TOWN OF GRANBY
BOARD MEETING
SEPTEMBER 14, 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 31 Residents and Guests in
attendance.
Councilor Fortier made
a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to dispense with the reading of
the minutes of the previous meetings of August 10th and 24th,
all were in favor, none opposed.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Rose Anthony - She asked Supervisor
Williamson if he was related to Joe Riccelli and if Rich Riccelli was his
cousin. Mr. Williamson said they were
not related.
Linda Parkhurst – She is here
regarding the Water District 7 article that was published in The Valley News on
August 6th. She has given each Board
member a copy. Mrs. Parkhurst then read
a portion of the article to the Board stating that if more than fifty percent
of the Residents in the District have signed a petition in favor of the
project, the Board can create the District without a formal vote. The article went on to say the final cost of
the project would not be determined until it was completed. Because she signed a petition about 3 years
ago for what she thought was for an interest in water for her road she would
like to publicly apologize to Residents on Stoney Robby Road who did not sign a
petition for water. Because of these
issues and the ridiculous cost of Water District 6A, she is rescinding her
signature from any petition she signed for Water District 7. She then referenced an article from
Palltimes.com dated November 12th, 2013 about Water District 6A. It stated property owners in the Water
Service Area, whether they are receiving water or not will pay roughly $490.00
per year for the loan repayment for a period of 38 years. She feels sorry for the amount it is costing
the Residents in that District. Many Residents on Stoney Robby Road thought
the Water District would come to a vote or were not even aware there was a
Water District proposed in this area because they do not subscribe to The
Valley News. She then read from Town
Board Meeting minutes in which some did include and some did not include Stoney
Robby Road in Water District 7. She and
her husband have a property in Water District 3 which costs them $278.15 extra
yearly. This is a far cry from the $490.00 for Water District 6A. She has nothing against water coming through,
but feels there should be a Town wide Water District. Forget about the petitions and bring it to a
vote. The water must be affordable. This is not affordable.
Christine Bassett – She agrees with Mrs.
Parkhurst’s frustration. Mrs. Bassett asked if there was a written policy concerning
the formation of a Water District in the Town.
Supervisor Williamson answered that petitions are obtained from the
Clerk. They get signatures and then
bring the petitions back to the Clerk and the Board will review them. She asked
again if there was a written policy.
Supervisor Williamson said there is no written policy at this time. Mrs. Bassett stated this leaves the procedure
open to frustration and criticism. We
need a procedure that hones in on steps that we go through and with informing
the Residents in advance. We need water,
we need it inexpensively and soon. The
Residents need to know in advance how much the water is going to cost
them. She urged the Board when forming Districts
to try and make the cost equitable to everyone.
Ron Dexter – He lives on Dann
Road and would like to see a speed limit on the road or at least at children at
play sign.
Pricilla Carter – She also lives on
Dann Road and is here to voice the same opinion as Mr. Dexter. She would like to see the speed limit be 15
to 20 mph.
Rodney Delong – He has a house on
his road that has a door with no steps.
There are also other homes on his road that are not in compliance. Councilor Doyle told Mr. Delong to give him
addresses and he would have Codes check on the properties. As far as the water goes, they don’t even
drink the public water it is so bad. He
then asked about mowing the lawn at the Raynor Ford building. Supervisor Williamson responded that he had
been in touch with Mr. Raynor and he will clean it up.
Bob Phillips – He is still trying
to get the junkyard cleaned up across from his house. He got away with it in Court last month. The cars he said were gone, three of them are
still there. He showed the Board photos
of the property.
Ray Shoults – He lives on Phillips
Road and is for the water. He suggested
doing Town wide water. He doesn’t want
to be left out of a group and not be cost effective.
COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Board has a copy
of a letter from one of our County Legislators regarding a Governmental
Website.
We have received our
estimate for the yearly retirement payment.
It is lower than last year.
The Granby Seniors
have submitted their Budget request for 2017.
Each Board Member has a copy of this request.
The Town has
received a letter from Mercy Flight Central asking for a contribution.
