April 20, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
The Village Board met Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 7:00 PM via Zoom
Present: John Spaeth, Mayor
Steve Collins, Trustee
Sue Eckert, Trustee
John Markiewicz, Trustee
Sue Sedon, Trustee
Absent:
Wendy Reu, Village Clerk
Nathan Matthews, Treasurer
Dan Reidell, Highway Superintendent
Mayor Spaeth called the meeting to order at 6:51 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion to approve the minutes of the March 16, 2021 Budget Workshop was made by Trustee Eckert, seconded by Trustee Collins, and passed by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Collins, Trustee Eckert, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
Motion to approve the minutes of the March 16, 2021 Regular Meeting was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Collins, and passed by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Collins, Trustee Eckert, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
PUBLIC COMMENTS – There was no public present at the meeting.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Police – Mayor Spaeth reported the Police Reform and Reinvention Plan was submitted to the State.
Mayor Spaeth reported that he had spoken with Chief VanValkenburg regarding the status of quotes for equipment and it was determined that some quotes had been received but we were still looking for camera quotes. Trustee Collins stated he had discussed with Chief VanValkenburg about the possibility of Velcro patches that say Northville PD that could be added to vests of our current officers have.
With regard to the Police Reform plan, Trustee Collins asked if the FC plan was inclusive enough. Mayor Spaeth stated the plan was written by members of the FC Sheriff’s Department but driven by the County. He stated that Sheriff Giardino is making it part of Matt’s duties as a Sheriff’s Officer to keep outlying departments informed of training opportunities.
Streets – The DPW report was read and is on file at the Clerk’s office.
Mayor Spaeth reported that DPW Superintendent Reidell has been working at updating the sign on the Village green. Dan has asked Matt Ginter to assist with replacing the channels with wood slats to better hold the lettering. Matt is also going to be using the plexiglass that is already there and making locked sliding doors for the sign. Once the sign is fully operational, the plan is to have anyone interested in placing a message on the sign to contact Wendy at the Clerk’s office and she would pass the information on to Dan. Dan would coordinate with Randy Palmateer and Randy would put the message up. Mayor Spaeth stated that by implementing this procedure, it still allows Randy to have a part in maintenance of his son’s Eagle project. Mayor Spaeth stated that if anyone wanted to put up posters, they would be given to Wendy and she would contact Laurie Gritsavage or Barb Spaeth who volunteered to maintain that part of the sign.
DPW Superintendent Reidell stated he was working at a new sign for the Bridge approach. He proposed taking out all the church and organizational signs and moving them to the sign that will be constructed by the information booth. He obtained quotes for a new Bridge approach sign from Barney Signs in the amounts of $ 3,000.00 for a 15’ by 4’ and $ 900.00 for a 4’ by 3”. He stated it would say Welcome to Northville and have the logo on it. DPW Superintendent Reidell stated that he is also looking at redoing the sign at the top of Gould Hill. He stated National Grid is taking down three large trees up on the hill and the area where the old sign is will be redesigned.
Mayor Spaeth opened the discussion on commercial garbage collection with the Board. He stated that business owners in the Village pay taxes and but we are prevented from picking up their garbage because we cannot take commercial garbage to the County as it has to be separate from residential garbage due to a higher tipping fee. It was noted the tipping fee for commercial garbage is $ 60.00/ton. DPW Superintendent Reidell stated we pick up the garbage from small businesses, which is typically no more than a bag or two, but we do not pick up from the restaurants. He stated the goal was to get a large roll off dumpster and allow the restaurants to utilize the single dumpster. He stated the Village could dump it every Monday and Thursday. Mayor Spaeth stated the benefit to all the restaurants using one centralized dumpster would be less dumpsters in the parking lot adjacent to the park and freeing up parking space for businesses. DPW Superintendent Reidell stated that he is looking at prices of roll off dumpsters and indicated they range from $ 3800.00 to $ 6000.00. Trustee Sedon asked where the common dumpster would be put. DPW Superintendent Reidell stated he was looking at a couple different areas and suggested behind the Chinese restaurant or by the fireman’s barn out back of the firehouse. Trustee Sedon asked if these businesses would see a savings from using a community dumpster and DPW Superintendent Reidell indicated it could save them anywhere from $ 200.00 to $ 300.00 a month by using it. Mayor Spaeth stated that Dan is still working out the details and exploring tipping fees and would report back at future meetings.
Water – It was reported that usage decreased from 2,068,000 gallons in March 2020 to 1,953,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
Mayor Spaeth reported that there would be a letter going out with the upcoming water bills to let the public know of the inclusion of the Fire Tax on this year’s Village tax bill.
The Clerk reported an issue with a water account that has two separate parcels being serviced from one tap. After discussion it was reported that a letter needed to be issued to the property owner to rectify the issue so that each meter reads independently.
The Clerk reported that training for the new MRX system would be held on May 5th. She also reported that the software company has been contacted about exploring credit card payments for water bills.
Code Enforcement- Mayor Spaeth reported he has heard back from the County regarding adding Code Enforcement to the DPW job description and it was determined that combining the two would make the position competitive. He stated he is now looking to establish the Code Officer position as a separate salary just for that job. Mayor Spaeth stated that he is still working with Senator Tedisco and Assemblyman Smullen to extend the hiring boundaries to abutting counties. He indicated they would be addressing that at the end of their current session which is in June.
