TOWN OF GRANBY
BOARD MEETING
APRIL 13, 2016
7:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
Supervisor
Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. leading those present in
the Salute to The Flag. 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 11 Residents and Guests in attendance.
Councilor
Clothier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to dispense with the
reading of the minutes of the previous meetings of March 9th and 23rd,
2016, all were in favor, none opposed.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Jim Kush – Mr. Kush is here
because of problems with the gravel bed.
The entrance road is not being maintained. It is not being cleaned as
needed during the day. At the end of the
shift they use high pressure water and they are washing stones and mud into the
road and driveways. Supervisor
Williamson asked that Mr. Kush call him when this is happening and he will call
Riccelli. Mr. Kush also said they need
to get the wheel wash going. Now they
are slamming the boxes of the dump trucks to get the build-up of black top out
of the bottom of the boxes. This is rattling the windows in their houses. Mr.
Kush then asked if the Town was going to let them turn the pit into a trailer
park when they are done with it. He then
made reference to the mobile homes on the corner of County Route 85 and Ridge
Road and what a mess they are. Supervisor Williamson told Mr. Kush this should
be reported to the County Health Department.
Councilor Doyle assured Mr. Kush
Codes will take action on this issue.
Lynn Lyons – Ms. Lyons asked
when the meeting with the Lawyer would be set up and would he be helpful in
addressing the problem. The Residents
want to talk with the Attorney about zoning and the violations that have been
happening. They need advice as to what
steps they can take. They don’t want to
call Riccelli directly anymore. The DEC
doesn’t do anything either. They are in
there running machinery early in the morning even though the DEC permit states
work is not supposed to start until 8:00 A.M.
They need help. They have been
doing this all themselves to no avail. Ms. Lyons questioned whether the Planning Board/ZBA
Secretary lived in the Town.
Christine Bassett – Ms. Bassett wants to
emphasize support for what Mr. Kush and Ms. Lyons have said. This is impacting lives of many people in the
Town negatively.
Marion Naramore – Director of Oswego
County Housing Development. Ms. Naramore
told the Board that although they have been established since 1979, they are
new to the Town of Granby just having opened their Office at 805 West Broadway. They help low to moderate income homebuyers
and first time homebuyers purchase homes and offer credit counseling. They also have a rehab program to help
existing homeowners with repairs. She
explained some of their programs and gave information to the Board. Ms. Naramore also said she writes grants and
offered her assistance if needed.
COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The
Town Board received a memo from Supervisor Williamson regarding employee’s
wages and the closing of the Town Offices on Friday in June, July and
August.
Supervisor
Williamson gave a memo to the Town Board covering speed limits with a letter
attached from a Resident on Russell Road.
Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. suggested the Board set standards regarding
imposing speed limits on the Town Roads.
The Board will discuss this further and send a letter to the Resident on
Russell Road stating they will be looking into the situation.
Each
Employee has received a memo from the Town Board stating they are to record
their times in and out of work and must not exceed budgeted hours. The memo also stated per State Law, they must
take a one half hour unpaid lunch if they work over six hours a day.
The
Town Board has received a copy of the memo they sent to Department Supervisors
asking them to submit to the Supervisor hourly work schedules by April of 2016. The Department Head will be responsible to
submit any changes in the work schedule.
The memo also included notice of the change in the Procurement Policy
which limits each Departments spending to $250.00 without Board approval. Each Department should have a copy of their
Budgeted amounts and keep track of their line items.
Water
Service Area 6A drawings and specs will be available electronically. The cost to bidders is a $100.00
non-refundable deposit per set. Bids are
due by May 5th, 2016.
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
Deputy
Supervisor John Snow Jr. addressed the Board regarding Google Accounts. Currently we are serviced by Time
Warner. They offer us ten (10) email
accounts and we have outgrown the ten that we need and there will be an extra
fee to increase that amount. Some
Departments are still using Yahoo accounts.
This is not professional and needs to go. We also pay approximately $1,000.00 a year
for our website. The website is not that
friendly and hard to maneuver and we don’t have a lot of options to make
changes. A few years ago the Town was
audited by the New York State Comptroller’s Office. Technology did not do well. The audit stated we needed backup storage and
suggested it be stored in a different location.
We need cloud based backup service. Mr. Snow, Jr. has done research on Micro-soft
and Google accounts and feels the Google account would best suit the Town. He will get final pricing and bring it to the
Board.
MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Clothier to pay the five year Zee
Med contract in the amount of $1,798.00, all were in favor, none opposed.
