REGULAR MEETING
May 6, 2019
A regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Busti was held on Monday, May 6, 2019 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: LBPD Chief John Bentley, Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Swanson, Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson, Susan Lane, Jack Knowlton, Ray Ayers, Shirley Brown, Ted McCague, Randy Holcomb, and Post Journal Reporter Eric Zavinski.
Chief John Bentley reported the department has handled 3,294 incidents year to date and 958 since his last report to the town board.
Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson reported the department has been putting the plows away and planning to start paving soon. Patching work has started. Stone and oil is scheduled to start June 1st and will be done as part of shared services with the Village of Lakewood and the Towns of Harmony, Kiantone, and Stockton.
Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Swanson reported work is ramping up and he is finding many instances of building without a permit.
Jack Knowlton reported that the Lakewood Fire Department has been very busy, with 313 calls year to date.
Jim Andrews reported that the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance (CLWMA) has put together a slate of candidates to fill vacancies on the CLWMA Board and is requesting the Town of Busti submit their nominations before the CLWMA annual meeting on Thursday. The candidates are Rob Yates, Town of North Harmony Supervisor, Mike LaTone of the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, and Mary Laumer, of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, that the Town of Busti endorse the three candidates as presented for the Chautauqua Lake Watershed Management Alliance board.
All in favor, carried
Jack Knowlton presented to the Board the quote he received from Chautauqua Sign Co. in the amount of $2485.00 for eleven new cemetery signs and his quote in the amount of $1046.00 for the posts and other materials needed to install the signs.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution, which was duly seconded by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, to authorize the purchase of eleven cemetery signs from Chautauqua Sign Co. and authorize Jack Knowlton’s materials and labor cost to install the signs
Upon roll call vote, all aye.
Supervisor Robbins opened discussion on herbicide funding by reporting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has denied the Town of Busti’s permit application for herbicide treatment of Chautauqua Lake. Noting that the Town will now not be able to utilize the $10,000 grant obtained through the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance for herbicide application, Supervisor Robbins recommended the grant money be passed on to the Village of Celoron to be used for their herbicide application.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, the $10,000 CLWMA grant to the Town of Busti for herbicide application be passed on to the Village of Celoron for their herbicide application.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Discussion continued regarding allocation of the $20,000 in Account A8090.4-Environmental Control in the 2019 budget for lake usage/maintenance.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, that $10,000 from Account A8090.4-Environmental Control be allocated to the Village of Lakewood to assist with herbicide application, with the stipulation that it can only be used for that purpose.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Councilman Hanson moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Mueller:
RESOLVED, that of the remaining $10,000 in Account A8090.4-Environmental Control, $7,000 be designated to the Chautauqua Lake Association for their 2019 Agreement, $2,000 be given to Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance, and $1,000 be given to Chautauqua Lake Partnership.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins read a letter from Judge Lyle Hajdu and Judge William Geary notifying the Board that the court schedule has been changed. As of April 1st, court will only be held only on Tuesday evenings. It had previously been held every Tuesday and Thursday. There is no change to calendar call, which is the first and third Wednesday of each month.
Councilman Hanson moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Supervisor Robbins:
RESOLVED, to recognize Town of Busti resident and Southwestern Central School senior Alexis Barron with a letter of acknowledgement for her achievement of the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor given by the Girl Scouts of America.
All in favor, carried.
Councilman Hanson moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Supervisor Robbins:
RESOLVED, that all items included on the inventory list of stored items in the rear of the 125 Chautauqua Avenue building be declared surplus and can be disposed of.
All in favor, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, Highway Superintendent Melvin Peterson be authorized to attend Highway School June 3-5, 2019 in Ithaca.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Hanson:
RESOLVED, Court Clerk Beth Davis be authorized to attend the annual New York State Association of Municipal Court Clerks conference September 29 – October 5, 2019 in Syracuse.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Lawton:
RESOLVED, Dog Control Officer Mary Beth Moss be authorized to attend Animal Control Officer Academy on May 1-2, 2019 at Alfred State College.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins acknowledged receipt of a letter of resignation from Fire Code Inspection Officer Michael Gleason, citing other commitments that make it difficult for him to devote the necessary time to the job.
Supervisor Robbins offered the following motion which was duly seconded by Councilman Lawton:
RESOLVED, that Town Clerk Darlene Nygren be authorized to post the job opening for the position of part-time Fire Code Inspector.
Upon roll call vote, all aye. Carried.
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 #192 to and including warrant #260 in the amount of $180,909.89.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved to accept the April 1, 2019 Regular Town Board meeting minutes; motion was duly moved.
All in favor, carried.
Councilman Hanson reported that the first electric bills since the installation of solar panels have been received and show that for the previous month, the administration building at 125 Chautauqua Avenue made more power than it used, and the highway building on Lawson Road. made about the same as it used.
Supervisor Robbins moved to adjourn the meeting which was duly moved by Councilman Andrews.
All in favor, carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
_________________________________
Susan Huffman, Deputy Town Clerk