CLERMONT TOWN BOARD

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

The Clermont Town Board held its regular meeting on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall. Those in attendance were Supervisor Raymond Staats, Councilman Robert Desmond, Councilwoman Nancy Moore, Councilman Evan Hempel and Councilman Edward Kahle. There were eleven residents present and John Mason of the Register Star.

Supervisor Staats opened the meeting with a salute to the flag.

MINUTES: The following minutes were reviewed and accepted.

• 2013 Organizational Minutes: A motion to accept by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Kahle. All in favor. So carried.

• January 7, 2013 Regular Meeting Minutes: A motion to accept by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Hempel. All in favor. So carried.

• January 12, 2013 Special Meeting to review the books of the Supervisor, Town Clerk, Tax Collector and Town Justices and review the policies. A motion to accept made by Councilman Hempel, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

CORRESPONDENCE:

• The Town Clerk presented a check to the Supervisor in the amount of $53.50 for the General Fund. A motion was made to accept the report by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.
• John Fieser submitted the Building Inspectors Year End report for 2012:

Total number of permits issued for the year were 37

Single family houses 1

Additions/Alterations 15

Accessory Structures 11

Roof Mounted Solar Arrays 2

Use Permits/ZBA referrals 7

C.O. Municipal searches 40

Remedy orders – mailed 2

On Site Verbal remedy orders 4

FOIL requests 2

Written complaints 5

Certificates of Occupancy issued 23

• Columbia County Dept. of Health Rabies Clinics for 2013 is posted on the Town website.

• Town of Saugerties notice of amendment to Local Law No. 1 of 2008 to change the official zoning maps.
• Supervisor Staats read a letter received from the NYS Town Clerk’s Association on the re-certification of the Town Clerk in the Registered Municipal Clerk program for continuing education and participatory requirements.
• Web Committee: There were no updates.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

• Councilman Kahle has been researching grants for the Town Park. He asked for any other suggestions. Supervisor Staats suggested looking for grants that could offset the costs for the Community House repairs, which have been budgeted for this year, such as siding repair on the west wall. Councilman Desmond pointed out that any grant would help even if we had to contribute because we did budget for the work.

• Councilman Desmond notified the Board that Bruce Unson has resigned his position on the Zoning Board of Appeals. He thanked Bruce Unson for his many years of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals as Deputy Chairman and for serving on the Town Board. He is also a member of the Clermont Fire Department serving currently as Treasurer and on the Fire Police. He offered condolences to the Unson family on the passing of Helen Unson who has lived in Clermont since 1939.

• There were no other reports.

OLD BUSINESS:

• AUDIT: Three proposals were received and have been reviewed by Councilwoman Moore. She reported that all proposed the same services, with no differences in what is provided. The varied bids could be because of the size of the Towns.

1. Raymond G. Preusser, CPA - $4000.00
2. Sickler, Torchia, Allen and Churchill - $7500 to $9000
3. Pattison, Koskey, Howe & Bucci - $9000.00

The only thing was that two would send out the confirms and one would not. These are letters that must go out to the banks to confirm the balances. Raymond Preusser would not be sending out the confirms. The Town Clerk would be working with the bookkeeper and the auditor with providing information.

A motion was made to appoint Raymond Preusser, CPA to perform the audit by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

• Last month the Highway Superintendent was authorized to have the 2006 Dump Truck motor repaired by Joe’s Auto for $15,000.00. The work has been completed and the invoice came in $14,891.12. The truck is back in service and the Supervisor thanked Joe Palumbo.

NEW BUSINESS: The following resolutions were presented for approval.

• RESOLUTION NO. 36 OF 2013 was presented.

Be it resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Clermont authorizes the Town’s participation in the 2014 Reassessment and Reassessment Aid Program administered by New York State Office of Real Property Services. This program is designated to ensure assessment equity and maintenance of 100% equalization rate. Continued compliance with this guideline will result in continuation of awards from the New York State Office of Real Property Services.

The Supervisor explained that a reevaluation of parcels has to be done every four years to remain at 100% equalization rate. It has to be done this year for 2014.

A motion was made to approve by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

• RESOLUTION NO. 37 OF 2013

Whereas, the Town Board of the Town of Clermont, in an effort to relieve the tax burden on the residents of the Town of Clermont, made a motion on February 4, 2013 to enter into a contract between the Town and Cheryl Kaszluga to perform data collection and property evaluation on appraisal reviews of taxable parcels located within the Town of Clermont.

Whereas, under this contract the data collection is to be completed by October 1, 2013 at the agreed upon rate of $20.00 per parcel.

A motion was made to approve by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Kahle. All in favor. So carried.

• RESOLUTION NO. 38 OF 2013

Be it resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Clermont agrees to enter into a lease with the Canaan Fellowship for the use of the Clermont Community House for the period January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013 according to the terms and conditions as set forth.

A motion was made to approve by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

• RESOLUTION NO. 39 OF 2013

Be it resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Clermont agrees to enter into an agreement with Pine Plains Veterinary Associates, P.C. for the period of January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013 to act as kennels for the Town of Clermont, County of Columbia, State of New York as set forth in the agreement.

A motion was made to approve by Councilwoman Moore, seconded by Councilman Hempel. HHHAll in favor. So carried.

• RESOLUTION NO. 40 OF 2013

Be it resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Clermont agrees to enter into an agreement with Round Top Animal Hospital for the period of January 1, 2013 through December 31 2013 to act as kennels for the Town of Clermont, County of Columbia, State of New York as set forth in the agreement.

A motion was made to approve by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

• RESOLUTION NO. 41 OF 2013 Budget Amendment for transfer for the repair to the 2006 Ford Pick Up Truck.

