REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN BOARD OF
THE
TOWN OF NEW HARTFORD, NEW YORK, HELD
AT
BUTLER MEMORIAL HALL, IN SAID TOWN ON
WEDNESDAY,
NOVEMBER 1, 2006 AT 6:00 P.M.
The Town Supervisor called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. and led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. The roll was then taken with the following Town Officials and Department Heads being present during the progress of the meeting:
TOWN BOARD MEMBERS: Councilman Robert A. Payne III
Councilman John C. Waszkiewicz III
Councilman David M. Reynolds
Councilman Richard B. Woodland, Jr.
Supervisor Earle C. Reed
OTHER TOWN OFFICIALS/EMPLOYEES:
Assessor Paul E. Smith
Bookkeeper Carol D. Fairbrother
Codes Enforcement Officer Gerald F. Back
Director of Senior Services M. Eileen Spellman
Dispatch Supervisor Jeffery P. Madden
Highway Superintendent Roger A. Cleveland and
Deputy Superintendent Anthony DeCuffa
Parks & Recreation Director Michael W. Jeffrey
Planner Kurt L. Schwenzfeier
Police Chief Raymond Philo
Town Attorney Gerald R. Green
Town Clerk Gail Wolanin Young, CMC/RMC
and Deputy Town Clerk I Margaret M. Jones
Thereafter, a quorum was declared present for the transaction of business.
6:01 P.M. 2007 Preliminary Budget and Special Districts
The Town Supervisor opened the Public Hearing at 6:01 P.M. and Town Clerk Gail Wolanin Young presented the Notice of Hearing Upon the 2007 Preliminary Budget, Affidavit of Posting, and Proof of Publication (October 24, 2006 edition of the Observer Dispatch). Supervisor Reed stated that the purpose of the Hearing was to offer the citizens an opportunity to speak for or against the budget, or any portion thereof.
Councilman Payne began the power-point presentation of the 2007 Preliminary Budget:
Page 2
· Property Taxes
o Of total property taxes paid annual, 6% is paid to the Town, 24% to the County and 70% to the School District
November 1, 2006
Page 3
James Lawrence expressed concern that new developments might have upon the storm water system and believed the Town should prioritize maintenance of the storm water system.
o Building Purchase ($1,000,000) and Renovations ($500,000) – Since the mid 1980’s the Town has recognized the need to
§ Consolidate
§ Alleviate overcrowding
§ Improve taxpayer access to Town Offices
Past Town Board have looked at over 20 locations, each site
November 1, 2006
Page 4
receiving careful scrutiny and consideration to:
§ Cost
§ Serviceability
§ Access
§ Future growth
The current Town Board has reviewed all previous sites as well
as well as additional sites; the current proposal is to purchase a
12,000 square foot building at 1 Oxford Crossing, behind the
existing Jerome K. Madden Justice Building at the corner of
Kellogg and Tibbitts Roads, to accommodate the relocation and
consolidation of resident service sites:
§ Police Department
§ Codes, Planning, engineering
with customized office suites from 700 square feet to 6,000
square feet.
Madden Justice Building to be retained for vital public safety
dispatch system
§ Renovate existing facility without cost of relocating vital public safety equipment
§ Saves high cost of moving that essential service
§ Courts to expand in current location
o Alleviate court facility overcrowding
o Occupancy code brought into compliance
§ Desirable move
o Lowest cost to taxpayer
o Geographic center of Town
o Contiguous to property owned by the Town
o Consolidate site for resident and business services
o Sanger Public Works Garage overcrowding alleviated
o Original intended purpose of the highway garage met
Edmund Wiatr, Jr. questioned the assessment of the building at 1 Oxford Road and why the Town would pay $1 million for a building assessed at $563,000. Assessor Smith explained that rents have increased since 2001 and a revaluation hasn’t been done since 2001. He felt the Town should pay the assessed value rather than the market value.
REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING
November 1, 2006
Page 5
James Lawrence inquired if the Town had an architect plan. Councilman Reynolds responded affirmatively, that the Town had an engineer review the site; Chief Philo has needs of his department, which would fit nicely and the Town also knows the wants and needs of other offices. There are no firewalls in the building so it can be easily adapted for office uses. Some leases are expiring and some being looked at. Responding to Mr. Lawrence’s question, Councilman Reynolds stated that occupancy could occur in 2007, offering safer and more efficient resident and business access.
o Generic Environmental Impact Statement $375,000 - partner with Oneida County in sharing this expense, by contributing $150,000
§ Evaluate a number and types of environmental issues including traffic, storm water, growth patterns and types of development
§ GEIS will encompass parts of Wards 1, 2 and 3
§ Will direct which government services will be required to support growth
o Will result in developers helping to pay for improvements
o Instead of entire burden being shouldered by taxpayers
§ Statement will form strategies to resolve issues that impact our community as future development occurs.
