State of New York                                                                                October 3, 2007

County of Delaware

Town of Masonville 
 

The Regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Masonville was called to order at 7 : 30 P.M. 

PRESENT:

Supervisor: Craig DuMond

Councilmen: Doug McKown, George Denys, Stewart Wilcox, Vince Warner

Town Clerk: Pamela Walker

Hwy. Supt.: Duane Gifford 

PUBLIC:

Steve Tiska, Jeri Brayman, Elaine Bradish, Ernst Keidel, Betty Wilcox, Curt Christensen, Nick Genovese, Dan Melchiorre, Neita VanValkenburgh, Tom & Joann Gascon, Tom Cardi, Kathy Ryan, Kim & Carl Ayres, Mr & Mrs Esposito, Sam Smith, Theresa & John Questel, Tom Klehr 

MINUTES:

Motion by Doug McKown to accept minutes as presented, seconded by George Denys, all in favor carried. 

FLOORTIME:

  1. Mike Esposito thanked Craig for the reply on the power outages in Masonville.
  2. Carl Ayres spoke to the Board on pursuing his Eagle Scout.  To accomplish this he needs to complete a public service project. Carl asked the Board if he could restore and fix the fence and make a sign for the Pioneer Cemetery. The Full Board supported him in doing this and the Board offered to help him in any way they could.  Craig commended Carl on his scout performance and desire to obtain his rank of Eagle Scout.
  3. Ruth VanOutten asked who is responsible for the Cemetery on Pine Hill because she would like to plant trees. Vince told her to contact Steve Roff.
  4. Ruth asked the if she could hold Democratic committee meetings at the Town Hall on the last Thursday of Every Month at 7:00 P.M. beginning with October 25th and November 29th. Craig said that at this point he could not commit to every Thursday but that October 25th and November 29th was fine.  Craig advised Ruth to contact the Town Clerk or himself to make sure the door is opened for her.
  5. Neita informed the Board that she will be holding a Halloween Party at the Church on October 26th from 6:00 to 8:00.
  6. Joann Gascon asked the Board why the end of the Hwy. Garage is not painted. Duane said summer help was not allowed to use ladders to paint.  The crew has not had time to finish the painted yet as they continue to work full-time on various FEMA projects.
  7. Kathy Ryan asked about the Cell Tower and when and if it is still going to be constructed.  Craig advised that the tower is still being planned, however, another Town is holding it up.  Craig stated that hopefully we will see the tower soon.  Craig said he is just as frustrated as everyone else, but we must be patient as the cell tower is truly a “gift horse”.  
  8. Ernst Keidel said that the Cell Tower would be nice.
  9. Steve Tiska asked why the Town did not budget the abandoned Cemetery maintenance this year.  Craig said the Town is not required to maintain these cemeteries as a cemetery association never previously incorporated them.  Craig has been given this advice by the NYS Dept of State who control all cemeteries in NYS.  Craig stated he would like to see volunteer groups pick up these types of tasks. 
  10. Sam Smith asked when the CEO was going to get certified. Craig replied the CEO is NYS certified.  Sam asked if the CEO was certified for the Town of Tompkins. Craig replied he is NY State certified and he can work anywhere in the State. Sam asked why the CEO was making him go to Court on cleaning up his place when others are not required to go to Court.  Craig stated the CEO is working on the entire Town and all persistent violators may end up in court if they do not comply with warnings to clean up their properties in accordance with NYS Law. 
  11. Steve Tiska asked if the Town had any other Ordinances beside the Snowmobile ordinance that may need to be taken care of as part of the comprehensive plan. The Clerk will conduct and inventory to see if there are anymore that should be taken care of.

 
 

HIGHWAY REPORT:

  1. Working on Teed Road
  2. Stone and oiled Church Street, Getter Hill, Thorpe Hill, Cole Road, Houck Road and Pine Hill.
  3. Helped the Town of Tompkins with their paving.
  4. Hauled grindings from State Route 7 to the Stockpile.
  5. Installed 6’X50’ Culvert on Teed Road-FEMA Project.
  6. Serviced Two of the fire trucks
  7. Will be meeting with Delaware Engineering to discuss bridge designs on Butts Road.

 
 

OLD BUSINESS:

  1. Craig said he checked into the power outages that have been happening in Town.  The major cause of the outages was due to the weather, however, there also was a defective line that has since been repaired.
  2. Craig said that he checked into the traffic on Steam Mill.  Truck traffic has been making local deliveries to the Cannonsville bridge project. 
  3. Craig said he checked into the possibility of the Town joining the County Bid for fuel oil.  Craig stated the County actually gets the State bid price.  The problem with the State Bid price is the price is not a firm price but rather a fluctuating price.  Due to this consideration Craig went ahead with the Board’s recommendation and accepted the Mirabito’s Bid as discussed at last month’s meeting. 

 

NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Craig said another application has been submitted to the real property tax services for the Town being at 100% assessment.  This will generate additional State-Aid for the Town.
  2. Craig reported that due to the flood some of the HUD Grant projects did not get completed.  Craig was able to get an extension on the grant until March 2008 so that the projects can be completed.