Increase Appropriations Machinery Fund DA5130.4 $15,000.00

Decrease Appropriations Transfer to Capital DA9950.9 $15,000.00

A motion was made to approve by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

• The Supervisor received the 4^th Quarter Sales Tax for $78,913.36. Revenues for sales tax and mortgage tax have picked up over the last year and as a result we were able to put $1,954.57 back in the General Fund balance rather than funds coming out of the fund balance and $19,950.00 went back into the Highway fund balance. The current General fund balance is $281,261.00 and the Highway fund balance is $163,554.00. We have budgeted to appropriate $57,000 from the General fund and $26,000 from the Highway fund in this year’s budget.

POLICY UPDATES:

• CODE OF ETHICS: The Code of Ethics policy requires that there be an elected or appointed officer or employee of the Town. Currently we have three members who are appointed but not elected or officers. The Town Board has elected to increase the membership requirement to four members on a motion made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried. A motion was made to appoint Mary Helen Shannon, Town Clerk to the Board of Ethics by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

• WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICY: Councilwoman Moore explained that after much review of the policy the Board decided to eliminate the reference to employees providing proof of a valid weapons permit and having written approval from the Town Board. Also eliminated was the definition of a Dangerous Weapon. Supervisor Staats said that he feels comfortable about what was removed from the original adopted policy and recommends approving the amended policy. A motion was made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore to approve the policy as amended. All in favor. So carried. Supervisor Staats stated that we are in compliance with the program as the Highway employees completed the workplace violence training with Instructor Germantown Supervisor Roy Brown.

• Emergency Repair: Superintendent Potts found that water pipes were leaking in the garage and the valve would not work to turn off the water. The water comes from the Community House to the garage and that valve would not turn off either. Harkins Service Company was called and they changed the pipes and replaced the valves. The Supervisor thanked Harkins for their timely response. The total cost was $670.00.

• BOOKKEEPING SERVICES: The Supervisor has contacted several different firms for quotes for bookkeeping services. He received a quote from Karp, Ackerman, Skabowski & Hogan for $12000 to $13000 annually, and they will not deliver checks. We are currently paying $9300 for our bookkeeper. He requested a quote from Sickler, Torchia, Alan & Churchill but they declined. There have been others individuals mentioned but he would like to continue with a CPA. He will attempt to get another quote from a CPA firm.

SUPERVISORS REPORT:

• MILL ROAD BRIDGE: The Public Works Committee has asked the Public Works Commissioner David Robinson to put together figures for the bridge repair. Livingston Supervisor McDonald has received a letter from his Town Board to look into reopening the bridge. A letter was also sent from the County Traffic Safety citing safety concerns to the County.
• COURTHOUSE PROJECT: There was discrepancy in the electrical contract bid for the CourtHouse project. The amp service had to be increased from 800 to 1200. This will increase the cost but can be absorbed from the contingency budget, which the engineering firm Morris Associates did allow for. This is something that would have had to be paid for in the original budget, there was no additional costs incurred as it was found before any work had been started. The architect believes this will still come in under budget.
• PINE HAVEN HOME: The County is soliciting architects for the project design.

• BOARD OF ELECTIONS: The Board of Elections has asked for a budget increase of $135,000 due to extra primaries last year.

• COUNTY ATTORNEYS OFFICE: Foreclosures are processed every year by the County Attorney’s Office for properties that are in arrears for three years. There has been no attorney handling this or any foreclosure lists since 2008. The Supervisor feels that this should be done because the county is losing out on the taxes on these properties.

• SCHOOL FISCAL CRISIS: Supervisor Staats attended a meeting, with Germantown Supervisor Roy Brown, on the School Fiscal Crisis. It was a very impressive presentation with the speaker going through the reasons why the schools are having a difficult time, citing lack of funding from the State and the 2% cap. He hopes that the Legislators that were present will take the information back to their colleagues.

• Supervisor Staats thanked Supervisor Brown for training Clermont and Livingston’s Highway Personnel on Workplace Violence.

MOTIONS:

A motion was made by Councilman Desmond to approve Trust and Agency abstract #1 voucher #1 for $389.25, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made by Councilman Hempel to approve Highway abstract #2, vouchers #2 – #17 in the amount of $21,903.04, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made by Councilman Kahle to approve General abstract #2, vouchers #17-#42 in the amount of $6,808.78 by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Town Historian Dianne O’Neal received an email from a high school student doing a project to identify all the war memorials in the county that are not cemeteries. In her research she found that the Clermont Community House was dedicated in 1949 as Memorial Hall and that is when the bronze plaques were put on the front of the building commemorating World War I and II Veterans. Upstairs in the Community House there are scrolls with the name of residents who were in the Revolutionary War through Vietnam. She will start looking into more recent conflicts and put together names and keep the Board up-to-date. Judy Blessinger-Neary suggested fund raising for this project. Councilman Desmond said that once the property is remediated; it has been suggested about putting a memorial behind the Cemetery. Resident Bill Myer, who is a member of the Red Hook VFW, said that they have been trying to do this but it becomes difficult developing the parameters.

Ray Quintero: Asked if the Board if aware of anything going on the Cole property on Route 9G. He said that there is fill going in there and there is no permit issued. It looks like he wants to put in storage units and Mr.Quintero said that we don’t have a classification for storage units in our zoning. Supervisor Staats will look into whether storage units are permitted. He also asked about the classification of the 5.7 acre parcel, which is classified as a gas station.

Chris Nolan said that there was another storage unit approved several years ago but was never put in.

A motion was made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore to adjourn at 8:05 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Helen Shannon, RMC

Town Clerk