franklin, Route 343 and several other Village streets. Trustee Morse has received very positive feedback from the Bypass residents. The Board hopes to continue to use the speed wagon until it is requested back. Garage Roof Skip Ciferri stated he would be submitting a bid for the repair of the Police car garage roof. To date we have received one bid. Master Plan Trustee Morse commented on the Master Plan. He gathered Saugerties Master Plan which they had worked on together with the Town and came together in the end. They spent $10,000. Signage see attached. Trustee Morse had spoken with Bob Audia who offered to put a sign on his land located on the corner of Ciferri Drive and the bypass. The fence around the property may be an issue. Property owned by Rich Cross may be the best location alongthe by pass for a new sign directing people into thevillage. Mayor Ciferri stated the Village will buy the sign and post the sign. Trustee Morse will contact the NYS DOT. Trustee Bondus and Mayor Ciferri stated this route is too complicated for visitors to find their way to the Village. Trustee Hurley questioned if Trustee Morse had contacted the Dutchess County Department of tourism for similar signs on the Village business district signs for the Village.

5 Police Garage Roof The Village has not received any new estimates on the garage roof repairs. Trustee Bondus has recommended to the Board to fix the roof and that it is still deteriorating. Skip Ciferri has showed a contractor the roof and will get figures to the Board this week. He understands the Village budget is tight. Skip feels the Village needs competitive pricing. The rafters are rotted. Trustee Bondus doesn t want to wait too much longer. The Board expects other estimates by the October 28 th meeting. Trustee Hurley feels the Police budget can absorb the repair costs and the repairs should be completed before winter sets in. Mayor Ciferri stated the NYS Department of Labor informed him the Village needs to have three bids or we need it in writing that the business is a sole proprietorship with no employees. The Village also needs a job order number from the Department of Labor before work can begin. The Department of Labor stated there are no limitations or restrictions in regard to paying prevailing wage for a self employed person. Donations Mayor Ciferri stated the Village has an obligation to maintain the Village properties. The Mayor announced that the Village was the recipient of a very generous donation from Tribute Gardens to a total of $164,000. The donations were for the Rescue Squad training, Fire Department training, Millbrook Restoration, repairs to the Village Hall, defibrillators, child safety seats and street lights. The Village will submit an official letter of gratitude. Tim Tice inquired about the current street light donations. Mayor Ciferri stated the Village is in the process acquiring a job number from Central Hudson. Central Hudson needs to disconnect the electric supply to the existing lights so the new streets can be installed. The Village electrician is ready to install the new street lights. Sidewalks Frank Grasso stated the installation of new street lights is a good idea with safety as an issue. He also added his concerns in regard to sidewalks. He stated several sidewalks had tripping hazards located on Church Street, Washington, Haight and Reservoir. Trustee Bondus requested a location list and photographs of the sidewalks be submitted to the Village Clerk. Frank Grasso also questioned whether the sidewalks could be repaired at a faster rate than the current rate of repair. Skip Ciferri stated he walks the Village sidewalks everyday and feels this is not as big of an issue that Frank suggests. Highway Commissioner Bob Collocola will look at the areas of concern although he has already compiled a prioritized list on street and sidewalk repairs. Frank requested the walking district improvements made. Elections Mayor Ciferri stated that NYCOM had several suggestions at the Annual Conference in regard to Village elections. NYCOM has recommended that a municipality permissive referendum be passed to change the terms of office for the Village Board from 2 to 4 years. NYCOM feels it is in the Village s best interest due to the very heavy and expensive computer equipment required for elections from this point forward. It will also be in the best interest of the Village to change elections to the National November election date to help in the costs and increase voter turnout. The Village needs to get these items on the ballet for the March Village election date. This would take effect in Mayor Ciferri spoke to Town of Washington Supervisor

6 Prisco about making the Village one voting district. The county is in charge of changing the voting districts. Meetings Mayor Ciferri stated that the Board will go to two monthly meetings per month to reduce the necessity for special meeting. Trustees Bondus, Morse, Whalen and Hurley were all strongly in favor. Trustee Hurley added that one meeting will be the main business meeting with individual department reports. Mayor Ciferri requested a motion to accept the resolution to have two Village Board meetings to be held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. The second Tuesday will be for main Village business and the fourth Tuesday is for any other business brought before the Board. Trustee Bondus seconded. All were in favor. Village Code Mayor Ciferri stated that the Board has not received any new language from the Village attorney Rich Olson. Joe Still stated he does not want to put the Village at risk in regard to say for example the former Bennett College property. Trustee Whalen stated his concerns as to the Village s financial obligation in reference to the unsafe building code as currently worded. Trustee Hurley commented on the protective wording they had hope to put in place. The Board hopes to have the timeframe currently in place for the Village to take action removed or loosened. The public hearing will remain open. Trustee Bondus informed the Board Mr. Spross, the Millbrook High School Art teacher, and the Art Club will be repainting the Holiday decorations in the near future. Village Ordinance Mayor Ciferri requested Trustee Whalen to look into initiating the wording for a local ordinance involving convicted sex offenders residing within a certain distance of area schools. Trustee Whalen stated our current state legislation is not adequate and he agreed to look into it. Officer Scribner stated he has spoken to the Sheriff s Department who informed him that it is best to educate the public. He suggested educating the public on those not convicted or caught and that public awareness is the best course of action. Officer Scribner stated he could lead the public lecture. Trustee Bondus questioned if a resident could be grandfathered in if they live in the area before they are convicted of the sex offense. Public Participation Ongoing throughout the meeting. Audit of Bills 9:30 pm Adjourned Mayor Ciferri made a motion to adjourn the meeting at10:45 p.m. Trustee Bondus seconded. All were in favor.