REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN BOARD
TOWN OF GLENVILLE
FEBRUARY 15, 2006
AT THE GLENVILLE MUNICIPAL CENTER
18 GLENRIDGE ROAD, GLENVILLE, NEW YORK
Present: Supervisor Frank X. Quinn, Councilmen, Robert E. Bailey, Mark A. Quinn, Edward F. Rosenberg and Councilwoman Valerie M. DiGiandomenico
Absent: None
Supervisor Quinn called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM. Councilman Bailey gave the invocation and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Supervisor Quinn asked the Town Clerk, Linda C. Neals, to call the roll. Everyone was present and accounted for.
Town Council Reports:
Councilman Rosenberg – “The Assessor’s Department is preparing to mail out the tentative rolls. Their plan is to have them out by March 1st. It is pretty exciting to see the results, I think the taxpayers in general are going to be happy with the results because it will provide for more equitable assessed value situations than we have had in the past and the last full value we had was twelve (12) years ago. There has been a great deal of change in the town since then.
In the Planning Department I will be meeting later this week with Kevin Corcoran, Town Planner, regarding the Navy Depot site.
Mr. Corcoran is also working on some options for the Freemans Bridge rezoning matter.
Planning and Zoning held a short meeting this week and all that really came out of that of any substance was that the CVS on Route 50 is on track. The Planning and Zoning has given final approval with the exception of some color confirmation of the exterior.”
Councilwoman DiGiandomenico – “Today Jamie MacFarland and I spent a wonderful afternoon at the BH/BL High School participating in their first annual “In Government Festival”. We set up tables displaying the Town’s web site, aerial maps of the town, park planning maps, water and aquifer emission etc. We also brought minutes of a meeting dating back to the 1870’s and some of the students were really amazed at how all of the minutes are kept year after year.
I must say it was a pleasure to talk and listen to these energetic, inter-leaders and I look forward to scheduling a shadowing session with them.”
Councilman Quinn – “I have a report from the Public Safety Committee and as was the case with the earlier meeting with the Board of Fire Commissioners, item no. 1 of importance on their list was the communications console. The good news is that in the near future the consultant that is offering their services to us AK-911 will be meeting with members of the Police Department, Fire Departments and Fire Commissioners and dispatchers to get some input on the type of technical accessories we want incorporated into an RFP. I am looking forward to that.
There is also ongoing work being done with our emergency 9-1-1 policies and procedures as well as our mutual aid guide and Frank Clair, one of the members of the Public Safety Committee is actually transferring one of those onto disk.”
Councilman Bailey – “The Engineering Department has commenced a process of updating the town’s street and roadway ordinance. That was adopted back in 1989 and has become dated over the years. When it comes out of committee it will come before this board.
The Engineering Department is looking at revising the fees for commercial and residential septic installations and modifications and repairs. This is in line with a number of fees changes that we have made over the past year. These fees were established many many years ago and if you compare what we are charging with nearby towns it is clear that we are missing out on a small amount of revenue.
I also received an updated construction schedule on the water treatment plant addition that is going up down at our water wells. The important thing to note is that there has been no change from the base line schedule, which means we are on schedule. Concrete placement should start on Friday of this week.
Having got that far along, the contractor is looking for a partial payment to cover work that has been completed to date and I received a request for payment no. 1 of the water treatment plant addition contract in the amount of $33,525, which I will submit to you, Mr. Supervisor.”
Supervisor Quinn – “Item No. 5 on the agenda is a public hearing on the Town’s proposed Annual Plan for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program for 2006.
Supervisor Quinn opened the public hearing at 8:10 pm and introduced Joseph Mastrianni of Mastrianni Associates who gave a brief explanation of the Program.
Mr. Mastrianni – “HUD requires us to do this once a year. Nothing changes from year to year; it is pretty much the same since we started doing this in 1976. There have been some regulatory changes but we operate the program pretty much the same as we always have.
The Federal Government provides about $265,000 to $270,000 a year for the program and we can help about sixty (60) families and the program is designed to help elderly, disabled and other low income families pay their rent.
Families apply to our office, they have to go on a waiting list because we have less funds then it takes to help everybody that needs help. When their turn comes up we verify their income, if they have social security we have to see their award letter, if they have a bank account we write a letter to their bank, if they have a retirement account we write a letter there. What ever they tell us they have we verify and we also a way of verifying through a national data base any employment or unemployment that they have received over the past two or three years.