§
In response to a resident question, Fiscal Advisors representative John Shehadi stated that any unused money from a bond issue could only be used for the specific purpose; for instance, if the Town buys equipment and money is left over, that money must be used to pay the debt service of that particular bond.
o Update of Zoning Ordinance - $75, 000. Based on the recommendations of
§ Recently completed town-wide Comprehensive Plan
§ Previous 2 GEIS’s
§ Proposed GEIS
§ To insure requirements are incorporated into Zoning Law
§ Both GEIS and Comprehensive Plan guide Town growth and help maintain our quality of life\
Updating Zoning Law is next step to insure implementation of recommendations
o Paving Roads - $500,000 – Planned areas include Tilden Ave, Ontario Ave., Claridge Court, Bon-Aire Estates, Christopher Circle, Applewood Community, lower Sessions Road and Pleasant View Ave, dependent upon asphalt pricing. Road maintenance for 2007 and 2008.
Page 6
Russell Cerminaro asked why the Town plans to borrow money for paving instead of including it in the normal operations of the Highway Department budget. He had been a member of the Citizens Budget Review Committee that had not been asked to review the budget this year; and by not contacting the Committee members, he said the Town left the taxpayers out of the budget process.
o Sidewalk Program - $150,000 - connecting areas that currently have sidewalks; improve transportation efficiency, pedestrian safety and quality of life for residents; will extend current sidewalks to destination points such as library, parks, commercial/retail areas and school. Addresses concerns voiced by residents in prior surveys.
Sidewalk committee has been established to review and make recommendations to the Board on locations and to research fund for future expansion. Areas of consideration include:
§ Oxford Road
§ Kellogg Road
§ Paris Road
§ Route 12 South
§ Route 12B
§ Oneida Street
§ Wilbur Road
§ Ontario Ave
§ Higby Road
§ Burrstone Road
o Heavy Equipment - $797,179 – for purchase of
§ One (1) excavating machine (Grad-all)
§ Three (3) dump/plow trucks
§ One (1) front-end loader
§ One (1) leaf machine
§ One (1) brush truck
§ One (2) small dump truck
Generally replacing 1980’s and early 1990’s vintage equipment; improved fuel and operating efficiency; replacement parts for current equipment unavailable and or hard to obtain; very costly. Includes 2 trucks the Highway Department already has.
o Lighting - $92,000. Improve lighting in the Sanger Public Works Garage and Recreation Center; approximate annual cost savings of $30,000; improved lighting for both employees and residents
November 1, 2006
Page 7
o Sanger Building Improvements - $45,000. Expand and furnish operations room, expand training facility; improve employee storage area, communication facility and emergency systems.
Funding to be supplemented through grant opportunities and possible (state) member items
o One ton HD Dump Truck (Parks Dept) - $50,000
To replace 1994 one-ton dump. Use to haul heavy materials throughout
the park system
o General
Use: Motor Pool Vehicle ($15,000)
§
Available to all departments for work
tasks
§
Allows removal of 2 older vehicles from service
o
Reduced repair costs
o
Increased fuel-efficiency
o Higby Road Water District, Extension No. 1 - $155,000
public water installation on lower Mohawk Street and upper Elm Street;
only benefited property owners repay
November 1, 2006
Page 8
Councilman Waszkiewicz asked the Assessor about commercial property value – something along lines that commercial properties were paying almost 2/3rds of the burden of taxes.
Councilman Payne apprised the public that copies of this presentation will be available November 2, 2006 at www.town.new-hartford.ny.us OR
www.newhartfordtown.com. Responding to Mr. Wiatr’s question about who the Town’s Webmaster was, Councilman Payne replied, “Lisa Payne, a volunteer”.
Ed Wiatr asked if petitions with an appropriate number of signatures were submitted opposing bond resolutions and asking for a referendum, would a vote be conducted. Supervisor Reed responded that the Town would honor the petitions. By not rescinding the Town Board’s action of October 4, 2006 and having a referendum on their own, Mr. Wiatr believed the Town Board was “..usurping the right of residents to vote”.
To Cathy Lawrence’s question on the $375,000 GEIS bond proposal, Mr. Shehadi confirmed that it is not subject to permissive referendum, that anything with a maximum maturity less than five (5) years is not subject to permissive referendum.
Cathy Lawrence questioned the $50,000 for a Comptroller in the 2007 budget, what’s the person going to be doing? Supervisor Reed has talked with Oneida County officials and the Town may be sharing a Comptroller with another Town. He said he wasn’t a financial expert and it would benefit the Town to have a Comptroller.
Paula Mariano, who recalled the November 2005 debate between Town Supervisor candidates, voiced her opposition to the Comptroller position, believing that the Supervisor should take this responsibility.
Lewis Smith spoke in favor of budget, concluding with “…it’s $.04 cents a thousand”.
There being no one further to speak in the matter, the Supervisor closed the Public Hearing at 7:46 P.M.