Village of Lansing

MINUTES of a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lansing held on Monday, December 20, 1999, in the Village Office.

PRESENT: Mayor Don Hartill; Trustees Lynn Leopold, Larry Fresinski and John Bailey; Planning Board Chairman Ned Hickey; Village Attorney Randy Marcus.

Mayor Don Hartill called the meeting to order at 7:37P.M.

Mayor Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold –Aye

There was no public present to comment.

Mayor Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Next on the agenda was a public hearing to consider the acceptance of Wakefield Drive.

Mayor Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold –Aye

Randy commented that technically it is Churchill Drive. The road sign where it meets Graham Road says Wakefield but where the road bends it then becomes Churchill Drive. The parcel is to be used for a turn around.

Mayor Donald Hartill - Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Mayor Donald Hartill- Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Next on the agenda was the engineer’s report. Dave Putnam presented the 1995 preliminary opinion of construction costs for street improvement projects in the North Wood Neighborhood. He presented four different projects:

1. North Wood Boulevard-$93,500

2. Street Upgrade from North Wood Boulevard to Coventry Walk-$54,000

3. New Cul-de-sac from Coventry Walk to Johnson Property-$118,500

4. Coventry Walk Rehabilitation-$20,500

Dave stated that #1 was paved in 1998 and he would need to look at #2 & 3 again because they’ve been upgraded since this estimate was done. The Mayor stated that #1 & 3 have to be done, nothing is needed for #4 and we need to look at #2. The Mayor will consider sharing the cost of #1 but #3 is the Edelmans responsibility to complete. Once #3 is complete the Village will consider going ahead with #1. The Mayor asked Dave to do a more up to date estimate and give the Board some refined numbers. Ned will arrange a meeting with the Edelmans. Ned asked the Mayor when he thought sewer would be available. The Mayors highest priority is to get this sewer business resolved, he thought Fall 2000. Ned would like to get this taken care of so that the road construction could begin in the spring.

Ned stated that time has expired on their previous subdivision plan so they will need to get approval once again. The Village is very open to reconsider the original subdivision plan. Lynn asked if we would get rid of the median because it is very dangerous.

John Bailey called the question. Lynn seconded. A vote was taken:

Mayor Donald Hartill- Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Mayor Donald Hartill- Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Dave Putnam stated that the water main and service line modification on Churchill Drive are completed. On the far side the line was underground about 8 feet and the water shut off was found a couple of inches from the foundation of the house.

Dennis Reinhart has been in contact with OGS regarding the terrible sealing job done on the Village roads and the OGS will be down to inspect. The next topic was the erosion problem on Lansing Trails Walk. There is no trail drainage. The Lansing Trails Walks culvert pipe was to be replaced in the original approval but was not. The solution is to find out who owns what and where since it is unclear. Another issue, because the actual location of parts of the trail may be outside of the areas owned by the Village or within the Village easements, concerns either getting additional easements for the trail or having property owners dedicate additional property to the Village. Ned suggested planting trees along the trail to screen it from the residents. Lynn asks where the trees would be planted and Ned stated that they would have to be in the residents’ yards. Ned has spoken with people in the Town of Ithaca’s Planning Department and they provided screening with trees and fencing and it worked quite well. Dave Putnam will put together a plan for the trail and get together with Randy, Dennis and Ben.

Ned and Dave Putnam are working with McDonalds to get a turning lane.

Next Ned presented the Planning Board’s recommendations amending Village Sign Law. The Planning Board has reviewed Tops Sign proposal and reduced the request so it is more compatible with other Planned Sign Areas and with the intent of the Village Sign Law. The recommended Planned Sign Area includes a provision for directory signs to be located beneath the pylon entry sign similar to a directory sign already approved for the Bishops Small Mall Planned Sign Area. Merchants located off of North Triphammer Road have expressed a need for additional signage to aid motorists to locate their businesses. The Planning Board believes this is a legitimate concern and directory signage an appropriate solution. They have tried to keep equity between Planned Sign Areas. The Planning Board denied Tops a sign on the Rt. 13 side of their building because they feel it is a traffic safety issue. Randy commented that the Planning Board has done a phenomenal job with the whole Tops project. The whole Board agreed and asked Ned to relay that message to them. Ned thanked the Board for their kind words.

Mayor Donald Hartill- Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Next on the agenda was to appoint Steve Halevy as the acting chairman for the Planning Board while Ned is in Florida for the winter.

Mayor Donald Hartill- Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Mayor Donald Hartill- Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

The Mayor asked how the focus group meeting went. Ned stated that there were about 30 people there. The consultants asked them what their vision of what the Village should be and most people were looking for what is already in the North Triphammer Plan. Speed of motorists in the Village was a concern. The Mayor asked that Dave Putnam investigate the cost of putting all the utility lines underground when we do North Triphammer Road. Dave stated that the cost is out of sight but that would be the time to do it when the road is dug up anyway. John stated that Dryden is putting its utilities underground. Don asked John Bailey to find out who the design engineer was for Dryden. The consultants were happy with the number that turned out. There were minutes taken on the meeting. It may get put on our website and we will send postcards to the people involved with the focus group to inform them. A member of the public stated that she was very impressed with the amount of information that is on our web page.

Ned commented that the Planning Board is looking at McDonalds again. Dave Putnam is not happy with the placement because of the driveway alignment. The revised site plan included the Planning Board’s request to increase the stacking for the drive thru to accommodate 20 cars. This resulted in moving the building and the driveway further north. Ned will speak with Dave and to McDonald’s again concerning further amendment of the site plan.

Next on the agenda was the approval of minutes.

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski-Aye Trustee John Bailey-Aye

During general discussion Lynn asked the Mayor how we were doing with property acquisition on North Triphammer Road. The Mayor stated that there are still two outstanding owners. One of the properties is going through the corporate path and the Mayor doesn’t anticipate a problem once this process is complete. Lynn also asked if there was another prospective member to fill the vacancy on the Board of Trustees. The Mayor is still working on this issue.

The Mayor brought the Board up to date on the water & sewer issues. The joint water group continues to discuss legal details. It will be a couple of more meetings until there will be a document to bring back to our Board. One of the issues regards the road to Bolton Point. The Mayor doesn’t foresee any problems. There is an SJS meeting tomorrow at 12:30pm. Lynn asked about the Kline Road bypass. The Mayor stated that we have already paid for the design and we have the right-of-way so it’s ready to go.

Lynn gave an update on Tompkins County EMC. EMC has hired a consultant and has a tower committee. They looked at our airport water tank as a site for the main transformer for the 911 system. She said there is a big problem with birds being killed when they fly into these towers.

Motion- To Adjourn

Mayor Donald Hartill- Aye Trustee John Bailey- Aye

Trustee Larry Fresinski- Aye Trustee Lynn Leopold-Aye

The meeting adjourned at 9:52 P.M.

Jodi Dake

Village Clerk