If they are eligible we then conduct an inspection of the unit that they are going to live in and if it doesn’t pass, if it doesn’t meet our standards we ask the landlord to make the repairs and we won’t sign a contract with the landlord until the repairs are made. Then they are enrolled in the program and based on their income they pay 30% of their income towards the rent and the federal government pays the rest up to a certain cap, if they go over that cap they have to pay the overage.”
No one else wished to speak; Supervisor Quinn closed the public hearing at 8:27 pm.
Supervisor Quinn – “Item No. 6 on the agenda is a public hearing on the proposed local law to increase the maximum tax exemption for veterans.
Supervisor Quinn opened the public hearing at 8:28 pm
Supervisor Quinn – “This proposed law is to increase the tax exemptions, value of the property of people from a level of where it is now at $120,000 and it is basically doubling it so that people will be eligible if you had a property up to twice as much. This was passed by the NYS Legislature and it was also passed by the Schenectady County Legislature and now it is here at the Town level to see if we also want to pass this exemption increase.
I am one of these people that is a veteran and I am entitled to the exemption and while I will support it strongly but I will recuse myself tonight because I directly benefit from it.”
No one else wished to speak; Supervisor Quinn closed the public hearing at 8:29 pm.
The following people exercised the privilege of the floor:
Lisa Campbell, 346 Rector Road - “I am a parent of an eighth grader and a fifth grader, the fifth grader being a student at the Glendaal Elementary School. We are here tonight to find out some information about the DARE Program and why it was cancelled at our school.”
Denise Fraioli, 75 Baldwin Road – “I am also here a concerned parent, community member, President of the Glendaal PTA. We are here to talk about the DARE Program. It was recently brought to our attention that the DARE Program will not be offered to our fifth grade students.”
No one else wished to speak; Supervisor Quinn closed the privilege of the floor.
Supervisor’s Comments to the Board:
Supervisor Quinn – “For those of you who may not be aware or have been involved I share with you some of the past week or two meetings that have been going on. It was mentioned earlier that four of the council members met last Saturday with the town fire department commissioners and their primary concern was clearly the dispatching and the signals that are involved in the dispatching and the equipment. They also have a concern about the status of the fire training center.
To date, this morning in fact Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and I met with the members of the Hudson Mohawk Land Conservatory, the officials of that organization. They gave us the background on their organization and some of their interests and activities in the Town of Glenville. At this point they are focused on the Wolf Hollow Road area and as you proceed up the road going north.
We now know what their interests are and what they are looking at doing. It ties with anything that we might be looking at for open space and the utilization of land other than by traditional needs.
Today I met with one of the current property owners on Freemans Bridge Road regarding plans that person has for the expansion and development of their property there on Freemans Bridge. It was sort of a general scoping on what is next and what requirements they seek and how do we see some of the concepts they are working with. Kevin Corcoran and the appropriate committees will be working with them.
Upcoming events, some of you may want to participate in; this Friday at 1:30 there will be an orientation tour and briefing down at the Industrial Park regarding the Government Supply Agency property (GSA). Some of us are new and haven’t walked the turf and got the briefing. We are going down to do that, so if any of you want to participate let me know.
On Thursday the 23rd at 7:00 pm the fire chiefs will be meeting and on Tuesday, February 28th at 10:00 am there is an opportunity for anyone that is interested to go down to the Schenectady County Airport to get an orientation and a briefing on their master plan and what potential impact it might have on our master plan.
Work continues, George Philips, Comptroller continues to work hard on closing out 2005 and preparing the necessary reports not only to set up our audit but also the paper work and reports that are due to the Office of the State Comptroller.
I reiterate what I was just saying to some folks here about the DARE Program, revenue is flat as far as we can see for the last two or three years. The expenses that we are facing from the industry are increasing and so we are looking at twelve to fifteen percent per year increase in health care expenses. We are looking at somewhere between eight and ten percent State Retirement Fund increases. Since seventy-three percent (73%) of our budget is this personnel pay and benefit kind of thing while revenue is flat the industry is driving up the expenses on these things. We have got to continue and control as much as we can in any and all of these personnel as well as other expenses. We have got to contain the cost and
actually reduce the cost if the revenue is not going to match the increase.
