Minutes Regular Meeting April 18, 2017
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
The Village Board met Tuesday, April 18, 2017 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
Excused:
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 March 21, 2017 Budget Workshop was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Ellsworth, and passed by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
Motion to approve the minutes of the March 21, 2017 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 where the Board stood with hiring a marketing person for the Village. Mayor Spaeth stated they would be discussing that later in the meeting.
Mr. Correll asked about public docks that were talked about at a recent CCC meeting. He stated that Dan Bowler made him aware that he had 20 plus slips that were recently removed from Lanzi’s when they got new docks. Mr. Correll felt they could be purchased inexpensively. Mayor Spaeth stated he would have to talk to NCS to see if they were still willing to allow their permit area to be used for the docks to their capital project that has begun. Trustee Markiewicz stated that while working on the comprehensive plan, the committee discussed putting docks by the beach area for kayaks.
Mr. Correll asked if there had been any headway with addressing the blight areas around the Village, such as the old hotel on Main Street. Mayor Spaeth stated that the Code Enforcement officer was started addressing some blight issues and was working on others.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Police – Mayor Spaeth reported there were 44 complaints handled in February, two of which were criminal. Mayor Spaeth reported that the police car was scheduled to be replaced last year but the current car was still functioning well. The current car is now requiring more maintenance so Chief VanValkenburg is looking at a new vehicle.
Streets – Trustee Ginter reported that the crew has begun leaf and brush pickup and that Wednesdays would be the established weekly pickup for yard debris.
Trustee Ginter stated Highway Superintendent Reidell would like to hire three summer employees this year: Shane Smith, Dan Ryan, and Skyler Buyce; all of which have worked for the Village previously. Trustee Sedon made a motion to hire the three seasonal workers as requested by Highway Superintendent Reidell with a $ 0.25 increase in salary for all. 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
Water – It was reported that usage increased from 2,232,000 gallons in March 2016 to 2,548,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
Fire – Fire Department Report for March 2017
| Village of Northville (4) | Smoke from pellet stove 1
Medical Assist 1 Oven Fire 1 LZ 1 |
| Town of Northampton (4) | Power line down 1
Fire alarm accidental 1 Co Alarm 1 MVA 1 |
| Town of Edinburg (3 ) | Power line down on vehicle 1
Power line down 1 Possible structure fire 1 |
| Town of Hope (2) | Chimney fire 1
Standby 1 |
| Town of Benson (0) | |
| Mutual Aid Given (1)
Mutual Aid Received (4) |
Total Man-hours reported were 110.36
Trustee Markiewicz reported that the Association members are still trying to get plans in place for their new firehouse or addition.
Code Enforcement – Mayor Spaeth stated that two permits were issued in April per the Code Enforcement Officer’s monthly report.
Mayor Spaeth reported he had discussed with Code Enforcement Officer Edwards the need for a plan of inspections for apartments, commercial properties, and property maintenance/code inspections.
Joint Youth – Trustee Sedon reported that the recent Father/Daughter – Mother/Son dance was very well received. She stated the event was attended by 175 people. She reported that the Easter Egg Hunt would be Saturday, April 22nd at NCS. Trustee Sedon stated at the recent meeting of the Commission, the Board did the hiring for camp and would be interviewing three people for the Assistant Director position.
Comprehensive Plan – Trustee Markiewicz reported that the Committee has completed their work and a draft Comprehensive Plan will be provided to the Board. Mayor Spaeth reported that final meeting held by the Committee was a very positive meeting. Mayor Spaeth stated that the Comprehensive Plan will now be coming to the Board of Trustees for further action. He proposed the members take a few weeks to review it and think about the plan in general. He suggested a special workshop meeting in the future to discuss any changes the Board might want to make. Mayor Spaeth stated that there would be a public session for input before a public hearing was established to adopt the plan. Mayor Spaeth thanked Trustee Markiewicz for his representation on the Committee.
