DRAFT

Regular Meeting November 8, 2004

Charlton Town Board

Saratoga County

New York

After the pledge of the flag the invocation was given by Town Clerk Gail Hanchar.

At the regular meeting of the Town Board of Charlton, Saratoga County, New York, held at

7:30 P.M. at the Charlton Town Hall, called to order by Supervisor Acunto, there were present:

Councilman Alan Grattidge

Councilman Robert Lippiello

Councilman Dorothy Mitchell

Councilman Sandra Verola

Supervisor Ferdinand Acunto

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola that the minutes of the October 12 Town Board Meeting be accepted as received:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Abstain

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola that the minutes of the October 25 Public Hearing and Agenda Meeting Minutes be accepted as received:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Abstain

ABSTRACT OF CLAIMS:

The total of the bills for the month of November approved at the Agenda Meeting was $52,795.46. Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Lippiello.

PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Vouchers for the month were #2000-#2083.

TOWN CLERK’S REPORT:

Gail Hanchar read the Town Clerk’s Report. She reported taking in $161.47. Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Mitchell. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR (Agenda Items):

Midge Dube asked that since a Senior Citizens Group is forming, could the town put some handicapped bars in the bathrooms should someone elderly need assistance. She asked if this could be done by January. Midge said she has someone who will teach bridge to seniors in February or March. She asked if we had a blackboard or chalkboard at the town hall. It was suggested that she try and borrow one from the elementary school. Midge asked if they could have a display rack placed in the town hall where information for seniors would be available. She and Gail will work on it.

SUPERVISOR’S REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:

October expenditures and revenue:

General Fund – Expenditures of $30,427.48. Revenue of $93,715.39.

Highway Fund – Expenditures of $69,269.97. Revenue of $40,148.92.

Water District #1 – Expenditures of $5,104.92. Revenue of $2,260.36.

Water District #2 – Expenditures of $252.50. Revenue of $4.77.

Major expenditures:

General Fund – Legislative Contractual (Newsletter) of $1,335.95, Law Contractual of $6,190.00 and Buildings (Septic Tank at Highway Garage and salt shed work) of $1,376.38 and $1,950.97.

Highway Fund – Maintenance of Roads Contractual (stone for Newman Road and patching material) of $14,928.98, Road Construction CHIPS of $13,135.44, Machinery Contractual of $3,078.13 and Snow Removal Contractual (for salt) of $6,259.05.

Major revenue:

General Fund – Sales Tax Distribution of $86,558.00, Safety Inspection fees of $2,750.00, Planning Board fees of $2,400.00 and Interest and Earnings of $1,583.76.

Highway Revenue – Other Aide Specified (grant from Assemblyman Tedisco for some of the work on Newman Road) of $10,000.00 and Consolidated Highway Aide of $29,668.00.

There were 801 hits on the web page for the month of October.

The Town Hall will be closed November 11 for Veteran’s Day and November 25-27 for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Supervisor Acunto and Councilman Lippiello attended an E-government Workshop hosted by the Saratoga Chamber which was very informative. At the workshop it was suggested that towns form a Technology Committee and use their town web sites to make work easier for the Town Clerks. Supervisor Acunto said the town board has struggled with the fear of making the wrong decision. At the workshop it was stated that any decision is a good decision and you learn by your own mistakes. Also discussed was the issue of putting minutes on the web site after they have been approved by committees. Even though we are talking to committees that we call self-regulating, it is felt that the Board is the one that makes the decision as to what minutes should be on the web site. We have been leaving it up to committees but we are the decision makers as a Board and should determine what, if any, approved minutes are on the web site. Councilman Lippiello said he was encouraged by some of the things they were suggesting that we already have in place.

COMMUNICATIONS:

We received a note from the Acting Chairman of the Charlton Senior Citizens Steering Committee thanking the Town Board for the resolution that was passed on October 12 establishing the Town Hall as the meeting place for the Senior Citizens and for the advance financial aide offered to get the group started.