The re-evaluation is just about totally wrapped up. The final coordination meetings are going on this week between the staff of consultants that we hired the state representatives as well as our own staff. Everything is on schedule and we should be getting out the announcements on the re-val outcomes, everyone will get a letter. It describes what the current assessed value was, what the proposed assessed value is and then the procedures to follow if someone would want to challenge the new assessments.
I received a letter and the sender requested that it be read and be entered into the minutes, so I will honor that citizen’s request:
Council Members,
Your recent three to two vote on the zoning plan for Freemans Bridge Road was a surprise, a disappointment and a great disservice to the town.
In sighting that let me first commend Supervisor Quinn and Councilman Bailey for their affirmative votes and arguments in favor of zoning. They noted in particular the study and effort of citizens to develop a Master Plan and how it was intended for general benefit of the town in the long term not the particular interests of a handful of property owners who had more than ample opportunity to engage in the process.
So I note with frustration and disappointment the votes of Council members DiGiandomenico, Rosenberg and Quinn who clearly rolled over in the face of isolated individual pressures to the detriment of broader town issues.
It is particularly distressful that members DiGiandomenico and Rosenberg are freshly elected so the votes must face the likelihood that this lack of spine will be characteristic of the new board majority, hopefully not.
Glenville is facing serious development issues and at a time of major decisions that will effect the quality of life for generations. We need strong leader with a sense of future. Hopefully the new council will find a way to rise to the occasion.
I requested this letter be read in public session and entered into the minutes.
Sincerely yours,
Mal Provost
Supervisor Quinn moved ahead with the agenda items.
RESOLUTION NO. 72-2006
Moved by: Councilwoman DiGiandomenico
Seconded by: Councilman Rosenberg
WHEREAS there are currently two (2) vacancies on the Glenville Efficiency in Government Committee,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Glenville hereby appoints David Ferretti, 788 Sacandaga Road, Glenville, with a term commencing immediately and ending December 31, 2007 and Michele Wilcock, 511 Sacandaga Road, Glenville, with a term commencing immediately and ending December 31, 2009, to the Efficiency in Government Committee.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstention: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 73-2006
Moved by: Councilwoman DiGiandomenico
Seconded by: Councilman Quinn
WHEREAS, the Town of Glenville has a lease agreement with the Scotia-Glenville School District for use of the Glen Worden School premises for the purpose of operating the Town Senior Citizen Center; and
WHEREAS, the lease agreement provides for a series of ten (10) year terms, the first of which ends June 30, 2006; and
WHEREAS, the lease provides for a term renewal process that stipulates that the town must request renewal in writing at least ninety (90) days prior to term expiration,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Glenville hereby authorizes the Supervisor to convey such request for a ten (10) year term renewal in accordance with the lease’s provisions for the purpose of continuing the operation of the Glenville Senior Center on the premises of the Glen Worden School.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstention: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 74-2006
Moved by: Councilman Quinn
Seconded by: Councilman Bailey
WHEREAS, the Chief of Police has recommended the purchase of a replacement vehicle for Dog Control and also recommends that the replaced vehicle be declared as surplus property; and
WHEREAS, the approved 2006 Dog Control Budget includes the purchase of this vehicle in its equipment account #01.00.3510.2000; and
WHEREAS, this vehicle will be purchased under NYS Contract #PC60706 and will cost $15,447.90 which is below the amount originally budgeted for this item,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Chief of Police be and hereby is authorized to purchase (1) 2006 Dodge Caravan Minivan at a cost not to exceed $15,447.90 (fifteen thousand four hundred forty-seven dollars and ninety cents); and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Dog Control vehicle being replaced be declared as surplus property after the receipt of the new replacement vehicle and the transfer of necessary equipment; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that such surplus vehicle shall be offered for sale upon such terms and conditions as the Chief of Police may direct.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 75-2006
Moved by: Councilman Bailey
Seconded by: Councilman Rosenberg
WHEREAS, the Village of Scotia has requested an exemption from Town taxes for the Village of Scotia Water Supply and Treatment Facility located at 587 Vley Road,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Glenville, who hereby authorizes the Town Supervisor to enter into a tax exemption agreement with the Village of Scotia pursuant to Section 406(3) of the Real Property Tax Law, exempting tax map parcel 29.11-1-3.11 from taxes imposed by the Town of Glenville, including special ad valorem levies and special assessments beginning with the 2006 assessment roll.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstention: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 76-2006
