February 16, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
The Village Board met Tuesday, February 21, 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
Darryl Roosa, Water Superintendent
Mayor Spaeth called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Motion to approve the minutes of the January 19, 2021 Regular Meeting 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
PUBLIC COMMENTS – Mayor Spaeth reported that prior to the meeting, it was advertised that the Board meeting would be conducted via Zoom and communication could be submitted via email to the Village. No communication from the public arrived.
Ti Sales Meter Presentation- Mayor Spaeth introduced Jason Matt from Ti Sales who gave a detailed presentation on the different types of meter reading systems available for the Village to upgrade to. Jason detailed the AMR drive by system, the MRX system, and the AMI fixed network system, including their abilities, benefits, and costs. Mayor Spaeth noted that the Town is currently interested in upgrading to the MRX system and would split the cost of that system with the Village. The cost of the MRX system was $ 9500.00 for the reader and $ 3500.00 annually for the software, which the Village and Town would share. It was noted that the AMI fixed network system would be $ 25,000.00 for the upgrade and the annual software costs, which the Village would have to pay for in full as the Town was not looking to advance to that system at this time. Trustee Eckert stated that the fix network option does have useful tools but felt that the merits of the system did not outweigh the cost. After brief discussion, Trustee Eckert made a motion to upgrade to the MRX water billing software system and split the cost with the Town. The motion was seconded by Trustee Collins and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Collins, Trustee Eckert, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Police – No report.
Streets – The DPW report was read and is on file at the Clerk’s office.
Mayor Spaeth reported that the skid steer was struck by a vehicle on February 4th. He stated a woman ran into the skid steer claiming she was blinded and didn’t see the skid steer. Mayor Spaeth reported that he had a post-accident meeting with Dan and the crew.
Water – It was reported that usage increased from 2,077,000 gallons in January 2020 to 2,141,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
Trustee Sedon stated that there was a request from a customer to waive a penalty on their water bill on account # 01-000426 citing the reason being that it was a difficult year. Trustee Eckert stated it has been a difficult year for everyone and if we waive the penalty for this account owner based on that, we would have to waive it for all. She also stated that many people have already paid their bills on time. Trustee Collins made a motion to not waive the penalty on account # 01-000426. 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
Mayor Spaeth addressed with the Board the need for a policy on replacement of meters if they break. A situation arose recently and Darryl repaired the customer’s meter. Mayor Spaeth stated his feeling was that the Village should not be doing any work on the homeowner side of the curb stop and was looking for input from the Board. Trustee Eckert stated that customers should go through Allen and Palmer or a plumber of their choice for the repair. Mayor Spaeth stated the Village would provide the meter, similar to when the meters were installed recently by Allen and Palmer, but the labor portion would be the responsibility of the homeowner. Dan Reidell asked if the meter breaks due to negligence, are we just going to give them a new meter or do they have to pay for it. Trustee Eckert asked the cost of meters and Dan stated approximately $ 200.00. Trustee Collins stated he would prefer the homeowner go through Allen and Palmer and get the meter repaired/replaced. Dan Reidell stated that moving forward, if there is a written policy, he would like to see it include that we will do no work beyond the curb stop, including installing and uninstalling meters, and that all work must be done by a certified plumber and homeowners are responsible for storage of meters that are removed seasonally. The Board agreed that there needed to be a written policy and Mayor Spaeth stated he would work on a sample policy.
Fire – Mayor Spaeth reported we are still working through transition items with the District, such as getting the National Grid bill in their name.
Code Enforcement- Mayor Spaeth reported that he has completed a draft of a new job description/duty statement for Civil Service to review that will allow us to incorporate Code Enforcement into the DPW Supervisor position. He stated that it is estimated to take 10 to 12% of Dan’s time.
Joint Youth – Trustee Sedon reported they had a meeting February 3rd. She indicated it was decided at that meeting to ask people that were hired the previous season if they wanted to come back this season if we were able to open summer camp. She stated it is too early to know what the state may allow and we don’t know if NCS will allow the grounds to be used. Trustee Eckert stated there was discussion about limiting the number of kids that could enroll this season as well.
LWRP – Mayor Spaeth stated that the survey went out two weeks ago and closes at the end of this week. He stated that so far, there have been 250 responses. Mayor Spaeth stated there has been a bit of energy spent on Facebook that was not positive about the plan or aspects of it. He stated that the Committee had a public session in August 2019 and there was a lot of positive energy about the suggested ideas and that almost all the projects in the plan came from public input.
Mayor Spaeth stated that due to Covid, the first draw down on grant funding was delayed but we are just getting back up to date and $ 60,000.00 that has already been spent is coming back into the Village coffers.
Park Use Requests – Mayor Spaeth reported that SVAN has requested use of the park for Saturdays in July and August to restart their SVAN concert series. Mayor Spaeth stated we have a current moratorium on park use but as NYS is starting to open up, we should explore whether we want to start opening the park use up. Trustee Eckert stated that if groups can meet the guidelines at the time of the event, she was comfortable opening the park for use. The Board agreed and requested that our park use request form be updated to include that groups using the park will follow all State mandated Covid protocols as required at the time of the event. After discussion, Trustee Sedon made a motion to approve SVAN’s request to use the park on Saturdays in July and August for their summer concert series. 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 $ 60,537.71, and from the Water Fund in the amount of $ 14,128.09 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 lighting project. He stated the Village now has access to the website for managing the NYSERDA grant and we are just waiting for National Grid to approve the agreements, including the final design agreements from NYPA. He stated we have prepared an invoice for $ 12,500.00 which is the first 25% of the grant.
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Spaeth stated that with Covid restrictions starting to lift across the State, we need to think about events coming up that are traditionally held in the Village and how we can make them work in a Covid environment. He referenced Garage Sale Weekend, the Memorial Day Parade and the Doins as examples. He stated that normally at this time of year, people are preparing for garage sale weekend. He stated the last time there was a real garage sale weekend, the Village sponsored it. He indicated last year, a few citizens organized a community sale later in the year and reached out to the Village to push garage sale weekend back to the summer time when more people were around. Trustee Sedon suggested reaching out to the citizen group that help the sale last summer and ask them to take on the event, similar to how the Civic Association handled years ago. Mayor Spaeth stated if a group wanted to organize it, the Village would provide porta johns and police presence at their request. Mayor Spaeth stated he would reach out to Laurie Gritsavage and Molly Zullo, as they were the driving force behind the event last year, and see if they had interest.
Mayor Spaeth stated as far as the Memorial Day parade, as it stands, parades are still not an allowable event and we have no one in charge of the event. He stated we could do an event similar to last year’s ceremony and suggested we revisit it in April.
Mayor Spaeth stated there is no group that has come forward to sponsor the Doins. He stated that gathering sizes are still in question and it is difficult to advance plan a large event with so many uncertainties. He stated in the coming months, we will work at getting information out to the public as Covid restrictions change, to see what we are able to host during the summer months.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Eckert and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy L. Reu, Clerk
