REGULAR MEETING
May 1, 2017
A regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Busti was held on Monday, May 1, 2017 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, Judy Schultz, Greg Johnson, Wyatt Johnson, Mary Griffin, Ray Ayers, and Chautauqua County Legislator P.J. Wendell.
Legislator Wendell noted the county is one of five counties eligible to apply for a $20,000,000 Municipal Consolidation and Efficiency Competition Grant. Some proposals being considered are the Town of Busti and Village of Lakewood municipalities sharing a municipal building for their administrative offices as well as a shared service between the Lakewood Busti Police Department and the Town of Ellicott Police Department.
Town Clerk Darlene Nygren reported she had attended the New York State Town Clerk Association Annual Conference in Rochester, Sunday, April 23 – Wednesday, April 26. Town Clerk Nygren noted she had received a proposal from DFT Communications, the cost of a Dedicated Fiber Internet is $74.95 per month + $6.95 per month for an Asus Router and a one-time Fiber Install Fee of $195.95; the proposal also included a monthly fee of $179.94 for 6 Advantage phone lines. Spectrum gave a verbal quote of $399 per month for a Fiber Network 25mg x25mg with a 99.99% guarantee, which would require a fiber survey, and a Service Level Agreement. Clerk Nygren noted the DFT phone line proposal is higher than the $94.56 the town is currently paying Windstream. Councilman Hanson asked if she would ask DFT if it is possible to purchase only the internet from them. She will report back at the next town board meeting.
Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson reported the Highway Department has been working on road shoulders, driveway pipes, and running the tub grinder. The department has a truck that is assisting the Village of Lakewood with their brush pickup. They can begin hot patching next week. The current bid for the track hoe is $25,000, bidding will be closed tonight.
Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Swanson reported around 80 people attending the Energy Code training at the Rod & Gun, Wednesday, April 26. The participants seemed very pleased with the training and hope to have more in the future. CEO Swanson would like a town board member to assist in the review of the current building fee schedule and proposal of any changes. Councilman Hanson will help with the review. CEO Swanson also requested to have two board members meet with the Village of Lakewood Safety Committee to discuss the possibility of hiring a Part-time Fire Inspector, Councilmen Mueller and Andrews will meet with the Village Safety Committee.
Supervisor Robbins read a letter from James Rensel, Village of Falconer Mayor, thanking the Busti Fire Department for their assistance during the March 22 downtown fire. The letter noted there were 300 firefighters from 19 fire companies along with county and state fire officials that worked together to prevent serious injuries and loss of life during the fire and standby period that followed. A copy of the letter has been given to the Busti Fire Department for their records.
Supervisor Robbins reported that Scott Schang attended the April 26th Zoning Board of Appeals meeting and has agreed to be on the Zoning Board of Appeals board with the Town Board’s appointment.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, Scott Schang be appointed as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals Board with a term of five years.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins noted the town received notice from Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Economic Development that Local Law No. 1 of 2017 “Amending uses permitted in Conservation Agricultural (CA) District” had no significant county-wide or inter-community impact and that the proposal would be a matter of local concern.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Mueller:
RESOLUTION TO ADOPT LOCAL LAW NO. 1 OF 2017
WHEREAS, a resolution was duly adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Busti for a public hearing to be held by said Board on April 17, 2017 at the Town Hall, 125 Chautauqua Avenue, Lakewood, New York, to hear all interested parties on a proposed Local Law to permit limited retail businesses in the Conservation-Agricultural (CA) District, subject to certain conditions, and
WHEREAS, notice of said public hearing was duly published in the Jamestown Post-Journal and posted in the Town Clerk’s office, and
WHEREAS, said public hearing was duly held on April 17, 2017 at the said time and place and all parties in attendance were permitted an opportunity to speak on behalf of or in opposition to said proposed Local Law, or any part thereof, and
WHEREAS, the County Planning Department by letter dated April 17, 2017, sent in response to a referral made pursuant to Section 239-m of the General Municipal Law, has advised that the proposed Local Law is of local option, and
WHEREAS, the Board has determined that the adoption of the local law is a Type I action for purposes of the State Environmental Quality Review Act, has prepared an Environmental Assessment Form, and has duly adopted a Negative Declaration finding that the proposed Local Law will not have significant adverse environmental impacts, and
WHEREAS, the Town Board, after due deliberation, finds it in the best interests of the Town to adopt said Local Law,
NOW, THEREFORE, the Town Board of the Town of Busti hereby adopts said Local Law as Local Law No. 1 of 2017, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof, and the Town Clerk hereby is directed to enter said Local Law in the minutes of this meeting and in the Local Law Book of the Town of Busti, and to give due notice of the adoption of the Local Law to the Secretary of State.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins reported he and Councilman Andrews met with County Executive Vince Horrigan; Daniel J. Heitzenrater, Executive Assistant; and Village of Lakewood Mayor Cara Birrittieri to discuss what shared services could be proposed as part of the Municipal Consolidation and Efficiency Competition Grant (as reported by Legislator P.J. Wendell).
