The April Town Board Meeting was held on April 3, 2014 at 7pm at the Town of Rochester Town Hall.
PRESENT:
Supervisor Chipman Councilwoman Chachkin Councilman Cilenti
Councilman Drabkin Councilman Spano Town Clerk Sergio
Attorney Christiana
PLEDGE:
Supervisor Chipman opened the meeting and Councilman Cilenti led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
No comments made.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A Motion was made by Councilman Drabkin to approve the minutes of the 03/06/2014 Town Board Meeting, 03/27/2014 Audit Workshop Meeting.
Seconded by: Councilman Cilenti 5-0 aye, motion carried
SUPERVISORS REPORT: Filed with the Town Clerk
SUPERVISOR’S UPDATE /CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED:
Will discuss in new/old business.
LEGAL UPDATES: all the paperwork is filed for the Rainbow Diner, just waiting to hear what the next step will be.
LIASION REPORTS:
Councilwoman Chachkin: Planning Board: 2 applications; the Hudson Valley Resort submitted their proposal for new resort. Their plan is to build the new building first then demolish the old building. They plan on adding a 60,000 square foot casino. The other application is for Flying Change Farm. The Board is waiting to hear back from the HPC, Fire Department and Agriculture & Markets.
HPC: Working on the Alligerville district project, there is a public meeting scheduled for 4/25/14 at 7pm.
Telecommunications: will meet on the 4/10/14.
Justice Court: will receive written confirmation from Judge Delahunt in regards to the audit request.
Councilman Cilenti: There is an issue with the community center building that needs to be discussed.
Councilman Drabkin: ZBA: decision on the Salvatore Marano issue was determined that the mobile home was not abandoned. In the zoning code abandoned building needs to be clarified; this specific building wasn’t occupied for more than five years but was used as a hangout. Rob Rominger filed an appeal regarding the indoor riding arena.
Councilman Spano: nothing to report
Supervisor Chipman: Easter Egg hunt scheduled for 4/19/14. Earth Day is 4/19/14 & 4/26/14. Mystery Dinner Night: 4/25/2014.
NEW/OLD BUSINESS:
HIGHWAY PLOW TRUCK BID:
Resolution # 56-2014:
A Motion was made by Councilman Drabkin to advertise for sealed bids for a Chevrolet 2500HD 9,500 GVWR Single Rear Wheel, Four Wheel Drive, 3 Person cab with 8 Foot Pickup Body and Step Bumper. Bids are due 4/22/2014 at 10am in the Office of the Town Clerk where they will be opened and read aloud. Furthermore the Town Clerk is authorized to advertise the same.
Seconded by: Councilman Cilenti 5-0aye, motion carried
ELLENVILLE URBAN ADJUSTED BOUNDARY:
Resolution # 57-2014:
A Motion was made by Councilman Cilenti and Seconded by Councilman Drabkin that;
WHEREAS, Section 101( a ) of Title 23 U.S.C., permits the State and local officials, in cooperation with each other, to fix urban Area Boundaries; and
WHEREAS, the Ellenville Small Urban Area, Urban Area Boundary needs to be established as a result of the 2010 Census of population; and
WHERAS, Federal-Aid urban area boundaries are fixed primarily for capital program funding and eligibility; and
WHEREAS, the new Federal-Aid urban boundary should smooth out irregularities, maintain administrative continuity, and encompass fringe area having residential, commercial, industrial, national defense significance and transportation terminals such as airports and seaports; and
WHEREAS, subsequent to the urban area boundary establishment, the New York State Department of Transportation will update functional classifications of roadways to reflect new urban boundaries, and preform a technical update if the National Highway System roadways to reflect changes that have occurred since its adoption in 1995;and
WHEREAS, designation of the Ellenville Urban Area Boundary must be approved by appropriate local officials; and
WHEREAS, the Ulster County Transportation Council, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for this area includes the entire county as the Metropolitan Planning Area Boundary for the comprehensive, continuing, and cooperative transportation planning process.