 

COMMITTEE REPORT:

  1. Stewart suggested that the Town conduct an internal audit on the Town Hall / Highway Garage Building. The Board agreed.  George will work with the CEO to get this completed.
  2. George read the CEO Report for the Month of September.
  3. George said that the committee is working on the Comprehensive Master Plan and the next meeting will be October 17, 2007 at 7:00 P.M.
  4. George discussed the maintenance of the Towns Sidewalks.  This will eventually have to be budgeted as the sidewalks start deteriorating and need to be repaired. 
  5. George said he talked with Joe Reynolds and have determined there may be some problems with septic systems in the Town that need to be addressed.  George would like to create a letter to be given to homeowners with these types of issues to help them with the process of repair, providing helpful information, etc.  The Board agreed to this.  George will work with the CEO to create the letter. 

 

RECOMMENDED MOTIONS:

  1. Upon recommendation of the Town Supervisor; the Town Board direct the Town Clerk to advertise a legal notice, no later than 10/5, indicating a special meeting to be held for the purposes of conducting a budget workshop, October 18, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. so moved by Vince Warner, seconded by George Denys, all in favor carried.
  2. Upon recommendation of the Town Supervisor; the Town Board direct the Town Clerk to advertise a legal notice, no later than 10/22, indicating a public hearing regarding the 2008 Town Budget on November 7, 2007 at 7:00 P.M., regular meeting to follow. So moved byVince Warner, seconded by Doug McKown, all in favor carried.
  3. Upon recommendation of the Town Supervisor, the Town Board accept the annual Highway agreement contract to plow County Highways same as last year. So moved by Vince Warner, seconded by George Denys, all in favor carried.

 

SUPERVISORS REPORT:

  1. Craig said that the tentative budget has been filed with the Town Clerk for inspection.  This budget is preliminary and will be fine-tuned at the Budget Workshop on 10/18.  Meg Hungerford, Bookkeeper, will be present at the meeting to assist the Board with the process. 
  2. Craig reported that Eva Sturgess finished refurbishing the civil war marker to the Pioneer Cemetary.  She refused to be reimbursed but thanked Craig and Duane for their assistance in completing this project.  Duane will see that the sign gets put back up.
  3. Craig reported that Dean Frazier, Delaware County Commissioner of watershed affairs will be a guest speaker at next month’s meeting regarding the NYC land acquisition program. 
  4. Craig reported that NYS Aid for the Town has been received for the year.
  5. Craig reported that the Delaware County Board of Election had an issue with the primary election as there was no phone available the first part of the day.  Craig said that he would rectify this with the Board of Elections and see that it does not happen again.
  6. Craig reported that he has been told the Fire District will be going out to bid on thier new ambulance in the near future.
  7. Craig reported that the County is having issues with Governor Spitzer’s order to grant illegal aliens driver licenses and are passing a resolution opposing this action.  Craig also said that emergency E911 is planning to be put in the County budget this year to get it back to Delhi. Craig said that County Budget is looking good at this point.

 

Motion by Doug McKown to pay all audited bills, seconded by George Denys, all in favor carried. 

GENERAL: 

175. Grace Fisher                                                                                                  155.00

176. Teddy Tripp                                                                                                    60.00

177. Milton Curtis                                                                                                   60.00

178. Rae Ann Lakin                                                                                              155.00

179. Savalla Howland                                                                                           155.00

180. Theresa Questel                                                                                             155.00

181. Pamela Walker                                                                                              130.00

182. Delaware County Dept. of Public Works                                                      150.00

183. The Walton Reporter                                                                                         4.35

184. Frontier                                                                                                            33.33

185. Frontier                                                                                                            13.51

186. Frontier                                                                                                          140.75

187. NYSEG                                                                                                          251.00

188. Kortright Financial Services                                                                          708.00

189. Joe Reynolds                                                                                                  182.07

190. Service Education Inc.                                                                                   650.00

191. Ed VanPelt                                                                                                     123.00

192. Judy Jackson                                                                                                  350.00

193. Robert Stanton                                                                                                 80.00

194. The Water Bottle                                                                                             24.00

195. Joes Shirt Shack                                                                                             231.70

                                                                                                                           ___________

                                                                                                                            3,811.71

HIGHWAY: 

142. Suit Kote                                                       1                                               831.28

143. Delaware Engineering                                   1                                            1380.15

144. Warrens Excavation                                      1                                             4070.75

145. Tallmadge Tire                                              3                                               480.66

146. Carver Sand & Gravel                                   1                                               522.22

147. Cobleskill Stone                                             1                                             1370.28

148. Jess F. Howes                                                 1                                              759.37

149. R.L. Armstrong                                              3                                              504.87

150. Suit Kote                                                        1                                           34,778.21

151. Seneca Supply                                                1                                              700.00

                                                                                                                       _____________

                                                                                                                           45,397.79 
 

The Supervisor declared the meeting adjourned at 8:20. 
 
 
 
 

                                                                                        ___________________________

                                                                                        Pamela Walker, Town Clerk