We received a letter from the League of Women Voters. On Primary Day they visited all of our polling sites and felt there were things we were deficient in. Their suggestions regarding the Town Hall are minimal. Recommendations were made for two of our sites which are not our buildings. A copy of the survey had gone to the Charlton Heights School and to the West Charlton Fire House.

We received a letter from Tabner, Ryan and Keniry regarding the request for a water district extension from Gary Heflin including a $5,000.00 escrow check that we had asked for. Attached to it was other correspondence from Mr. Heflin’s attorney chastising the Board that we were not moving along at a rate they wanted and that they might commence an Article 78 proceeding against the Town so that we would move on setting up a public hearing. Supervisor Acunto called Mr. Heflin’s attorney this morning. Mr. Pentkowski has agreed that after the holidays their people will meet with the Town Board, Town Attorney, Water Engineer and Water Superintendent to discuss the application. We are not sure the application is complete. Also to be discussed is the proposed transmission line. The transmission line for this request is the same transmission line as part of the Capital Reality issue which is in litigation.

ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER:

Lee has received complaints of dogs running at large. He has received reports of several sick animals.

ASSESSORS:

They have been working on inventory. Several people have been in to speak with Vicki. She spoke with Gary Vanderhorst about a third assessor. The Senior and Agricultural Exemptions will be coming up for renewal. Forms will be mailed by mid-December. They are due in the Assessor’s Office by March 1. A color printer has been installed in the office.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:

Steve Caine and Deborah Herrin were interviewed by Channel 9. There was a report on that TV station.

CONSTABLES:

For the month of October there were 29 patrols, answered 7 911 calls, covered 2,206 miles, issued 34 tickets, investigated 1 accident, conducted a cub scout crime prevention program for 10 children and participated in a safe bus program making sure the traffic was stopping for the buses. There were 2 nights of Halloween patrols with 2 cars.

EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE:

They met last week. They are continuing to review the booklet. They have a lot of good ideas to put in place. They should be reporting to the Town Board very shortly.

HIGHWAY:

They are getting ready for winter.

Ron has quotes for red vinyl siding for the salt shed. The Highway Department will install the siding before winter. Quotes were as follows:

Home Depot $122.00 per square, Style 4D

Halfmoon Crossing

Clifton Park, New York

Curtis Lumber $115.00 per square, Dutch Lap Novelty Style

Route 67

Ballston Spa, New York

Jim Waters Corporation $106.00 per square, Dutch Lap Novelty Style

Latham, New York

Friends Lumber $92.00 per square, Dutch Lap Novelty Style

1870 Hamburg Street

Schenectady, New York

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded Councilman Mitchell, A Motion authorizing the purchase of the necessary materials for the salt shed from Friends Lumber, not to

exceed $2,000.00, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

HISTORIAN:

On October 13 the historians of Saratoga County met with the County Historian.

On October 30 a regional meeting of historians was held in New Brunswick. Our region consists of Rensselaer, Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, Washington and Warren Counties. The theme of both meeting was “The Public Historian and Historic Preservation”.

On November 18 and 19 is the Annual Researching New York 2004 Conference at SUNY Albany.

Laura was asked to write a letter of recommendation for Jenna Smith for the DAR Good Citizen Scholarship Contest.

This month Jenna Smith will be representing Saratoga County at the National Dairy Quiz Bowl in Louisville, Kentucky. She is one of four young people representing New York.

Laura has been attending meetings on the new town hall, the Historic District Commission and is working with the Comprehensive Planning Committee.

Laura asked that we remember and thank our veterans. She will be on TV on Veterans Day in her position of Historian for the First Reformed Church in Schenectady. Their minister was one of four chaplains in World War 2 that served in Dorchester. The State of New York is now putting up a memorial for the four chaplains.

On Saturday there will be a book signing at the Schenectady County Historical Society for the book, “Schenectady Genesis” by Susan J. Staffa.