The Local Officials in the Ellenville Small Urban Area approve the adjusted Urban Area Boundary as identified in the attached map and description.
DISCUSSION:
Supervisor Chipman stated that, “according to the census federal funding for highways. Ellenville boundary includes some parts of Kerhonkson. Based on population this would create better funding for our State and County Roads.”
5-0aye, motion carried
TAX COLLECTOR’S RESOLUTION CONCERNING USPS OFFICE CLOSING:
Town Clerk Sergio submitted to the board a letter of request;
At the February Town Clerk / Tax Collector Association meeting for Ulster County there was a discussion on the mail delivery problems in Ulster County. Many of us became aware of the mail delivery issue when bulk mailing (such as our tax bills) were not delivered in a timely manner to our local residents. On September 7, 2013 the Mid-Hudson Postal and Distribution Center in Newburgh closed its door to first class mail and our mail is now re-routed to Albany, NY. It was stated by the United States Postal Service that, ” The movement of our mail processing operations from Newburgh to Albany will be transparent to the general public and have no effect on first-class mail delivery performance.” From what I experienced this tax season I would have to disagree with that statement.
The Town of Rochester was one of the last Towns to receive tax bills from information services, so it was a time crunch to begin with. All of our bills were mailed out January 2, 2014. My office received phone calls for the next several weeks from local residents not receiving their tax bills (far more than the usual calls we’ve received in the past). During the busiest time of the year it added extra work for me and my deputies looking up tax bills, and/or print and mailing a second bill at the request of the homeowner. Taxpayers feared the bill was lost in the mail due to the snowstorms when in fact the mail was taking longer to reach its destination. We had irate residents that didn’t feel it was fair that their bill was due January 31st when they still haven’t received the bill by the second week or even third week of January.
This year by far out -weighed the past for people not receiving their tax bills in a timely manner. We were still receiving return to sender mail from the post office the second week of February with unable to forward as the explanation. It should not take 4-5 weeks for our office to receive returned mail.
On the Town Clerk end of things we sent out 81 notices for delinquent dogs licenses to our local residents, it’s been 3 ½ weeks and we are just now receiving return to sender notices back. Again it should not take this long for Local mail to be returned to our office.
I believe that rerouting mail through Albany instead of collecting, processing, and distributing it locally is geographically inefficient and unjustifiable.
Town Clerk Sergio asked that the Town Board pass a resolution in support of a public plea for an investigation to be made
Resolution #58-2014:
A Motion was made by Councilman Cilenti and Seconded by Councilman Drabkin that;
WHEREAS, at a meeting of the Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers Association held on February 20, 2014 at the Town of Esopus, Ulster County, it was discovered Townships and Villages throughout the region are having serious problems with mail delivery, including the timely delivery and receipt of annual tax bills: and
WHEREAS, delays in the delivery of tax bills, official mail, utility bills and important notices with deadlines impede governmental functions and responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, it was decided to contact Local, County, State and Federal elected officials, and invite them to a meeting of the Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers Association to bring this serious problem to their attention and to seek their assistance to address it; and
WHEREAS, Local, County, State and Federal Officials named below were each invited to attend the March 20th meeting of the Ulster County Town Clerk’s and Tax Receivers Association:
. Town of Woodstock Supervisor, Jeremy Wilber
. Ulster County Legislator, Donald Gregorius
. Ulster County Legislator, Chairman, John Parete
. Ulster County Executive, Michael Hein
. New York State Senator, Cecilia Tkaczyk
. New York State Senator, Terry Gipson
. New York State Senator, James Seward
. New York State Senator, John Bonacic
. New York State Senator, William Larkin
. New York State Assemblywoman, Claudia Teney
. New York State Assemblyman, Frank Skartados
. New York State Assemblyman, Peter Lopez
. New York State Assemblyman, Kevin Cahill
. United States Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand
. United States Senator, Charles Schumer
. United States Congressman, Chris Gibson, and
