TOWN OF GRANBY
PUBLIC WORK SESSION
FEBRUARY 24, 2016
6:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
Supervisor
Williamson called the meeting to order at 6:01 P.M. Present for the roll call were; Supervisor Ed Williamson, Councilors Eric Clothier,
Tracy Doyle, Melissa Fortier and Brenda Frazier-Hartle. Deputy Supervisor John
Snow Jr. and Highway Superintendent Jeff Richards were also present. There were
7 Residents and Guests in attendance.
COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Councilor
Frazier-Hartle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to accept the
Procurement Policy as written, all were in favor, none opposed.
Supervisor
Williamson asked Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. to share the information regarding
the GPS system he obtained last year with the new Board Members. Councilor Doyle feels the Highway
Superintendent should be on top of the maintenance of the vehicles and thinks
it is a lot of money to tell us when the oil needs to be changed. If they are worried about the employees,
maybe they should be turning in daily work sheets. He feels that it is Supervision’s job to keep
track of what their employees are doing, or not doing. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. replied, the Board
does not have control over the Supervisor of these employees, but they do have
control over Town property. He also
feels this is a lot of money, but after doing the research on this, he thinks
we will end up saving money. Mr. Snow
will have all the information together for the next Board Meeting.
CSX
has submitted a check list and information regarding Water Service Area 6A and
an invoice for $1,250.00 for the license fee to put the waterline underneath the
Wybron Road railroad tracks.
Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. attended the 2016 Association of Towns “Town Officials
Training” in New York City. Supervisor
Williamson has asked Mr. Snow Jr. to write a short summary of the highlights of
the training in lieu of an oral report.
The Board will receive a copy of this report at the next meeting. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. will be available
to turnkey any workshop at the Board’s request.
The
Town has received a quote from the Insurance Company regarding the truck that
was damaged.
OLD BUSINESS
Deputy
Supervisor John Snow Jr. addressed the Board regarding the proposed fee
schedule as presented by Code Enforcement Officer David Hanford. He stated there are two major issues the
Board needs to vote on. The first would
be changing the fee structure for Building Permits. He feels the fees do not reflect the work
involved in some cases. The second part
is the Operating Permit. This is
currently on our books as a local law.
We are currently charging ten businesses for an Operating Permit. The other businesses in the Town are not
paying for Operating Permits. We need to
be fair to everyone. Councilor Doyle
doesn’t think we should charge businesses for Operating Permits. He feels they pay enough in taxes. If the Codes Officers can do the inspections
during their regular hours that they are being paid for, we should not charge
for Operating Permits or Fire Inspections.
Attorney for the Town Chatfield explained how to repeal a local
law. He stated the Board must propose a
new local law, hold a Public Hearing, adopt the law and file it. He then explained that even if there is no
charge for an Operating Permit, it is a State Law that the business must be
inspected and be in compliance. Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. said again that he would like to see the Board give the
direction that the Codes Department change from being a complaint driven
department to where the Officer’s drive around the Town to check on things. Supervisor
Williamson stated the new Codes regulations will be out in April. The Board may want to wait and see what the
new recommendations will be before they make a final decision on the fees.
NEW BUSINESS
Supervisor
Williamson reported that four of the five Audits were completed by the Town
Board. The main issues found in the
Audits were;
Property records are
not complete and up to date. Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. has created a database and entered the inventory that he
can find proof of purchase for. He has
not been able to enter the Highway information to date.
Councilors reported
that the Supervisor’s bank statements are not reconciled by someone other than
the person doing the data entry on the cash receipt journal. This is not the case. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. reconciles each
bank account and prints a different report than the clerk.
Councilors reported
negatively about a Justice account.
These issues have been rectified.
Deputy Supervisor
Snow Jr. also told the Board there will be an Asset Management Policy coming in
the near future. It is almost complete.
Councilor
Frazier-Hartle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle that the Supervisor’s
and Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s accounts have been audited by a majority of the
Board and the audits have been filed with the Town Clerk by February 16,
2016. The audit of the Town Justice
Court shall be completed by March 9th, 2016 and filed with the Town
Clerk, all in favor, none opposed.
MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
Councilor
Frazier-Hartle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Clothier, to appoint Cheynne
Manford to the Planning Board to fill the remainder of an existing term to
expire on December 31, 2016, all were in favor, none opposed.
Attorney
for the Town Chatfield informed the Board that in some Towns they allow
alternates to the Planning Board. He stated
this is something the Board may want to think about if they have people ready
and willing to serve in these positions.
The alternate would be required to take the mandatory training so they
would be ready to serve immediately in the case of a resignation or conflict of
interest.
Councilor
Clothier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to accept a Proclamation
in Special Recognition of Fred G. Rumsey, making March 2nd Fred
Rumsey Day in honor of 70 years of service to the Cody Fire Department, all
were in favor, none opposed.
PAYMENT OF TOWN BILLS
Councilor
Clothier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to approve payment of the
Town Bills as audited on Abstract #4, all were in favor, none opposed.
General Fund $8,849.50 Highway
Fund $3,471.37
WSA 6A Fund $1.250.00
DATES FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS
Town
Board Meeting March 9th
at 7:00 P.M.
Public
Work Session March 23rd
at 6:00 P.M.
Attorney
for the Town Chatfield explained the process of amending changes to the Zoning Ordinances
by the Planning Board. The Planning Board
reviews and makes recommendations to the Town Board. If the Town Board wants to consider the
changes, they put them together in a local law which is then referred to the
County Planning Agency for recommendation.
There is then a Public Hearing held and if at the end of that process
the Board still thinks it is appropriate, the Town Board proceeds to change the
law. The Town Board must be the lead
agency for the SEQR determination. The
Town Board must also hold the Public Hearing.
This is a non-delegable authority.
The new members of the Board will review the changes recommended by the
Planning Board.
Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. explained the 284 Agreement to the Board. He stated this agreement is between the Town
Board, the Highway Superintendent and the County of Oswego, to set money aside
to be spent for the general repair or improvements of Town roads. Highway Superintendent Richards would like to
purchase materials now for the repair of roads this spring. Deputy Superintendent Snow Jr. asked the
Board if they would consider signing a 284 Agreement to cover from now until
April 16, 2016 so Mr. Richards can purchase materials to start pothole
repairs.
Councilor
Frazier-Hartle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to give Supervisor
Williamson and Highway Superintendent Richards authorization to sign a 284
agreement in the amount of $50,000.00 to cover the period of time between now
and April 16, 2016 for the purchase of materials for the repair of Town roads,
all were in favor, none opposed.
Attorney
for the Town Chatfield explained to the Board the problems with the 8.3 acres of
land the City of Fulton is conveying to the Town of Granby as part of the
Sewage Plant Annexation deal. This is
not part of a Park. It is part of the
Sewage Treatment Plant. There is a
provision that says in order for a municipality to sell waterfront property a
special act of the State Legislature is required. This is called the Home Rule Law. In order for a Home Rule Law to pass, it has
to be submitted to the Assembly and the Senate in identical language and they
have to approve it. In order for that to
occur, both municipalities have to request that it happen and approve the
language. In order to adopt the
Resolution, the proposed Law has to be in final form and submitted to both
houses. Albany drafted the law and the
General Council for the Assembly proposed to make some changes on the
assumption it was already Parkland. They
included some provisions in their proposed changes based on that
assumption. Mr. Chatfield is trying to get the changes
made by the General Council taken out so the Law is the way it was originally
proposed. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr.
stated that a Town Resident has shown interest in purchasing this land. Attorney for the Town Chatfield said that if
the Town were to acquire this land, the Town could not sell it without a
special act of the State Legislature authorizing the sale, because the Town is
acquiring it as Parkland. This also goes
for waterfront property that is owned by a Municipality.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilor
Clothier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to adjourn the meeting, all
were in favor, none opposed.
Meeting
adjourned at 8:43 P.M.
___________________________
Town
Clerk
