Village of Lansing

 

 

MINUTES of a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lansing held on Monday, August 19, 2002, in the Village Office.

 

PRESENT: Mayor Donald Hartill; Trustees Larry Fresinski, Frank Moore and Janet Beebe; Planning Board Chair, Ned Hickey; Bill Troy, Attorney.

 

Mayor Donald Hartill called the meeting to order at 7:32P.M. and opened the public comment period. Mr. Mewar of (Address) expressed his concern with the grading in his neighborhood. Mr. Mewar had spoken with a major developer friend who informed him that it is illegal to have water going from one lot to another and he wanted to know why this rule was not being enforced in his neighborhood. He went on to explain that Brent Cross was out to check on the area and he was not aware of any such rule. Bill Troy also stated that there is no such law. A property owner is allowed to improve his lot provided he does not put in pipes or culverts to divert the water. Ned stated that Ben Curtis checks the grading at the base of a home when inspecting but not the whole lot. Mr. Mewar is concerned because a third house still needs to be built uphill from his property.  Janivar Drive Ext. already has a 1 ½ - 2 foot dip in it from water. Ned stated that we are very sensitive to the situation and when the road is developed it will have culverts on each side of the road which may help the situation. Lastly Mr. Mewar asked if there was a database that kept track of constant complaints that people had with various developers. The Mayor stated that we do not have such a database.

              

                        Motion-To Close Public Comment Period

              

Trustee Larry Fresinski moved to close the public comment period. Trustee Janet Beebe seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Frank Moore- Aye

                        Trustee Janet Beebe-Aye                    Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye

                       

Next on the agenda was a public hearing on increasing the sewer surcharge from 22% to 33%

 

                       Motion-To Open the Public Hearing on Increasing the Sewer Surcharge

              

Trustee Larry Fresinski moved to close the public comment period. Trustee Janet Beebe seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Frank Moore- Aye

                        Trustee Janet Beebe-Aye                    Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye

                       

Motion-To Open the Public Hearing on Increasing the Sewer Surcharge

              

Trustee Larry Fresinski moved to close the public comment period. Trustee Frank Moore seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Frank Moore- Aye

                        Trustee Janet Beebe-Aye                    Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye

 

Resolution #3891- To Adopt Local Law #1,2002 to Increase the Sewer     

                           Surcharge to 33%

 

Section I.

 

The purpose of this Local Law is to amend so much of the Village of Lansing Sewer Rent Law (Local Law No. 3 (1982), as amended by Local Law No. 4 (1990), Local Law No. 9 (1993), Local Law No. 14 (1993), Local Law No. 1 (1994), Local Law No. 2 (1994), Local Law No. 3 (1994) and Local Law No. 3 (1995)), so as to increase the sewer rents chargeable to owners of property that are provided with water service by the Village of Lansing Water System, as well as owners of property that are not provided with water service by the Village of Lansing Water System.

 

Section II.

 

Article 4, Section 4.1 of the Village of Lansing Sewer Rent Law is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:

 

Section 4.1.

Each owner of property that is provided with water service by connecting to the Village of Lansing Water System shall be charged, and shall be obligated to pay, an annual sewer rent charge equal to thirty three (33%) percent of the amount charged to said property owner by the Village for water consumption.  Such charge shall be calculated for all quarterly billings from the first quarterly Bolton Point water billing after September 1, 2002 forward.

 

Section III

 

This Local Law and the amendments to the Village of Lansing Sewer Rent Law contained herein shall be effective immediately upon adoption by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lansing and following publication and posting thereof, as required by law.

 

Trustee Larry Fresinski moved to adopt Local Law #1, 2002. Trustee Frank Moore seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Frank Moore- Aye

                        Trustee Janet Beebe-Aye                    Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye

 

Dave Putnam gave an engineer report. The attorney for the Surety Bond Company has prepared a take over resolution for the completion of the work on Uptown Road. Bill Troy stated that a resolution needed to be passed to allow the mayor to sign the take over agreement so that the village could enter into this agreement.

