TOWN BOARD WORK SESSION                                                                                

August 3, 2011

A Work Session Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Royalton was held on Wednesday, August 3, 2011, at the 

Royalton Town Hall, 5316 Royalton Center Road, Middleport, New York.  Supervisor Lang called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M.

The following were present:

Supervisor                                           Richard J. Lang

Deputy Town Clerk                           Patricia Hinds

Council Members                               Jennifer Bieber, Bradley Rehwaldt, Daniel Bragg

Highway Superintendent                  Terry Nieman

Water/Sewer Superintendent          Dan Morse

Attorney                                               Thomas Brandt 

Also present were:                              See Attached Sheets

Absent:                                                  James Budde

GUEST SPEAKERS

Melissa Kubas, Freeman Road resident asked if we were any closer to putting in water down her road.  She has been coming to the meetings since October to bring to the Town Boards attention her request for water service.   A water sample of her well water was brought in for us to see.  She is hoping that she will be one of the first roads to get water when we start our water improvements for this year.  Melissa Kubas mentioned that her timeline is to have water on her road by the end of the summer.  

REGULAR AGENDA

Mike Hartman - Assessor

•·         2,000 Data Mailers will be going out.  Jennifer Bieber, Councilwoman mentioned that the postage will be billed under central printing.

Jesse Bieber - Historian

•·         Working on many genealogy requests.

•·         Working on Parks Grant and there are over 50 Civil War Solders buried at Mountain Ridge Cemetery.

Douglas Bennett - Town Engineer

•·         Waste Water Facility upgrades - Sludge storage building will be finished on Friday, August 5, 2011.  Dan Morse, Water/Sewer Superintendent will be handling the floor and the overhead door bids.  

•·         East Avenue Pump Station and Replacement of the comminuter sealed bids received on July 22, 2011 at 11:00 AM.  We received one bid from Yarussi Construction, Inc. in the amount of $119,400.00.  I recommend we go with this bid.

•·         Deer View subdivision - Water & Sewer lines have been inspected and are under construction.  The  road is under construction.  Escrow account might be short so we will be looking to receive more funds from Bradley Rehwaldt.      

Daniel Morse - Water/Sewer Superintendent

•·         We have received three bids for the concrete work to be done at the Sludge Storage Building the low bid was $2,900 for the floor from Rock Hard Concrete Company.   I will be getting bids as well on the overhead door, fence and landscaping. 

Terry Nieman - Highway Superintendent

•·         Ken Strell, TVGA and I got out the specs on Hollenbeck Road Culvert Rehabilitation.  We have received three quotes.  The lowest quote was from Joseph O. Hylkema in the amount of $24,500.00.

•·         Ken Strell, TVGA, Dan Bragg, Councilman, Superintendent of Gasport School , Mr. Fisher and myself  met and the meeting went well.    I am still waiting to hear from them as to outcome.  There was talk at the meeting to come up with a shared services agreement.  

•·         Richard Lang, Supervisor asked Terry Nieman if he had a chance to look at the logs in the ditch on Moyer Road.  Two letters have been sent regarding this issue.  Terry Nieman is going to get copies of these two letters and send them to Thomas Brandt, Attorney so he can send letters to the log owner and to Bower.  Discussion ensued.

Pat Hinds - Deputy Town Clerk

•·         State Liquor Authority Renewal Application received from Soups Place Inc, Campbells Inn, 6523 Block Church Road, Royalton, NY.

•·         Letter received from Wolcottsville Fire Company regarding that their membership voted and accepted in a new member Luke Geiger on June 1, 2011. 

•·         Reminder - There will be a public hearing regarding amending local law Local Law No. 1 at 7:15 before the Board Meeting on August 8, 2011.

•o    Local Law No 1 of the year 2002 shall be amended to remove the existing second paragraph and replace it with the following:  The owner, or agent having charge, of premises where noxious weeds are present shall be notified by certified letter sent to the owner of record as determined by the Town's tax rolls that noxious weeds are present and must be removed within seven days.  Upon failure to remove the noxious weeds within the stated time, the Town, through its employees or agents, has the right to enter upon the premises and cut and destroy the weeds growing thereon.  The cost of such removal shall be paid by the owner or agent responsible for the property.  Failure to pay any bill sent to the owner of record within 30 days of mailing will result in the bill being added to the next year's real property tax levy for the premises.  Separately, the Town has the right under section 106 of the Zoning Ordinance to prosecute a violation of failing to remove the weeds within the stated time.   

Jennifer Bieber - Councilwoman

•·         Working with Ann Sisk, Grant Writer, regarding the Parks Grant.  (Cemetery equipment, tree cutting, mowing, foundations, replacing stones, water access, and maintaining the roads)

•o    In 2005 Lee Criswell did an extensive report on Head Stones at the Cemetery what the costs were to have these fixed.  We now have more head stones that need repair and the cost has gone up.  

•·         Ken Strell, TGVA has been working on the Town of Royalton Wholly Part-Town Water improvement update of budget from 2004 to 2011.  Lloyd Wescott, Former Supervisor, Thomas Brandt, Attorney, Ken Strell  TVGA and myself all met regarding this.  This print out is a breakdown of everything that has been spent and should have been kept in a Capital Water Improvement Project line item in the budget.  The last page has calendar year 2011with a balance that should be in the account $416,823.00.    Some of you have a sheet from 2004  where that figure would have been about $100,000.00 less as that was projected with part of the project was to continue to do approximately 10 homes each year from 2004 thru 2013 when Tom Brandt, Attorney refinanced the amount of money we saved.  We haven't given water to any residence since that report was done.  Those projections of doing water projects and not doing water projects actually added about $100,000.00 to this line.  To make sure we correct this,  we need to fund a Capital Water line with that amount in it.  This report was put together by Ken Strell, TGVA probono and Lloyd Wescott, Former Supervisor.  

