May 22, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
The Village Board met Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 6:45 PM.
Present: Sue Eckert, Mayor
John Markiewicz, Trustee
Janet Rudd, Trustee
Sue Sedon, Trustee
Kathleen Terwilliger, Trustee
Wendy Reu, Clerk, Recording Secretary
Nathan Matthews, Treasurer
Dan Reidell, Superintendent of Public Works
Rick Richardson, Chief of Police
Public Attendance –Mike Warner, Amy Warner, Dr. Sarah Chauncey, Carolyn Wilcox, Bruce Ellsworth, Alisha Rivera-Holmes
Mayor Eckert called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion to approve the minutes of the April 16, 2024, Organizational Meeting was made by Trustee Sedon, seconded by Trustee Terwilliger and passed by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Motion to approve the minutes of the April 16, 2024, Budget Hearing was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon and passed by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Motion to approve the minutes of the April 16, 2024, Regular Meeting was made by Trustee Rudd, seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and passed by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
PUBLIC ACCESS: NCS Representatives, Dr. Sarah Chauncey, Carolyn Wilcox and Bruce Ellsworth provided handouts for the Board and public present that gave an overview in understanding the state aid issues that Northville faces. Dr. Chauncey stated that Northville is considered a land wealthy district, despite over one third of the students receiving financial assistance. She provided a comparison between Northville, Mayfield, and Broadalbin districts that showed the wide disparity between districts. Dr. Chauncey said it was a misleading metric dealing with the property values in the district. Ms. Wilcox stated they are reaching out to State lawmakers as well to try and rectify the State aid issues.
Amy Warner addressed the Board. She asked if it was a holiday on Friday as she came to the building, and it was closed. Mayor Eckert indicated that Supervisor Groff made an administrative decision and closed the building. She indicated that the building is owned by the Town of Northampton. The Clerk indicated that she had taken her workstation home and was working from home on that Friday. Ms. Warner also wanted to know the status of the Northville property on Third Street. She read reports on Facebook about an agreement between the Village and the Town about the property in exchange for the police department. She wanted to know what was going to be built on that property. Mayor Eckert stated that discussion about the Third Street property had been conducted at many meetings of the Village Board which are open to the public. She indicated that the Village had previously listed the Third Street property for sale but the one offer on the property was not adequate. She said Town Supervisor Groff approached the Village about transferring the property to the Town in consideration for the Town’s financial obligation toward the retirement contributions for the recently established full time Police department which would also cover the Town. Trustee Sedon stated that it was best to come to meetings of the Village Board and hear the discussions in person than to rely on Facebook posts.
Alisha Rivera-Holmes, Northville Librarian, stated she was here at the meeting to support the Northville Central School district and their efforts to work with community leaders and State legislators to rectify the issues with the disparity in State aid.
Mike Warner asked when the sewer was coming into the Village. Mayor Eckert stated that Fulton County has plans to extend the water/sewer line from Gloversville to just past the Mayfield limits, as it was recently reported in the newspaper. She stated the phase of the County’s plan to come into the Village is not even on the horizon. She stated that the line would have to be extended from Mayfield to Sacandaga Park before it could even be considered to come into the Village. Mayor Eckert stated that she felt the Village would have to hold a public referendum on whether to bring the connection into the Village. Mr. Warner discussed the comments about parking issues in the Village now that the firehouse is being built on the old Stewart’s lot. He stated he hears “Theres no place to park” and he stated that there is plenty of street parking and you can park on the side streets. Trustee Rudd stated that maybe people want to be able to park on Main Street when they are shopping.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Police –The police report was filed with the Clerk and read at the meeting. Chief Richardson reported 94 calls were handled by the NPD during the month of March.
Chief Richardson indicated that it has been a year since the full-time department was created. He stated the year-to-date statistics as follows:
Total incidents: 880
Town incidents: 413
Village incidents: 467
Chief Richardson pointed out that over the same period for the previous year, there were 132 incidents in the Village. He indicated there were no Town statistics as there was no Town coverage by the part time department.
Chief Richardson discussed issues with electric bikes with the Board. He stated that there was a recent dirt bike incident, a 17-year-old individual, that ended up with the individual receiving 15 tickets, two of which were misdemeanors. Trustee Terwilliger asked if he stops people that are riding bikes without helmets. Chief Richardson stated we do stop and talk with them if they are stopped, but we don’t chase them to pull them over. He stated there is a fine line and a definite gray area for policing bikes.
Streets – The DPW report was read and is on file at the Clerk’s office.
Highway Superintendent Reidell reported he reached out to Abby Frederick, of Cornerstone Landscape Design, LLC, and asked her to provide an artist rendering of improvements he would like to make at the Village green. He stated that with the Board’s permission, he would look at prices and find some ways to incorporate the various design elements into the space. The Board endorsed the intention of moving forward with improvements to the area.
Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that he was going to be striping the no parking areas around the Village and wanted to be sure the Board was still planning on eliminating the three parking spots on Water Street. Mayor Eckert stated that in previous discussion, it was determined that the three spots in question along Water Street create a hazard in the area for vehicles trying to exit the Waterfront Park and are in a very close proximity to the adjacent building. She said the business owner also requested that the spots be eliminated and previous discussion was held to state that the owner could not use the area for display purposes if the spots were moved. After discussion, Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to remove the three parking spots on Water Street. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: Trustee Rudd
ABSTAIN: 0
Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that the Town has purchased garbage pails for the tipper feature on the truck. He reported that he is going to try and budget to provide one pail per residence. Highway Superintendent Reidell said he would rather buy our own and provide them because then we would know the cans would be compatible with the truck. He estimated it would be approximately $ 60.00 per pail on State contract.
Water – It was reported that usage decreased from 2,182,000 gallons in April 2023 to 2,111,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
Trustee Markiewicz reported that the Water commissioners met with Highway Superintendent Reidell and Treasurer Matthews to discuss the improvements needed at the wellhouse. They will be getting quotes for HVAC system for the wellhouse.
Code Enforcement- The Code Officer’s report was filed. It was reported that six permits were issued in April.
Dog Control – DCO Vern Duesler reported one loose dog issue was addressed.
Joint Youth – Trustee Sedon reported that Youth Director, Kelly Donovan, was doing registrations for camp. She indicated they would be setting up a hiring meeting soon as well.
Park Use Requests – The Clerk reported that Boy Scouts were asking permission to use the Village Green on June 7th and August 2nd for their Friday Fish Fry event. It was reported that they normally set up on the GSLFD property for the monthly event but due to construction, they will no longer be able to use that spot. The Board approved use off the Village green for the dates requested.
Tryon Radio Club requested use of the Waterfront Park on June 22nd and 23rd, overnight, for their annual Radio Display and Contest. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to approve the use of the park by the Tryone Radio Club as presented. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Marketing – The Clerk reported that the Memorial Day ceremony is planned and that she has arranged with the United Methodist Church to hold the ceremony inside in the event of rain. The Clerk gave an update on the planning for the NPT 100th Anniversary celebration, May 31st through June 2nd. She indicated the event was quickly approaching and she, along with other partnering agency members, were working through the late evening hours putting the finishing touches on the event. Excitement is growing about the event. She reported that she arranged for CBS6 to come to Northville and do a story on the event which will run for three days before the event. The Clerk indicated she is also in the organizational stages for the DOINS, July 4th, 5th, and 6th.
Report of Village Projects – Mayor Eckert reported that the Northville Rotary Foundation has arranged a meeting tomorrow to review the handicapped kayak dock system they are looking to give to the Village.
Tree Commission – Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that he met with Lanie Groff and they would be making contact with the arborist to look at some trees that may have issues.
END OF YEAR TRANSFERS
Trustee Markiewicz made a Motion to authorize salary increases for all bi-weekly employees to take effect with the first payroll with a pay date falling in June 2024, which encompasses May 25, 2024 through June 7, 2024; and to authorize non-modified accrual of the first payroll with pay date on or after June 1, 2024. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Trustee Sedon made a motion to approve the following Transfers:
$5,000 To: A3120.1 Police – Personal Services
From: A1940.4 Purchase of Land – Contractual Exp.
Reason – to cover end of year payroll
$10,000 To: A5110.1 Streets – Personal Services
From: A5142.1 Snow Removal – Personal Services
Reason – to cover end of year payroll allocation diff.
$44,500 To: F5031 Inter-fund Transfer for Water System
From: F9950.9 Cap. Reserve fund for Water System Improvements
Reason: Transfer to reserve
$10,000 To: A5031 Inter-fund Transfer for Street Equipment
From: A9950.903 Cap. Reserve fund for Street Equipment
Reason: Transfer to reserve
The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
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 $ 36,055.63, from the Water Fund in the amount of $ 2,955.34, were presented for payment. Motion to approve payment was made by Trustee Sedon, seconded by Trustee Markiewicz, and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
OLD BUSINESS:
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Eckert reported the Northville Rotary submitted their annual request for assistance with police coverage, porta johns, barricades, cones and garbage cans for the Woodworking weekend July 19th through July 21st. Trustee Sedon made a motion to approve the request as presented. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Mayor Eckert presented a request from Northville Central School to waive the fee for vendor permits for outside vendors coming to the Village to do fundraising events for the various groups at NCS. Mayor Eckert reported that the Board establishes the fee, and she was in favor of reducing the fee but felt there still needed to be a fee. Trustee Sedon stated she felt the fee needed to be waived for vendors providing services for not for profits. After discussion, Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to waive the vendor fee for vendors proving services for not for profits. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Sedon, seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy L. Reu, Clerk
