TOWN OF GRANBY
BOARD MEETING
MARCH 8TH,
2017
7:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. 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 Deputy Supervisor John Snow Jr., Councilors Eric Clothier, Tracy Doyle,
Melissa Fortier and Lori Thrall. Supervisor Williamson was not present. There were 13 Residents and Guests in
attendance.
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Thrall to dispense with the
reading of the minutes of the previous meetings, all were in favor, none
opposed.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Rose Anthony –
Ms. Anthony asked the Board if it was ever brought up at a meeting for the Town
to take over Airport Road? No one on the
Board recalls this subject being brought up at a meeting. She came to a meeting
two months ago, and asked the Board if they could do something about getting
sewer and water on State Route 3 since this is the reason the car dealership
did not go ahead with their plans to building a new building. They were promised sewer by Supervisor Williamson
and when it fell though they decided not to build. Councilor Doyle suggested Ms. Anthony get
involved in a Committee to get sewer on State Route 3, so she went to see the
City of Fulton’s Mayor and Dan O’Brien.
They told her that two years ago, the City proposed to our Supervisor
that if the Town took over Airport Road they would pipe water and sewer from up
in back and come down to State Route 3 at no charge to Granby. Supervisor Williamson told them no, the Town
would not take over Airport Road, but never brought it to the Board. Ms. Anthony said the Supervisor has no right
to make a decision like this without discussing it with the Board. Councilor Clothier asked former Planning
Board Chairman Jim Karasek if he knew about any of this. Mr. Karasek said this was the first he had
heard anything about Airport Road, but Mr. Williamson did tell the car
dealership in front of the Planning Board he would get them sewer. It never came about, they got upset and the
Engineering Firm pulled out. Ms. Anthony
said we could build up a nice little business area there. She got the ball rolling with Fulton and if
the Town takes over Airport Road they are still willing to install sewer. She asked Deputy Snow Jr. about helping out
with a grant.
Peter Holmes- Mr.
Holmes cautioned the Board to be careful when making deals that affect assessed
values. The Granby Fire District took a 3 million dollar hit in their assessed
value because of the sewage treatment plant annexation and the same year lost
even more when Walmart won their lawsuit for a reduction in assessment. The Fire District lost 6 million dollars in
assessed value in one year. He asked the
Board to keep in mind that everything they do has repercussions outside this
Board.
COMMUNICATIONS AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There
will be an Oswego County Rabies Clinic at the Granby Highway Department on July
12th, 2017 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to enter into Executive
Session to discuss contracting legal services, all were in favor, none opposed.
The
Board entered into Executive Session at 7:18 P.M.
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to re-convene the meeting,
all were in favor, none opposed.
The
meeting was re-convened at 7:25.P.M.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Thrall to contract with The Ward Law
Firm hiring Matthew Ward as the Town Attorney per the schedule they have
discussed, effective March 15, 2017 a roll call vote was taken;
Councilor Fortier Aye Councilor Thrall Aye
Councilor Clothier Aye Councilor
Doyle Aye
Supervisor Williamson Absent
Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. stated we need to work on the Comprehensive Plan. He suggested we prepare a memo to the
Planning Board Chairman and see how many workshops he thinks it will take to
work on the Comprehensive Plan. He feels
we should invite the Planning Board to a special Town Board Meeting so there is
no miscommunication and nothing lost in translation. We need to have a conversation on goals and
look at the zoning as well. There will
be a Public Hearing required on the Zoning Laws. They will need to go to the Attorney for
review. The Board will plan on holding a
Public Hearing in May.
The
Board discussed the Town wide revaluation and the fact that Residents are
losing a lot of money in exemptions. The
Board would like to invite Assessor Roach back to a work session to break down
the process and itemize the things he really needs. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. feels the way the
revaluation is presented to the public is very important.
Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. explained the Little Libraries is a free-standing
structure. He suggested it be at the
Town Hall where there is a lot of activity and could be monitored by the
security cameras.
