REGULAR MEETING
September 19, 2016
A regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Busti was held on Monday, September 19, 2016 at 6:45 p.m., at the Town of Busti, Town Administration Building, 125 Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood, New York with the following members present:
Supervisor Jesse M. Robbins
Councilman Jim Andrews
Councilman Rudy Mueller
Councilman Todd Hanson
Councilman Kenneth Lawton
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: Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson, Lakewood Busti Chief of Police John Bentley, Attorney Joel Seachrist, Code Enforcement Officer Jeffrey Swanson, Tim & Candy Young, Dan Keefe, Kevin Myers, Matthew Barra, Ray Ayers, Susan Lane, Sharon E. Fischer, Lee Fischer, Jeremy Hasson, Matthew Stafford, Joyce Roof, Charles Roof, Jim Lindstrom, and Loren Parker.
Joyce Roof, Town of Busti Dog Enumerator, asked the board to allow her husband, Charles, to assist her with the dog enumeration process.
Councilman Todd Hanson moved the following resolution, which was duly seconded by Councilman Rudy Mueller.
RESOLVED, Charles Roof be authorized to assist Joyce Roof with the dog enumeration.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Sue Lane, Village Historian, noted the Lakewood History Museum will be hosting a cemetery tour at the Bentley Cemetery, Sunday, October 16th at 2 p.m.
Town Clerk Darlene Nygren noted Bill Farr, Allstate Insurance agent, would like to offer Voluntary Benefits to the town employees. She noted the town currently offers Voluntary Benefits through Aflac and Colonial Voluntary Benefits. The town board recommended that a notice be given to town employees and see if they would like to change from Colonial Voluntary Benefits to Allstate. Town Clerk Nygren will have a notice sent out with the next payroll.
Chief John Bentley reported 7,608 incidents YTD. The department will close Lawson Road from Busti Sugar Grove Road to Mill Road and Mill Road from the five corners to the mill on Sunday September 25th for the Apple Festival. Chief Bentley noted that burglaries are still prevalent in the area; residents should contact Lakewood Busti Police Department if there is any suspicious activity.
Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson noted Mall Blvd has been paved from Fairmount Avenue to Hunt Road, both the town and village departments worked on the project. Grandview and Ridge Roads have also been paved. Mill Road Bridge will be open by Friday, September 23rd.
Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Swanson presented the board with a new fee schedule from the Village of Lakewood. He asked the board to consider increasing the fees for the Town of Busti.
Matthew Stafford reported the Busti Fire Department has had 400 calls. The department is preparing for the Apple Festival.
There was discussion regarding the painting, HVAC, and cold storage insulation projects at 125 Chautauqua Avenue.
Supervisor Jesse Robbins moved the following resolution, which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, the Town of Busti advertise for the following bids with the bid opening set for September 30th at noon at the Administration Office, 125 Chautauqua Ave., Lakewood, NY
- Exterior painting and patching at the Town of Busti Town Administration building, 125 Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood, New York.
- New HVAC equipment, controls, and installation at the Town of Busti Town Administration building, 125 Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood, New York.
- Spray foam insulation at the Town of Busti Town Administration building, 125 Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood, New York.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Jesse Robbins moved the following resolution, which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, the Town of Busti advertise again for bids to replace the roof on the Highway Department Cold Storage building at 3646 Lawson Road, Jamestown, New York with the bid opening set for September 30th at noon at the Administration Office, 125 Chautauqua Ave., Lakewood, NY.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins noted the town had been awarded a $7,500 grant from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation to be used towards the construction of a concession stand.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly seconded by Councilman Mueller:
RESOLVED, Supervisor Robbins be authorized to sign the Grant Agreement with Chautauqua Region Community Foundation and accept the awarded grant of $7,500.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Kevin Myers, CMFS, requested to have more street lighting installed on Cramer Drive. He stated the additional lighting would provide an increase of security for the businesses located there. Highway Superintendent Peterson will contact National Grid and request a study to determine how many additional lights are needed.
Lee Fischer asked why the town cleared 50’ for a 4’ creek and other areas in the Cottage Park neighborhood. He felt that the clearing caused an increase of flooding for that area. Highway Superintendent Peterson noted the clearing was necessary for access to the creek. Mr. Peterson stated that hydro-seeding will be done to cut down on erosion. There was discussion regarding the property maintenance issues on Mr. Fischer’s property and what could be done to correct the issue as well as anyone having personal property on town-owned land. Code Enforcement Officer Swanson noted there have been several complaint forms that have been submitted regarding the Fischer’s property. Attorney Joel Seachrist noted this is a Code Enforcement issue due to the code violations.
Supervisor Jesse Robbins moved to authorize the Over 30 Men’s basketball league to meet at Southwestern Central School from September 2016 through April 2017, duly seconded by Councilman Mueller.
All in favor, carried.
There was discussion regarding Zombie properties and whether it was necessary to have a separate registration of such properties in the town. The board felt that the state registration of these properties was sufficient.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution, which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, to authorize Planning & Zoning Board members, Deputy Town Clerk Susan Huffman, and Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Swanson to attend the Southern Tier West Fall Planning & Zoning Conference – Salamanca, November 9th or Mayville, November 10th.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved to grant the Busti Historical Society’s request to close Mill, Lawson, and Busti Sugar Grove Road, use Lawson Park for vendor parking, and have police escort for the Apple Festival on September 25th, duly seconded by Councilman Lawton.
All aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved to authorize the Town Clerk to send letters to residents who have unpaid BPU water bills prior to the bills being levied on the 2017 County Town Tax bills, duly seconded by Councilman Lawton.
All aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly seconded by Councilman Mueller:
RESOLVED, that Supervisor Robbins be authorized and directed to pay the presented General Fund, Highway Fund, and the Joint Recreation Fund for Abstract No. 15 from warrant #537 to and including warrant #605 in the amount of $116,554.55.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved to accept the August 15, 2016 town board minutes, which was duly seconded by Councilman Lawton.
All aye, carried.
Councilman Hanson noted that he will be meeting with representatives from Southwestern Soccer Club and Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson to determine what the best use of the $7,500 grant would be.
Councilman Lawton noted he has been meeting with Supervisor Robbins, Highway Superintendent Peterson, and Town Clerk Nygren regarding Health Insurance options for town employees. The LoCo Trail committee has been working with the Village of Lakewood regarding a location for a bike trail through the Village; the committee has asked Chautauqua County to sponsor this year’s TAP grant application and will be meeting with the county’s DPW; they are looking at the N. County trail and the communities involved with the trail.
Supervisor Robbins motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m., which was duly seconded by Councilman Andrews.
All aye, carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Darlene H. Nygren, Town Clerk