Moved by: Councilwoman DiGiandomenico
Seconded by: Councilman Bailey
WHEREAS the Town Board of the Town of Glenville has entered into a project for the codification of local laws, ordinances and certain resolutions of the Town of Glenville for the purposes of increasing the effectiveness of town governmental administration, providing for greater public awareness of and access to town legislation and protecting the health, safety and welfare of town inhabitants; and
WHEREAS the proposed codification has been published in loose-leaf form and the Town Board now desires to formally effect the adoption of said codification by enactment of a local law;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that a public hearing be held by the Town Board with respect to enactment of the following local law, such public hearing to be held on the 1st day of March, 2006, at 8:00 p.m., in the Town Hall, Town of Glenville, New York. The proposed local law to be considered is as follows:
LOCAL LAW NO. -2006
A LOCAL LAW TO PROVIDE FOR THE CODIFICATION OF THE LOCAL LAWS, ORDINANCES AND CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS OF THE TOWN OF GLENVILLE INTO A MUNICIPAL CODE TO BE DESIGNATED THE “CODE OF THE TOWN OF GLENVILLE”
Copies of the text of the above-named local law shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Clerk is hereby directed and authorized to cause public notice of said hearing to be given in accordance with the Municipal Home Rule Law, the Open Meetings Law and §§~264 and 265 of the Town Law of the State of New York.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstention: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 77-2006
Moved by: Councilman Rosenberg
Seconded by: Councilman Quinn
WHEREAS the Town of Glenville operates a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
WHEREAS the Town of Glenville is required by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to prepare and adopt a written Annual Plan that establishes local policies for administration of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program in accordance with regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
WHEREAS the Town Board of the Town of Glenville has caused a written Annual Plan for 2006 to be prepared establishing local policies for administration of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program in accordance with regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and has reviewed such written plan,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Glenville hereby adopts the Annual Plan for 2006 for operation of the Town of Glenville Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstention: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 78-2006
Moved by: Councilman Rosenberg
Seconded by: Councilwoman DiGiandomenico
BE IT RESOLVED that the Monthly Departmental Reports for January 2006 as received from the following:
Assessor Department
Building Department
Dog Control
Highway Department
Justice Department
Police Department
Section 8 Housing Payments
Section 8 Housing Payments
Town Clerk's Office
be, and they hereby are accepted, approved for payment and ordered placed on file.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO 79-2006
Moved by: Councilwoman DiGiandomenico
Seconded by: Councilman Rosenberg
BE IT RESOLVED, that the minutes of the meeting held on February 1, 2006 be and they hereby are approved and accepted as entered.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwomen DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 80-2006
Moved by: Councilman Rosenberg
Seconded by: Councilman Bailey
WHEREAS, this Local Law No. 2 of 2006 has been introduced; and
WHEREAS, a public hearing has been duly held thereon,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Glenville adopt Local Law No. 2 of 2006, a Local Law amending the Town’s Local Law No. 2 of 1997 to Adopt Chapter 256 of the Laws of New York for 2005, amending subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of Section 458-a of the Real Property Tax Law regarding increasing the maximum tax exemption for veterans.
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey and Councilwoman DiGiandomenico
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstention: Supervisor Quinn
Motion Carried
RESOLUTION NO. 81-2006
Moved by: Councilman Bailey
Seconded by: Councilman Quinn
WHEREAS Princetown Developers, LLC, applied to the Town of Glenville for approval of Willow Brook Subdivision; and
WHEREAS the Willow Brook Subdivision was approved and the subdivision map was filed in the Schenectady County Clerk’s office; and
WHEREAS the subdivision approval required the construction of drainage infrastructure including a retention basin, all of which was constructed; and
WHEREAS a drainage district to pay for the repair and maintenance of the drainage infrastructure should have been formed,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Glenville adopts the following order:
ORDER
1. Pursuant to Article 12-A of the Town Law of the State of New York, the Town of Glenville proposes to establish a drainage district in the Willow Brook Subdivision area of the Town of Glenville.
