UNAPPROVED MINUTES May 14, 2018
Please note-the April 9th minutes were approved at the May meeting.
UNAPPROVED MINUTES
May 14, 2018
The regular monthly meeting of the Town Board was held May 14, 2018 at 7:30 pm at the Town Hall. Present: Supervisor Thomas S. Hynes, Councilmen Edward Raeder, Allen Hinkley, Carol Murray and Kenneth Davie, Dpty. Highway Supt. William Sprague, Assessor Clerk Stephenie Seminara, Parks Clerk Carolynn Faraci, Attorney Allyson Phillips and 27 residents. Absent: Highway Supt. Neil German (medical leave)
On motion of Carol Murray second by Edward Raeder the Town Board approved the April 9, 2018 Minutes.
AYES-5 Murray, Raeder, Hinkley, Davie, Hynes
NAYS-0
Jillian Lyke did a presentation on the Car Show for a Cause event held each July, whose proceeds benefit area residents that are going through medical issues and requested the Town Board consider making the third Saturday of July a Town holiday in honor of the event. The Town Attorney will look into the matter.
Deputy Highway Supt. William Sprague reported they will be getting the new grader Wednesday, crews are getting roads ready for stone & oil that is expected to begin mid June, he has not heard any news from NYSDEC regarding the recent oil spill from the cold patch pile and all violations from the Dept. of Labor inspection on the highway garage have been remedied and they await a follow up visit.
Highway Supt. Neil German, who is out on medical leave, has requested the hiring of Scott Haskin due to the retirement of David Thorington. He does not have his CDL yet but should shortly.
RESOLUTION #39-HIRE SCOTT HASKIN TO HIGHWAY DEPT.
On motion of Kenneth Davie second by Allen Hinkley the following resolution was offered and adopted:
“RESOLVED, the Town Board hires Scott Haskin to the Highway Dept. effective May 29, 2018 at a reduced HEO pay of $18.97 per hour plus benefits per the Highway Worker’s Association Contract.”
AYES-5 Davie, Hinkley, Raeder, Murray, Hynes
NAYS-0
Councilman Davie recognized Deputy Hwy. Supt. William Sprague for the good job he has done filling in for the Hwy. Supt. in his absence and for the quick action taken on the oil spill in dealing with DEC.
The Town Board concurred.
Assessor Clerk Stephanie Seminara had nothing to report other than what was already distributed to the Town Board in the written Assessor’s report.
Margaret Ellsworth of the M-ARK Project Inc. reported the following:
-The bid opening for the Park Kitchen project has been changed from May 17 to May 24 at 2:00 pm due to discrepancies found in the specs identified at the bidder walk through
-Consolidated Funding round for grants is open for the Grand Gorge Civic Center work of which an income survey is required with the application and she will need a revised Engineer’s scope of work by July 27th
-She would like to try to get the school kids involved to try to prevent further vandalism at the park dollhouse and will work on a plan to do so
– She requested the Town Board approve her to submit a grant application for Town acquisition and a plan for Kirkside Summer Cottage to house the Roxbury Museum
-Tourism funding will be used towards the costs associated with the Summer Festival, Labor Day events, fishing derby and Soup & Sip
-Requested info of clean up schedule for the collapsed old pharmacy building. Supv. Hynes stated it is being handled by the Building Inspector and is expected to be cleared by Memorial Day. Under the NYS Building Code the Town must take certain steps for situations like this.
-The new sign for the parking lot has been completed and will be erected.
-Listed several projects awarded grant funds
Parks Clerk Carolynn Faraci reported the following:
-Park Restroom are now open. The toilets are winterized and closed every year and the building locked up but the toilets had been used sometime during the winter. The broken toilet has also been repaired.
-The large market cart had also had the pin removed sometime during the winter after she had locked up the buildings which could have caused a problem if any food had been set on it.
-A fishing derby will be held May 19th in the park for kids up to 15 years of age. A free trout dinner will be served afterwards. The stream will be stocked the night before with brown and tiger trout at least 9” in length that will be purchased from SUNY Cobleskill.
-She has set up the cameras in the park and highway garage with alarms
-The CPA’s will be conducting the annual Town audit on May 16 & 17
-She has requested two kids for summer work. There are two programs through the County for the Park and the Roxbury Arts Group.
-The registered mail she sent to a parent for payment of damage to the park dollhouse had been denied pickup. Attorney Phillips says it should be delivered by either personal service or sent registered mail.
Supv. Hynes stated Roxbury kid’s soccer will be using the Civic Center field as the Kirkside Park field is too wet and soft.