OLD BUSINESS
The Board discussed
CEO David Hanford’s request for reimbursement of training classes he has
attended. They tabled the issue until
they have more information on the training.
NEW BUSINESS
Councilor
Frazier-Hartle has submitted her letter of Resignation effective September 30,
2016. Councilor Frazier-Hartle commented
that her time at the Town has been interesting.
She has held the positions of Assessor, Zoning Enforcement Officer,
Clerk to the Supervisor and Town Board Member.
She wishes there could be as many people at all meetings of the Town
Board as there are here tonight. Most
people in the Town don’t know what is going on and attending meetings is the
way for Residents to stay informed of what is going on in the Town. She said thank you and that she appreciates
the opportunity. She and her husband are
purchasing an RV and are going to travel.
MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
Councilor Clothier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to allow Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr
to dispose of excess technology items as he sees fit, all were in favor, none
opposed.
Councilor Fortier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to pass the Standard Work Day
Resolution (form 2417-A), with the change of Jeffrey Richards title to Highway
Superintendent instead of Council Person, all were in favor, none opposed.
Deputy Supervisor
Snow Jr. explained there has to be a signature collection process if the Town
Board is not going to establish a Water District on its own. For the signatures to be valid they must contain
geographic description, dollar amount for the project not to exceed and name
and address. The petitions must be filed
in the Town Clerk’s office and stamped received. The person filing the petitions must provide
contact information. The next step is to
look at every address, create a database and look at the geographic area
specified on that petition. Then you
need to look at the assessed value of every property listed on the
petition. If 51% of the assessed value is
represented, then you can proceed. A Feasibility
Study needs to be done with a map of the proposed area to be compiled and filed
with the Town Clerk. The findings are
then presented to the people with an estimated project cost. The procedure should be approved, put on the
Town Website and also attached to the petitions.
Councilor Clothier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to increase Sewer Fund SS8130.4 by
$9.00 and increase Appropriated Fund Balance by $9.00, all were in favor, none
opposed.
Councilor Doyle made
a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to allow Highway Superintendent
Richards to sign the Ice and Snow Agreement for the 2016-2017 season, all were
in favor, none opposed. Attorney for the
Town Chatfield has reviewed it.
REPORTS
FROM DEPARTMENTS
Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Total
Revenue for August was $3,749.85. A
check for $186.00 was sent to the NYS Ag & Markets for the spay/neuter
program, a check for $45.00 to the NYS Dept. of Health for marriage licenses, a
check to the Supervisor for $2,425.57 for local shares and $1,093.28 to the DEC
for hunting licenses.
Budget Officer – The
point of having a policy for forming a water district is to inform the people
of what needs to happen. When a Resident
calls they will all get the same answer.
Councilor
Frazier-Hartle made a motion, seconded by Supervisor Williamson to adopt the
procedure for the exploration of new Water Districts as Deputy Supervisor Snow
Jr. explained, all were in favor, none opposed.
Budget Officer Snow
Jr. then explained the Budget process to the Board. He as the Budget Officer is solely
responsible for creating the Budget.
This position takes the duty of creating the Budget away from the
Supervisor. The Budget Officer is a
position created by the Town Board and remains in force until the Board
dissolves it. He must file the Tentative
Budget by September 30th.
Once the Tentative Budget is filed, the Board will review it and make
changes as they see fit. This will be
given to the Supervisor to file with the Town Clerk and it becomes the
Preliminary Budget. The Town Clerk then
posts the filing of the Preliminary Budget and publishes it in the newspaper
with the salaries of Elected Officials.
Then there is a Budget Public Hearing which must be held by the first
Thursday after the General Election.
Once the Public Hearing is done, the Board may make changes to the
Budget if they so desire up until the final filing date of November 20th. At this time it becomes the Adopted Budget
and the Board may not make changes again until after the Organizational Meeting
in January.
Youth Director – (Supervisor
Williamson) He is working with the Youth Director to get free pumpkins for the
kids Halloween party on October 29th.
