December 20, 2016 Minutes
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
The Village Board met Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 7:00 PM at the village offices.
Present: John Spaeth, Mayor
Debra Ellsworth, Trustee
Matthew Ginter, Trustee
John Markiewicz, Trustee
Sue Sedon, Trustee
Wendy Reu, Village Clerk, Recording Secretary
Nathanial Matthews, Treasurer
Mayor Spaeth called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion to approve the minutes of the November 15, 2016 Regular Meeting was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon, and passed by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
PUBLIC COMMENTS – Brian Correll asked if there were any updates regarding the upcoming Master plan meeting on January 25th. He also asked what was being done about buildings that had obvious code violations in the Village. Mayor Spaeth reported that the Board had received a draft from the Comprehensive Plan Committee and the meeting scheduled on January 25th is for the public to give input on the proposed plan. Regarding code violations, Mayor Spaeth stated he has spoken with Code Enforcement Officer Edwards and he is working to put together a plan of inspections of properties and businesses. Mayor Spaeth stated that Mr. Edwards would have a draft plan for the Board to review at their next meeting.
Art Simmons asked the Board if they were required to have a Master Plan. Mayor Spaeth stated he thought they were but would confirm that with the Attorney.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Streets – Trustee Ginter reported that the crew had finished picking leaves and brush for the season. It was reported that the holiday decorations were up and it was suggested that more pieces need to be replaced.
Water – It was reported that usage increased from 2,149,000 gallons in November 2015 to 2,329,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
Fire – Fire Department Report for November 2016
| Village of Northville (4) | Medflight Standby 1
Standby for Edinburg 2 Furnace malfunction 1 |
| Town of Northampton (1) | Alarm malfunction 1 |
| Town of Edinburg (1) | MVA 1 |
| Town of Hope (1) | Downed lines 1 |
| Mutual Aid Given (2)
Mutual Aid Received (0) |
Total Man-hours reported were 67.58
Code Enforcement – There were three building permits issued during December according to the Code Enforcement report on file.
Joint Youth – It was reported that the Audit was completed and all three of the simple recommendations have already been implemented.
Comprehensive Plan – Trustee Markiewicz reported that the draft was completed. Mayor Spaeth indicated that the draft was uploaded on the Village website and that black and white copies were available in the Clerk’s office for $ 20.00. He encouraged all Board members to attend the public session where they, too, would have an opportunity to give the Committee their input on the proposed plan. Mayor Spaeth stated the Comprehensive Plan Committee has been working on this project for over two years and he indicated that was well before any potential project from Pathstone was even brought out.
TRANSFERS:
Treasurer Matthews requested the following transfers:
$1,000.00
From: A7520.4 – Historical Property – Cont. Exp
To: A7510.4 – Historian – Cont. Exp.
$10,000.00
From: A1930.4 – Judgements & Claims
To: A1620.405 – Building – Repair/Maint.
Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to approve the transfers as requested by Treasurer Matthews. The motion was seconded by Trustee Ellsworth and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
PAYMENT OF BILLS
Bills to be paid from the General Fund in the amount of $ 35,250.41, from the Water Fund in the amount of $ 4,164.24, and from the Joint Youth Fund in the amount of $ 356.91 were presented for payment. Motion to approve payment was made by Trustee Ellsworth, seconded by Trustee Sedon, discussed, and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
OLD BUSINESS:
Mayor Spaeth reported that the marketing contract with the Chamber of Commerce was up for renewal. He indicated that he and Supervisor Groff had evaluated the services that were provided by the Chamber during the previous year. Mayor Spaeth indicated that he and Supervisor Groff are recommending to not renew the contract. After discussion, Trustee Sedon made a motion to not renew the marketing contract with the Chamber of Commerce. The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
Mayor Spaeth stated that he would like to see the Town and Village continue a marketing effort. He suggested looking at entering into a contract with a local representative. He stated we could use the existing contract as a basis for a new contract. Mayor Spaeth stated the new representative could take over a portion of the website with the Clerk still assisting with the Facebook page and the governmental portion of our website. Trustee Ginter stated that the Town and Village had previously contributed $ 5,000.00 toward the marketing contract. Art Simmons, a resident and Town Board member in attendance at the meeting, asked to address the Board regarding the contract. He stated that he felt it was a bad deal with the Chamber. Mr. Simmons also stated he wanted to get it out of the Collaborative Committee and have the newly hired individual report to the Village and Town only, perhaps a Public Relations committee of Village and Town Board members. Trustee Ginter stated that some people, including Mr. Simmons, were against the contract with the Chamber from the beginning. He continued by stating that he felt it was important to give it the full year, a fair time period before deciding if the contract should be renewed, which the Village has done. Mr. Simmons indicated that he was against it because it went through the Collaborative Committee. He stated it was Village and Town funds that were being spent on the contract and he didn’t feel the Collaborative Committee should be dictating this. Trustee Sedon stated she would like to see a monthly report of some type from the new advertising person that is hired.
Mayor Spaeth reported that Phase I of the Environmental Survey Assessment of the Third Street property was completed. He stated that the recommendation was to move on to Phase II which would include soil boring. Mayor Spaeth indicated that CT Male also felt that we needed to do Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) at an additional cost of $ 2,928.00 to further evaluate the site. Mayor Spaeth stated he had instructed Highway Superintendent Reidell to get a quote from Spectrum for GPR. Trustee Ellsworth stated she felt we should move forward with the GPR to further evaluate the possibility of any buried tanks at the property. After discussion, Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to proceed with Ground Penetrating Radar for the Third Street property at a cost not to exceed $ 2928.00. The motion was seconded by Trustee Ginter and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Spaeth reported there was a recent article in the Leader Herald that indicated that Northville was looking for grants. He indicated that Brian Correll has been working with the CRG and is looking to apply for an anchor project grant. Mayor Spaeth stated that the Village would have to apply for it but the cost of writing the grant would be included in the grant, therefore there would be no cost to the Village.
Bill Coffey submitted a request to conduct Winter Fest, February 4, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Little Lake. He requested police coverage, porta johns, barricades and garbage cans from the Village. Trustee Sedon made a motion to approve the request for Winter Fest as presented. The motion was seconded by Trustee Ellsworth and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
Mayor Spaeth reported that he recently had a meeting with Superintendent Ford regarding the school entering into an agreement with the Town to use the fields by the cemetery for sports fields. There will be discussion in the future about possibly setting up a metered line for the school to monitor the water use on the field.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Ginter, and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m. The next meeting will be January 17, 2017.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Reu
Village Clerk