Mayor Spaeth stated that the Town is looking at keeping Todd on for one day a week and hiring a Code Clerk to assist him and that Todd continues to do the Code Enforcement for the Village for now.
Dog Control – The Dog Control Officer’s report is on file in the Clerk’s office. It was reported there was one call in April for a loose dog.
Joint Youth – Trustee Sedon stated they had a meeting last night to discuss the summer program. She stated based on the current Covid guidelines, it was not possible to hold summer camp this year. She stated they were exploring whether or not they could open the beach and have a second meeting scheduled. Trustee Sedon noted there were many factors that needed to be considered with opening the beach based on the Covid guidelines. She stated they would have to have guards to monitor social distancing and mask wearing which would mean additional staffing would need to be hired. She stated that there was uncertainty if they could even get lifeguards due to no classes being held last year. Trustee Sedon stated they discussed opening it only for local residents and establishing a $ 25.00 fee. Trustee Eckert stated that it was reported that a majority of people that use the beach are not from around here. Treasurer Matthews stated that with the additional requirements based on Covid, he anticipated the increase in personal services to be 50% or greater and by not holding the summer camp program, no funds will be coming in. Mayor Spaeth asked if it was beneficial to open the beach if a majority of the people that use it are from outside the immediate area. Trustee Sedon stated they needed to see if they were even able to obtain staff and if they could, they felt they wanted to see if they can try to make it work. Mayor Spaeth stated there is still going to be the issue of parking out on the highway, which was the biggest complaint last year. He stated that the Sheriff’s office and State Police are the only ones who can write tickets out there and last year they were reluctant to do so. Mayor Spaeth stated that if the beach is closed and the gate left open, we could have our local officers make it part of their patrol, prior to leaving their shift, to make sure that no one was camping overnight down there. He stated there are two ways to look at it. It is an attractive nuisance to say No Trespassing and there is some liability, but on the other hand, by closing the gate, we’ve created a safety hazard on Route 30. If the beach is closed, with the appropriate signage and the gate left open, we have nothing to do with it. Trustee Eckert stated they would bring that information back to their next meeting on May 12th.
Park Use Requests – A park use request was received from Rebecca Ambrosino for Dori Daknis to use the Waterfront Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. to hold yoga classes. The request was not submitted on a form, did not have detailed information or insurance information and as such was tabled for consideration until it was received.
TRANSERS
Treasurer Matthews requested the following transfer:
$9,200
From: F8340.4 Water-Trans/Dist – Contractual
To: F8340.2 Water-Trans/Dist – Equipment
$4,000
From: F8340.4 Water-Trans/Dist – Contractual
To: F8320.2 Water-Source/Supply – Contractual
Trustee Collins made a motion to approve the transfer as requested. The motion was seconded by Trustee Eckert and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Collins, Trustee Eckert, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
PAYMENT OF BILLS
The monthly financial report was reviewed and bills to be paid from the General Fund in the amount of $ 38,676.69, from the Water Fund in the amount of $ 4,425.47, and from the Joint Youth Fund in the amount of $ 276.90 were presented for payment. Motion to approve payment was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Eckert and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Collins, Trustee Eckert, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
OLD BUSINESS:
Mayor Spaeth gave an update on the Spillway project. He stated upon further research, it was determined that the Village would be responsible for replacement of the dam. He stated that Treasurer Matthews was working with our insurance company to develop coverage for replacement. He stated our current policy does cover us for liability at the site.
Mayor Spaeth discussed the upcoming reopening plan for the building. He stated he has spoken with Supervisor Groff and we are looking at unlocking the doors around the beginning of May. He stated that there is not a lot of area for social distancing in the hallway so we are obtaining more signage to attempt to make customers more aware. He stated that as the building opens, so should the meetings and suggested that they be open to capacity that allows for social distancing.
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Spaeth reported that on March 31, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed into law Chapter 92 of the Laws of 2021 known as the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. Mayor Spaeth stated that currently it is not legal to sell marijuana, but looking forward, there were decisions that the Village Board needed to make. He stated that in our role, as a Village, we have the option to opt out of allowing sales and on-site consumption in our boundaries. He stated from a business perspective, a 4% tax would be placed on cannabis products and if we allowed sales, we would see a portion of that tax in addition to regular sales tax. He stated that we have until December 31, 2021 to opt out. If we choose to opt out, we would have to draft a local law, present it at a public hearing and then approve subject to permissive referendum. Mayor Spaeth stated that if the Board decides to stay in and allow sales in the community, there is no action that needs to be taken. He stated the down side to staying in depends on one’s personal point of view. Trustee Eckert stated that if we allowed a dispensary, we will have increased traffic/parking issue and felt that there needed to be modifications in our Zoning to deal with that in addition to designating what districts dispensaries could be located in. It was advised that they be confined to the Central Business District. Mayor Spaeth stated that as this is a new law, there are still many unanswered questions and that NYCOM is working with municipalities to keep them abreast of updates and hosting additional webinars on the subject. Mayor Spaeth asked for a poll of the Board on how to proceed, the results as follow:
Mayor Spaeth – Would like to stay in
Trustee Eckert – Would like to stay in
Trustee Markiewicz – Would like to stay in
Trustee Sedon – Would like to stay in
Trustee Collins – Would like to stay in
Mayor Spaeth stated that based on the poll, there was no further action that needed to be taken at this time. He indicated we would need to look at Zoning and potential Policy changes that might need to be made but that could be done in the next few months.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Collins, seconded by Trustee Eckert and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy L. Reu, Clerk
