TOWN OFROSENDALE
DRAFT
TOWN BOARD MEETING&PUBLICHEARING
MARCH 5,2008
The meeting was called to ordersby Supervisor McDonough at 7:32 p.m. at theRosendaleCommunityCenterwith the Pledge to the Flag.
PRESENT:CouncilwomanManna Jo Greene
Councilman Robert Gallagher
Councilman Kenneth Cluen
Councilman Richard Minissali
SupervisorPatrickMcDonough
ALSO PRESENT: Tim Morrison, Chairman Cable Commission; Dan Baker, Assessor and abouttwenty residents.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Jack Gouldsbury made a public apology for hisconduct at the last Town Board meeting.
APPOINTMENTS&RESIGNATIONS:
Resignation of CherylSchneider from the Economic Development
Commission. A motion was made to accept the resignationof Cheryl
Schneider from the Economic Development Commission; seconded
byCouncilwoman Greene with thanks and regrets. Roll Vote: 5 Yes.
Appointment of Kenneth
Cluen asDeputy Supervisor. A motion was made bySupervisor McDonough to
appointment Councilman Cluen as Deputy Supervisor at asalary of
$1,200.00 per year payable at $100.00 per month; seconded byCouncilman
Minissali. Roll Vote: 5 Yes.
Appointment of Dennis
Kaye asChairman of Economic Development Commission. A motion was made by
Supervisor McDonough to appoint Dennis Kaye asChairman of the Economic
Development Commission; seconded by CouncilmanGallagher. Roll Vote: 5
Yes.
Appointment of Kyle
Frano andOwen O¡¦Connell as temporary full time police officers until
the Countyeligibility list comes out. A motion wasmade by Supervisor
McDonough to appoint Kyle Frano and Owen O¡¦Connell astemporary full
time police officers; seconded by Councilman Gallagher. Roll Vote: 5
Yes.
PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSEDTIME WARNER FRANCHISE CONTRACT:
The Notice of Public Hearing wasread by the Town Clerk at the request of Supervisor McDonough.
Tim Morrison reviewed
how theCommission arrived at the current contract; they gathered
accepted franchisecontracts from other communities and tried to
embellish them to the Town¡¦sbenefit. Tim said we don¡¦t have muchroom
to negotiate on these contracts but we were able to get a greater
distance,250 feet, for service runs; most of the contract is dictated by
FCCregulations. Tim stated that ourattorney said that this contract is
¡§written in English¡¨ unlike most. Tim asked that he be advised of any
commentsfrom the public so that he can ¡§short stop¡¨ any problems.
Councilman Gallagher stated that under thenon-profit organizations
eligible for free service, theBrooksideSchoolwas omitted; Supervisor
McDonoughand Tim will take care of looking into the matter. Ken Oldehoff
asked how long the contract willrun; he was told the standard ten (10)
years; Supervisor McDonough stated thatthe contract left the term blank
at this point. Tim stated that NYS is trying to grapple with franchise
agreementsstatewide. Question was raised abouttechnology; the response
is that technology is not mentioned in the contract asit deals with
television not high speed internet and telephone services.
Tim continued that the
franchisefee of 2% will continue since the Commission feels that this is
a direct feepassed on to the consumer; we could raise or lower the fee
with a letter to TimeWarner at will. The fee presently goesinto the
General Fund but Tim said that it can be used to promote and
supportpublic access services; the franchise fee is only on basic and
extendedtelevision services, not roadrunner.
The Public Hearing was left openat this point.
2. A resolution authorizingacceptance of the Time Warner Franchise Agreement will be presented nextweek.
3. Presentation: Eileen
Camasso, Superintendent of RondoutValley Central School District, gave a
presentation on the Capital BuildingProject for the district which is
to be voted on March 11thfrom 6:00a.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the
High School Gym. Ms. Camasso stated that this proposition will add
additional educationalspace in the form of science labs and music rooms;
the proposition if acceptedwill come back as a tax neutral project or
tax negative; the district isapplying $1.164 million dollar surplus from
the close out of old capitalprojects which will make the project tax
negative. Ms. Camasso stated that NYS is giving taxbreaks of 65.5% in
aid; this would result in the district making $800,000.00over the 15
years of the bond. Ms.Camasso encouraged everyone to get out and vote on
March 11th.
4. Discussion:
WebsiteConsultant: Supervisor McDonough statedthat he would like Amy
CoteƒU to be appointed as our website consultant for 3-5hours per month
at $20.00 per hour.
