Town Of Charlton: Agenda Meeting Minutes August 29 2005

Agenda Meeting Minutes

August 29, 2005

Those present: Fred, Bob, Sandy and Alan.

Dot was excused.

The meeting began at 7:30 P.M.

The vouchers were reviewed this morning. Several were pulled for corrections.

Supervisor’s Report will include:

Three sets of minutes to be approved: Town Board, Public Hearing and tonight’s Agenda Meeting

Report of August expenditures and revenue

Web site activity

Letter from Linda LaRue requesting a new phone jack in the main room. Sandy will work with Linda and the Technology Board.

Fred received a document about shared highway services. Ron has a copy. Alan feels this is something the Saratoga County Highway Superintendents Assoc. should be working on as a group. We will discuss again at next Agenda Meeting.

The Board discussed what their response would be to the letter that Jerry Belisle read at the July 7 Town Board Meeting. The items that needed a response were: a Comprehensive Plan calendar, DEC wetland issue with building permits, appointing a different Zoning Administrator and a moratorium. Alan said from reading the minutes, he felt the questions were answered the night of the meeting. Fred said that Bob VanVranken is preparing something to be read at the next meeting. This will also address the moratorium question. Sandy stated that we have been working on the DEC wetland issue since May. There is language on our building application dealing with DEC wetlands. Dave LaFountain and Sandy will respond to the DEC issue. We will address the comprehensive plan issue again. All issued will be addressed verbally at the next Town Board meeting.

The State contract for propane has now been awarded to Amerigas and not the current supplier, Suburban. Amerigas will here Sept. 1 to set new tanks and fill them. Suburban will take their tanks out and pump out the propane and give us a credit toward our gasoline purchases.

The Town Board members have received a 2006 Budget preparation schedule.

A list of present outside users needs to be incorporated into the district. Bob will start the process of putting a resolution together.

The power outage on August 11 & 12 did considerable damage to the electronics in the pump house. Our insurance company has been notified. We are determining if Niagara Mohawk has any responsibility. John has said damage could be around $5,000.00.

November 8 there will be a vote on releasing the capital reserve funds and approving the bond for the proposed town hall. It will be two separate items on the ballot. Fred will ask Bob VanVranken if we need to pass a resolution to place these items on the ballot.

There will be a Public Informational Meeting regarding the new Town Hall at 7:00 P.M., September 26 at the Town Hall following by our Agenda Meeting.

The Zoning Administrator will be provided with a cell phone so people can contact him during the day.

Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion allowing Dave LaFountain to work with Kathy Hanley to enter into a contract for a cell phone in the interest of better communications, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Absent

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

There was a discussion on building permit fees. When someone gets a building permit, they are charged by the square foot of the home. This fee covers all inspections. If the permit expires and need to be renewed, they pay the whole shot again even though some of the inspections have already been done. Fred and Sandy feel that is unfair. Sandy is concerned that when you buy a building permit you are buying a permit that covers all of the inspections. She asked why they are being charged anything other than a renewal fee. She would like to see just a renewal fee. Alan stated that permits are issued for two years. Generally a project is completed with that time unless someone is doing the majority of the work themselves. Since all the money for the permits goes to The Inspectors, Fred will set up a meeting with them. Fred said that at one time we had spoken with them about doing inspections for public buildings. They were going to prepare a draft fee schedule. That never materialized. We will discuss both with them.

Resolutions:

Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that Resolution #115, A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AWARDING OF A CONTRACT FOR THE INSTALLATION OF AN ALTERNATE WATER DISTRICT TRANSMISSION LINE ACROSS THE ALPLAUS KILL, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Absent

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Supervisor Acunto, seconded by Councilman Verola that Resolution #116, A RESOLUTION TO TRANSFER FUNDS, be approved:

Fred stated that we had a $60.00 transfer a month ago which we thought was for the difference in the price of a file cabinet for the Zoning Administrator. It actually was for a transcriber for the ZBA. We need to transfer $260.00 for the cost of the file cabinet.

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Absent

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Fred gave the Board members a copy of a draft resolution regarding the billing policy for the water district. There are many delinquent meter readings. John has to go back and read those meters. Sometimes he can’t make any contact with the owner. Our present policy is that if we don’t have a reading, we use a three-year average to establish the water usage fee. The proposed new policy would make it a standard charge of $85.00 for minimum usage plus an $85.00 additional surcharge.

