REGULAR MEETING
July 11 2022
A regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Busti was held on Monday, July 11, 2022 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 Doug Brown
Absent: Councilman Paul Gustafson
Councilman Todd Hanson
Supervisor Robbins called the meeting to order with the salute to the flag and a moment of silence was observed. Supervisor Robbins asked those present to remember the family of Sheriff Captain David Bentley who passed away over the weekend.
Present at the meeting in person: Tina Clark, Sage Ezell and Mitch Quine – CS Energy, Warren and Diane VanDewark, Adam Rizzo – Solar Liberty, Judy Schultz, Mike Higee, Rosemary Higbee, Janet Briggs, and Diane Atchenson.
Diane Atchenson stated she is a town resident living on Park Meadow Drive and is concerned with the rate of speed of a few neighborhoods and “work” vehicles driving on Park Meadow Drive. There is a “Children at Play” sign at the entrance of the road, but it doesn’t seem to help. She is requesting the Town Board to consider reducing the speed limit to 20 mph as there are children in the neighborhood.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Andrews:
RESOLVED, Town Clerk Nygren be authorize to submit a letter to the state requesting to reduce the rate of speed on Park Meadow Drive to 20 mph.
Upon roll call vote, all in favor, carried.
Town resident, Tina Clark, stated she is concerned with the possibility of a neighboring house being used as an AirBnB. Supervisor Robbins noted at this time the Town of Busti does not have any laws addressing short term rentals like AirBnBs, however the Town Board has begun discussion regarding them. A Town Board member will be attending a webinar with NYS Planning addressing short term rentals and will continue the discussion at the August 1st Town Board meeting.
Sage Ezell, CS Energy consultant, stated they had presented a proposed 94C solar project about a year ago to the Town Board. She was pleased to announce the project was successful in its bid into the NYSERDA 2021 Annual Large-Scale Renewables Solicitation and is currently undergoing studies for the ORES for permitting process. The target timeframe for the ORES permit application is in late 2022 or early 2023 with the target construction start date is in late 2024 or early 2025. She will send a link to the newly developed website on the project to Clerk Nygren and asks that it be posted on the town’s website.
Town Clerk Darlene Nygren reported her office has sold 677 transfer stickers since the last town board meeting. She asked the Town Board to set a deadline for allowing residents to use the transfer station without a current sticker. Supervisor Robbins noted the deadline is August 1st and the other board members agreed. Clerk Nygren noted that the sale of NYS Hunting Licenses will start on August 1st this year.
Highway Superintendent Greg Johnson reported the department has been busy paving including Stoneman Drive, Hoag Road from Baker Street to the Town of Harmony line, Lakeside Road, Vukote, and Goosecreek, Garfield and Orr Street from Garfield to the city line, and put 1300T down today on Cowing Road. The department has scheduled to pave Shadyside from the Village line to Hunt Road, the remaining part of Goosecreek, and Gleason Road from Big Tree Road to First Avenue.
Code Enforcement Officer, Jeff Swanson, reported he completed the training on the Williamson Law Code Enforcement program, however there is still glitches in the system that Williamson Law is working on with updates. He ordered a scanner for his office to assist with uploading pictures and documents to the system which he is still learning the process of uploading to the system. He continues to have computer issues and is having difficulty locating documents on it, possibly due to the fact that Windows 11 was downloaded on it when there were issues with the email. He did get some of the DEC flood elevation permits completed but there are still a few that he needs further information from DEC to complete the remaining permits sited by DEC. He spoke with Court Clerk Davis regarding scheduling property maintenance issues in court; the court will hear cases dealing with Code Enforcement issues on Tuesday evenings. He needs to meet with Attorney Seachrist to move forward on some of the cases that have been on hold since COVID closed the courts. Supervisor Robbins asked what could be done with the increasing advertising signs going up on telephone poles and in town right of ways. CEO Swanson stated he would like to ride with a highway employee and take the signs down and haul them away in the highway truck.
Supervisor Robbins moved to authorize Code Enforcement Officer Swanson and a Highway Employee to take down any unauthorized signs that have been attached to the utility poles and/or within the town’s right of way, motion was seconded by Councilman Andrews.
