MINUTES
of a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the
PRESENT:
Mayor Don Hartill; Trustees Lynn Leopold, Larry Fresinski, Frank Moore and John
Bailey; Planning Board Acting Chairman Steve Halevy; Village Attorney Randy
Marcus.
Mayor
Don Hartill called the meeting to order at
Pledge of Allegiance.
Before
opening the public comment period the Mayor stated that in his letter to Don
King he had promised an agenda item and he apologized to the residents of
Kensington who were present. He told them that the public comment period would
be an appropriate time to speak.
Motion- To Open Public Comment Period
Trustee John Bailey moved to open the public comment
period.
Trustee Larry Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote
was taken:
Mayor
Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee
John Bailey- Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold
–Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Dr.
Klepack spoke on behalf of the people from Kensington. They were interested in
the progress on the road. Dr. Klepack stated that he and his wife Carol had
spoken to the Mayor in the airport but felt there are a lot of uncertainties. They requested an update of what has been
accomplished since they last came to the Board of Trustees in January. The
following questions were asked-
1. Is there a timeline?
2. What obligation does the
Village have to Edelman’s?
3. What would Village do if
Edelman’s do nothing?
4. Does the Village have a
leverage position?
5. Concerned that a wider road
would create high-speed traffic through the area. The engineer design doesn’t
provide for separate pedestrian and car traffic.
The
Mayor replied that the opinion of attorney Ed Hooks is that the window of
opportunity in which the Village had leverage expired a long time ago. An Article
78 must be within 30 days of the municipality taking action. The only leverage
the Village has is that if the Edelmans wish to continue developing they would
be required to submit a new plat proposal to the Planning Board, which would
incorporate the road. The assessment value of vacant land has increased by a
factor of 10, which would be another reason the Edelman’s would want to
develop.
The
Mayor has not made contact with Mr. Colbert yet but will in the next few weeks.
It is now budget time so we must focus on that. He assured them that this is
high on his priority list. The Mayor intends that the Village do the right
thing.
The
Mayor appreciated the design concerns. However, there must be a balance with
other needs of the Village. It’s an extra expense to have the enhanced feature
of sidewalks and we’re already budgeting for this construction season.
A
Kensington resident asked if the Mayor actually thought the Edelmans would
develop the last 18 lots. Each lot is $25,000 and once the expense of the road
is added in the Edelmans would only make $150,000. She didn’t think they have
any intentions of developing the last 18 lots. Mr. Edelman has been talking
about this since 1992. The Mayor stated that is a heavy tax load due to the new
assessment. He also reminded them that
the legal window to force development of that road is long past. It is a
business decision on Edelmans part. If the Edelmans
don’t do the road then they will still have a public road if the Colberts go
along with this. The Mayor assured the residents that the Village would do our
best effort to make this happen. The Village is concerned about the safety
issue and will try and resolve it. The development shouldn’t have originally
been approved and the Village feels partly responsible to spend $100,000 to
take over the private road, bring it up to Village standards and make the
divided road go past the apartment complex to solve the safety issue.
It
was asked what would be done if the Colberts don’t go along. Don’s reading is
that the Colberts only sticking point is signage and he is prepared to
grandfather the sign in. This would allow the Colberts to unload a fairly large
road maintenance cost. Don hopes that he
has laid some of their concerns to rest and promised to keep them informed.
This year the Village plans to do project #1 and dedication of the rest of the
road.
Motion- To Close Public Comment Period
Trustee John Bailey moved to close the public
comment period.
Trustee Lynn Leopold seconded the motion. A vote was
taken:
Mayor
Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee
John Bailey- Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn
Leopold-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Next
on the agenda was a public hearing to consider Proposed Local Law D
Motion- To Open the Public Hearing to Consider
Proposed Local Law D, Fourth Amendment to Village of Lansing Elderly Persons’
Real Property Partial Tax Exemption Law
Trustee Larry Fresinski moved to open the public
hearing.
Trustee Lynn Leopold seconded the motion. A vote was
taken:
Mayor
Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee
John Bailey- Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold
–Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
The
Mayor commented that this law would bring the Village up to the same level as
the Town of Lansing. Frank recalled that the Town of Lansing was one of the
most generous and had the most detailed breakdown. It was asked what was used
to determine one’s taxable income number. Randy stated that State statute
determines what should be referred to to determine your taxable income. Since
the County prepares the tax bills, it is their responsibility. Frank asked if
all the elderly had to reapply for this exemption. Jodi will call the County
Assessment Office to see how it is done. It was suggested that this information
go into the next newsletter.
Motion- To Close the Public Hearing
Trustee John Bailey moved to close the public
hearing.
