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The regular meeting of the Groveland Town Board was held on Thursday January 14, 2010 at the Town Hall. Present: James C. Merrick, Supervisor; Burt Lyon, Bill Carman, John Driscoll, Councilman; Greg Adamson, Highway Superintendent; Councilman Craig Phelps arrived @ 8:03 p.m. Absent: None Other Attendees: Randy Clymo, Planning Board Chairman; Mark Caldwell, Deputy Highway Superintendent; Mike LeMoyne, Debbie & Sam Provino Supervisor handed out the monthly financial report along with the Livingston County Board of Supervisor minutes. Supervisor called the meeting to order @ 7:43 p.m. Motion by Councilman Carman, seconded by Councilman Lyon the audited bills be paid. General Fund vouchers numbered 1-23 for $12,724.70; Highway Fund vouchers numbered 1- 21 for $11,772.95. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Lyon seconded by Councilman Driscoll to approve the minutes of the yearend meeting held on December 28, 2009 and minutes of the organizational meeting held on January 4, 2010 as written. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Lyon, seconded by Councilman Carman to accept the monthly financial reports as submitted. Motion carried unanimously.
Old/New Business:
HIGHWAY – Greg reported business as usual for this time of year. Mark is currently hauling salt. He also reported that there was a glitch in the uniform contracts. Cintas contract is in effect until June of this year, which we thought ended in December 2009. Unifirst agreed to hold off starting the five year contract until June without penalties.
COUNTY HIGHWAY AGREEMENT TO SPEND MONEY – Greg stated that this is the contract that the county requires each year for each town to decide which road it will improve. Greg has listed to finish Barber Hill Road which will include gravel, stone oil and top coat. Motion by Councilman Lyon, seconded by Councilman Carman. Motion carried unanimously. Copy filed with the Town Clerk.
DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORTS – board decided to give departments until the end of February to turn in their annual reports and board will review at the March regular meeting.
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK – Supervisor Merrick spoke with Mr. Niedermaier who says he will try to get the draft handbook to Attorney Meyer.
DEPOSITORY FDIC – Town Clerk repeated the information that was emailed: I contacted Maryann D. at Five Star who indicated that $250,000 coverage has been extended to 2013 for both individuals and companies. However, companies and partnerships get $250,000 plus a 3rd party collateral agreement that protects anything over $250,000. This Collateral Agreement is sent annually to Baldwin Business, whom I spoke with Tom Baldwin today and he verified that this is on file and is the standard. He did not think that we should be too concerned about diversifying our funds in multiple banks. (In fact, Shelby felt this would require more work for them) Maryann also stated the same thing and indicated that Five Star Bank was recently rated a 12 and I was told that was excellent. Supervisor Merrick added that our 3rd party collateral is with M&T Bank. Supervisor also stated that the rating is what you would get when audited and a 12 is the best you can get. All in all we have no concerns and seem secure with our current accounts.
EOM/GOP – updated emergency manuals handed out, waiting for the LCWSA Emergency Water Plan.
HAWTHORN HILLS SUBDIVISION ROAD DEDICATION- Sam Provino and Mike LeMoyne of Hampton Circle were given privilege of the floor. They were looking for an update or explanation on why the town has not taken road dedication. Discussion: LeMoyne- stated Harold has been very helpful to maintaining roads, but LeMoyne feels he has paid several years of taxes and feels he is not getting services he deserves. In addition, he thinks it hurts further development of the subdivision. Provino - new owner that bought over the summer, and wants to understand the process. Lyon – stated he is concerned how Mr. Stewart developed the subdivision, but doesn’t want to hurt the tax payers. Merrick – thanked the residents for coming. Merrick had asked the Assessor for the taxable money figures from the entire subdivision, which is $630,000. He stated that Stewart built the roads to town specs and feels the residents have a legitimate concern. Carman –The plan was to tie the two roads together to make a circle, what if Phase II is never done, we end up with two dead-end roads. Lyon- that is the exact reason why I am displeased with Stewart. He does not feel we should expect dead-end roads, but Stewart does what fits Harold not the town; however; still do not want to hold it against the residents. Greg- We handle other dead-end roads Carman- Yes Greg, but you didn’t get to control having those roads. Supervisor – am I to assume that the board all wants to please the residents and not necessarily Harold. All agreed. Supervisor- Things we need to do:
ZONING MAP – Town Clerk provided an updated map prepared by Livingston County Planning Department to include the new zoning districts on Route 63. It was reviewed and the question was raised if the Watershed District should be removed since the LCWSA has taken control and draws water from Scottsburg. However, Councilman Phelps indicated he is not completely sure the property has been deeded back to him. Mr. Maxwell has reviewed it also and suggested we ask if the County Planning Board could include a separate sheet to list tax map numbers within each zoning district. All agreed that was a good idea. Motion by Councilman Lyon, seconded by Councilman Driscoll to accept the draft map and have Watershed removed if the property has been deeded back to original owners. Motion carried unanimously.