Supervisor
– Supervisor
Williamson would like to publicly apologize for a derogatory comment he made
about his Clerk, Diane Haskins, at a meeting about three weeks ago. He did not
intend for this to be derogatory. He invited anyone to come in and look at her
yearly report showing he thinks she pretty much walks on water.
Highway Superintendent – Highway
Superintendent Richards reported that they are on their third pass for
mowing. They are replacing old
culverts. The 2001 International truck is
cleaned up and put on Auctions International.
He has quotes on tree removal.
Councilor Doyle thinks they are high and need to contact more people for
bids. The County has started paving in
the Town. The 2015 Western Star truck is
at Henderson’s waiting for assembly. They
will be starting Millard Bassett Road next week and he is meeting with the
gentleman on Whitewood Tract on Friday.
Justice – Councilor
Fortier reported that Judge Winkworth is back.
The Justice Department still needs to meet with Budget Officer Snow Jr.
Code Enforcement/Zoning – There
were 10 Building Permits issued with a construction value of $110,965.00 and
$966.40 in Building Permit fees. 17
Building Inspections conducted and 8 Building Permits closed. 26 Violation Inspections and 4 Violations
issued and 11 closed.
Councilor
Doyle assured everyone that they are trying to clean up the Town. There has been a problem with
miscommunication but they have had extensive talks and policies put in place
and he feels they are now doing a pretty good job getting out there and getting
it done.
Town Board Reports/Comments – Councilor
Frazier-Hartle asked if the Contractor would be going back to fix driveways on
Sharp Road. Supervisor Williamson said
it was discussed at the Construction Meeting and they will be going back and
fixing the driveways. Councilor
Frazier-Hartle then mentioned there is an area for Board concerns on the form
for the Construction Meetings. She asked why the Board has never been informed
when these meetings are scheduled so they could attend. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. told Councilor
Frazier-Hartle there is a procedure in place for Resident Complaints.
Buildings/Highway – Councilor Doyle
reported as Highway Superintendent Richards reported the truck is out for bid
and they have been busy with culverts.
The new plow truck is ahead of schedule.
He also reported Superintendent Richards has been working on learning
payroll.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to approve the shelving for
the records room, all were in favor, none opposed.
Planning Board – (Supervisor
Williamson) The Planning Board unanimously approved the former Granby Center
Church being turned into a dance studio.
Councilor Doyle also reported that the Planning Board was having some
problems with things flowing smoothly with the Codes Department. Councilor Doyle requested a Codes Officer
attend the Planning Board Work Session and they were able to work things
out. Now everyone knows what steps are
in place so there will be no glitches in the system.
PAYMENT OF TOWN BILLS
Councilor Fortier made
a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to approve payment of the Town Bills as
audited on Abstract #17, all were in favor, none opposed.
General Fund $9,238.00 Highway
Fund $20,905.95
Wilobob Fund $86.87 WSA
6A (H) Fund $440,886.36
Councilor Doyle made
a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to enter into Executive Session
to discuss the job performance of an Employee, all were in favor, none
opposed.
The Board entered
into Executive Session at 8:49 P.M.
Councilor Fortier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Frazier-Hartle to end Executive Session
and re-convene the meeting, all were in favor, none opposed.
The meeting was
re-convened at 9:20 P.M.
DATES FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS
Public Wok Session September 28, 2016 at 6:00
P.M.
Town Board Meeting October 12, 2016 at 7:00 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilor Clothier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to adjourn the meeting, all were in
favor, none opposed.
Meeting Adjourned at
9:21 P.M.
Councilor Clothier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to re-convene the meeting, all were
in favor, none opposed.
The meeting was
re-convened at 9:22 P.M.
Supervisor
Williamson made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to allow the Town Clerk
to advertise for the positon of Town Board Member, Councilors Clothier and
Fortier were in favor, Councilor Frazier-Hartle abstained.
Councilor Clothier
made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to adjourn the meeting, all were in
favor, none opposed.
The meeting was
adjourned at 9:24 P.M.
