REGULAR MEETING
March 7, 2016
A regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Busti was held on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 6:45 p.m., at the Town of Busti Administration Building, 125 Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood, New York with the following members present:
Supervisor Jesse M. Robbins
Councilman Todd M. Hanson
Councilman Jim Andrews
Councilman Kenneth J. Lawton
Councilman Rudy Mueller
Supervisor Robbins called the meeting to order with the salute to the flag and a moment of silence was observed.
Present at the meeting were: Lakewood Busti Police Chief John Bentley, Attorney Joel Seachrist, Ray Ayers, Susan Lane, Tim Young, Tillie Solomonson, and Post-Journal Reporter Doug Callen.
Town Clerk Darlene Nygren reported her office has collected $5,763,728 toward the 2016 County Town Tax Warrant of $6,673,522.84. Collections now include a 2% penalty and payments received after March 15th will require a $2 notice fee. The last day of collection is Friday, April 1, 2016. Town Clerk Nygren noted that the Town Board minutes are done in a timely manner; there may be times that they are not online within the two week period due to a technical issue. However, residents are always welcome to come to the office and request a printed copy. Town Clerk Nygren noted that the last dog enumeration was completed in 2009; money was budgeted in the 2016 budget to complete an enumeration and the town needs to advertise for the enumerator position.
Councilman Hanson moved the following resolution which was duly seconded by Councilman Lawton:
RESOLVED, Town Clerk Darlene Nygren be authorized to advertise for a dog enumerator at a rate of pay of $1.00 per dog enumerated as reported to the Town Clerk office.
Upon roll call vote, all aye.
Chief John Bentley reported 1,975 incidents YTD. Chief Bentley discussed the continued drug (heroin) issue.
Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson reported three bids were received for the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado Pick-Up Truck:
1. Rick Welsh – $609.99
2. James Webster – $911.11
3. Westend Auto – $850.00
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, James Webster be awarded the bid for the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado Pick-Up Truck, Regular Cab, ¾ Ton, 4X4 with the bid of $911.11.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Superintendent Peterson reviewed the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan received from Chautauqua County and changes that he has made to the plan. These changes include eliminating the suggested mitigation action – “Purchase all necessary equipment including a Mud Cat dredger to maintain openings at the mouths of creeks near the Town”; removing the Busti Recreation Center from Table 4 Critical Infrastructure in the Town of Busti; and increasing the Estimated Cost of Replacement of the Dept. of Public Works Facility to $1,000,000 also included in Table 4.
Superintendent Peterson noted that he had received notice from the local Highway Superintendent’s Association that there will be a presentation on the formation and benefits of an Article 47 Health Insurance Consortium. Representatives from Tompkins County will be sharing their experience with the creation of the consortium established in their county and how it has saved county taxpayers millions of dollars. The presentation will be held March 14th at 1:30pm at the Office of Emergency Services in Mayville. Highway Superintendent Peterson and Attorney Joel Seachrist will attend the presentation and report back to the town board at the next scheduled meeting.
Supervisor Robbins noted that there is a total of $1,223.83 of unpaid claims from Health Republic for town employees.
Councilman Hanson moved the following resolution which was duly seconded by Supervisor Robbins:
RESOLVED, the town reimburses the employees who submitted the unpaid claims, the total of all reimbursements is $1,222.83.
Upon roll call vote, all aye.
Supervisor Robbins noted Greg Johnson’s NOVA card remains turned off. Discussion followed.
Councilman Hanson moved the following motion which was duly seconded by Supervisor Robbins:
RESOLVED, the town authorizes NOVA to reinstate Greg Johnson’s card and address the outstanding claims at the April 4th town board meeting.
Upon roll call vote, all aye.
Supervisor Robbins noted that there continues to be town code violations involving saw mills in the town.
Supervisor Robbins noted the town received a gift of $1,000 from the Estate of Doris Levine; the funds are to be utilized for maintenance and improvements at Levin-Levine Park. Discussion followed. Councilman Lawton will research if there may be grant funds available and what options there are for improvements to the park.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, the $1,000 gift be deposited in the Parks Account to be used for improvements to the Levin-Levine Park.
Upon roll call vote, all aye.
Supervisor Robbins noted the regular scheduled Town Board meeting on March 21, 2016 has been canceled due to the lack of availability of councilmen.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, that Supervisor Robbins be authorized and directed to pay the presented General Fund, Highway Fund, and the Joint Recreation Fund for Abstract No. 5 from warrant #091 to and including warrant #150 in the amount of $97,669.97.
Upon roll call vote, all aye. Carried.
There was discussion regarding the February 16, 2016 minutes. Councilman Mueller requested clarification regarding the request for a complete audit of the Joint Recreational funds. Town Clerk Nygren will amend the minutes to read “Supervisor Robbins had previously asked the State Comptroller’s office to do a complete audit of the Joint Recreation funds. Supervisor Robbins noted the OSC examiners had reviewed the Joint Recreational records as part of the recent general audit (not as a complete audit) and they stated to him that the records were in order.” The April 4, 2016 agenda will include accepting the February 16, 2016 minutes.
Councilman Mueller noted that he had watched a webinar on a Municipal Restructuring Fund grant. The grant application will be available in March and there is a second opportunity in July. Councilman looked into the possibility of using the grant for the library but it is not available for libraries. The funds could be used for other restructuring project in the future in the town. If the town has a project, the funds would cover the cost of the project or 20% of the tax savings over the next ten years, whichever is least. So if the town had a project in the future that would cost the town money there is potential to get monies to help cover that cost.
Councilman Hanson will begin to work with Town Clerk Nygren and develop a new plan for a records room and investigate the possibility of purchasing a used vault door for access to the room.
Supervisor Robbins moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:39 p.m. which was duly seconded by Councilman Lawton.
All aye.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Darlene H. Nygren, Town Clerk