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION:

They met with the Town Board following the October Agenda Meeting. They are meeting with Mr. Vosburgh on Wednesday evening at the Town Hall.

Supervisor Acunto said that Steve Caine had spoken to him about some personal concerns regarding the new town hall. He is concerned about his well and septic tank. Steve will be calling Mr. Vosburgh.

LIBRARY:

They met at the end of October. They are trying to make more people aware of their long-range plan. It was decided to put a link to the library on our web site.

PARK COMMITTEE:

They had a meeting last week. A walk-around will be held Wednesday at 2:00 P.M. There has been some interest in having a baseball field larger than the current little league field, an ice skating rink and some pick-up soccer type fields. They will be looking at any needed repairs for the warming shelter and possibly enlarging the pavilion. At the request of our insurance company, new material has been placed under the swings and other equipment in the park.

PLANNING BOARD:

There are several subdivisions before the Planning Board. They discussed their protocol for putting Planning Board Minutes on the web page. They support the Comprehensive Plan and the new Town Hall designs as far as functional requirements.

RECORDS ADVISORY BOARD:

Councilman Mitchell and Councilman Verola attended a training session on grants that are available through NYS Archives. They feel it is something we should consider doing. Councilman Mitchell will be attending another training session on Preserving and Using Historic Records.

TOWN HALL:

We have three proposals for the test borings from:

Dente Engineering, PC Gifford Engineering, PC

594 Broadway 875 Pearse Road

Watervliet, New York 12189 Niskayuna, New York 12309

Vernon Hoffman

901 Draper Avenue

Schenectady, New York 12306

Dente has proposed 5 borings from 1’ to 50’ in depth for $3,315.00.

Gifford has proposed 3 borings from 1’ to 50’ in depth for $3,200.00.

Vernon Hoffman has proposed 4 borings from 1’ to 50’ in depth for $4,437.00. Their quote also includes ground water monitoring.

We have a recommendation from our architect that we go with Dente Engineering.

Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion to hire Dente Engineering, 594 Broadway, Watervliet, New York to do the test borings for the proposed new town hall, be approved:

Supervisor Acunto asked when Mr. Vosburgh thought Dente would have a contract for us to look at as it has to be reviewed by Mr. VanVranken. Mr. Vosburgh said they submitted a proposed contract with their information. There are some conditions in the back that Mr. VanVranken needs to review. In the interim, we should get the borings done before the snow flies.

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Councilman Verola said that a Topographical Survey needs to be done. We have a proposal from Jim Mitchell at Environmental Design Partnership, 900 Route 146, Clifton Park, New York at the hourly rate he normally changes the town and a proposal from John Gay at Northeast Land Survey & Land Development Consultants, PO Box 2140, Malta, New York at a cost of $1,600.00. Since Mr. Gay’s firm had already done the parameter survey our architect feels that Mr. Gay firm should continue.

Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion to award the contract to complete the Topographical Survey to Northeast Land Survey & Land Development Consultants at a cost of $1,600.00, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Supervisor Acunto said he received a call from a resident that was at the presentation by Mr. Vosburgh following our last Agenda Meeting. He was concerned over the need for a variance because of the municipal building within the Historic District. Supervisor Acunto stated that when we started this project we go back to the time when we went to the Planning Board for site plan review. We did state at that time that we would go through the same requirements that we ask any other resident within this town to do. We should at least make an inquiry to the ZBA to have them review the ordinance and determine if they feel we need to go before them and request the variance. Councilman Verola said they are meeting tomorrow night and she will ask them for an interpretation. Supervisor Acunto said that we know the potentiality of the fire company building another building. That would be the same situation.

VETERAN’S RECOGNITION BOARD:

They will continue to take names for the Board until the end of November. After that they will get together to see how many names they have and what will have to be done to get those veterans added to the Board.