This would apply if they do not send their card in and then do not arrange entrance for the meter to be read. Bob said he thought there was going to be a change in procedures regarding dates. He will talk with Kathy. She is also considering the cards going to a postal box. The questions was raised if the $85.00 minimum was enough. Bob said that hopefully they would catch up with the correct reading the next year. Alan feels we are cutting ourselves short because many people use more than the minimum. He feels the three-year average would give us a consistent idea of what they are using and then we could catch up with the difference the next year.

Communications:

Fred received a copy of a letter from the Comprehensive Plan to John Kelley thanking him for the work he did in setting up their survey and the voting on line.

Sandy reported that the Board received a letter from Landmark Archeological Study concluding that there were no significant archeological findings and we do not have to move on to Phase III. The letter reads as though we do not have to file the report with NYS Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Fred will get a recommendation from the Town Attorney. Sandy suggested that if any more correspondence is required surrounding the archeological study, Fred be authorized to deal with it without calling the whole Town Board together.

Fred received an email of resignation from Deborah Herrin from the Comprehensive Planning Committee and from the Planning Board.

We received papers this morning that we are being sued because of an injury that allegedly took place during Party in the Park. Fred will notify the insurance company tomorrow. Alan stated that there was no indication the day of the event that there was any injury.

George Eggleston said the Park Committee has submitted their budget.

George is circulating among the officials in the town a request from each one indicating any special software programs on their PC’s. This will help the Technology Committee with future decisions.

They have their budget completed. Fred said there was a keyboard purchase for the assessor’s office. Any computer related purchases need to be run past the Technology Board before they are made.

Councilman Reports:

Bob reported that John is having trouble with the water van. Repairs were over $700.00. John would like permission to begin looking at the price of a van on state contract. The purchase will not be made until next year.

Motion made by Councilman Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion authorizing John Morgan to investigate the cost for a new van for the water district, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Absent

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Sandy stated she would like a policy established dealing with mail. Mail is coming in and the proper people are not being given important pieces of mail. This would deal with mail that is addressed to the town, whether it comes to the Town Hall or someone’s home. Sandy stressed that no mail that comes to this town to a town official is private. Each piece is a public document and should be filed with the Town Clerk and placed in the appropriate mailboxes. Sandy said there was a letter addressed to the Town Board and the Supervisor in November of 2004 that she did not see until February of this year. Fred said he saw it this morning for the first time. Sandy stated that there is no personal mail when you are dealing with a town official. Anything that is mailed to someone’s home in their official capacity should be filed with the Town Clerk. If it involves the Town Board, it should be put in each mailbox. Alan said if it is cc’d it needs to be copied and distributed. Sandy feels we need a written policy regarding mail. She said that if someone receives a piece of mail and it is something the Town Board should see and they refuse to give it to the Town Board, there is a problem and that person should be dismissed. Fred suggested that when the Organizational Resolutions are written in January, we write a definitive policy. Sandy suggested that in the mean time we should write a memo. Sandy would like to see the Town Clerk responsible for opening all the mail that comes to the Town Hall. Fred stated that the problem lies with mail that is not coming into the Town Hall. Sandy suggested the memo read, “Any mail received at your residence as a town official, you are required to file with the Town Clerk”. Sandy said that maybe we need a policy that all mail come to the Town Hall. It doesn’t go to people’s private residences. Bob said he does not understand why it was mailed to somewhere other than the Town Hall when the letter was addressed to the Supervisor and Town Board. Sandy suggested the memo include discouraging town officials from having mail sent to their home addresses. Official mail should be mailed to the Town Hall. Fred said he feels the memo should read, “All official communications should come to the Town Hall”. We need to be very emphatic. Sandy and Bob will work on putting a memo together.

Bob said he received a call from Phil Klein. He would like to meet with Bob as liaison to health insurance. Bob said they will probably work up some possible resolutions for January that would effect future employees of the district. These would include membership in health insurance. There are various ways of bringing people into membership of our health insurance that would save money for the town over time. It would not effect anyone who is a current employee.

Fred said he may not be here for the September 26 Informational Meeting and Agenda Meeting.

Alan said the fax machine that the Planning Board Chairman had at his home has been moved to Susan York’s home. She will now receive faxes and assist applicants in providing all their information to the Board.

On September 26 at 7:00 P.M. there will be an Informational Meeting on the proposed new Town Hall. At 7:30 P.M. there will be the Agenda Meeting. Jeanine Caruso of Fiscal Advisors and Marketing, Paul Vosburgh, Architect and Town Attorney Bob VanVranken will be present for the Informational Meeting. Alan said they asked Tar Riedinger for a price on the mailing we are sending out in October regarding the Town Hall. There will be copies of the mailing available at the Informational Meeting.

Fred suggested that the Town web page address be placed on the Welcome to Charlton signs. The Board agreed. We will continue looking into it.

The meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gail Hanchar

Town Clerk


Agenda Meeting Minutes August 29, 2005 Those present: Fred, Bob, Sandy and Alan. Dot was excused. The meeting began at 7:30 P.M. The vouchers were reviewed this morning. Several were pulled for corrections. Supervisor’s Report will include: Three sets of minutes to be approved: Town Board, Public Hearing and tonight’s Agenda Meeting Report of August expenditures and revenue Web site activity Letter from Linda LaRue requesting a new phone jack in the main room. Sandy will work with Linda and the Technology Board. Fred received a document about shared highway services. Ron has a copy. Alan feels this is something the Saratoga County Highway Superintendents Assoc. should be working on as a group. We will discuss again at next Agenda Meeting. The Board discussed what their response would be to the letter that Jerry Belisle read at the July 7 Town Board Meeting. The items that needed a response were: a Comprehensive Plan calendar, DEC wetland issue with building permits, appointing a different Zoning Administrator and a moratorium. Alan said from reading the minutes, he felt the questions were answered the night of the meeting. Fred said that Bob VanVranken is preparing something to be read at the next meeting. This will also address the moratorium question. Sandy stated that we have been working on the DEC wetland issue since May. There is language on our building application dealing with DEC wetlands. Dave LaFountain and Sandy will respond to the DEC issue. We will address the comprehensive plan issue again. All issued will be addressed verbally at the next Town Board meeting. The State contract for propane has now been awarded to Amerigas and not the current supplier, Suburban. Amerigas will here Sept. 1 to set new tanks and fill them. Suburban will take their tanks out and pump out the propane and give us a credit toward our gasoline purchases. The Town Board members have received a 2006 Budget preparation schedule. A list of present outside users needs to be incorporated into the district. Bob will start the process of putting a resolution together. The power outage on August 11 & 12 did considerable damage to the electronics in the pump house. Our insurance company has been notified. We are determining if Niagara Mohawk has any responsibility. John has said damage could be around $5,000.00. November 8 there will be a vote on releasing the capital reserve funds and approving the bond for the proposed town hall. It will be two separate items on the ballot. Fred will ask Bob VanVranken if we need to pass a resolution to place these items on the ballot. There will be a Public Informational Meeting regarding the new Town Hall at 7:00 P.M., September 26 at the Town Hall following by our Agenda Meeting. The Zoning Administrator will be provided with a cell phone so people can contact him during the day. Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion allowing Dave LaFountain to work with Kathy Hanley to enter into a contract for a cell phone in the interest of better communications, be approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Absent Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes There was a discussion on building permit fees. When someone gets a building permit, they are charged by the square foot of the home. This fee covers all inspections. If the permit expires and need to be renewed, they pay the whole shot again even though some of the inspections have already been done. Fred and Sandy feel that is unfair. Sandy is concerned that when you buy a building permit you are buying a permit that covers all of the inspections. She asked why they are being charged anything other than a renewal fee. She would like to see just a renewal fee. Alan stated that permits are issued for two years. Generally a project is completed with that time unless someone is doing the majority of the work themselves. Since all the money for the permits goes to The Inspectors, Fred will set up a meeting with them. Fred said that at one time we had spoken with them about doing inspections for public buildings. They were going to prepare a draft fee schedule. That never materialized. We will discuss both with them. Resolutions: Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that Resolution #115, A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE AWARDING OF A CONTRACT FOR THE INSTALLATION OF AN ALTERNATE WATER DISTRICT TRANSMISSION LINE ACROSS THE ALPLAUS KILL, be approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Absent Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Motion made by Supervisor Acunto, seconded by Councilman Verola that Resolution #116, A RESOLUTION TO TRANSFER FUNDS, be approved: Fred stated that we had a $60.00 transfer a month ago which we thought was for the difference in the price of a file cabinet for the Zoning Administrator. It actually was for a transcriber for the ZBA. We need to transfer $260.00 for the cost of the file cabinet. Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Absent Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Fred gave the Board members a copy of a draft resolution regarding the billing policy for the water district. There are many delinquent meter readings. John has to go back and read those meters. Sometimes he can’t make any contact with the owner. Our present policy is that if we don’t have a reading, we use a three-year average to establish the water usage fee. The proposed new policy would make it a standard charge of $85.00 for minimum usage plus an $85.00 additional surcharge. This would apply if they do not send their card in and then do not arrange entrance for the meter to be read. Bob said he thought there was going to be a change in procedures regarding dates. He will talk with Kathy. She is also considering the cards going to a postal box. The questions was raised if the $85.00 minimum was enough. Bob said that hopefully they would catch up with the correct reading the next year. Alan feels we are cutting ourselves short because many people use more than