Trustee Lynn Leopold seconded the motion. A vote was
taken:
Mayor
Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee
John Bailey- Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn
Leopold-Absent
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Randy
stated that this would be considered an exempt action under the SEQR process
Section #19 because it is an amendment of an existing law.
Resolution#3647-To Accept Proposed Local Law D,
Fourth Amendment to Village of Lansing Elderly Persons’ Real Property Partial
Tax Exemption Law to start July 1, 2000.
Be it enacted by the Board
of Trustees of the Village of Lansing as
follows:
SECTION I. PURPOSE AND INTENT.
The purpose of this Local Law is to further amend the Village of Lansing Elderly Persons’ Real Property Partial Tax Exemption Law, Local Law 3 (1990), as amended by Local Law 13 (1990), and as further amended by Local Law 14 (1990), so as to (a) implement the most recent amendments to the provisions of Section 467 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, to the extent such provisions affect the “sliding scale” of income levels and corresponding percentages of assessed valuation that shall be exempt from real property tax and (b) establish a mechanism whereby future amendments to the provisions of section 467 of the Real Property Tax Law concerning the “sliding scale” of income levels shall be automatically adopted by the Village.
Trustee Frank Moore moved that this resolution
become law and Larry Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-Aye Trustee John Bailey-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Dave
Putnam gave a report of a meeting Mr. Reinhart and he had with Lanny Joyce of
Lake Source Cooling concerning the agreement to allow the emergency sewer
connection to the Village sewer transmission main. In February of 1999 LSC first
asked for emergency connection. In September of 1999 they came forth with an
agreement. A new agreement was given to Dave and he had a problem with one of
the items. The agreement went to Randy to edit and last week we received a
response from Cornell. The sticky issue for Cornell was having to buy into the
upgrade of the sewer line. If the Village agrees, CU will be pay for initial
hook up in exchange granting the Village a formal easement through their plant.
After Randy has looked at the agreement, Dave will bring it back to the Board
for final approval.
Next
on the agenda was the approval of minutes.
Motion-Approval of Minutes for February 7, 2000
& March 6, 2000
Trustee Frank Moore moved that the meeting notes are hereby adopted as the official minutes. Larry Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-Aye Trustee John Bailey-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Motion-Approval of Minutes for February 16, 2000
Trustee Frank Moore moved that the meeting notes are hereby adopted as the official minutes. Larry Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-Aye Trustee John Bailey-Abstain
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
After
receiving a bill for Sear-Brown professional services review, comment &
follow up analysis on alternative driveway alignments, McDonalds sent a letter
to the Village authorizing the payment of this invoice from the escrow account
established per terms of site plan review requirement with the Village of
Lansing. Don proposed we pass a resolution to transfer the money from the
McDonald’s Escrow Account, which is in the Trust & Agency Fund, to the
General Fund as McDonalds has requested.
Resolution #3648-To Transfer $2,857.93 from the
McDonald’s Escrow Account to the General Fund to Pay for the Sear Brown Traffic
Study
Trustee Lynn Leopold moved to accept this resolution and John Bailey seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-Aye Trustee John Bailey-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Next
on the agenda was Budget discussion. Don stated that A1120, Non-Property Tax
Distribution by County (sales tax), was made up mostly tax from the sale of
energy. He proposed that this line item be raised from $425,000 to $470,000.
The net amount that the Village can spend on roads per year without
transferring money from reserves is $400,000. We have approximately 14 miles of
road in the Village, which means we must rebuild 1 mile of road per year. At this
time, Don proposed each Trustee spend about 15 minutes on their sections of the
budget. Don will develop the budget and get it to all the Trustees before the
next meeting. At the April 3rd meeting the Board will finalize the
budget and set a public hearing.
Frank
gave his suggestions for the 2000-2001 water budget. He had prepared a hand out
for all the Trustees.
F1030
Special Assessments-Collected via property taxes. The amount reflects the
M&T BAN principal & interest. A9730.6-Principal-$60,000 & A9730.7-Interest-$6,000
Last
year it was $70,050 and this year it will be $66,000.
F2140-Metered
Water Sales-$364,000 which reflects the Water Purchase Item F8320.44 of
$298,000 plus our 22% surcharge.
F2144-Service
Charge-$3,000 for Sprinkler Charges to commercial properties.
F2148-Interest
& Penalties on bills-In comparison to this year it was suggested to go from
$20,000 to $15,000.
F2401-Interest
on bank accounts-stay the same at $5,000.
F2770
Miscellaneous Income-Last year, reflected CU contribution to the airport water
tank removal, this year $0.
F8320.41-Electricity-
Raise from $1,500 to $2,000 to reflect increased cost of electricity to be used
at Brown Road Pump Station and winter heating for Cayuga Hills PRV.
