REGULAR MEETING
November 21, 2016
A regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Busti was held on Monday, November 21, 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 Kenneth Lawton
Councilman Rudy Mueller
Councilman Todd Hanson
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, Chief John Bentley, Adam Glasier – Post Journal, Jonathan Mayr – Southern Tier West NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities Coordinator, Pat Fincher – Hazeltine Library President, Katy Smith – Hazeltine Library Manager, and Village of Lakewood Mayor Cara Birrittieri.
Pat Fincher introduced Katy Smith; Ms. Smith is the new Library Manager at the Hazeltine Library. She will be in her office 30 hours per week and stated that the library manager and phone number will remain the same.
Town Clerk Darlene Nygren reported the collections dates for the 2017 County Town Collection will be as follows: January 9 – February 7, penalty free; February 8 – February 28, 1% penalty; and March 1 – April 3, 2% penalty. Town Clerk Nygren stated her office will be using the County Tax Program, for the first time, this year. There is no cost to use the county program and will save the town approximately $1,000 in Tax Roll printing fees and Williamson Law program costs. Using the county program will post payments live on the county records and also eliminate the need to manually log all payments in the tax roll for the county. Town Clerk Nygren noted she had been informed that Extreme Marine will not be renting the Cold Storage space behind the Administrative office. Supervisor Robbins will contact Josh Pike regarding the matter.
Chief of Police John Bentley reported 9,225 incidents year to date, which is 345 incidents since the last meeting. The reported incidents included 21 motor vehicle accidents, 20 assists to other departments, 15 criminal and 80 traffic violations.
Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson reported Signature Paving picked up the 2005 truck they purchased through a bid. The highway department was out plowing on Saturday and Sunday. The Levin/Levine town park had a tree go down over the weekend. Superintendent Peterson is looking at Mac Trucks for the replacement truck. The new Mac trucks have a Cummins Engine and are being used by other municipalities in the area.
Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Swanson reported he attended the Southern Tier West Fall Planning & Zoning Conference on November 10th. One of the speakers at the conference spoke on a new NYSERDA grant that is now available. CEO Swanson gave the speaker’s contact information to Supervisor Robbins for follow-up. There are still a number of construction projects going on in the town.
Supervisor Robbins introduced Jonathan Mayr, Southern Tier West NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities Coordinator. Mr. Mayr reviewed the NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities & Climate Smart Communities Certification Program. NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities (CEC) program is a new initiative to help local governments across the State reduce energy consumption and drive clean energy us in their communities. New York State’s Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Certification program recognizes local climate action leaders and provides a comprehensive framework for local climate and energy action. Climate Smart Communities earn points toward certification by documenting completion of specific climate protection actions described in the CSC Certification Manual. Applicants must complete four of the ten CEC High Impact Actions to be eligible to apply for the grant. Fourteen grants will be awarded on a first come first served basis. The first four grant applications received will be eligible for a $100,000 award; the following ten grant applications received will be eligible for a $50,000 award. Each applicant will be required.
Councilman Mueller moved the following resolution, which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, to set public hearings at the Town of Busti Administrative Building, 125 Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood, New York, at 7:00 p.m. on the 5th day of December, 2016, regarding the adoption of Local Law No. 4 of 2016 entitled “A Local Law to Establish Energy Benchmarking Requirements for Certain Municipal Buildings” and at 7:15 p.m. on the 5th day of December, 2016, regarding the adoption of Local Law No. 5 of 2016 entitled “A Local Law to Establish a Sustainable Energy Loan Program in the Town of Busti”.
Upon roll call vote,
Supervisor Robbins – aye
Councilman Andrews – aye
Councilman Mueller – aye
Councilman Hanson – aye
Councilman Lawton – nay
Carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Lawton:
RESOLVED, that Supervisor Robbins be authorized and directed to pay the presented General Fund, Highway Fund, and the Joint Recreation Fund for Abstract No. 19 from warrant #726 to and including warrant #753 in the amount of $80,031.72.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved to accept the November 7, 2016 town board minutes, which was duly moved by Councilman Lawton.
All aye, carried.
Councilman Lawton reported he is serving on Chautauqua County’s Energy Focus Group that County Executive, Vince Horrigan, has created. The group is challenged with determining what areas of energy improvements the county should focus on moving into the future. The first official meeting will be held in the week of December 5th. Councilman Lawton will continue to update the board and community with the progress of the group.
Councilman Hanson motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m., which was duly moved by Supervisor Robbins.
All aye, carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
____________________________________ Darlene H. Nygren, Town Clerk