The regular meeting of the Groveland Town Board was held on Thursday December 10, 2009 at the Town Hall.

Present: James C. Merrick, Supervisor; Burt Lyon, Bill Carman, Craig Phelps, Councilman; Greg Adamson, Highway Superintendent; Mark Caldwell, Deputy Highway Superintendent

Absent: Kevin Niedermaier, Councilman

Other Attendees: John Driscoll, Planning Board Chairman; Randy Clymo, Planning Board Member

 Supervisor handed out the monthly financial report along with the Livingston County Board of Supervisor minutes.

Received notification from NYS Office of Parks and Historic Preservation that Ambuscade has officially made it on the National Register of Historic Places as of October 1, 2009, this makes us eligible to apply for state historic preservation matching grants.

Yearend meeting scheduled for Monday 12/28/09 @ 7:30 p.m.

Supervisor called the meeting to order @ 7:46 p.m.

Motion by Councilman Carman, seconded by Councilman Lyon the audited bills be paid. General Fund vouchers numbered 321-350 for $18,373.00; Cemetery Fund voucher number 16 for $325; Conesus Lake Fund voucher number 4 for $550; MVP voucher number 285 for $4,475.73; Highway Fund vouchers numbered 286-305 for $15,677.73. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion by Councilman Phelps seconded by Councilman Lyon to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held on November 12, 2009 with corrections mentioned by the Town Clerk to whom made a motion on the previous minutes; Niedermaier did not attend the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion by Councilman Phelps, seconded by Councilman Carman to accept the monthly financial reports as submitted. Motion carried unanimously.

Old/New Business:

HIGHWAY – Greg reported that his crew has been concentrating on odd jobs, ditching and getting snow fencing up. Happy to have missed today’s snow.

HIGHWAY CONTRACT – Councilman Lyon and Councilman Phelps met with Caldwell and the Union Rep.  A counter offer was submitted on the committee’s behalf to the original proposal. Lyon went over some of the items:

• Contract requested 4% wage increases, counter submitted a 2%
• After 40 hours is overtime – did rewording just for clarification
• Article 9 talked about Health Care Plans – Lyon stated they agreed with MVP Plan EPO-E0037S
• HRA – contract requested $2,000 per year per employee, countered with $1,000 per year per employee with a % cost of living agreement.
• Contract requested Long Gevity pay, counter rejects any Long Gevity.

• Councilman Lyon stated that the proposed health plan is a $28,000 decrease to the town with the 2010 quotes. They meet again on 12/15/09 to see if an agreement is possible. 

Supervisor Merrick would like to keep an option in the union if the State comes through with a shared service policy we can change without compromising coverage.

HAWTHORN HILLS SUBDIVISION ROAD DEDICATION REQUEST – Harold submitted a request in writing. Board reviewed it and stated that there has not been any progress to their knowledge; therefore, they are not ready to accept dedication at this time. Supervisor will send a letter to Mr. Stewart.

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK – Supervisor Merrick indicated Attorney Meyer has it and he will check with him to see how much more time he needs to review it. He also passed out the County Workplace Violence Program policy and stated if a modified policy was not included within the proposed handbook, the board should consider placing one in.

RESIGNATION LETTER FROM JOHN DRISCOLL – Town Clerk provided copies to the board of Mr. Driscoll’s letter to resign to the Planning Board as the Chairman effective December 31, 2009 in sight of his soon to be role as Town Councilman effective January 1, 2010. Motion by Councilman Lyon, seconded by Councilman Phelps to accept Driscoll’s resignation effective December 31, 2009. Motion carried unanimously.

Communications:

Supervisor asked John Driscoll to approach the board table. Supervisor thanked John for his service to the Planning Board and looks forward to working with him on the Town Board level. He asked John if he could give a recommendation for the board to consider at the January Organizational meeting as a replacement for the Chairman of the Planning Board. John responded that he has thought it over and would be happy to recommend Randy Clymo to the position since he has the most years of service to the planning board and has spoken with Randy and expressed his interest to serve as the chairman.

Supervisor provided a handout of the County 2010 Town Tax Rates, of which lists Groveland as the 2^nd lowest with Geneseo being the lowest. Geneseo obviously has a much bigger business district to help with their rate, but is happy to show Groveland’s standings.

Motion by Councilman Lyon, seconded by Councilman Carman to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. The next meeting is the Yearend meeting on Monday December 28, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m. in the town hall.

Dated: December 16, 2009                               _______________________________

Town of Groveland                                              Sandra L. Bean, Town Clerk