Village of Wampsville/Town of Lenox

Village of Wampsville/Town of Lenox Joint Meeting January 6, 2015 The joint meeting of the Village of Wampsville Board of Trustees and the Town of Lenox Council was called to order at 6:33 pm in the Village Hall, located at 118 North Court St, Wampsville, NY. Present: Mayor John Clute, Trustees Paul MacDonald, Rita Church, Chris Colvin and Dawn Collins, Supervisor John Pinard, Councilmen John Hadyk, Richard Wimmer, Tom Bush and Clerk-Treasurer Rosanne Warner. Others in Attendance: Attorney Peter Finocchiaro, Chief Monte Colucci, Steve Collins and Wampsville Planning Board Member, Lori Brockway. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Public Hearing Local Law #1-2015 Tax Cap Override The public hearing for Local Law #1 Tax Cap Override was opened at 6:33 pm. Copies of the proposed local law were provided to the board members for review. Attorney Finocchiaro stated that no SEQR is required as this local law is a type 2 action. There were no questions. Res. # 168 2015 Trustee Church made a motion to close the public hearing at 6:37 and Trustee MacDonald Res. # 169 2015 Trustee MacDonald made a motion to adopt local law #1 2015 and Trustee Collins Public Hearing - Local Law #2-2015 Local Law Prohibiting Zoning Uses beyond what is set-out in Wampsville Village Codes The public hearing for Local Law #2-2015 A Local Law Prohibiting Zoning Uses beyond what is setout in Wampsville Village Codes was opened at 6:37 pm. Copies of the proposed local law were provided to the board members for review. No SEQR is required as this local law is a type 2 action. The local law was proposed as blanket coverage for things that were not addressed within the village zoning laws. There were no questions. Res. # 170 2015 Trustee MacDonald made a motion to close the public hearing at 6:40 pm and Trustee Church Res. # 171-2015 Trustee MacDonald made a motion to adopt Local Law #2-2015 and Trustee Colvin seconded. Village of Wampsville Town of Lenox Joint Meeting January 6, 2015 Page 1

Approval of the Minutes Res. # 172 2015 Trustee Church made a motion to approve the minutes from the December 9, 2014 Wampsville Village Board meeting and Trustee MacDonald seconded the motion Treasurer s Report The Treasurer s report was presented to the board. Vouchers # 152 273 in the amount of $9,493.19 were audited signed and approved. The Clerk reported that the fire truck alternator money had not been refunded to date. She also noted that an adjustment to the pump test charges was made and were charged to the appropriate budget line. Res. # 173 2015 Trustee Colvin made a motion to approve the Treasurer s Report and Trustee Collins Zone Change Request Village of Wampsville The Boards had a discussion about the Nye Ford zone change request. Mayor Clute spoke to the board about the intent of the property. Supervisor Pinard stated that the City of Oneida keeps their sales tax and it does not go into the county sales collection pot. The Village of Wampsville would not profit from sales tax revenue from cars sold if the building is constructed within the City limits. Attorney Finocchiaro stated that he would research the issue. The property is currently zoned R-30 and Mr. Nye has asked that it be changed to Commercial. Supervisor Pinard and Mayor Clute will schedule a meeting with Mr. Nye. In previous conversations, Mr. Nye stated to the Mayor and Clerk that he would consider allowing use of a designated portion of the property directly behind the village hall for additional parking for the Fire Department/ Village Hall. Supervisor s Issues: County Solar Project Supervisor Pinard reported on a Solar Project through the County Planning Department. The Planning Department is researching ways to reduce the county electric bills. The initiative is proposed to save as much as a $200,000 in reductions in electric charges to the County. The county will pay $.06/kw hour for every kw/hour they consume but will be paid $.12/KW hour for every kw/hour they sell back to the grid. Supervisor Pinard has requested copies of the Village s National Grid bills to research how much money could be refunded in kw hours to the Towns who participate in the sell back program. He stated that 1.3 GW of power is currently being consumed between all of the towns in Madison County. There would be no monetary return for the county but the hours sold back to the grid would be credited to the municipalities that participate. Supervisor Pinard stated that the county would have to research the cost of hiring someone to administer the program for the county. The county saw a 15% return on their investment for the solar project that was completed at the county landfill. All of the information that will be required of the municipalities will be to submit information for the RFP, advertising and monitoring. There is a woman from Southern Madison County that has volunteered to administer the project for the municipalities portion of the requirements. Solar panels would have to be constructed by the municipalities and investors would fund the construction and would receive carbon credits. Lori Brockway asked what the sustainability of the program would be over a long time period. She was concerned that the cost would come back to bite the tax payers down the road. She also asked if the savings would ever trickle down to residents. Supervisor Pinard stated that the county could develop its own power authority and sell electric back to residents but it was unlikely that the residents would see a monetary return on the savings any further than through the taxes. Village of Wampsville Town of Lenox Joint Meeting January 6, 2015 Page 2

