MINUTES
of a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the
Present:
Mayor Donald Hartill; Trustees
Mayor
Hartill called the meeting to order at 7:35P.M.and opened the public comment
period. Present was one observer from the Community Party. There were no
comments.
Motion-To Close the Public
Comment Period
Trustee Fresinski moved to close the public comment period. Trustee O’Neill seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor
Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee
Next on the agenda was a public hearing to consider the
discontinuation of a portion of the original
Motion-To Open the Public Hearing on the Discontinuation of
Sapsucker
Trustee Fresinski moved to open the public hearing. Trustee Leopold seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor
Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee
The Mayor explained that there has been an arrangement with Cornell University for the current Sapsucker Woods Road that was recently constructed in conjunction with the new Ornithology Lab. When Cornell built the new Ornithology Lab the road was moved and a portion of the building now sits where the road was previously located. Cornell has previously conveyed to the Village the portion of the new road that is located within the Village boundaries. That having been done, the Village doesn’t need the portion of the former road right of way under the building and a small additional portion of the former road, and this resolution is intended to discontinue use of those portions of the former road and convey them back to Cornell. David Dubow went on to explain that the Board approved a resolution to discontinue the road sections in question at the November 15th meeting, but the law requires there to be a public hearing following such action. There were no comments from the public.
Motion-To Close the Public Hearing
Trustee Leopold moved to close the public hearing. Trustee Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald
Hartill-Aye Trustee
The following
resolution was presented:
Resolution #4104 -To Reaffirm Actions Taken in Resolution # 4103 Adopted on November 15, 2004 Authorizing the Village to Discontinue and Convey Portions of Sapsucker Woods Road and Brown Road Extension as Originally Laid Out Due to Construction and Relocation of New Sapsucker Woods Road and the Dedication and Conveyance of a Portion Thereof to the Village
WHEREAS, by Resolution No.
4103 adopted on November 15, 2004, the Village of Lansing Board of Trustees (i)
discontinued portions of the previously laid out Sapsucker Woods Road and Brown
Road Extension deemed to no longer be needed as a thoroughfare for the public,
such discontinued property having been described on Schedule A attached to such
resolution, (ii) authorized the conveyance to Cornell of the portions of the
previously laid out Sapsucker Woods Road and Brown Road Extension so deemed to
no longer be needed as a thoroughfare for public use (iii) determined that the
Village has received adequate and reasonable consideration for such
discontinuance and conveyance as a result of the construction, relocation,
dedication and conveyance by Cornell of the newly constructed Sapsucker Woods
Road situated within the Village, and (iv) directed that a public hearing be
conducted in regard to the foregoing actions at the next regular meeting of the
Board of Trustees of the Village of Lansing, on December 6, 2004, at 7:35 PM;
and
WHEREAS, such public hearing
was held on December 6, 2004 as required, at which time the Board heard no
sufficient expressions of opposition to the Board proceeding as resolved in
Resolution No. 4103; and
WHEREAS, the Board wishes to
reaffirm the actions provided for in Resolution No. 4103;
NOW, THEREFORE, in
accordance with Sections 6-612 and 6-614 of the Village Law of the State of New
York, and for the purpose of reaffirming its previous action as provided for in
Resolution No. 4103 adopted on November 15, 2004, be it resolved by the Board
of Trustees of the Village of Lansing as follows:
The Village hereby discontinues the portions of the previously laid out Sapsucker Woods Road and Brown Road Extension hereby deemed to no longer be needed as a thoroughfare for the public, such discontinued property being more particularly described on Schedule A attached to this resolution;
1. The Village hereby (i) authorizes the conveyance to Cornell of the portions of the previously laid out Sapsucker Woods Road and Brown Road Extension hereby deemed to no longer be needed as a thoroughfare for public use, as more particularly described on Schedule A attached to this resolution, and (ii) determines that the Village has received adequate and reasonable consideration therefor as a result of the construction, relocation, dedication and conveyance by Cornell of the newly constructed Sapsucker Woods Road situated within the Village;
Trustee Moore moved to accept this resolution. Trustee Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald
Hartill-Aye Trustee
The next item on the agenda was the approval of the
minutes for November 10th & 15th.
