Town Board

CLERMONT TOWN BOARD

DECEMBER 2, 2009

The Clermont Town Board held its regular meeting on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 due to a conflict with the first Monday date. Those present were Supervisor Staats, Councilwoman O’Neal, Councilman Jones, Councilwoman Lent and Councilman Nolan.

There were seven residents present and Town Engineer Ray Jurkowski.

Supervisor Staats opened the meeting with the salute to the flag. The Supervisor recognized Councilwoman Lent and Councilman Nolan and thanked them for their years of service on the Town Board and to the Town.

MINUTES:

A motion was made to approve the minutes of the public hearing held on November 2nd on the preliminary 2010 budget by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Nolan. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made to approve the minutes of the regular board meeting held on November 2nd with a correction noted by Councilwoman Lent on page 3, last bullet under new business to read ‘send items to the two individuals’ by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilman Jones. All in favor. So carried.

The year-end meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall.

CORRESPONDENCE:

  1. The Town Clerk gave a check to the Supervisor for $75.00 for the General Fund. The Clerk’s report was approved on a motion made by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Nolan. All in favor. So carried.
  2. A letter was written to Butler & Sons Flooring thanking them for the donated carpet for the Community House.
  3. A letter was written to Scott and Theresa Delaurentis thanking them for the donation of bank run gravel for the highway garage project.
  4. A letter was read from John D. Halterman IV regarding the controversy over the Easter Egg Hunt.
  5. A letter was read which was written by Supervisor Staats to Mr. Halterman in response to the letter about the Easter Egg Hunt.
  6. Columbia County Health Department H1N1 Flu Vaccine Clinic on December 5th at Columbia Greene Community College.
  7. There was no correspondence for the web committee.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

  1. Councilwoman Lent noted that the 2006 bank statements, Easter Egg Hunt records and list of donors and receipts were turned over in January 2007 and signed by Supervisor Bill Banks. Also, a list of donors and volunteer list were upstairs in the Town Hall and were hung in the Town Hall every year. The bank statements were not requested from Councilwoman Lent until asked by the Clerk and copies were turned over. Councilwoman Lent reported that the applications for the new zoning laws are drafted but she may have to meet with the Zoning Board and Ray Jurkowski to finalize the applications. The fee schedule has to be updated and the amounts for these applications are in the minutes of the zoning review committee.
  2. Councilman Jones would like a committee established for the public recreation facility. This can be done at the organizational meeting in January.

OLD BUSINESS:

  1. ASSESSMENTS: The data mailers have been sent out to all taxpayers and the assessor is validating the data. There will be a public hearing in February held by the NYS Office of Real Property Tax Service at the Town Hall.
  2. GENERATOR: The generator at the Route 9G firehouse installation has been completed and start up will take place this week. The generator is operational, if needed.
  3. AUDIT: The Supervisor reported that the audit would be complete, however, he misunderstood, the risk assessment will be complete but the report will not be in until January at least.
  4. VOTING MACHINES: There was discussion last month about who keeps the keys for the election machine. There are no set regulations or laws about where the keys are kept. The Board of Elections would like everyone to follow the same regulations and have the Custodians holding the keys. It is really up to the town. The supervisor would like to see the keys stay at the town but he will get more information.
  5. MINING: There was discussion last month about gravel mining from the Delaurentis property on Trout Creek Road. Supervisor Staats thinks the activity has ceased for now. He has not been able to contact Scott Delaurentis, but he will be asking him to get a permit from our building inspector, if he continues. Bob Desmond reported that the town requires that any gravel being removed needs a permit.
  6. BALLFIELD: The Supervisor has spoken to the Saulpaugh’s attorney and trustees and the lease has been passed on to them. The lease will be for thirty years.

BUDGET TRANSFERS:

  • PARK AND RECREATION FEES: There has been $11,875.00 collected in recreation fees from the Planning Board since 2002. It has not been separated from General fund monies. A separate Trust & Agency sub-account will be set up and the funds transferred from the General fund into the T&A account for parkland reserve. A resolution was authorized on a motion made by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilman Jones to transfer $11,875.00 from the General fund balance to the T&A account for Parkland Reserve account. All in favor. So carried.
  • The transfer from last month for the $3000.00 from Parks to the Assessor account did not get to the accountant because of a problem with the fax so that update does not show on this month’s report.
  • A motion was made to authorize a resolution by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal to transfer $800.00 from Engineering 1440.4 to the Central Communications account 1650.4. All in favor. So carried.
  • A motion was made to authorize a resolution by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal to transfer $1700.00 from Unallocated Insurance 1910.4 to Brownfields 7110.42. All in favor. So carried.
  • Councilman Jones asked if the amount of time the engineer and attorney are attending the meetings on engineering and legal issues can be reduced in the coming year. The Supervisor is going to ask the attorney and engineer to attend only when necessary.