Sales Tax: The Boards had a discussion concerning sales tax distribution. The opinion of the NYS Comptroller is that the Villages of Wampsville and Madison cannot allow the Towns that they can keep their portion of the sales tax. Wampsville and Madison are the only two villages that forfeit their sales tax money to the towns to pay down the town taxes for their residents. Mayor Clute said that he spoke to the OSC about the legality of giving the sales tax to the town. The county also gets a piece of the village s sales tax and the village never sees the benefit of the revenues. If the village is forced by the state to accept the sales tax revenue, it would have an adverse affect on the town tax rate but it would also lower the village tax rate. Mayor Clute stated that the state may push the envelope and force the villages to take the sales tax and use it towards village tax. The OSC is not sure if it was even legal for the villages to give the tax money to the town. Mayor s Business: Community Park Mayor Clute spoke to the board about the development of a park near the county social services building. The Mayor stated that he spoken to Supervisor Pinard, the Board Chairman and the County Planning Department about the development of the park. He would like something to bring the community together and hoped that it could be incorporated in the rail trail concept. Supervisor Pinard stated that if the village decides to develop the park that it may be possible for the DOT workers to participate with in kind services. Lori Brockway asked where the park would be located. Mayor Clute stated that there is no concrete plan at this point but that it would be discussed with the county. Lori stated that if it were located close to the DSS building it may be possible for the county to offer or assist with a grant. It could also be used for parental visits through the DSS. She stated that if a playground were incorporated in the project the county may be willing to assist in the funding. Clerk Warner stated that the County Recreation program also has grant opportunities available through their recreation program grants which are due at the end of the month. Broken Computer: The Mayor reported that his computer is broken. Madison County IT Department will be in to hook up the fire departments computer and will look at the mayor s computer. Attorney Issues: Residents Concerns: Fire Departments Issues: Chief Colucci reported that the calls for December were: 3 - EMS 2 - Fires 1 - MVA 2 - Standby s Year End Report 66 EMS 12 - MVA 20 - Standby s Village of Wampsville Town of Lenox Joint Meeting January 6, 2015 Page 3

Fire House Updates County Inmates have a little to finish with the painting of the fire department. Chief Colucci would like to have the floor painted in the spring. Cascade Unit Marcellus will be sending the unit on Thursday. Chief Colucci is still getting quotes and researching how it will be powered. The cheapest price he got on a drive unit so far was $2,400. The tool room is almost complete. Donations may be coming in. Truck Repairs Chief Colucci updated the board on the accident involving Truck 323. He stated that there has been no action on the repairs of the pumper. He was upset that the village s insurance company has done nothing to assist in the claim and note that the person who hit the truck has had her car repaired already. Scrap Equipment Chief Colucci stated that the fire department has identified unneeded equipment and asked for permission of the Village Board to sell some scrap metal. He would like the board to also allow the fire department to sell some old pumps that are in the basement and have not been used in years. There are two old lightbars and some four inch supply lines that are not able to be used. The department would like to sell the surplus material and use the revenue to outfit a truck with new supply lines and possibly use the remainder of the money to pay for the floor paint. Res. # 174 2015 Trustee Colvin made a motion to declare a surplus of equipment and sell the surplus outright or trade the unneeded equipment to the Village of Canastota or Town of Lenox. Trustee Collins Monte asked about vehicle inspections and asked who inspects the town of Lenox vehicles. The municipal vehicles are not subject to inspection. Mayor Clute will check into the requirements of inspections. Equipment Purchases Chief Colucci informed the board about an opportunity to purchaser newer airpacks from the Village of Marcellus Fire Department. The units are 2 years old and the old bottles would be included. The new bottles that the department would like to purchase are a lower profile longer lasting bottle than what the department currently has. Res. #175 2015 Trustee Collins made a motion to allow the Fire Department to purchase air pack from the Village of Marcellus at an amount not to exceed $9,500 and Trustee Colvin Chief Colucci stated that he will call about the refund on the alternator. New Business: Mayor Clute reported that National Grid came in for an inspection of the building and found that there was a gas leak in the basement. The leak was repaired without issue. Old Business: Village of Wampsville Town of Lenox Joint Meeting January 6, 2015 Page 4

Highway Issues: Trustee MacDonald reported that Fryer Lane has drainage issues and the standing water is now freezing well into the center of the street lane. There was a discussion about the highway department checking the elevations going to a dry well that leads to the corn lot. It was unknown if the highway superintendent has looked at the issue. Trustees Concerns: Councilmen Concerns: Clerk s Concerns: Clerk Warner reported that she had received a notice from the NYS Department of Tax and Finance concerning late for late filing of quarterly payroll taxes. She stated that she had contacted the state on several occasions about the late fees and provided proof to the state that the filing was done on time and that the state had deposited the check on the 6 th day of January 2014. Copies of the filing as well as copies of the check and bank statement were forwarded on to the tax department. She reported that she had received a letter back that the claim is under review. Correspondence: Monthly water report National Grid rate letter Grant Action News Adjournment Res. # 175 2015 With no further business to discuss, Trustee MacDonald made a motion to close the meeting at 8:17 pm and Trustee Collins All were in favor, motion was carried. Respectfully Submitted, Rosanne Warner Village Clerk-Treasurer Village of Wampsville Town of Lenox Joint Meeting January 6, 2015 Page 5