F8340.2-Transmission
& Distribution Capital Fund- The estimate is $75,000 for Highgate Circle
pressure reducing valve station upgrade proposed by TG Millers. Last years
$168,000 estimate referred to Airport tank removal & painting of the ground
tank.
F8340.4-Transmission
& Distribution Contractual- this refers to the maintenance of the Village’s
water assets, through contract work done by the Town and by Bolton Point, among
others.
F9901.9-Transfer
to General Fund-$7,000 to cover the clerk’s time working on water bills.
Accounts
not mentioned stayed the same as last year.
Larry
was in charge of the transportation section and gave the following proposals:
A5110.2-Equipment-$0
because we don’t need to replace a truck this year
A5110.4-Highway
Contractual-Operations, potholes, gas, uniforms ect . $85,000
A5110.13-This
is for a seasonal worker. Since we are hiring one earlier this year he
suggested a slight increase from $4,160
A5112.2-Street
Improvement-$24,000-$14,000 for Highgate headwall and $10,000 for the Leif’s
Way shoulder.
A5112.22-Street
Improvements Capital- In 1999-2000 we budgeted $796,901 and haven’t used yet.
The Village plan is to use this money to repair ˝ mile of road every year. The
capital projects Dave Putnam has proposed for this year are:
-$17,000 Churchill Dr.
-$62,000 Wakefield Pavement Reconstruction
-$350,000 Cayuga Heights Overlay
( may only
do ˝ and add Kensington for $62,000)
A5142.4-Snow
Removal-Our yearly contract with the Town of Lansing is $25,000. It is then
adjusted the following year by using A2701-Refund of prior Years Expenditures
A5182.4-Street
Lighting-Electric for running the lights-$28,000.
A5410.2-We
have no sidewalks planned for this year. In the future we need to consider Dart
Drive which will be quite expensive.
A5410.4-Sidewalk
Contractual-$3,000 to repair sidewalks
A5410.41-Greenway-$4,000
for trails. Haven’t spent this in the last couple of years, which shows a lack
of focus.
Lynn
was in charge of the Planning section. She suggested removing A8020.46 Inter
Planning since we haven’t used the $500 budgeted the last couple of years.
A8010.2-Equipment-Has
not been spent this year and she suggested dropping it.
A8010.42-BZA
Legal- Last year it was $6,000 because of the Home Depot issue but this year it
can go back down to $2,000.
A8020.2
–Planning Board Equip. -$3,500 for ARC program and a 11x17 printer
A8020.45-Consultant-Was
$15,000 last year to hire EDR to get planning ideas for N. Triphammer Road.
This year $3,000 is proposed.
A8510.4-Community
Beautification- Lower from $5,000 to $4,000 to reflect what Village has spent
in the past couple of years.
All
the other Planning line items are the same as last year.
Frank
Moore proposed a resolution to the Board to recognize Nancy Bent who passed
away March 11, 2000.
Resolution#3649-Death of Nancy Bent
BE IT RESOLVED that the Village of Lansing Board of
Trustees, on behalf of the citizens of the Village, extend their most sincere
condolences to the family and loved ones of Nancy Bent, who died on the
eleventh of this month.
We wish also to honor her memory by recalling, with
gratitude, her service to our Village. She was one of the first to recognize
that village status was necessary to preserve the quality of life we enjoy
here. Then, after helping to achieve the founding of the Village of Lansing,
she continued over the years until her untimely death to be a leader in
assuring the continued effectiveness of the Village government in its mission
to serve the people of the Village. The municipal government which this Board
of Trustees represents is itself a memorial to the life of Nancy Bent.
Trustee Lynn Leopold moved that this resolution be approved. Larry Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-Aye Trustee John Bailey-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Motion- To Go To Executive Session to Discuss
Financial Matters Pertaining to the Village.
Trustee Larry Fresinski moved to go to executive
session. Trustee John Bailey seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-
Aye Trustee John Bailey-
Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-
Aye Trustee Lynn
Leopold-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Motion- To Come Out of Executive Session
Trustee Larry Fresinski moved to come out of
executive session. Trustee John Bailey seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-
Aye Trustee John Bailey-
Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-
Aye Trustee Lynn
Leopold-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
Motion- To Adjourn
Trustee Larry Fresinski moved adjournment. Trustee
Lynn Leopold seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-
Aye Trustee John Bailey-
Aye
Trustee Larry Fresinski-
Aye Trustee Lynn
Leopold-Aye
Trustee Frank Moore-Aye
The
meeting adjourned at 10:15P.M.
Jodi
Dake
Village
Clerk