All in favor, carried.
CEO Swanson noted he had a resident call regarding the number of permanent docks that are being installed in the canals and asking if they are permitted. The town does not have jurisdiction over that situation. The board recommended CEO Swanson talk to Attorney Seachrist regarding the matter. Highway Superintendent Johnson noted the CLA helped the department clean out the canal and wanted to thank them for their assistance.
Supervisor Robbins noted it was 7:00 p.m. and motioned to open the Public Hearing, regarding the adoption of Local Law No. 5 for the year 2022, entitled Amending Section 175-10 of the Town Busti Zoning Code Dog Impoundment Fees. Motion was seconded by Councilman Andrews.
All in favor, carried
Proof of publication was placed on file.
No one present spoke on the proposed law.
Supervisor Robbins motioned to close the public hearing at 7:02 p.m., seconded by Councilman Andrews.
All in favored, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution, which was duly moved by Councilman Brown.
RESOLVED, the Town Board of the Town of Busti adopt Local Law No. 5 of 2022 entitled Amending Section 175-10 of the Town of Busti Zoning Code Dog Impoundment Fees as written.
Town of BUSTI
Local Law No. 5 for the year 2022
REVISING THE FEES CHARGES FOR THE IMPOUNDMENT OF DOGS
Be it enacted by the Town of Board of the Town of Busti, County of Chautauqua and State of New York, as follows:
SECTION 1. REVISED DOG IMPOUNDMENT FEES
Section 175-10 of the Town of Busti Code is hereby amended to provide as follows:
- 175-10 Redemption.
If the dog is to be redeemed after having been impounded pursuant to state law, rule or regulation or Town law or ordinance, the owner shall pay the Dog Control Officer an impoundment fee, as follows:
(a) Not less than ten dollars for the first impoundment of any dog owned by that person;
(b) Not less than twenty dollars for the first twenty-four hours or part thereof and ten dollars for each additional twenty-four hours or part thereof for the second impoundment, within one year of the first impoundment, of any dog owned by that person; or
(c) Not less than thirty dollars for the first twenty-four hours or part thereof and ten dollars for each additional twenty-four hours or part thereof for the third and subsequent impoundments, within one year of the first impoundment, of any dog owned by that person.
SECTION 2. VALIDITY AND SEVERABILITY
If any part or provision of this Local Law shall be declared invalid, void, unconstitutional or unenforceable by a court of law, all unaffected provisions hereof shall survive such declaration and this Local Law shall remain in full force and effect as if the invalidated portion had not been enacted.
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon it being filed in the office of the Secretary of State.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins noted there would not be a public hearing at 7:15 p.m. on the Special Use Permit application of Andrew VanEvery due to the fact that Mr. VanEvery withdrew the application.
Code Enforcement Officer Swanson stated there was a parcel of land located at 1786 Forest Avenue listed on the County’s Real Property Delinquent Tax Auction. He has discussed the purchase of the property with Highway Superintendent Johnson as it butts up against town property. Highway Superintendent Johnson noted the property would be ideal for the highway to use to access the adjoining property or as a turn around for highway equipment.
Councilman Andrews moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Brown:
RESOLVED, Supervisor Robbins be authorize to bid up to $1,500 on the property located at 1786 Forest Avenue that is listed on Chautuaqua County Real Property Delinquent Tax Auction.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins noted that he and Councilman Hanson will be meeting with Don McCord and Planning Board Chairman Dave Paternitti to discuss the amended Zoning Law draft.
Councilman Brown reported he attended a webinar with Chautauqua County Office of Emergency Services regarding the need to update the Hazzard Mitigation Plan. The CC Emergency Services would like to set up an interview with the town to discuss the update. He, Highway Superintendent Johnson, CEO Swanson, and Clerk Nygren will review the Municipal Interview Worksheet and set up a time to meet with Emergency Services.
