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The February Town Board Meeting was held on February 7, 2013 at 7pm at the Town of Rochester Town Hall.
PRESENT:
Supervisor Chipman Councilwoman Archer Councilman Drabkin
Councilman Spano Town Clerk Gundberg Attorney Christiana
ABSENT:
Councilman Cilenti
PLEDGE:
Supervisor Chipman opened the meeting and Al Wagner led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Justice Babcock addressed the Town Board with his concerns as a fellow elected official and an interested party of the Town an open line of communication needs to be made. He expressed concerns of reading in the Daily Freeman a possible consolidation of the courthouses and having neither prior notice nor input. He stated that major considerations must be taken into account if the courthouse is moved. Supervisor Chipman stated that there is no plan, no numbers have been given to the Town and this consolidation is just clearly a possibility.
Justice Babcock also stated that the court should be involved in talk of a constabulary. He discussed concerns on a bill not being paid on time to the court CEI program. This left the court without having all its resources which is not acceptable.
Supervisor Chipman then asked Justice Babcock his opinion on court surcharges.
SHAWANGUNK BY WAY PLANNING GUIDE- AL WAGNER:
Al Wagner Executive Director of Shawangunk Scenic Byway presented to the Board the Scenic byway planning guide. The planning guide consists of over 100 pages of scenic resources, non-designated resources, visualization assessment tools, farming and residential design concepts to help minimize impact. Mr. Wagner stated it can all be found on MTNSCENICBYWAY.ORG
Councilwoman Archer stated that the byway guide “suited the town code we have in place.”
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A Motion was made by Councilman Drabkin to approve the minutes of the 01/03/2013 Organizational Meeting 01/03/2013 Town Board Meeting, and 01/31/2013 Audit Workshop Meeting.
Seconded by: Councilman Spano 4-0 aye, motion carried
SUPERVISORS REPORT: Filed with the Town Clerk
LEGAL UPDATES:
Attorney Christiana stated she is meeting with CEO Jerry Davis to discuss the Town’s legal rights to force the owner of the Rainbow Diner to be held accountable and get the property cleaned up. Supervisor Chipman stated, “It is becoming a dumping ground, it’s dangerous, and terrible for our community.”
SUPERVISOR’S UPDATE:
Supervisor Chipman thanked Richard Miller for finding the generators the board voted to purchase for the Town of Rochester.
Supervisor Chipman also discussed finances and the budget for the Town of Rochester. “ With working under a 2% tax cap and unfunded mandates increasing drastically & the state eliminating services the Town Board is going to do the best they can to give the public as much as we can, we got to be smart more efficient and more effective.”
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED:
NYS office of Parks Rec’s & Historic Preservation informed the Town of Rochester that Appledoorn Farm is listed on the NYS Registry of Historic Places. Supervisor Chipman stated, “Ward and Floyd have done a fantastic job! And this is really something special to share with our community.”
LIASION REPORTS:
Councilwoman Archer: nothing to report
Councilman Cilenti: absent
Councilman Drabkin: gave an analysis of the transfer station report for the month of December and January. He suggests we reduce, reuse, and recycle!!!
Councilman Spano: nothing to report
Supervisor Chipman: nothing to report.
HIGHWAY UPDATE:
Highway Superintendent Wayne Kelder gave an update on Hurricane Irene and Sandy. Hurricane Irene which took place in August of 2011 had 30 sites of damages, 2 bridges, culverts and washouts. FEMA approved the money for all the sites. October 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit us with 24 roads closed at the peak of the storm, when school opened 17 roads were still closed causing inconvenience for some more than others. Fortunately with Sandy we didn’t lose any bridges, culverts, nothing structural but we had a lot of debris and trees down.
NEW/OLD BUSINESS:
UCEMC APPOINTMENTS:
Resolution # 51-2013:
A Motion was made by Councilwoman Archer to appoint Jorge Gomes to the UCEMC council
and for Hank Bartosia to serve as the Alternate.
Seconded: Councilman Spano 4-0aye, motion carried, Cilenti-ab
FORECLOSURE CONTACT INFORMATION DISCLOSURE:
RESOLUTION #52 -2013:
THE FOLLOWING resolution WAS ADOPTED BY THE Town Board of the Town of Rochester at a regular meeting held on February 7, 2013.
Support for NYS-contact information for vacant structures
ON a motion made by Councilman Drabkin, seconded by Councilwoman Archer, the following wasADOPTED 4-0AYES, Councilman Cilenti absent
Resolved to support New York State regarding the proposed laws concerning contact information for vacant structures.
WHEREAS, vacant, abandoned and foreclosed homes and structures have proliferated throughout New York State over the last five years; and
WHEREAS, vacant structures that are not maintained for months at a time degrade and depreciate the value of the vacant structure as well as the value of surrounding properties; and
WHEREAS, lending institutions that hold mortgages on said vacant structures do not always provide the contact information of responsible party; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill A.88 and Assembly bill A.824, currently pending, would make it mandatory for lending institutions to provide contact information of responsible parties regarding vacant structures; and require good faith in obtaining a foreclosure; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Rochester Town Board supports the passage of said Bills.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Rochester hereby supports the passage of said Bills and respectfully requests that the State Representatives who represents constituents in the Town of Rochester support the passage of said Bills.