 

Resolution #3892-To Authorize the Mayor to Sign A Take Over Agreement for Uptown Road in a Form Approved by the Village Attorney

 

Trustee Larry Fresinski moved this resolution. Trustee Frank Moore seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Frank Moore- Aye

                        Trustee Janet Beebe-Aye                    Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye

 

Bill, Randy and Dave have all talked about taking over the small section of Horizon Drive and Randy will go forward with this. Randy thinks that Tompkins County now owns this because of non-payment of taxes but he will check into this.

 

Barry Stevens still has not given Dave Putnam a yes or no on the Sevanna Park Entrance. The apartment owners are going forward with the road and have installed catch basins that the Village does not want. Dave thought we should consider widening the road when we do N. Triphammer Road next summer.

 

Cayuga Heights Rd. is scheduled to start September 3rd but may start next week. There will be several water interruptions south to Route 13. In the next 2-3 weeks Bolton Point will notify everyone who will be affected. The Mayor will also write letters to residents to inform them of the likelihood of interruptions. Dave Putnam will let us know the schedule once he gets it. Dave explained that this is the first time that a temporary water line has been used in this area. For the most part it will run through the woods. The temporary water line will go between two hydrants. Larry will also post this information on the website and an article should go to the newspaper to inform area residents of the construction on Cayuga Heights Road.

 

There have been 4 water breaks in two days. One was on N. Triphammer Rd. across from Remax, another on Oakcrest and the other two were on private property. Jack from Bolton Point suspects illegal hydrant use. He thinks these breaks are caused by slamming hydrants.

 

Ned asked Dave if there was anything that could be done about the weeds growing up between the curb and pavement on Graham Rd. Dave suggested round up or maybe crack seal if necessary.

 

The Mayor asks Dave to figure out what is replacement and enhancement in the N. Triphammer Road Project. Dave stated that the State has accepted the water main replacement since what exists is under the pavement and is in such poor condition. The mayor needs this information to better understand the costs of the project.

 

Don also asked Dave about Graham Rd. West. Ned recalled that as a part of a special permit, Pyramid will bring the road up to Village specifications with a sidewalk and then in turn the Village will accept it as a village road. Ned will double check on this and will get Dave a copy of the special permit.

 

Ned and Jodi have written up a draft Village of Lansing Municipal Tree Inventory and Maintenance Plan. We have had a tree inventory done but we lack a follow up program to make sure it happens. Most of the information is taken from the City of Ithaca’s Master Plan and from the initial inventory done by Lee Oplinger. Ned stated that we have not completed the inventory yet. We have done all the parks but we haven’t done the area out behind the village office, the Edelman land, public land out of Pembrook Lane or the urban forest by the lake. We need to decide which areas to do. Don would like to see a schedule added to this draft. It was suggested that the condition of the trees be reviewed every three years or so by a professional tree service. The village will pay to teach the public works department how to prune trees. Bill will work on the language of the document.

 

Ned also informed the board that the Planning Board would be meeting with the Town of Lansing Planning Board in September or October.

 

Motion-Approval of Minutes for July 10th, 15th, and August 5th 2002

 

Trustee Janet Beebe moved that the draft meeting notes, as reviewed and revised by the Board, are hereby adopted as the official minutes. Trustee Larry Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

                        Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                             Trustee Janet Beebe-Aye                                Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye                           Trustee Frank Moore-Aye

                       

The Mayor stated that the N. Triphammer Rd. Project committee has interviewed 3 of 6 engineering firms who they had selected as potential design firms. They have identified a likely consultant. Larry explained that a standard set of questions was asked of each firm. The interviews lasted about one hour. They felt there was one clear winner at the end of the interviews. This firm has dealt with State & Federal Projects. The committee still wants to interview a local representative that has dealt with the company in the past. If this goes well, the name of the design firm will be announced at the Sept. 11th meeting. Frank asks what the design firm does. Larry explained that they translate our concept design, which is very advanced, into an engineer’s design that will go out to bid. After this we may elect to have the design firm overview the project. Don would also like TG Miller to be an oversight.

 

Don gave an update on the water commission meeting.

 

Motion- To Adjourn

 

Trustee Larry Fresinski moved adjournment. Trustee Janet Beebe seconded the motion.

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Frank Moore- Aye

                        Trustee Janet Beebe-Aye                    Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye

           

The board adjourned at 9:03pm.

 

Jodi Dake

Village Clerk