The sewer break in the Denver Sewer District has been repaired.
All the lights at the Civic Center are scheduled to be changed to LED the end of the week. It will be under an energy efficiency program.
The gate at the Transfer Station is still being worked on.
The Civic Center door has been repaired due to damage to the panic bar.
Mike Harrington of Lamont Engineers gave the Town Board a written report on status of the water projects and discussed same.
Denver Water
He requested trying a test day with the locator. Councilman Hinkley questioned if the piping location work could be done in sections. It could but it is something that Roxbury Run Village Association really wants done under the project. Discussion took place on the valve replacement that was done and it was agreed to be charged to the Project and not the District.
Roxbury/GG
It was noted the spring pipe is broken at the wall. The Town Board requested that it be repaired as soon as possible.
Sarah Irwin as well as several other residents expressed concerns with the collapsed old pharmacy building including mold, insulation, rodents, possible asbestos, liability issues if someone gets hurt and being next to a eatery and demanded clean up of same. Supv. Hynes again stated it is being addressed by the Building Inspector in accordance with NY Building Code guidelines and expects it to be cleaned up by Memorial Day. It was also discussed if the Town removes the debris it would be put on the owner’s tax bill for that property and reimbursed to the Town by the next year’s tax collection. Councilman Hinkley explained the issues with the Town’s responsibilities and taxes being paid up to date by the owners. Councilman Davie explained insurance issues and costs of self cleanup by the owners. Attorney Allyson Phillips discussed the process and procedures the Town must follow with the local law regarding the building code and the liability issues involved if not followed. The Attorney will also speak to the Building Inspector about status. The residents also expressed concerns with the former Reed’s Hotel property being in disrepair.
Information had been received from NYS Dept. of State regarding changes to the Uniform Building Code and State Energy Code that may affect the Town’s building code enforcement. Attorney Phillips has reviewed the Town’s local law regarding the Building Code and has determined it does not require revisions per the notice as the Town does not have more restrictive laws in place than the Uniform Building Code.
Phillips, did, however, discuss Section 15 regarding time periods on an Order to Remedy which requires a 30 day period. A public hearing would be needed to adopt the policy.
Copies of the Dept. of Labor inspection reports were distributed to the Town Board. The Highway Dept. will rectify the violations at the Highway Garage. Per the violations found regarding the Workplace Violence Prevention Policy, all Town employees and Elected Officials will be attending a training session tomorrow at the Town Hall to be given by the Dept. of Labor.
A letter was received from Linda & Gary Michelson expressing concerns with property conditions in Grand Gorge which are unsightly, containing junk vehicles and debris and requested the Board address the matter. The letter will be given to the Building Inspector to look into.
Supv. Hynes had sent a letter to NYSDOT regarding the poor condition of State Hwy 30 between Roxbury and Margaretville. NYSDOT has responded they are aware of the matter, however, due to budget restraints, they can only do patch paving until a full resurfacing project can be funded.
A note has been received from South Kortright School thanking the Town Board for use of the Civic Center gym.
On motion of Allen Hinkley second by Carol Murray the Town Board approved the Town Clerk’s monthly report for April 2018 in the amount of $2,818.77 (Town Clerk $888.77 and Building Permits $1,930.00)
AYES-5 Hinkley, Murray, Raeder, Davie, Hynes
NAYS-0
On motion of Edward Raeder second by Carol Murray the Town Board approved the Supervisor’s monthly reports for March and April 2018.
AYES-5 Raeder, Murray, Hinkley, Davie, Hynes
NAYS-0
On motion of Kenneth Davie second by Allen Hinkley the Town Board approved the Assessor’s monthly report for April 2018.
AYES-5 Davie, Hinkley, Raeder, Murray, Hynes
NAYS-0
On motion of Edward Raeder second by Allen Hinkley the Town Board approved the Building Inspector’s monthly report for April 2018.
AYES-5 Raeder, Hinkley, Murray, Davie, Hynes
NAYS-0
On motion of Carol Murray second by Kenneth Davie the Town Board approved the monthly Water Reports for April 2018 which show the following receipts: Denver $3,660.60; Grand Gorge $2,841.40 and Roxbury $5,145.00)
AYES-5 Murray, Davie, Raeder, Hinkley, Hynes
NAYS-0
On motion of Allen Hinkley second by Edward Raeder the Town Board approved the monthly Justice Court reports for February and March 2018 in the amounts of $3,289.00 and 5,522.00 respectively.
AYES-5 Hinkley, Raeder, Murray, Davie, Hynes
NAYS-0
On motion of Kenneth Davie second by Carol Murray the Town Board approved the Tax Collector monthly report for April 2018.