SUPERVISORS REPORT:

  • COMPUTER COMMITTEE: The laptop for the Tax Collector has been received and Baxter Stickles of County Data Processing will be loading the programs on for the tax collecting.
  • HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: The committee discussed welfare fraud task force, which has been initiated within the last six months. There have been several arrests and saved about $115,000.00 in taxpayer money. This should be a deterrent to people who are not entitled to benefits.
  • ONE CITY CENTRE: The County has lost out on the purchase of this building and is pursuing Ockawamick renovation but DSS will not be going to Ockawamick.
  • COURT HOUSE: The design for the Court House renovation has been delayed by the State several times but it appears it in the final design stage.
  • HIGHWAY GARAGE PROJECT: The roof and soffets have been completed on the garage. The gable end cannot be completed until electrical work is done. The highway crew has been working on the salt shed frame with the help of the Livingston Highway Department. Ray Jurkowski, Town Engineer will report further.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

  • The Supervisor thanked all that have supported the Election Day Dinner. He also thanked the Election Inspectors for their time. The Christmas Holiday party is Friday, December 4th from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
  • Judy Neary asked about the recreation fees and where the fees come from and how much per year. Councilwoman O’Neal explained that the fees come from Planning Board fees charged to the applicants based on subdivision of lots. She also asked if we would have to hold a referendum prior to building a recreation area. There will be a survey and find out what people want and it may require a referendum depending on what we do.
  • GLYNWOOD CENTER: The town paid money for the grant for Phase I of the Keep Farming. Judy had thought that there would not be a Phase II, but when Judy spoke to Virginia Kasinki she stated that there was a training period for the Phase II with Supervisors Brown, Williams and Staats. Judy would like to add this to the information on the work that was done on Phase I. Ms. Kasinki has sent minutes of the meeting to Judy and claims there were also training manuals handed out. Supervisor Staats recalls talking to her about setting up a meeting but it never materialized. Judy will bring the minutes to the next meeting and the Supervisor will look into it.

 HIGHWAY GARAGE:

Ray Jurkowski arrived to report on the garage project. He reported that the roof is complete, the insulation has been sprayed into attic space, insulation in the inside of the garage bay area and completed the chimney insulation. A stainless steel chimney has been put up through the roof. Finish work should be completed in two or three weeks. There is electrical work to be done, which will be discussed. A payment request has been received for $78,625.00. There is approximately $6500.00 left in the contract to be paid. The DOL conducted an inspection for purposes of prevailing wage rate, which they do periodically. DOL has some discrepancies against prevailing wage and what workers stated they were getting. The contractor has been asked to forward certified payrolls and the Clerk has been given a copy as well. The Towns responsibility is to maintain prevailing wage statements and keep on file. DOL can request that we withhold monies until it is resolved. Ray has spoken with DOL and the contractor has also, so it should be resolved before the next application for payment. Councilwoman Lent stated that some rates in the book could be confusing. The worker who picks up a panel to put on the building, the DOL may consider them a tin worker or metal worker versus general laborer. The interpretation is not always the same.

The fascia will be wrapped in siding; garage door will be installed on Friday. Request for Proposals were sent out for installing a new underground service so that the existing overhead service can be removed. We have received quotes from two of the three contractors who visited the site:

Ralph P. Schmidt & Son for $2,700.00

Ralph’s Electric for $2,650.00

Mac’s Electric was also solicited but no bid was received.

A motion was made to accept the bid from Ralph’s Electric for $2,650.00 by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilman Nolan. Supervisor Staats abstained from vote due to a possible conflict. A roll call vote was held as follows: Councilwoman O’Neal, aye; Councilman Jones, aye; Councilwoman Lent, aye; Councilman Nolan, aye. Passed.

Highway crews from Clermont and Livingston have been doing a very good job of installing the blocks and trusses for the salt shed frame. There were questions about installation of the fabric for the salt shed and the representative from the company will be in contact with the Highway Superintendent.

Councilman Nolan asked if there are any change orders or additional work to be done.

The chimney and blown foam insulation in the ceiling space where there was a deeper area are the only changes. The project is still well under the original budget and Ray will have a cost report for the January meeting because the work will be done. Councilman Jones had questions regarding run-off from the salt shed and an asphalt berm has been put around the block and there will be a berm around the asphalt pad. This will minimize any runoff. Councilman Jones asked if there is any way to formalize with the highway department to maintain the salt material in the shed. Highway Superintendent Potts is aware of the fact that the salt has to be kept intact under the shed and it has been discussed with the other employees. Payment is recommended to the Contractor for the amount of $78,625.00.

GENERATORS: The generator at Station #2 firehouse on Route 9G has been installed and LP gas has been hooked up. Waiting for start up by manufacturer. The electrician will be on sight as well with Superintendent Potts also.

Bob Desmond asked if there was an extra charge for the overhang and it was included. Bob also asked about snow guards for ice and snow. Once the fascia and soffet work is done, the snow guards will be installed. Gutters will be installed also. At some point, a dry well may be installed for runoff. Councilman Nolan noted that the entire property should be evaluated before any grading is done.

Supervisor Staats spoke to both electricians and the electrician with the lowest bid will be here on Friday and it should be finished by Monday.

ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT:

Bob Desmond: There was further discussion on the keys for the voting machine. Bob would like to see them remain at the town hall. Suggested keeping them in a locked box that only the custodians can open. Councilwoman O’Neal said it should be made clear that the set up man said they should go with the custodian. Dagmar Payne agreed that they were left with no choice. However, the Clerk believes that absent the Town Clerk, the keys should have been given to her representative who was there, not to a resident to give to the custodian, who was not present. This issue has to be resolved before the next election.

Bob also spoke on the Park Survey. We have had surveys in the past and this may not be adequate for what we are seeking and we should look at all the ramifications including insurance liabilities.

ABSTRACTS:

A motion was made by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilwoman Lent to pay General fund abstract #12, vouchers #314 – 346 in the amount of $14,928.16. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilwoman Lent to pay Highway abstract #12, vouchers #133-143, in the amount of $10,932.21. All in favor

A motion was made by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal to pay Trust and Agency abstract #12, voucher #11 in the amount of $108.00. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made by Councilman Nolan, seconded by Councilwoman Lent to pay Capital Projects abstract #5, vouchers #14-21, with voucher #16 being pulled, in the amount of $87,021.99. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made to adjourn at 8:30 P.M. by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Helen Shannon, RMC

Town Clerk

 

 

 

 

 

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