WATER:

As a result of the break that the Town of Glenville had, the Department of Health in Glens Falls asked last week to come in and do a test. They were particularly interested in chloride levels. At the far ends of the line, the chlorine level is low. John Morgan has been reporting daily readings to the DOH. We have not received a report back from them yet with any recommendations. They may request that a chlorinating unit be added at our pump house to kick that level back up. It could cost as much as $100,000.00 as an addition would be needed on the building. It is a significant step up in intensification of labor and checking the water levels if it is required. John was asked to do an HPC which is a total bacterial count. He turned that in on Wednesday and we have heard nothing yet. If there was a problem, it is believed we would have had an answer before now.

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:

They are meeting tomorrow night. Councilman Verola will ask them about the interpretation.

ZONING ADMINISTRATOR:

Building fees for the month of October were $999.00. Zoning fees were $125.00.

ZONING ORDINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE:

They are continuing their discussions. They had a good meeting last month and are making progress. They will make a final report after the Comprehensive Plan completes its work.

RESOLUTIONS:

Supervisor Acunto – Since the public hearing on the budget there was one change of adding $10,000.00 for independent auditing and accounting. That is on Page 2. All of the Town Board Members received a memo from me to change two pages within the budget. One is Page 1-2 and the last page which deals with fire districts. I did not receive the budget from one of the fire departments until this morning.

Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Grattidge that Resolution #95, A RESOLUTION TO ADOPT THE FINAL BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 2005 AS PRINTED, be approved:

Councilman Mitchell – I want to suggest that we amend the budget to more accurately reflect the needs of the Highway Department. I brought this up at the budget workshop that we had but some of the Board members had to leave because of prior commitments. I would like to move that we include $4,200.00 for a part-time clerk and to add a computer system and time clock. I believe $3,000.00 will cover that.

Councilman Verola – I’ll second that motion.

Supervisor Acunto – I will not support that personally. I have two reasons for it as far as the time clock. It is a computer time clock. The present Highway Superintendent does not have computer capabilities. He cannot assign it to an employee because employees punch that clock. As far as a clerk, I think our Highway Superintendent needs to make better use of his own personal time and that would give him more time to do personal paper work so I would not support that additional change to this budget.

Approved: Councilman Grattidge No

Councilman Lippiello No

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto No

Supervisor Acunto – We will now vote on the motion as presented to adopt the final budget

for the year 2005 as printed.

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that Resolution #96, A RESOLUTION TO PURCHASE A COMPUTER AND WORKSTATION FOR THE TAX COLLECTOR’S OFFICE, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola that Resolution #97, A RESOLUTION SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING A LOCAL LAW PROVIDING FOR ALTERNATE MEMBERS TO THE TOWN OF CHARLTON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS AND PLANNING BOARD, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge that Resolution #98, A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH AND ADOPT RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE TOWN OF CHARLTON WATER DISTRICT, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge that Resolution #99, A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH AND ADOPT A FEE SCHEDULE FOR THE TOWN OF CHARLTON WATER DISTRICTS, be approved:

Councilman Lippiello stated that we want to keep the Rules and Regulations separate from the Fee Schedule as the rates on the Fee Schedule will change on a yearly basis.

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that

Resolution #100, A RESOLUTION TO TRANSFER FUNDS, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

COUNCILMAN REPORTS:

Councilman Verola – No report.

Councilman Grattidge – Recognized the Galway School District for their successful soccer season and the Burnt Hills School District for their successful sports teams this year. Supervisor Acunto said that he and Supervisor Callanan from the Town of Ballston are initiating a county resolution honoring the Burnt Hills Volleyball Team.

Councilman Mitchell – No report.

Councilman Lippiello – No report.

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR:

George Eggleston thanked Ellie George for the pumpkin placed in Gideon Hawley Park.

The next Agenda Meeting will be on November 29 at 7:30 P.M. There will be a Public Hearing on Providing Alternate Members to the ZBA and Planning Board at 7:00 P.M.

After everyone had the opportunity to speak who wished the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gail Hanchar

Town Clerk