AYES-5 Davie, Murray, Raeder, Hinkley, Hynes
NAYS-0
The Tax Collector has also reconciled with the County Treasurer for the 2018 Warrant. The Town has been paid all tax money due under the Warrant and a total of $421,873.25 in unpaid taxes were returned to the County for collection by them.
No action taken on filling the vacancy on the Historic Preservation Commission.
No action taken on the quote for additional cameras at Kirkside Park as the Supervisor and Park Clerk are still waiting to hear back from the camera company as they have questions.
RESOLUTION #40-TOWN SPONSOR ANNUAL ROXBURY SUMMER FESTIVAL
On motion of Kenneth Davie second by Carol Murray the following resolution was offered and adopted:
“RESOLVED, the Town Board agrees to sponsor the annual Roxbury Summer Festival and authorizes applications to the submitted to NYSEG and NYSDOT for permits of use under the Town of Roxbury liability insurances.”
AYES-5 Davie, Murray, Raeder, Hinkley, Hynes
NAYS-0
No action taken on renewing the Roxbury Sewer operator agreement.
Discussion took place on adopting a policy for the closure of a Town Highway for purposes other than highway maintenance. It was decided a policy was not needed for the few times and duration of closure that would be requested for an event.
RESOLUTION #41- RESOLUTION BY THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF ROXBURY
AMENDING THE TOWN OF ROXBURY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK TO ADD NEW SECTION ENTITLED “LEAVE FOR CANCER SCREENING”
On motion of Allen Hinkley second by Edward Raeder the following resolution was offered and adopted:
“WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Roxbury (the “Town Board”) has adopted an Employee Handbook to communicate the Towns personnel policies and practices to its employees and elected officials; and
WHEREAS, On December 18, 2017, the New York Civil Service Law was amended to provide that public officers and public employees shall receive paid, excused leave to undertake cancer screenings; and
WHERAS, the law became effective in March 2018; and
WHERAS, the Town Board now desires to amend its Employee Handbook to incorporate this new legal requirement into its adopted personnel policies and practices.
WHEREAS, the Town Board now desires to approve and execute the attached Contract; and
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Employee Handbook is hereby amended to include a new Section 608 which provides as follows:
Leave for Cancer Screening
Employees are entitled to up to four (4) hours of paid leave for the purpose of obtaining cancer screening with no charge to leave accruals. Cancer screening includes physical exams, blood work or other laboratory tests for the detection of cancer. Satisfactory medical documentation that the employee’s absence was for the purpose of obtaining cancer screening may be required by the Department Head or Town Supervisor.”
WHEREUPON, the Resolution was put to a vote and recorded as follows:
AYES-5 Hinkley, Raeder, Murray, Davie, Hynes
NAYS-0
RESOLUTION #42-AMEND FEBRUARY 2018 ABSTRACT
On motion of Allen Hinkley second by Kenneth Davie the following resolution was offered and adopted:
“RESOLVED, the Town Board approves the February 2018 abstract to be amended as follows due to bills having been incorrectly charged in the Capital Projects Fund:
Original Abstract:
AYES-5 Hinkley, Davie, Raeder, Murray, Hynes
NAYS-0
Building Inspector Tomi Tompkins has completed the Energy Code Enforcement Training under NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities Program which now makes the Town of Roxbury eligible for grant funds for projects.
The Town Board was made aware, due to Roxbury Water spring filtering, NYSEG electric bills have increased.
The open building permit list was distributed to the Town Board.
The Town has received the 2017 Tax Collector records.
A report of Dog Enumeration funds was distributed to the Town Board in case they ever want to do a dog enumeration project. These funds have been collected with paid dog licenses since the new law was adopted in 2011.
A two year report was received from the County regarding the bed tax that was implemented in 2016.
A drawing of the future home of the new Catskill Watershed Corp. building was shown to the Town Board.
On motion of Edward Raeder second by Carol Murray the bills were audited ordered and paid in the following amounts:
AYES-5 Raeder, Murray, Hinkley, Davie, Hynes
NAYS-0
Councilman Hinkley requested the Town Clerk send the Town Board copies of all information that is normally in their packets at the meeting so they have it before the meeting to review it and to also have the packet of information available at the meeting.
On motion of Carol Murray second by Kenneth Davie the meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.
THIS IS A TRUE COPY
____________________________________
Diane Pickett, Town Clerk
Thomas S. Hynes, Supervisor
Edward Raeder, Councilman
Allen Hinkley, Councilman
Carol Murray, Councilwoman
Kenneth Davie, Councilman