the minimum. He feels the three-year average would give us a consistent idea of what they are using and then we could catch up with the difference the next year. Communications: Fred received a copy of a letter from the Comprehensive Plan to John Kelley thanking him for the work he did in setting up their survey and the voting on line. Sandy reported that the Board received a letter from Landmark Archeological Study concluding that there were no significant archeological findings and we do not have to move on to Phase III. The letter reads as though we do not have to file the report with NYS Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Fred will get a recommendation from the Town Attorney. Sandy suggested that if any more correspondence is required surrounding the archeological study, Fred be authorized to deal with it without calling the whole Town Board together. Fred received an email of resignation from Deborah Herrin from the Comprehensive Planning Committee and from the Planning Board. We received papers this morning that we are being sued because of an injury that allegedly took place during Party in the Park. Fred will notify the insurance company tomorrow. Alan stated that there was no indication the day of the event that there was any injury. George Eggleston said the Park Committee has submitted their budget. George is circulating among the officials in the town a request from each one indicating any special software programs on their PC’s. This will help the Technology Committee with future decisions. They have their budget completed. Fred said there was a keyboard purchase for the assessor’s office. Any computer related purchases need to be run past the Technology Board before they are made. Councilman Reports: Bob reported that John is having trouble with the water van. Repairs were over $700.00. John would like permission to begin looking at the price of a van on state contract. The purchase will not be made until next year. Motion made by Councilman Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion authorizing John Morgan to investigate the cost for a new van for the water district, be approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Absent Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Sandy stated she would like a policy established dealing with mail. Mail is coming in and the proper people are not being given important pieces of mail. This would deal with mail that is addressed to the town, whether it comes to the Town Hall or someone’s home. Sandy stressed that no mail that comes to this town to a town official is private. Each piece is a public document and should be filed with the Town Clerk and placed in the appropriate mailboxes. Sandy said there was a letter addressed to the Town Board and the Supervisor in November of 2004 that she did not see until February of this year. Fred said he saw it this morning for the first time. Sandy stated that there is no personal mail when you are dealing with a town official. Anything that is mailed to someone’s home in their official capacity should be filed with the Town Clerk. If it involves the Town Board, it should be put in each mailbox. Alan said if it is cc’d it needs to be copied and distributed. Sandy feels we need a written policy regarding mail. She said that if someone receives a piece of mail and it is something the Town Board should see and they refuse to give it to the Town Board, there is a problem and that person should be dismissed. Fred suggested that when the Organizational Resolutions are written in January, we write a definitive policy. Sandy suggested that in the mean time we should write a memo. Sandy would like to see the Town Clerk responsible for opening all the mail that comes to the Town Hall. Fred stated that the problem lies with mail that is not coming into the Town Hall. Sandy suggested the memo read, “Any mail received at your residence as a town official, you are required to file with the Town Clerk”. Sandy said that maybe we need a policy that all mail come to the Town Hall. It doesn’t go to people’s private residences. Bob said he does not understand why it was mailed to somewhere other than the Town Hall when the letter was addressed to the Supervisor and Town Board. Sandy suggested the memo include discouraging town officials from having mail sent to their home addresses. Official mail should be mailed to the Town Hall. Fred said he feels the memo should read, “All official communications should come to the Town Hall”. We need to be very emphatic. Sandy and Bob will work on putting a memo together. Bob said he received a call from Phil Klein. He would like to meet with Bob as liaison to health insurance. Bob said they will probably work up some possible resolutions for January that would effect future employees of the district. These would include membership in health insurance. There are various ways of bringing people into membership of our health insurance that would save money for the town over time. It would not effect anyone who is a current employee. Fred said he may not be here for the September 26 Informational Meeting and Agenda Meeting. Alan said the fax machine that the Planning Board Chairman had at his home has been moved to Susan York’s home. She will now receive faxes and assist applicants in providing all their information to the Board. On September 26 at 7:00 P.M. there will be an Informational Meeting on the proposed new Town Hall. At 7:30 P.M. there will be the Agenda Meeting. Jeanine Caruso of Fiscal Advisors and Marketing, Paul Vosburgh, Architect and Town Attorney Bob VanVranken will be present for the Informational Meeting. Alan said they asked Tar Riedinger for a price on the mailing we are sending out in October regarding the Town Hall. There will be copies of the mailing available at the Informational Meeting. Fred suggested that the Town web page address be placed on the Welcome to Charlton signs. The Board agreed. We will continue looking into it. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Gail Hanchar Town Clerk
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