Skip navigation

Monthly Archives: March 2013

Town Board Meeting – March 11, 2013

The regular monthly meeting of the Town of Tompkins Town Board was called to order at 7:03 pm in the Town meeting room, Trout Creek, NY.

Present:

  1. William Layton – Supervisor
  2. Howard Buttel – Councilperson
  3. Tim LaTourette – Councilperson
  4. Peggy Backus – Councilperson
  5. Carl Stuendel – Councilperson

 

Others:

  1. Ronald VanValkenburg – Hwy Superintendent
  2. Michelle Phoenix – Town Clerk
  3. Nancy Roberts – Bookkeeper to the supervisor
  4. Shane Strong – Cobleskill Stone
  5. Steve Brown
  6. Paula Brown
  7. Joe Tarantino – Town Resident
  8. Wendy Layton – Town Assessor
  9. Brian Albanese – Town Resident

 

Pledge to the flag was led by Ron VanValkenburg.

 

Opening of bids for stone and pipe:
Bids received for stone were from Cobleskill Stone and Carver.
Bids received for pipe were from Chemung supply and Jess F Howes.
On Motion by Buttel it was moved to accept the bid for stone from Cobleskill stone, Seconded from Backus.
Vote:  All AYEs – Motion Carried
On Motion by Buttel it was moved to accept both bids submitted for pipe, one from Chemung supply and one from Jess F Howe’s, seconded by LaTourette.
Vote: All AYEs – Motion Carried

 

Guest Speakers:
Steve Brown – approached the board seeking interest in the Town of Tompkins taking over the Fire Tower in Rock Rift. Steve stated that the tower was owned by NYS and NYS was willing to turn ownership over to the town at no charge. After much discussion on restoration and liability issues it was decided that a decision would be made during the Supervisors report of this meeting.

 

Minutes Approval:
On motion by LaTourette, seconded by Stuendel, it was moved to approve the minutes of the February 11, 2013 Board Meeting.
Vote: All AYEs – Motion Carried.

 
Monthly Financial Reports:
 
Town Clerk / Tax Collector Report:
On motion by LaTourette, seconded by Stuendel, it was moved to receive, approve and place on file the Town Clerk/Tax Collector monthly report for February 2013.
Vote: All AYEs – Motion carried.

The Town Clerk also provided all the board members with a copy of the 2012 State Financial Report that was submitted to the NYS state Comptroller.
 

Supervisor’s Report:
The February 2013, Supervisor’s monthly financial Audit was presented to the board by Nancy Roberts, Bookkeeper to the Supervisor.
On motion by Stuendel, seconded by Buttel, it was moved to receive, approve and place on file the Supervisor’s monthly financial Audit for  February 2013 Financial report.
Vote: All AYEs – Motion carried.

 

Other Reports:
Planning Board – Copies of January 2013 meeting minutes were presented to the board for their review.
[For a PDF of the Jan 10, 2013, Planning Board minutes click HERE.]

 
Assessor – Wendy presented the board with her monthly Assessor report and answered any questions the board had.

 
Report – Highway Superintendent

  1. Ron presented the board with a check for $1151.43 for scrap metal.
  2. They have been plowing and sanding
  3. Cutting brush on Walton Mountain Rd.
  4. Have had minor breakdowns on trucks.
  5. They have been out 57 times this year for City and County plowing.
  6. They have yet to get the prices for painting the Truck boxes and rails but will get them soon.
  7. Ron would like to replace the 1 ton. Ron has got a price from Chevy for a chassis.
  8. Ron stated that the new residents in the old Kesler farm have placed fence posts in the ditch but have not attached the fencing; Ron stated that when it comes time to do ditches those posts and fence will need to be removed. Bill stated he would speak to the owners and ask them to move the posts out of the ditch.
  9. Quotes from Suit Kote for Dust oil and Liquid Calcium for the section of road in front of Mr. Tarantino’s on Chamberlin Brook. Liquid Calc is 1.16/gal costing about $540 to do the section. Dust oil is $1.70/gal costing about $800. If using Liquid Calcium we can purchase amount needed but if we get the Black Dust oil we will have to order a whole truck load. The Black Dust oil is not made around here so they only allow full loads to be purchased.