UNSAFE BUILDINGS DISCUSSION:
Attorney Christiana discussed with the Board laws that she would like to review with CEO Jerry Davis in reference to charging the property owner demolition orders for unsafe structures.
ROCK MOUNTAIN ROAD MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT REVISED:
RESOLUTION # 53-2013:
It was recommended by Attorney Christiana to approve the Rock Mountain Road maintenance agreement that was negotiated.
A Motion was made by Councilman Drabkin to approve the revised Rock Mountain Road maintenance agreement.
Seconded by: Councilman Spano 4-0aye, motion carried, Cilenti-ab
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
A Motion was made by Councilman Spano to enter into executive session at 8:00pm with Justice Babcock to discuss a personnel issue.
Seconded by: Councilman Drabkin 4-0aye, motion carried, Cilenti-ab
A Motion was made by Councilman Spano to reconvene the meeting at 8:20pm stating no action taken nor monies expended.
Seconded by: Councilwoman Archer 4-0aye, motion carried, Cilenti-ab
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD:
Mike Baden updated the Board on the grant process with the NYS archives. Hoping to start the process mid-march.
ADJOURNMENT:
A Motion was made by Councilwoman Archer to adjourn the meeting with a moment of silence in memory of Nancy Copley and David “ Wayne” Depew at 8:25pm.
Seconded by: Councilman Drabkin 3-0aye, motion carried
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen A. Gundberg
Town Clerk
The Audit/Workshop Meeting was held on February 28, 2013 at 7:00pm at the Town Hall.
PRESENT:
Supervisor Chipman Councilwoman Archer Councilman Cilenti
Councilman Drabkin Councilman Spano Town Clerk Gundberg
PLEDGE:
Supervisor opened the meeting and Councilman Cilenti led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ZONING /SUBDIVISION CODE ENHANCEMENTS:
Resolution # 54 -2013:
A Motion was made by Councilman Cilenti to table the review of the zoning and subdivision enhancements.
Seconded by: Councilman Spano
DISCUSSION:
Councilman Cilenti stated that he has received a lot of feedback from the public pertaining to the highlighted remarks on the website in reference to zoning changes. People’s perception is their reality and in we need to nip it in the bud now by forming a taskforce committee.
Councilwoman Archer stated we have the highlighted remarks, these are clarifications of things in place. If people want to voice their opinions that’s what public hearings are for. We are creating a process drafted for transparency by the zoning, planning, and code enforcement offices. If a committee is formed what would the charge be to the committee? Would they be there for fine tuning,? clarity?
Councilman Drabkin stated that a committee is important for a diverse group to represent different points of the Town. Mike has done a terrific service to the Town but we need a broader base to remove some of the conflict.
Councilwoman Archer reminded the board that if a committee is formed we need to be clear on a charge & a time frame. There are some law changes but this was basically for review process. This needs to be completed in a timely fashion.
Councilman Cilenti suggested we contact the original committee. They worked well together and give them a 3 month review time. Plus they have knowledge of zoning and it’s process.
Supervisor Chipman asked if we should reactivate the old committee. The committee consisted of the following Town residents;
David O’Halloran
Mike Baden
Robert Rominger
Martha Tardibuono
Jeff Davis
Imre Beke
Diana Puglisi-Cilenti
Alonzo Grace
Gerry Fornino
Frank Kortright
Mike Baden stated the committee also held no public comment. We also hired consultant Tom Shepstone to oversee the charter. Who are we going to get?
Councilwoman Archer suggested possibly put Mike in charge are a facilitator.
Mike stated a facilitator cannot be a voting member and that places a lot of pressure on him. He recommended forwarding it to Dennis Doyle the Ulster County Planner for review.
Councilman Spano stated that maybe the planning board should review it first. He was under the impression that this review was at the recommendation of the planning board but that was not the case. Who’s idea was it to make changes?
Mike Baden stated at the request of Mary Lou a track record was kept of what worked and what didn’t along the way. We found some parts to be too restrictive and some not enough. The enhancements were discussed with the planning board but not presented. A better suggestion to put the review back on the Planning Board rather than a committee because the committee doesn’t experience the day to day problems that the Planning Board would be aware of when looking at applications.
Councilman Cilenti wasn’t comfortable with making the planning board the committee.
Councilman Spano also stated that those involved in enforcing the law shouldn’t be making changes to processes. It’s no reflection on those who have been working on the changes and clarifications. We appreciate the 4 people that worked really hard on this but forming a committee is one way to hash out democracy.
CODE TASKFORCE COMMITTEE:
Resolution # 55 -2013:
A Motion was made by Councilman Cilenti to form a committee with a maximum of 10 Town residents. This committee will be presented with a charter of their role and given till June audit workshop meeting to complete their review for the Town Board.
Seconded by: Councilman Spano 5-0aye, motion carried
APPROVAL OF BILLS:
A Motion was made by Councilman Cilenti to approve the following bills as audited this date
General Fund 2012 Abstract 14 $ 51,666.91
Highway Fund 2012 Abstract 14 $ 47,138.55
Street Lighting $ 421.72
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$ 99,227.18
Seconded by: Councilwoman Archer motion carried
ADJOURNMENT:
A Motion was made by Councilman Drabkin to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 pm.
Seconded by: Councilman Cilenti motion carried
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Gundberg
Town Clerk
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Town of Rochester
New York