Supervisor Robbins noted Budget Transfers were needed to close out the books for 2021 and they were as follows:
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Andrews:
RESOLVED, Supervisor Robbins be authorized to execute interfund transfers from the General Fund (A) to the Bentley Cemetery (CM1) in the amount of $6,839.55 and from the General Fund (A) to the Wellman Cemetery Fund (CM3) in the amount of $2,964.40. These amounts have been included in the General Fund budget. The remainder is included above as a budget transfer. By definition, interfund transfers are transfers intended to subsidize the receiving funds and will not be repaid.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
The approvel of Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance 2022-23 Request for Membership has been tabled until the August 1st meeting.
Highway Superintendent Johnson reported he has a candidate for the open Highway Department position. The candidate is Jarett Yucknitz. Jared is looking for a career with the department, he has taken the CDL training and has his CDL permit and is scheduled for his Class A CDL test.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Andrews:
RESOLVED, Jarrett Yucknitz be appointed as a fulltime Highway MEO at a pay rate of $17 per hour pending a background check with Lakewood Busti Police Department.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Andrews:
RESOLVED, that Supervisor Robbins be authorized and directed to pay the presented General Fund and the Highway Fund, Abstract No. 7 from warrant #355 to and including warrant #425 in the amount of $164,131.10.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins motioned to accept the June 6, 2022 Regular Meeting minutes; motion was seconded by Councilman Brown.
All in favor, carried.
Councilman Andrews thanked the CLA for their assistance with cleaning out the canal at Lakeside Drive, there was discussion regarding how to keep the debris from filling the canal during the winter months.
The highway department will work on the Lawson Park pavilion in the fall. The tennis court project will have to be on hold until next year.
There was discussion regarding the purchase of baskets for the Disc Golf course at Lawson Park. Clerk Nygren will look for pricing and report back at the August 1st Town Board meeting.
Supervisor Robbins noted he and Assessor Tera Darts met with Town of Ellicott Supervisor Janet Bowman regarding establishing an addendum to the current Assessor Agreement to use their Deputy Clerk/Assessor Clerk to be the Assessor Clerk for the Towns of Busti, Carroll, Harmony, and Kiantone. The pay rate would be $16 per hour with a maximum of 20 hours per week.
Supervisor Robbins moved the following resolution which was duly moved by Councilman Andrews:
RESOLVED, the Town of Busti and the Town of Ellicott establish an addendum to the current Assessor Agreement to include sharing the Town of Ellicott Deputy Clerk/Assessor Clerk to be the Assessor Clerk for the Towns of Busti, Carroll, Harmony, and Kiantone at a pay rate of $16 per hour with a maximum of 20 hours per week.
Upon roll call vote, all aye, carried.
Supervisor Robbins noted it was 7:30 p.m. and motioned to open the Public Hearing on the application of Solar Liberty Energy Systems, Inc for a Special Use Permit to construct and operate a 10 megawatt “solar farm” at 1192 Orr Street. Motion was seconded by Councilman Andrews.
All in favor, carried
Proof of publication was placed on file.
Resident Judy Schultz read a statement from her husband, Bob Shultz, stating that he was not able to attend tonight’s meeting due to illness, but he wanted to be on the record that he was not in favor of the proposed solar project because it would be seen from his property, and he does not believe in government subsidy projects. Mrs. Shultz stated she is not in favor of the project because she hates to see agricultural property taken off the market and she didn’t want to see it. She stated that she didn’t think the area residents would benefit from the project at all.
No further comments were made from the public.
Supervisor Robbins moved to close the public hearing at 7:31 p.m. motion was seconded by Councilman Brown.
All in favor, carried.
Solar Liberty representative, Nathan Rizzo, reviewed the project using a slide show.
Rosemary and Mike Higbee asked if they were able to speak on the project and apologized for being late for the public hearing. Mr. Higbee stated his parents live across the road from the proposed project. His parents and he have concerns and questions about how the project will affect the health of residents who reside in close proximity to it, how it would affect the land value, they do not see any benefit to the nearby residents, how the project will affect the wildlife in the area. He stated he believed a project like this should benefit more than one person as it will affect those that live near it.