Joe Tarantino spoke stating the Calcium did not do its job last year and only worked for a couple days. He stated that either option will solve his problem with the dust or he wouldn’t have come looking for an alternative solution. Ron was asked by the board to get prices on the cost of paving the 2/10th of a mile in front of Mr. Tarantino home.

 

Report – Dog Control Officer

  1. DCO has purchased the new dog crate.
  2. 2 Dogs had been picked up and taken to Crescent.
  3. Contacted the Heart of the Catskill and they stated they had a meeting on the 16th and would discuss taking on Town of Tompkins at that time and would get back to DCO after.  Deb from Ag. & Mkts stated if we had to, we could continue to use Crescent Pet Lodge.
  4. DCO are going to purchase new leashes and cleaning supplies.

 

Report- Supervisor

  1. Lawn Mowing bids need to go out. Town Clerk will put the same bids as last year in the paper to run for 2 weeks and state the bids need to be in the Town Clerk’s office no later than April 8th, 2013
  2. EWP projects – On motion by Backus, seconded by Buttel, it was moved granting the Town Clerk permission to put the EWP projects out to bid.
    Vote: All AYEs, Motion Carried
  3. Town of Tompkins Building Permit Codes. Joe Approached Bill stating there were changes needed in the Town of Tompkins Building Code’s book, Established in 1975.  After much discussion it was found the town needs to set a law stating they are using Administration and Enforcement of the NYS uniform fire prevention and building code. The Town clerk will look into this and get it started.
  4. After much discussion on the Building Inspector/Code Enforcer policies it was decided that he will turn in any money he receives to the Town Clerk the day he receives it.
  5. Bill stated he is going to go ahead and get the pictures done that were discussed last year.
  6. Last month the swing set was run into and the person that had done it stated they will get it fixed. After much discussion Buttel stated he will contact this person and give them a time limit to get this done. After that the board will look into legal action.
  7. In Support of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution – Resolution 06-2013
    On Motion by Buttel, Seconded by LaTourette, it was Resolved that the Town of Tompkins opposes the enactment of any legislation that would infringe upon the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms and consider such laws to be unnecessary beyond lawful legislative authority granted to our state representative’s as there is no documented correlation between gun control measures and crime reduction.
    Vote: All AYEs
    Motion Carried
  8. NYC has proposed a settlement with the land assessments. A letter and resolution came from Bob Beebe stating NYC is going to maintain the assessments for 2013, 2014, 2015. After much discussion it was decided not to go with the resolution provided by Beebe until more questions could be answered.
  9. Fire Tower Resolution 07-2013. On Motion by LaTourette, Seconded by Backus, it was moved to take over ownership of the Fire Tower at Rock Rift from New York State.
    Vote: All AYEs
    Motion Carried.

 

 

Correspondence: –
Received letter from American Legion / Gun Town Post 1554 for veterans services
On Motion by Layton, Seconded by Stuendel, it was moved to send the Gun Town Post $400 for veteran’s services.
Vote: All AYEs
Motion Carried

 

Other: NONE

 

Abstract of Claims
On motion by Buttel, seconded by LaTourette, it was moved to approve the Abstract of Claims for March 11, 2013 as follows:
General Fund: $4029.35
Highway Fund: $19641.54
Vote: All AYEs – Motion carried.

 

Reading back of the minutes:
On motion by Layton, seconded by Buttel, it was moved not to read the minutes but to approve them through email when Michelle gets them wrote up and sent out.
Vote: All AYEs – Motion Carried

 

Meeting Adjourned at 9:31 pm

 

The meeting for April 8th, 2013 will be held at the Town Meeting Room, at 7:00pm Trout Creek, NY

 

Date: March 11, 2013
Michelle Phoenix
Town of Tompkins
Town Clerk