Councilor
Frazier-Hartle made a motion, seconded by Supervisor Williamson to accept the
JCAP Grant in the amount of $12,167.92, all were in favor, none opposed.
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to approve payment
of the Town Clerks BAS Licensing System in the amount of $685.00, all were in
favor, none opposed.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to approve ordering copy
paper, all were in favor, none opposed.
Budget
Officer Snow Jr. gave an overview of the Aplos web-based program he uses for
budgeting. He uses this program to
record all transactions and do monthly reconciliations. The Comptroller’s Office wants someone other
than the person printing the check to do the reconciliations. The cost of this program has been approximately
$400.00 per year. Now the cost has
increased and our portion will be an additional $288.50.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to purchase the upgrade
for the Budget Officers Aplos system, all were in favor, none opposed.
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Supervisor Williamson to advertise for the
nomination of Citizen of the Year for Family Fun Day, all were in favor, none
opposed.
REPORTS FROM
DEPARTMENTS
County Legislator – Legislator
Jim Karasek spoke on the progress of the Land Bank and stated this would be
good thing for the zombie (abandoned) houses in the County. He urged the Board to pass a Resolution for
the Town to become a member of the Land Bank.
He also reported that a representative from Pro-Act, a prescription card
program, spoke to the County Health Committee. He also stated Honeywell will come
to the Town and do a presentation and conduct home energy audits if the Board
would like.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Total revenue for
March was $2,158.45 with a check to NYS Ag & Markets for $139.00 for the
spay/neuter program, a check to the Supervisor for $2,018.45 for local shares
and $1.00 to the DEC. The Clerk reported
she has received notification from Kristen Aluzzi that she is renewing her
liquor license for Battle Island State Park Golf Course. The 2016 tax settlement with the County was
today. The Town will be receiving
$8,086.93.00 in penalties. The Clerk then questioned the Board as to whether
the Town Offices would close at noon on Primary day, Tuesday April 19th,
per the Employee Handbook.
Councilor Fortier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to change the Employee
Handbook to read; In the event of a Local Primary the Town Offices will close
at noon, all were in favor, none opposed.
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of
Granby hereby establishes the following as standard work days for Elected and
Appointed Officials and Employees and will report the following days worked to
the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System based on the record
of activities maintained and submitted by the Officials and Employees to the
Clerk of this body:
Councilor Clothier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to receive and accept the
Standard Work Day Reporting Resolution for Elected and Appointed Officials and
Employees, all were in favor, none opposed.
Councilor Clothier Aye Councilor Doyle Aye
Councilor Fortier Aye Councilor Frazier-Hartle Aye
Supervisor Williamson Aye
Historian – Historian
Snow Jr. is helping the Hannibal High School Senior Class with a local history
research project in which they are writing about things that interest
them. Many of the students are from
Granby and he is assisting them with Granby History.
Budget Officer – The AUD was filed
with the Comptroller on March 30. He
reported $306,785.00 was rolled over from the General Fund which was down
$155,000.00 from last year. The reason
being, we loaned Water Service Area 6A money, saving the Residents of that district
a considerable amount of money in interest.
This leaves a balance of $100,000.00 in Capital Projects. We also used $70,000.00 from the fund balance
to purchase a used vehicle for the Highway Department. The Highway Fund rolled over $183,181.00,
which is $2,000.00 more than the previous year.
He feels this is an accomplishment since the Highway Department was
broke when he became Budget Officer. This is being done with more money in the
Budget for road repairs than we have ever had.
He is proud of what we have accomplished so far and still maintaining the
second lowest tax rate in Oswego County.
He feels it is a service to our Residents to have a stable tax
rate. He spent 38 hours on the report
and it balanced to the penny. Mr. Snow
told the Board that being the Budget Officer is a hard job. He takes pride in knowing that when he puts
together a Budget it is about numbers, not friendships. Instead of people talking behind his back, he
would like to hear their opinions. He is
a straight forward person and welcomes communication with any Town Employee. He then addressed the issue of the Town
Offices being closed on Fridays in the summer.
He was on the Handbook Committee and there was much discussion on the
matter. He feels the Offices should be
open in June and only closed in July and August. He says there in not equality with the
employee’s hours for the Fridays off.
One employee is allowed to make up hours, another is not, and it is not
possible for two others to make up their time.