Deputy
Snow Jr. met with the Town’s Insurance Company and went over our inventory and
adjusted the values on the equipment. He
asked for a quote to increase the Employee Blanket Bond also for doing the Bank
Deposits. He also inquired about Cyber
Liability. This will only cost the Town
about a thousand dollars more a year to make these updates to fit out
needs.
Councilor
Clothier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to approve the changes to
our insurance contract with the option for crime, all were in favor, none
opposed.
Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. reminded the Board that the Town’s contract with Time
Warner expires in July. Computel
Consultants will look at our agreement and make sure the Town is getting what
we are supposed to be getting.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Thrall to allow Computel do the
audit, all were in favor, none opposed.
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to accept the Standard Work
Day and Reporting Resolution, a roll call vote was taken
Councilor Clothier Aye Councilor
Doyle Aye
Councilor Fortier Aye Councilor
Thrall Abstain
Supervisor
Williamson Absent
MOTIONS AND
RESOLUTIONS
Councilor
Thrall made a motion, seconded by Councilor Clothier to contract with Armory
Associates to complete a GASB 45 (Retirement Package Benefits) not to exceed
$3,000.00, all were in favor, none opposed.
Councilor
Thrall made a motion, seconded by Councilor Clothier to contract with
Industrial Appraisal to complete a GASB 34 (Fixed Asset Schedule Inventory) not
to exceed $3,000.00, all were in favor, none opposed.
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to allow Bowers &
Company CPA, PLLC to do the Audit required by USDSA, not to exceed $25,000.00,
all were in favor, none opposed.
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
REPORTS FROM
DEPARTMENTS
County
Legislator -Legislator Jim Karasek reported that the
Consolidation effort by the Governor has expired. It was discussed at a couple of meetings with
several Towns, but no one was interested in consolidation. A new effort will be forthcoming by the
Governor. He reminded the Board that
Granby does not want to inherit the west side of Fulton. He thinks when the
sewer and water issues are resolved we will see growth in that area and that
will benefit both the Town and the City.
Regarding the reassessment, the County
has purchased a Pictometry program and multiple organizations are using
it. This may be of some use the to the
Assessor. The Library in Oswego has a
Lend-A-Book Program and have they no problems with it. They lend out and donate books. He attended a Disaster Planning Exercise
through Arise. It went very well. The flow of information and response time was
very good. He also reported 911 has some
exciting things coming up.
Cemeteries
– Deputy Snow Jr. stated we need to have an
arborist inspect trees in our Cemeteries.
Dog
Control Officer – 16 Complaints, 1 Dog Picked Up, 1 Dog turned
over to the Oswego Shelter, 54 miles.
Supervisor
– Councilor Fortier stated the Board approved
the Handbook changes effective February 1st. She realizes there have been complaints about
time off and time reduced, however she would like to reiterate that these
changes were made effective as of February 1st 2017.
Councilor
Fortier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle for John Snow to review
information that was given for time records to be computerized and download it
on the computers as well as electronic for the Highway Department, all were in
favor, none opposed.
Councilor Foretier also added that if there
are questions, on page 4 of the Handbook it does say that The Board has the
right to change or modify the handbook at any time.
Town Clerk/Tax
Collector – Total revenue for February was $1,257.50. A check was sent to NYS Ag & Markets in
the amount of $135.00 for the Spay/Neuter Program and a check in the amount of
$1,222.50 was given to the Supervisor. Mr.
Koskowski has renewed his Dealers License for 2017 and a petition for speed a
speed reduction on Wybron Road was submitted.
The Town Clerk reminded the Board that the lawn care bid will be due
this year. The Board will review the
lawn care specifications at the next work session.
Budget Officer/Historian
– Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. reported three of the four impact items are complete for
the Solar Grant and the fourth we are in the middle of. He is exploring some of the other impact
items to be able to receive the $100,000.00.
