The Regular Town of Rochester Town Board Meeting was held on October 6, 2016 at 7:00pm Public Hearing at the Town of Rochester Town Hall.
PRESENT:
Supervisor Chipman Councilwoman Chachkin Councilwoman Fornino
Councilman Drabkin Councilman Spano Town Clerk Gundberg
Attorney Christiana

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Residents of Old Mine Road presented to the Town Board a petition requesting the right away as stated in their deeds, 50 feet wide out to Samsonville Rd. The residents expressed their concerns regarding inclement weather and emergency vehicles. The residents were advised that this wasn’t a Town issue because it is a private road and the next course of action would have to be to contact a law firm.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

A Motion was made by Councilwoman Chachkin to approve the minutes of 9/1/16 Public Hearing, 9/1/16 Regular Town Board Meeting, 9/22/16 Special Meeting & 9/29/16 Audit Workshop Meeting.

Seconded by: Councilwoman Fornino 5-0aye, motion carried

CORRESPONDENCE/ SUPERVISOR UPDATES:
To The Town Of Rochester Officials

I wanted to send you a note to acknowledge and thank Richard Miller for his service to the town and community. We at Crested Hen Farms had our first wedding at our barn this past Saturday. I did contact Richard to ask if he can swing by just in case any of any emergencies. Richard Miller made a couple of drive by’s in the area to make sure everything was ok. The wedding was a hit and the bride and groom said we exceeded their expectations. The next day, I called and texted my immediate neighbors for feedback, to make sure they were all ok and no one had any
Issues. Because of Richard’s service and help the night was a success.

Richard defines professionalism and I felt more secure and confident on the night of our first event that he was in the area making sure everything was ok. He is a wonderful representation of our town and I really appreciate the work that he did last Saturday as well as all the work and time you all put into serving our town. So, please extend my sincere thanks to Richard Miller. He is wonderful. On another note, I would like to extend to all the town officials to come by my farm to see the space that we put together. We have three more weddings this season and I am happy to report that we are completely sold out for the 2017 season already.

We have a strong interest in our community so we did donate the space to the Ulster County SPCA to hold their annual fundraiser a couple of weeks ago. I am happy to report that the Ulster County SPCA raised over
$13,000.00 that night at Crested Hen for the animal shelter. We would also like to offer the space to any town functions, celebrations, etc. as a donation and thank you from us to you for all your hard work. We love the Town Of Rochester and really look forward to sharing our wonderful barn with our town.

Many thanks, Frank

Supervisor Chipman read aloud a correspondence from Sophie Jenkins a resident on Clove Valley Road. Ms. Jenkins expressed her frustrations of a neighbor allowing fowl to roam freely and cause serious noise disturbances. Ms. Jenkins requests that the Board take the necessary steps to enact new ordinances in the R-1 & R-2 district.
Councilman Spano suggested getting feedback from CEO Jerry Davis regarding this situation. Let’s see what his findings are and report back to the Board.
Councilwoman Chachkin stated this is a good issue to report to the ZRC to review.
Supervisor Chipman expressed the difficulty passing such regulations but will look into it.

LEGAL UPDATES:

Attorney Christiana sent an e-mail to the Board regarding litigations.

LIAISON/ COMMITTEE REPORT:

Councilwoman Chachkin: Planning Board: a lot improvement was approved. Conditional approval was granted to Acorn School. Major subdivision was approved for Mt. Laurel Estates, 10/13/16 a public hearing is scheduled for west wind orchards. ZRC: 10/28/16 meeting discussion will be non-conforming structures & uses. Mike Baden held a session on “building better record” at Suny Ulster, great job Mike.
Councilwoman Fornino: Children’s Halloween Party 10/21 5-6:30pm, sign –ups have begun for field of screams on 10/29 6:30pm-9pm at Kelder’s Farm sign-up now. The Thanksgiving Luncheon 11/24/16 11-1:30pm. Heritage Day / pie festival was a success despite the rain. There were 7 performers for the talent show and 3 winners in each category for the pie contest. A big thank you to FRIENDS, Ellenville Library, Kerhonkson Federated Church and all that made the day a success.
Councilman Drabkin: nothing to report
Councilman Spano: nothing to report
Supervisor Chipman: HPC: discussed the solar law. HARP: met and brain storming work with the rail trail.

NEW/ OLD BUSINESS:

PROPOSED SOLAR LAW:

Attorney Christiana stated that since there was a substantial change to the wording of the current proposed law the board cannot act on it for 8 days.