. United States Congressman, Patrick Maloney
WHEREAS, members of the Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers Association held its regular meeting on March 20, 2014 at the Town of Woodstock offices; and
WHEREAS, Officials unable to attend or send a representative requested minutes of the meeting; and
WHEREAS, the Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers Association members enumerated to the gathered body the many instances where delays in the delivery of mail caused serious problems for Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers; and
WHEREAS, it is the opinion of the Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers Association problems with the timely delivery and receipt of mail began to worsen from the time local mail processing was transferred from Kingston to Newburgh and then to Albany; and
WHEREAS, the problem impedes governmental functions and responsibilities, thus angering and confusing constituents; and
WHEREAS, Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers Association considers this problem to be of the utmost importance; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, the Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers Association calls upon our County, State and Federal Representatives to take the steps necessary to rectify these problems and improve the timely delivery and receipt of mail; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be sent by each of the Ulster County Town Clerks and Tax Receivers to the Ulster County Executive, and to the County, State and Federal officials named herein, AND
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town of Rochester Town Board HEREBY fully supports their efforts in resolving all issues involving the US mail for the benefits of our Town residents, and
BE IT FURTHERED RESOLVED that said resolution be spread upon the pages of the Official Record of the Town of Rochester and forwarded to ALL of the Elected Representatives listed above.
5-0aye, motion carried
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PICNIC:
Resolution # 59-2014:
A Motion was made by Councilman Cilenti for Supervisor Chipman to plan a volunteer appreciation picnic for boards and commissions.
Seconded by: Councilman Spano 5-0aye, motion carried
DISCUSSION:
Supervisor Chipman thought this would be a great idea to give back to the volunteers of our community. Simple gathering with hotdogs, hamburgers and covered dishes.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE STRATEGY:
Supervisor Chipman stated that he hopes for the summer to start reviewing the adopted 2006 Comprehensive Plan. Supervisor Chipman appointed Councilman Drabkin and Councilwoman Chachkin to review the plan.
NY RISING UPDATE:
Supervisor Chipman gave his update of the March NY Rising Meeting. Currently we are waiting on approval of 4 projects within the Town of Rochester. The watershed study of the Rondout Creek, the Alligerville Firehouse, showers at the Rochester Community Center, and the Rondout Creek Bridge.
Both the Firehouse and the Community Center are temporary shelters.
Supervisor Chipman stated he met with William Gordon from NYSDOT in reference to the Rondout Creek Bridge. It’s a 7 month project that is projected to begin spring of 2015.
NYS BUDGET PASSAGE AND MUNICIPAL IMPLICATIONS:
Supervisor Chipman updated the board on the NY New Property Tax Freeze Program. This makes it extremely difficult budgeting especially with the 2% tax cap. Mandates continue to rise and now we are expected to prove a countywide tax savings of at least 1% by 2016.
INCIDENT REPORT:
Councilman Cilenti questioned the incident report with the petty cash box that was stolen from the Courthouse. The report states an unsecured safe, who is held responsible?
Councilman Spano stated when reading the report it states money was removed from unsecured safe. Is this Human error or a habit? Who is responsible for procedures to be in place?
TOWN WEBSITE:
Councilman Spano wanted to float the idea with the board of possibly having a 1-2 minute video promoting our Town. It can show clips of scenery, homes, farms, businesses in the Town of Rochester. It would be nice to get the community involved showing a wonderful place to live, work and play!
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD:
One Resident stated that there is a lot of garbage on the Town roads.
Another resident suggested getting the college students in film involved in the video. It would be a great project for all.
Gerry Fornino stated the picnic would be a great idea.
ADJOURNMENT:
A Motion was made by Councilman Drabkin to adjourn the meeting at 8:15pm.
Seconded by: Councilman Cilenti 4-0 aye, motion carried
Spano- absent
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen A. Sergio
Town Clerk