Mr. Rizzo stated the proposed vegetation with the topography will keep the project hidden from the road and area residents. It will have driven posts and the transformer pads will be concrete. Giant arborvitaes will be planted to keep the system out of sight. Residents may see the initial set of panels but the majority of them along with the fencing will not be seen due to the topography of the land. Solar Liberty is willing to revisit the vegetation buffer in a year and fill in any areas that need additional vegetation to block the view of the system. He did not believe the system would be seen from Southwestern Drive. If approved, construction would begin within 6-8 months and would take approximately 4 months to complete. The first 4-6 weeks would involve driving the posts and the remainder of the project would all be constructed with hand tools. The fence would be a 7-foot chain link fence with no barbed wire. There was discussion about raising the base of the fencing to allow room for wildlife to get through.
Supervisor Robbins read the following Planning Board Report & Recommendation:
The Planning Board based on their review of the project and materials submitted by the applicant, and input from Town residents, other agencies, and the Town’s consultants, makes the following recommendation to the Town Board:
- SEQR:
See the attached draft Part 2 and 3 (analysis). The Town Board can use this information in its SEQR decision. Additional information will be needed on the gas wells, Ag impacts (County input), and sign-off from SHPO.
.
- Large-Scale Solar System SUP Recommendation:
The Planning Board recommends that the Town Board approve the Special Use Permit application with conditions.
- Final Recommended Conditions:
The Planning Board will recommend the following conditions for the SUP if granted:
- a. The Applicant shall undertake the use in accordance with the plans, maps, and application submitted to the Town, except as hereinafter modified, and agrees to be bound by the terms of the application and the conditions of this permit.
- The following terms and conditions shall apply to the permit
- The Applicant shall submit a final site plan to the Planning Board for approval prior to the issuance of the building permit;
- The Applicant shall install landscaping as shown on the approved plans and shall guarantee these plantings for the life of the project.
- All barriers around the project area, including fencing and trees, shall be maintained throughout the life of the project. If, after construction, the existing vegetation (most located off-site) or the vegetation newly-planted by the applicant does not provide the screening as indicated in the visual analysis or if vegetation dies, the applicant will return to the Planning Board with a planting/screening mitigation plan to be approved by the Planning Board. If any current natural or man-made visual screening is removed, either through intentional, natural, or accidental means, the applicant shall make every reasonable attempt to replace or mitigate the loss of screening, preferably outside the perimeter fencing.
- The fencing used should be a “close hole” fence of galvanized steel at least 7 feet high with no barbed wire.
- The Applicant shall establish appropriate disturbance limits in the final site plan.
- The Applicant shall not use pesticides and herbicides on the entire site.
- The Applicant shall use DEC-recommended grasses for planting under the panels.
- The Applicant shall limit lighting of the site in general but particularly shall not use systems that are triggered by motion sensors.
- All of the other pre-construction requirements of the Town’s Solar Energy System Law.
- Prior to the issuance of the building permit, the Applicant shall submit and obtain approval from the Town Board, in consultation with the town attorney:
- An agreement concerning the construction of additional screening at the site if the panels become visible. A mitigation plan with additional landscaping will need to be approved by the Planning Board.
- A final decommissioning plan with approved cost estimate including the appropriate bond
- If the owner of the solar project or the owner of the property changes, the special use permit shall remain in effect, provided that the successor owner or operator assumes in writing all of the obligations of the special use permit, site plan approval, and decommissioning plan.
- The terms, conditions, and requirements of this permit bind and obligate the Applicant, its successors, and assigns. This permit shall not be assigned or transferred, in whole or in part, without the prior written notice to the Town at least thirty (30) days in advance of the transfer.
- Any failure or omission on the part of the Applicant to carry out any condition or requirement herein or in accordance with the terms or requirements of any statute, local law, ordinance or regulation, may be deemed a violation of the Town of Busti Zoning Law and unless corrected in not more than 10 days following the service of written notice of such violation upon the Applicant, may subject them to the penalties therein. Continued violations after written notice may result in revocation of this Special Use Permit.
Supervisor Robbins stated Busti Fire Department has asked if there would be training on how to handle a fire within the system and if they would need to have special equipment to use with the project. Supervisor Robbins stated Solar Liberty would need to meet with the Fire Department before the next meeting to answer their questions.
Supervisor Robbins moved to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:16 p.m. which was duly moved by Councilman Brown.
All in favor, carried.
Respectfully Submitted, __________________________
Darlene H. Nygren, Town Clerk