Park Use Requests-
01-2017 Tryon Radio Club June 24th – 25th. Motion to approve with fee waived by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Ginter, and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
02-2017 Tryon Radio Club SVAN Summer Series Concert, Saturdays; July 8th through August 26th. Motion to approve with fee waived by Trustee Ellsworth, seconded by Trustee Markiewicz, and carried by voice vote as follows:
Aye: Trustee Ellsworth, Trustee Ginter, Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon
Nay: 0
Abstain: 0
TRANSFERS
Treasurer Matthews requested the following Transfers:
$4,500.00
From: A5110.1 Street – Personal Services
To: A5142.1 Snow – Personal Services
$100.00
From: A8510.404 Beautification – Contractual Services
To: A7510.4 Historian – Contractual Services
$700.00
From: J7320.400 Joint Youth – Arts/Craft Supplies
To: J7320.201 Joint Youth – Equipment
Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to approve the transfers as presented by Treasurer Matthews. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon 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 $ 17,886.41, from the Water Fund in the amount of $ 1,672.75 and from the Joint Youth fund in the amount of $ 2,219.27 were presented for payment. Motion to approve payment was made by Trustee Markiewicz, 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 Highway Superintendent Reidell reviewed the proposed tree ordinance and had three concerns:
- Establishing the ROW in respect to streets.
- Healthy trees destroy sidewalks with their root system and create safety hazards
- Trimming trees to 12 feet height on curbside and only 8 feet on sidewalk side.
Mayor Spaeth stated that the County Lots and Parcel maps are sufficient to define our ROWs as they list the streets in the Village also. He also stated that healthy trees whose roots are destroying sidewalks are creating a liability issue to the homeowners and they would need to be addressed. Trustee Sedon stated there are ways of planting trees with a metal plate next to them that would divert the root system. Mayor Spaeth stated that the type of trees that are now being planted in the ROWs are ones that don’t develop a large root system. The problems we are facing right now with sidewalks being upheaved are from the older hardwood trees around the Village. After discussion, the group decided to table the tree ordinance for further review.
Mayor Spaeth stated that the Village would be requiring vendor permits from professional vendors wishing to set up in the Village during garage sale weekend. It was noted that the Interact Club and the Catholic Church would be renting out vendor space on property owned by the School and Church and if a vendor was setting up there, they would not need a permit.
Mayor Spaeth reported that three bids were received for the Marketing Contract:
- Denise Cheney $ 12,000.00
- Carla Kolbe $ 5,000.00
- Christina Peters $ 19.00/hour plus posting costs of $ 50/post
Mayor Spaeth reported that he and Trustee Sedon reviewed the applications and both felt that all three candidates could do the job. After continued discussion, Trustee Sedon made a motion to award the Marketing Contract to Carla Kolbe for $ 5,000/year, with the position starting on June 1st. 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 that there was a recent report of Workplace Violence and following the training provided annually, the process was initiated by the Investigation Team. Mayor Spaeth reported that the Team met and the decision was made for him to speak with Mr. Simmons. Mayor Spaeth reported that when he met with Mr. Simmons, Mr. Simmons indicated that he was advised by his lawyer to not discuss it. Mayor Spaeth presented the Board with a letter from Mr. Simmons’ attorney, Michael Smrtic. After reviewing the letter, the Board had concerns regarding the letter. The Board as a whole felt the statements in the letter were incorrect and that Mr. Simmons was given the appropriate information prior to the meeting. Trustee Sedon stated she felt that the letter was trying to justify Mr. Simmons’ behavior, to which there is no justification. After continued discussion, the Board agreed to send a copy of the letter and pertinent information to Attorney Greco to draft a response to Attorney Smrtic’s letter, indicating there was an insinuation of wrong doing on the part of the Village Board which was not the case, and that the Board accepted Mr. Simmons’ written apology.
Mayor Spaeth reported that he had recently attended Local Government Day in Lake Placid and reported on the following:
Foil and Open Meetings Law – Video conferenced meetings do not need to be advertised in the paper of the person in the remote location.
Broadband – Time Warner/Charter merged with Spectrum and per FCC requirements, Time Warner would need to update the Broadband for our area, we would not be eligible for grant funding for that.
Solar Energy – There should be some time of mention in the Comprehensive Plan stating that the Village Board supports alternate energy sources, then the zoning update that would be done once the plan is adopted could address zoning in regard to solar energy.
SVAN submitted a request for funding in the amount of $ 750.00 toward their concert series. Trustee Ginter made a motion to approve the $ 750.00 donation to SVAN. 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 announced that the annual Volunteer Recognition dinner would be held May 24th at the Timeless Tavern. Cocktails from 5:30-6:30 with a buffet to follow at 6:30.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Ellsworth, seconded by Trustee Ginter, and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Reu
Village Clerk