Mr. Snow Jr. has been looking in to what we can do once we receive the
grant. One thing would be to replace our
lighting with LED. He has also looked in
to having solar panels on the building. He
has met with three companies and has one more to meet with. He estimates it would cost around $119,000.00
to be completely off the grid. Over the
lifetime of the panels the Town could save $300,000.00 in electricity usage at
today’s costs. As Historian, he reminded
the Board we need to pick a date for the Town’s 200th
Anniversary. He would like to reach out
to the Fire Departments and ask them to participate. He met with New York Life, but there is no
interest with the employees.
Highway
Superintendent – Highway Superintendent Richards left a report
read by Councilor Doyle stating the trucks had been out fourteen times in the
last month. Two snow bills for the
County have been turned in, one for $13,085.91 and one for $3,047.72 bringing
the total to $86,536.22 that the County has paid us for plowing their roads
this season. During the past two weeks,
the men have been cleaning the shop, washing trucks and filling potholes. The 2005 International has been taken to
Delong’s so they can start on the in-frame rebuild of the motor.
Planning
Board – Councilor Thrall said they have been reviewing
the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Ordinances. She received a packet from Code Enforcement
in regards to a new format for a standardized permit and wants to make sure it
is being communicated throughout all Departments to be sure everyone is on the
same page.
Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. suggested the Board
ask the Codes Department for a list of Fire Inspections that have been done in
the last year. He also has a book of Water Surveys that have come in so
far. He will ask the Engineer to look at
them and let him know how he wants to organize the data. The Engineer is also working on a feasibility
study for sewer.
Mr. Snow Jr. also reported on the Annual
Training School in New York City he attended in February. He will be introducing some of the ideas he
learned at this training. He stated we really
need an equipment replacement plan. We
don’t have anything in place at this time.
Councilor Clothier said the USDA may be willing
to come up with 35 per cent of the cost of a new mower for the Town. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. suggested selling
the two mowers we have now and replacing them with one. Councilor Doyle has quotes coming in for
these.
Deputy
Supervisor/Budget Officer Snow Jr. also stated we need a pavement management
program. We need to seal cracks and
maintain the roads, this is currently not being done. The roads should be looked and prioritized so
we have a plan a couple years ahead of time.
Councilor
Clothier said roads have dips in them due to the Water Service Area 6A
construction. Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr.
said in these cases there needs to be a complaint form filled out and turned in
to the Town Clerk to be submitted to the Engineer.
Court
Clerk Jessica King also attended the training in New York City. She took an Advanced Court Clerk training
class that was very informative. Mrs.
King reported there is going to be a mandate that Court Clerks take training
every year. She would like to set up a
meeting with the Judges and her co-clerk to discuss what she learned and the
upcoming changes. Mrs. King thanked the
Board for the opportunity to attend the training.
PAYMENT OF TOWN BILLS
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Fortier to pay the Town Bills as
audited on Abstract #5 with the exception of the October and December Stadium
International bills, all were in favor, none opposed.
General Fund $7,151.57 Highway Fund $21,588.61
Wilobob Fund $90.54
PUBLIC COMMENT
Les Holmes – He
asked what happened to the road patch the Town was using a couple of years ago
that when they patched the road it stayed there. Supervisor Snow Jr. said the
Company went out of business. Councilor
Clothier will look into it.
Councilor
Clothier made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to enter into Executive
Session to discuss possible Labor Union negotiations, all were in favor, none
opposed.
The
Board entered into Executive Session at 8:47 P.M.
Councilor
Doyle made a motion, seconded by Councilor Thrall to re-convene the meeting,
all were in favor, none opposed.
The
meeting was re-convened at 9:03 P.M.
DATES FOR UPCOMING
MEETINGS
Public
Work Session March 22, 2017 at 6:00
P.M.
Town
Board Meeting April 12, 2017 at 7:00 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilor
Thrall made a motion, seconded by Councilor Doyle to adjourn the meeting, all
were in favor, none opposed.
Meeting
adjourned at 9:04 P.M.