ASSESSOR – Mr. Knapp updated the board that this is re-evaluation year. Letters will be going out in February. Kim Burgess has agreed to set up appointments. He stated that farmland & lake properties are wild. Farming always at $30,000 now shows $70,000. Even with the economy being slow all sales are very supportive to new assessments. Town of Sparta has time after time held their value; Groveland is not too far behind. Bruce suggested breaking the CAP, a recent study shows a lot of retirements within Assessors and the town might want to take on more towns. The CAP now covers: Portage, Nunda, Mt. Morris, Groveland, it use to include Sparta. He feels we should go toward Geneseo.
Councilman Phelps asked for Bruce to explain why the county tax rates differ from town to town. Bruce stated the equalization rate is the reason, however, some can have the same equalization rate but some towns don’t take the county sales tax which creates an adjusted tax rate.
HIGHWAY CONTRACT – Councilman Lyon stated he has had time to go through the proposed contract and is satisfied as presented. Councilman Phelps had concerns on wording in Section 9.1 and other wording within the contract. Councilman Lyon made a motion to approve with the rewording, seconded by Councilman Carman. Lyon will get back to the union representative to get a revised copy to sign. Motion carried unanimously.
Communications:
Supervisor Merrick reported that Justice Funds have increased $8,000 in 2009, but stated not what we use to get. It was asked what is different from the past years? Some reasons given: Retired officers who mainly worked our area, location of construction, justices, and diversion program. Supervisor stated that since the diversion program started, we lost $2,800 because there was no fee to be reimbursed. Since that was changed it has brought in $6,200. Councilman Lyon asked if there is a system in place to track cases. Supervisor stated the county is working on it.
Supervisor Merrick stated he has received responses from our legislatures that we requested monies for the court expansions, of which they indicated there is currently no money at this time and wouldn’t know until the state budget is passed sometime in April. Supervisor stated he would resend request letters in April.
Supervisor Merrick discussed the County Teen Work Recognition Form. Ted Saunders heads the program. No Groveland students were recommended last year, and asked if anyone knows of a student to please fill in the form and submit before February 12th.
Caldwell thanked Councilman Lyon and Phelps for all their hard work and making the contract renewal a pleasant one.
Councilman Driscoll asked if we are all set with the Hawthorn road dedication or if there are questions that we should be thinking of and if we are looking at taking 2 or 3 roads? Supervisor stated just the 2 roads with houses. Supervisor also added he would sit in on any meetings.
Councilman Phelps inquired about General Fund voucher #17 and what changes occurred for the bill. No one had the answer, but stated that since Selective has recently started direct billing the invoices are vague in their descriptions. Supervisor will look into it.
Councilman Phelps asked if there has been any change in the law of utilizing our website as the official newspaper to save some money. Town Clerk will check with Association of Towns (AOT).
Councilman Lyon asked if we can tell how many hits we have or a counter built in. Town Clerk will check with our computer technician.
Town Clerk reported Ron Niedermaier has indicated he may attend the next month town board meeting to discuss a town welcome basket and have any of our local residents supply something to help promote their businesses. Town Clerk indicated that this was a project that she had thought of, but found that by the time the sale is reported it could be 2 weeks to 3 months before we are notified and was concerned on forgetting a person. It would be utilized on property sales not renters. Supervisor Merrick suggested a committee could be set up if necessary, but suggests a letter from the Supervisor might suffice and be cost effective.
Town Clerk stated that the towns 200th Anniversary is in 2013 and thinks it would be a great time to start thinking and make plans on a big event, especially with a possible new pavilion at Ambuscade Park.
Town Clerk stated that the advertisement is out, seeking residents to serve on the ZBA/Planning Boards, but word of mouth would help if anyone knows of someone interested.
Town Clerk reported that a representative from the NYS Vital Records Department, Jim O’Conner was in today to help facilitate retrieving the vital records that are from the Craig Colony Hospital and since the vital records employee retired in 2003 they sent our records to Rochester. Anytime someone needs a copy of their record from 1917-1970 they have to contact a Rochester branch, which he is attempting to bring them back to our location. Town Clerk thinks this the best solution, but is concerned on the space available to store these documents. Mr. O’Conner looked at our vault and was very concerned about the shared vault which as been on-going concern with the state. He did suggest having anyone with access to sign a confidentiality form, however, I have read it and those who have access may not be aware of what is stored there now, but really become very aware of it after signing the form. I may opt not to have them sign.
Motion by Councilman Driscoll, seconded by Councilman Phelps to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting Adjourned at 9:20 p.m. The next regular meeting is on Thursday February 11, 2010 in the town hall.
Dated January 25, 2010 ____________________________ Town of Groveland Sandra L. Bean, Town Clerk
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