Motion-Approval of Minutes for November 10, 2004
Trustee O’Neill moved that the draft meeting notes, as reviewed and revised by the Clerk/Treasurer and the Board, are hereby adopted as the official minutes. Trustee Moore seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald
Hartill-Abstain Trustee
Motion-Approval of Minutes for November 15, 2004
Trustee Leopold moved that the draft meeting notes, as reviewed and revised by the Clerk/Treasurer and the Board, are hereby adopted as the official minutes. Trustee O’Neill seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald
Hartill-Abstain Trustee
Jodi asked the Board for permission to pay the annual New York State Retirement payment early. Comptroller Hevesi has decided to offer employers the option of prepaying their bill this year at a discounted amount. The Village would save $377 if paid by December 15th.
Resolution #4105- To Pay the Annual New York State
Retirement Payment Early at a Discounted Rate
Trustee Fresinski moved this resolution. Trustee Leopold seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald
Hartill-Aye Trustee
Next
on the agenda was to discuss the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan. The Board
had been advised that the Plan was available for review on the Tompkins County
website. The Mayor agreed with the
County’s efforts regarding intermunicipal cooperation. He explained that the
County had tried to do an intermunicipal contract on equipment sharing that
became more complicated than anticipated; the benefits were minimal and it was
dropped. The Village of Lansing does equipment sharing with the Village of
Cayuga Heights, Town of Lansing and Town of Ithaca on a less formal basis which
works quite well and can sustain itself.
The County Comprehensive Plan conclusions and recommendations were
briefly discussed, including the recommendation that housing should be close to
where people work and the observation that the Village the Business and
Technology Park will likely expand. The Mayor indicated that the roadway
comments in the plan are fairly reasonable. In general, he commented that
because the County has no land use authority, he is unsure as to why so much
money is being spent on this project at the County level given the current
financial situation the County is in. Frank noted that they wanted to change
the transportation routes. Don stated that this was from 10 years ago and
hasn’t been updated.
Ned
Hickey stated that he met with the Tompkins County Planning Department to let
them know what the impact would be as a result of the various housing projects
recently approved and currently under consideration by the Village Planning
Board. He reminded the Board that the Bomax/Warren Road intersection is
currently a problem due to traffic generated by the Post Office. It was also
explained that Warren Road, a county road, is scheduled to be repaired in
2005-06. They also discussed the possibility of a need for a traffic signal at
the Bomax/Warren Road intersection and a curb cut to get into the Dart
property. The Tompkins County Board was very receptive to what they talked
about.
Frank
doesn’t feel that the discussion of the water issues in the County Plan
adequately addresses the defense of Cayuga Lake. Tourism is dependent on Cayuga
Lake. He feels this aspect is very weak. Frank was reminded that the County is
only advisory at this level. The IO is dedicated to protect Cayuga Lake with a
small amount of State monies and not much power.
Lynn
was surprised with many of the action items. Tompkins County Planning will have
a lot of studies to do. The one area that the County can regulate and uphold is
the sanitary code. She feels testing of sanitary systems is very important.
Don
is concerned because it appears that the County Planning Department may be
proceeding in a manner consistent with a planning board with land use authority
when it has no such authority. The TC Planning Department has grown over the
years and there seems to be a lot of job resources dedicated in this area. Don
added that this does not come at a small cost and wondered if it could be done
in a more cost-effective way. The Mayor would like to see coordination with
local Planning Boards that actually have land use authority. Despite his reservations, the Mayor indicated
that he was prepared to express his support for the draft County Plan. Ned
stated that the Comprehensive Plan at the County level started with a vital
communities study, but has gone well beyond that original approach.
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Planing Department, with guidance, advice, and recommendation from the Tompkins County Planning Advisory Board, has developed a Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan that addresses regional and intermunicipal issues that affect the daily lives of Tompkins County residents, such as housing, transportation, jobs, the environment, and neighborhoods and communities, and
WHEREAS, the Draft Comprehensive Plan was presented
at 17 community groups and advisory board meetings, and 14 open house and
public meetings in all municipalities in the county, for feedback and comments,
and
WHEREAS, an over-arching principle of the Draft
County Comprehensive Plan is that Tompkins County will work proactively with
towns, villages, the City of Ithaca, and State and Federal agencies to
cooperatively address regional issues, and
WHEREAS, the County recognizes that while New York
State clearly places land use authority in the hands of its towns, villages and
cities, it also specifically recognizes that intermunicipal planning is needed
to cooperatively address regional issues and encourage the development of
county comprehensive plans to address development and preservation issues that
transcend local political boundaries, and
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan
provides a strategic framework for addressing issues of mutual concern to
municipalities throughout the County, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Village of Lansing Board of
Trustees supports the adoption of the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan by the
Tompkins County Legislature.