SCHEDULE SPECIAL MEETING FOR PROPOSED LOCAL LAW # 3-2016:
Resolution # 121-2016:

A Motion was made by Councilwoman Chachkin to schedule a special meeting for 10/14/2016 at 9am to discuss the proposed Local Law # 3-2016 & RFP of the Solar Array at the Town of Rochester Town Hall and for the Town Clerk to advertise the same.

Seconded by: Councilwoman Fornino 5-0aye, motion carried
ACCEPTING CREDIT CARDS AT THE TRANSFER STATION:
Resolution # 122-2016:

A Motion was made by Councilman Spano and Seconded by Councilwoman Chachkin to adopt the following;
Whereas the need for convenient payment for permits and refuse at the Town of Rochester Transfer Station has been demonstrated.
Whereas accepting credit and debit cards for payment is a safe, reliable, and verifiable method of payment.
Be it resolved that a credit card payment device be installed at the Town of Rochester Transfer Station as soon as feasible and that broadband be installed at that location in order to support said credit card payment device.
Be it further resolved that any and all transaction costs be incurred by the credit or debit card user.
5-0aye, motion carried
CHECK HANDLING POLICY AND PROCEDURE:
Resolution # 123-2016:

A Motion was made by Councilman Spano and Seconded by Councilman Drabkin to adopt the following;

Be it resolved that the following policies be established for proper handling of checks at all Town of Rochester facilities for payment of taxes, fees, licenses, and services:
1) Checks presented for payment to the Town of Rochester must have an address and telephone number of the signatory.
2) All checks paying for transfer station related fees must have a transfer station permit number written on it. The transfer station permit number must be verified by the employee receiving the check.
3) non- residents with one day permits will not be accepted unless they are paying with a credit card.
4) The procedure for the handling of checks returned to the Town of Rochester for non-payment to due varied reasons such as insufficient funds are as follows:
a. The name and the amount of the check will be place in a log within one business day of the Town receiving notification of non-payment by our bank.
b. Attempts to communicate notice of nonpayment to the signatory of the check will begin within one business day of Town notification of non-payment. All attempts will be noted in the “bad check” log. The signatory will be given 3 business days to pay in cash or credit card the amount owed the town. Payment must be handled by the Town Clerk’s Office unless other arrangements are made with the approval of the Supervisor. Payment must be in the form of cash or credit/debit card.
c. Protest procedures will begin in 5 business of our receiving notice of non-payment of a check. Those procedures as well as all costs associated with receiving payment are noted on the “bad check” log. Costs such as certified mail will be noted. The signatory of the check will also have the additional costs incurred by the Town of Rochester added to the amount owed to the Town.
d. The Town Clerk’s Office will notify any or all police agencies including the Town of Rochester Constabulary of the passing of a false instrument immediately upon completion of the check protest process.
5) Those individuals/businesses who have issued non payable checks to the Town of Rochester either more than twice or have ever had the protest process begun will be placed on a “Do Not Accept Check List” to be maintained and updated by the Town Clerk’s office. This list will be used at the Town Clerk’s office as well as the Transfer Station.
6) Notice of our check handling procedures will be on signage at the Transfer Station as well as the Town Clerk’s Office and on the Town Website.
5-0 aye, motion carried

RFP SOLAR ARRAY:
Because of the delay in adopting proposed Local law # 3-2016: Solar Law, the Board agreed to discuss and take action on the solar array RFP at the special meeting scheduled for 10/14/2016 at 9am.
HIGHWAY POLICIES:
Highway Superintendent Kelder asked the Board to please consider the automatic 4 hour call-in pay for part timers. The Board agreed that this request can be placed in the Collective Bargaining agreement negotiations.
Councilman Spano stated that providing part-timers with the same benefits as the full timers sets the Town up for improper practices.
PUBLIC COMMENT:

Sophie Jenkins urged the Board to change ordinances in R-1 & R-2 districts pertaining to Animal Husbandry and reiterated that she also represents neighbors dealing with the Fowl in the early mornings.

Mike Baden stated that the Proposed Solar Law is so highly complimented that it has been circulated to 5 Towns that may adopt this policy.

OLD BUSINESS:

Councilman Spano asked Supervisor Chipman I any response has been made regarding the graffiti on the bridge, the turn on Rte. 44/55 and lower granite Rd. and the Radio frequency.

Supervisor Chipman stated that he has only heard about the radio frequency and a meeting is to be scheduled within the next week or two.

ADJOURNMENT:

A Motion was made by Councilman Drabkin to adjourn the meeting at 9:00pm.

Seconded by: Councilman Spano 5-0aye, motion carried

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

Kathleen A. Gundberg
Town Clerk/ Tax Collector