2. The real property to be included in the district is the property known as the Willow Brook Subdivision and is further described on the Schenectady County Real Property Tax Service Agency Tax maps as section, block and lots 16.13-5-10, 16.13-5-11, 16.13-5-12, 16.13-5-13, 16.13-5-14, 16.13-5-15, 16.17-1-24, 16.13-5-17, 16.13-5-18, 16.13-5-19, 16.13-5-20, 16.13-5-21, 15.20-5-1, 15.20-5-2, 15.20-5-3, 15.20-5-4, 15.20-5-5, 15.20-5-6, 15.20-5-7, 15.20-5-8, 15.20-5-9, 15.20-5-10, 15.20-5-11, 15.20-5-12, 15.20-5-13, 15.20-5-14, 15.20-5-15, 16.13-5-22, 16.13-5-23, 16.13-5-24, 16.13-5-25, 16.13-5-26, 16.13-5-27 and 16.13-5-9.
3. The improvements have been constructed. There was no cost to the Town of Glenville for the construction of the improvements.
4. The Town Board of the Town of Glenville will hold a public hearing on March 1, 2006, at 8:00 in the evening, or as soon thereafter as the matter can be reached, at the Glenville Municipal Center at 18 Glenridge Road, Glenville, New York, to hear all persons interested in the establishment of this drainage district, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Clerk is hereby ordered to give notice of this hearing by publishing a certified copy of this order in The Daily Gazette not less than ten nor more than twenty days prior to the hearing; and
BE IT STILL FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Clerk shall cause a copy of this order to be posted on the bulletin board of the Town of Glenville not less than ten nor more than twenty days prior to the date of the hearing,
Ayes: Councilmen Rosenberg, Quinn, Bailey, Councilwoman DiGiandomenico and Supervisor Quinn
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
Motion Carried
New Business:
Councilman Rosenberg – “I would like to comment on the letter that was read.
I also received that letter from Mr. Provost. I missed the part that he was unable to attend the meeting in person and I guess I am a little concerned about people starting to send letters in on a regular basis rather than coming in.
I would like to comment on a few of the issues. My vote against the Freemans Bridge issue was made on my feelings and the good of the entire town and I can assure you it was not because of a handful of property owners.
Second, it would have been very easy and I believe I would have been a spineless person had I agreed to just push the whole thing through instead of voting my conscience.
In regard to real change, I think the real change was actually evident in the fact that five people actually spent some time discussing this and we all had something to say about it and it got voted down. Whether it got voted down or got voted up I think the change is that everyone was involved and everyone was concerned.
I think the real thing is that Mr. Provost wanted to be voted up so I guess that is his thing. I would have liked to seen him here tonight unless he is physically unable to come.
The only other thing that I had was from the Assessor’s Office. I mentioned earlier in my report that we met with the people from the appraisal consultants and some folks from the state the general consensus of that group is that as a town we really need to be doing some sort of annual revaluation of our parcels. It has been twelve years since we have done this and we really didn’t do anything since.
The hard work has been done with the new assessment if we do this right we should be able to build from here and make annual adjustments in value. This I think is going to require some support from the board financially as well. You can’t continue to do it with the staff that we have so we will have to work out some of those and we as a board need to discuss this. I would like to put it on the agenda for our next work session.
There is an open position on the Board of Assessment Review now and that has to be filled quickly because we need that third person on the board in place for grievance day in May.”
Councilman Quinn – “I responded to Mr. Provost’s letter directly.
Dear Mal,
Thank you very much for bringing your concerns regarding the recent Freemans Bridge zoning issue to my attention. This was not by any means an easy decision for me.
If you would be so kind please allow me to explain my rationale to you. First off I stated quite publicly that I favored the intent of the Freemans Bridge Master Plan. I believe that the wise mix of business/residential and open space is reflective of sound planning; however upon further research of these proposed zoning changes I realized that we were over zealous in our drawing of our conservation boundaries. I suggested a compromise that would protect the designated wetlands as well as the airport runway zone turning some acreage back to a developable track for the landowners. Unfortunately this option never reached the floor for a vote. My believe is that every member of this board had
respectful differences in this issue and subsequently voted their conscience. Your contention that anyone rolled over or demonstrated a lack of spine truly disheartens me. The good news however is that many of our concerns are being addressed in a subsequent attempt to rezone this corridor and I truly believe that later in the year a more balance initiative will indeed pass.
Thank you very much for keeping an open mind and allowing me to explain my reasoning.”
Motion to adjourn was moved by Councilman Quinn and Seconded by Councilwoman DiGiandomenico.
The Town of Glenville Town Board Meeting was adjourned at 9:12 PM.
ATTEST:
______________________________
Linda C. Neals
Town Clerk
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