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Mueller:
The Town Board of Busti, NY hereby resolves:
As we are committed to effective government—high quality public service to our residents at the lowest possible tax cost to our taxpayers—we applaud the efforts of County Executive Vince Horrigan and the Chautauqua County Legislature to promote service sharing among Chautauqua County’s local governments, including functional and corporate merger.
We also recognize that the financial and technical support offered to local governments by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature has provided our community with a unique opportunity to explore ways to permanently reduce the tax burden of our residents through collaboration and structural reform.
We resolve, with the assistance provided by NYS and Chautauqua County
∞ to continue our already-begun study of a merged municipal facility with the Village of Lakewood,
∞ to continue our already-begun study of a consolidated police department with the Lakewood/Busti and Ellicott Police Departments, and
∞ to pursue all results of that study that are consistent with effective service delivery to our residents.
Supervisor Robbins noted, Pat Smith has completed her portion of the NYSERDA grant and the remainder of the grant will be finalized and submitted to NYSERDA by the due date.
Supervisor Robbins reported Dormitory Authority State of New York will process the final portion of the $50,000 SAM grant and payment should be submitted today. The final distribution will be in the amount of $5,941.06.
Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance has submitted nominations for Board of Directors: the candidates are County: Vince Horrigan; Town/Village: Jim Andrews; and At-large: David Shepherd.
Councilman Rudy Mueller moved the Town of Busti accept the slate of candidates as presented, motion was duly moved by Councilman Hanson.
Supervisor Robbins – aye
Councilman Andrews – abstain
Councilman Mueller – aye
Councilman Hanson – aye
Councilman Lawton – aye
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. 6 from warrant #226 to and including warrant #257 in the amount of $37,492.78.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved to accept the Town Board minutes from the regular meeting dates of April 3, 2017 and April 17, 2017 and the April 26, 2017 Special Meeting with the Village of Lakewood Trustees.
All in favor, carried.
There was discussion regarding the consolidation of the Town and Village administrative office buildings. The board agreed that it was important to stay positive regarding the proposal of consolidating municipal buildings. Councilman Lawton noted he would like to see the town and village to continue working together on the consolidation without discussion of a village dissolution and understands that it is a sensitive matter. The board was in agreement there are four options: 1 – to sell both buildings and build a new shared building; 2 – the village offices move to 125 Chautauqua Avenue; 3 – the town offices move to the Caprino building; and 4 – make no change. The board agreed option 4 is probably the worst option. CEO Swanson suggested to have an energy audit done on both buildings to determine which building would be the most cost effective to utilize and to include the Highway buildings. Discussion followed. Legislator Wendell noted that a study was completed in the 90’s and it would have required a complete redesign for the fire department to locate there and that is why the village opted to build a new building for the fire department. Supervisor Robbins stated the county, town, and village will continue to explore all options.
Councilman Andrews reported he attended the Energy Code training, felt that the speakers were knowledgeable and the overall training was resourceful.
Councilman Hanson reported he has been assisting Pat Smith with the completion of the NYSERDA Energy grant.
Councilman Lawton noted the bike trail was not awarded the grant for the Summit Avenue trail proposal. Councilman Lawton also noted WNY Regional Economic Development Council will hold an informational meeting on the upcoming Consolidated Funding Application, Thursday, May 4th at SUNY Fredonia. Mr. Lawton will not be able to attend the meeting but asked anyone who may be attending the meeting to pick up information for him.
Councilman Hanson noted National Grid has received authorization to raise their rates up to 13% next year.
Supervisor Robbins motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m., which was duly moved by Councilman Andrews.
All in favor, carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
____________________________________ Darlene H. Nygren, Town Clerk