•o    Lee Criswell, Resident said that he would like to check his old records when he was a Councilman.  He remembered that some of those funds were paid back.

•o    Lloyd Wescott, Former Supervisor ran the numbers from the system and he gave how he came up with this amount.

•o    Thomas Brandt, Attorney mentioned that he did a memo with a number that he came up with years ago.  Jennifer Bieber, Councilwoman pulled up that old memo.  Discussion ensued. 

•o    Terry Nieman, Highway Superintendent asked what amount is now in this account. 

•o    Bradley Rehwaldt, Councilman asked that in this report of $416,823.00 we need to know how much is designated for Gasport.  It would be good to know how much is in the account and how much needs to be transferred.  

•o    Daniel Bragg, Councilman asked that by Monday night we should have this figure.  He would also like TVGA start making a revised Water Prep Plan.  This way the water committee can start looking at this and get things moving along.  Ken Strell, TVGA to give us an estimate. 

•·         Pond on Tetrault's property was sent back to the Zoning Board for review and was denied permission to remove the dirt off the property.   Discussion ensued.

Thomas Brandt - Attorney

•·         He shared with us on what the Town of Pendleton did when they put in sewer lines/ septic systems and what they ran into.

Daniel Bragg - Councilman

•·         Cemetery - We need to develop a comprehensive plan on who is going to take care of the cemetery.  (Tree cutting, picking up the stones, fixing the stones, fixing the foundations, buying equipment, running water lines, road maintenance, road repairs, chapel repairs and cutting the grass)  There is more than mowing to take care of the cemetery.  I am on the cemetery committee with James Budde.  We might have to budget for this or possibly the funds would come from the Parks Grant.  This was the first time I have been in the Mountain Ridge Cemetery and it a very beautiful.  There is a lot of work that just hasn't been done.  When we have our priority meeting on August 17, 2011 I will have a list put together.

•o    Jesse Bieber - Historian mentioned that we need to have pride for our forefathers that are buried there.  They have been buried there since 1819 and we need to show some respect.   We have 3,500 hundred burials and there is still room for approximately 900 plots.

•·         Gow pond - Planning Board needs to give direction.  Richard Lang, Supervisor will get in touch with the Planning Board and give them direction.  

•·         Had a good meeting regarding Emerson.  There was a meeting mentioned earlier under Terry Nieman's items and we are moving forward on this and the meeting went well.  There was the talk of the shared services and the mutual agreement.

•·          

Bradley Rehwaldt - Councilman

•·         Dirty power - still working on quotes.

•·         Didn't get the bids out on the roof yet.  Hopefully we will have them for the next meeting.

•·         In talking with Jennifer Bieber, Councilwoman we would like to set up an appointment with Tom Arlington regarding Buildings & Grounds and have a geothermal person coming in.  No propane or gas line going to the furnace but it takes power to run them.  Since we are going to have the power with the Wind Turbines I would like to revisit what we have down here .

•o    1.  If our wells could be used.  With the state of the art equipment down there, or if the wells are good and there isn't any major expense.  I will come back with a report on this.

Richard Lang - Town Supervisor

•·         With going on four years as Supervisor I am very proud of how we have done the budget.  We haven't bonded any major events.   

•·         Vets Park - We are currently looking for a new Park Attendant part time.  

•·         Mike Richards currently filling in as the Park Attendant.  Coverage is needed for a week in August when he goes on vacation.

•·         Fence at Vets Park is being looked at.

•·         Prices received from Whitey's Landscaping on mowing of delinquent lawns.  I have a price on initial clean up for under 50 acres and by-weekly mowing amounts.

•·         Sales tax for June 2011 is $24,810.09 above June of 2010 for the year so far.  We have received $171,865.39 for the month of June 2011.  

•·         Any update on the AED for Town Hall?  Jennifer Bieber, Councilwoman responded that is had sent a prior email to Richard Lang, Supervisor.

•·         Any update on infrastructure?  Jennifer Bieber, Councilwoman mentioned we passed on that in the spring no one wanted to do a planning grant.  Next year we will revisit this when the grants come back around.  

•·         Photo ID's for employees.  We have a quote from Linstar out of Buffalo with a setup fee of $100.00 and a price of $11.80 per card.  We would possibly need 12 to 15 cards.

•·         Asked Terry Nieman, Highway Superintendent what his intentions were on Mackey Road over by the Airport.  Discussion ensued.

•·         Discussion ensued regarding the Capital Water Improvement Project again.

•·         Peddlers License discussed.  The Village of Middleport has just passed one and the Town of Lockport is working on one.

Lorretta Chriswell - Accounting Clerk

•·         Recreation Program Employees for 2011 are as follows:

•o    Samatha Stopa - Head Director

•o    Joseph Moran - Assistant Director

•o    Devin Case, Shauna Kraatz, Julianna Faust, and Zachary Bickel are Leaders

•·         The office of the State Controller is still here doing the audit.  I also have an IRS Payroll audit on August 4, 2011 for 2009.

•·         When we come to budget time I would like to ask the board to set aside funds to codify funds for laws and ordinances in a book.  This could also be done electronically.   Jennifer Bieber, Councilwoman mentioned that Marie L. Little, Town Clerk has this listed every year in her budget but it always gets cut out of the budget.  It is a good thing to keep in mind.  I also believe that Marie Little, Town Clerk has this on her grant requests as well.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There being no further information or discussion to come before this Town Board Meeting was adjourned at 7:12 PM.  

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia Hinds

Deputy Town Clerk