He looks at numbers, not personalities or friendships. If the County were to lower the sales tax, he
would recommend his position be the first to go. He also reminded the Board that as Deputy Supervisor
and Budget Officer he has no authority or power. His only duty is to fill in for the
Supervisor in his absence and submit the first draft of the Budget. He loves
the Town, his job and what we have accomplished. Until
the Board asks him to scale back, he will continue to make recommendations and
fight to cut expenses and search for revenue.
Councilor Fortier
thanked Mr. Snow, Jr. stating she thinks he does a great job and agrees that if
Employees have a problem with their hours they should not go to other Employees
of the Town, they should go to their Department Head to discuss it and the
Department Head can go to the Supervisor and work it out.
Youth Director – Supervisor
Williamson reported he is working with the Youth Director on Family Fun
Day. He and Councilor Doyle are also
working on obtaining two bikes to give away.
Dog Control Officer – Complaints
49, Mileage 305
Code Enforcement/Zoning – Building
Permits issued 14, Construction Value $274,433.00, Building Permit Fees
$1,174.45, Building Inspections 4, Building Permits closed 1, Violation
Inspections 5, Violations issued 10, closed 3.
Councilor Doyle said they are finalizing the schedule for fire inspections. A business under 8,000 square feet will not
be charged for fire inspections.
Businesses over 8,000 square feet will have a small charge. They will not be charging for operating
permits, but every business will be required to apply for a yearly permit. Councilor Doyle said the Board has received a
letter from Code Enforcement Hanford and will be speaking with him.
Highway Superintendent – Highway
Superintendent Richards said they have been out on the Roads six times since
the last meeting. The Roads in Wilobob
on the River have been swept. They have
been hauling gravel, filling potholes and have cut some brush. The road stakes have been collected and they
will be picking up the snow fence. The
sign inventory has been completed. He
has received calls from Residents regarding drainage issues and for tree cutting.
He is making a list for each of those
things. The 2007 truck is still at
Delong’s waiting for parts. The 2011 International
is at Stadium International with motor problems. He has given a list of five (5) Roads to the
Board that he has picked at random that are in need of repair. He has had a past Highway Superintendent, a
Highway Superintendent from another Town and the County go out and look at
these with him. He will also have the
Town Engineer look at them. Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. stated Millard Bassett Road is in very poor condition. If something isn’t done, we are going to lose
the road. He also mentioned something
needs to be done with Rathburn Road. It is
in really bad shape and is not wide enough.
He also mentioned possibly putting a lighting district there due to the
number of people that walk on the road. Supervisor
Williamson thanked Mr. Richards for the Highway Department’s help with the tree
planting ceremony.
Buildings/Highway – Councilor
Frazier-Hartle stated she is glad to see the solid panels have been replaced
with the glass in the new front entrance doors.
Justice – Councilor
Fortier stopped in and spoke to Court Clerk Jessica King, she said things are
going fine. They expect Judge Winkworth
to be back in early May. The Court
Office had a meeting with the Judges and submitted a letter to the Board with a
calendar for April coverage and Court hours.
They are thinking about moving the office around and Councilor Fortier
stated they really need more space.
Supervisor – Supervisor
Williamson reported there were 25 to 30 people in attendance for the tree
planting ceremony for Crime Victims Awareness on Tuesday. They will be putting a plaque up next to the
tree.
The
Board discussed the Town Offices being closed on Fridays in June, July and
August. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr.
stated he just wants equality with the employees being able to make up these
hours.
Councilor
Doyle had a meeting with the Employees affected by the Offices being closed on
Fridays in the summer. They were all
okay with their situations. The Board
feels they may need to take a look at the Handbook and make some updates.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to allow the Codes/Assessor
Clerk to work an extra hour Monday thru Thursday when the Offices are closed on Fridays in the summer, all
were in favor, none opposed.
PAYMENT OF TOWN BILLS
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to pay the Town
bills as audited on Abstract #7 and Abstract #7A, all were in favor, none
opposed.
General Fund $6,490.17 Highway
Fund $26,420.23
Wilobob Fund $86.57 WSA
6A Fund $30,246.00
WD #3 Unpaid Water $4,343.55 General
Fund $1,143.50(ABS 7A)
DATES FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS
Public
Work Session April 27, 2016 at
6:00 P.M.
Town
Board Meeting May 11, 2016 at 7:00
P.M.
ADJORNMENT
Councilor
Clothier made a motion seconded by Councilor Doyle to adjourn the meeting, all
were in favor, none opposed.
Meeting
adjourned at 9:16 P.M.