Trustee O’Neill moved this resolution. Trustee Moore
seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald
Hartill-Aye Trustee
Mayor
Hartill commented on the new look on N. Triphammer Road now that trees have
been removed as part of the early stages of the road improvement project. Some
underground work will take place this season. They will not tear up the Pyramid
Drive area during the holiday season. The next project meeting will be December
13th. The Mayor will get more involved with the utilities relocation
process, but so far sees no major difficulties with the N. Triphammer Rd.
Project.
Don
asked Frank to give a sewer update. Frank stated that at the last sewer meeting
with the Town of Lansing representatives they discussed different options. They
would like to decide on a gravity route. There are many costs that have not
been identified. One such cost would be purchasing property. Two issues the committee is dealing with are
the routing of the transmission system and what are they going to do with the
capacity.
The
Mayor explained that in a village, unlike a town, you can only have one sewer
district. In order to be fair, Don feels we need to put together a committee to
look into issues specifically related to the Village. Don would like to have
trustees, a Planning Board member and citizens on a committee to start the
beginning of the year. This committee will need some technical guidance and
that would come from Dave Putnam.
The Town wants decisions made and costs determined over the next several months. Stearns & Wheeler and the Town Board are anxious to meet with the Village of Lansing. The next committee meeting is December 28th. Don will attend this meeting
Another question that has to be answered is who will pay for the transmission mains. It was observed that currently the Village does not have a sufficiently clear image of what it wants in terms of expanded sewer service. This is why a committee is being formed. Lynn Leopold and John O’Neill volunteered to be on this committee. It was acknowledged that Frank would continue as the Village’s representative to the Town committee. Ned will get someone from the Planning Board to serve on the committee by the meeting on the 20th. The sewer committee will report to the Trustees and will require 1 to 2 meetings a month. Don will find citizens for the committee.
The Mayor reported that the addition on the Bolton Point Plant is currently proceeding toward completion with windows being installed. They were hoping to occupy the new space in December but it looks like they won’t be able to move in until February. Then the old offices will be redone to their original intent. The increased water rate that begins January 1st is financing this and the new East Hill water tank.
Ned Hickey reported that the Planning board has completed their review & update of chapters 1-6 of the Comprehensive Plan. After the corrections are made, they will hold a public hearing in January and then it will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees. David Dubow explained that when the Board of Trustees considers the recommended amendments they must also have a public hearing. Ned suggested that the proposed amended Comprehensive Plan be put on the Village’s web site for review by interested parties with a notice in the paper.
It was reported that as part of the contract for the N. Triphammer Rd. improvements, there will be 83 new trees going in. There are also 35 more trees that may go in at the same time that may be donated by a corporation in the Village.
Larry gave an overview of the N. Triphammer Rd. project meeting that took place on November 10th. During the utilities meeting they discussed timelines. NYSEG will have less poles, new wiring and less spread on the “T” structures. They expect the work to be done in January/February. Verizon has a lack of resources and Larry feels they need some pressure. Larry is not confident with Verizon’s ability to get the job completed in a timely manner. Larry also contacted Time Warner Cable to find out why they were not attending meetings. They will be at the next meeting.
John O’Neill stated that he has contacted Nancy Oltz of TCAT Inc. and they will be doing test runs into the Cayuga Mall with bus 13. The issue of park & ride at the Pyramid Mall was brought up. Ned stated that the Planning Board had discussed this. Ned met with TCAT and they were originally in favor of it, but he has never heard another word on this subject. John will look into this.
Motion- To Adjourn
Trustee Leopold moved for adjournment. Trustee
O’Neill seconded the motion. A vote was taken:
Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee Larry Fresinski-Aye Trustee Frank Moore- Aye Trustee John O’Neill-Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye
The
meeting adjourned at 9:03 PM.
Jodi Dake
Clerk/treasurer