A motion was made by
SupervisorMcDonough to hire Amy CoteƒU as website consultant for 3-5
hours per month at$20.00 per hour; seconded by Councilman Minissali.
Roll Vote: 5 Yes.
5. Discussion: Noise
Ordinance and Waste Haulers. A problem has arisen with haulers in the
Townpicking up in some areas between 3:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. in
residential areaswhich violates our noise ordinance; we need to
strengthen our enforcement. New Paltz prohibits garbage
collectionbetween 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; Councilwoman Greene suggested
perhaps we shouldconsider having the time no earlier than 6:00 a.m.
during the week so as not tobe to restrictive of the haulers. Supervisor
McDonough said that in order to change the hours we would needto
conduct a public hearing; we could do that by resolution next week.
Jennifer Metzger ofMountain Roadaskedabout barking dogs around 4:00
a.m.; that would be covered between the noiseordinance and the dog
control law she was told.
6. Land Use
LeadershipAlliance(LULA)Training. Jennifer Metzger will beattending;
Supervisor McDonough stated that he had planned to attend but
sinceattendance at all four sessions is required he will have to
forgoattending. Supervisor asked if there wasanyone else interested in
attending; he asked Jennifer to check with members ofRCCE.
7. Authorizing the
Assessor toUndertake a Town-wide Reassessment of Real Property. A short
discussion took place. A resolution will be presented next week
toauthorize going forward.
8. Contract
AuthorizingCommercial Valuation Services. Aresolution will be put forth
next week to authorize Michael Dunham to provideservices for determining
values for all commercial properties in the Town
ofRosendaleforimplementation in the 2009 assessment roll. Assessor Dan
Baker stated that this will help to make the assessment ofcommercial
property more equitable with the residential properties and help
allproperty owners to ¡§pay their fair share¡¨.
9. Contract Authorizing
ComplexCommercial Appraisal of Criterion Atlantic Property (IMAR).
Discussion followed about Iron Mountain(IMAR) and their annual challenge
to their assessment. Councilman Minissali asked if we could justwrite a
letter to the CEO of Iron Mountain and explain what an expense this
isto the Town and ask them to cease the challenge; Dan Baker explained
that theyare entitled to challenge their assessment just like any other
land owner. A resolution will be presented next week toenlist the
services Don McGrath&Company for a fee not to exceed$5,000.00.
10. Purchase of a
Vehicle by thePolice Department. A resolution will bepresented next week
to authorize purchase of a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria fromWarnock Fleet
and Leasing for a total cost of $22.222.00; the first payment,
$11,625.35, to be paid from the Police Equipmentbudget. This purchase
will be under theterms of NYS Bid process.
11. Discussion: Hiring
Two newPart-time Police Officers: ChiefDiBattista has begun background
checks on two officers, currently servingpart-time with the Ellenville
Police Dept., since the last Police Commissionmeeting was cancelled,
therefore no decision was made. Supervisor McDonough said he would like
tohave a decision before the Police Commission meeting on the 4thTuesday
of the month at 3:30 p.m. at the Community Center. Supervisor McDonough
said that there isconcern that part-time officers have been working 40
hour shifts for too longand fears we could get in trouble with theUnion.
12. Draft Copy of the
Route 32Corridor Design Guidelines and Standards. A copy of the draft
document dated November 2007 was included in Boardfolders for review.
13. Quality
CommunitiesInitiative Grant: Zoning Code Review Committee: Supervisor
McDonough stated that grant money is available and we shouldlook into
applying; we should be looking at non-conforming areas of theTown. C.T.
Male has stated that theywould assist us in applying for the grant which
must be completed by thefall.
The Environmental
Commissionraised question about the karst related to Wild Rose
Development and having theTown Board intervene; a response from
Supervisor McDonough stated that we areawaiting a legal opinion on
whether the Town Board can weigh in to influence thePlanning Board on
this matter; it is believed that they Town Board can not.
A motion was made by SupervisorMcDonough to hold the public hearing on Time Warner open to written comment onlyuntil March 12th; seconded by Councilman Cluen. Roll Vote: 5 Yes.
AUDIT OF BILLS:
GENERAL FUND VOUCHER¡¦S #200-239TOTALING $10,103.02
HIGHWAY FUND ¡§ # 39- 47 ¡§ $ 9,780.92
SEWER FUND ¡§ # 29- 35 ¡§ $ 4,475.12
A motion was made by SupervisorMcDonough and seconded by Councilman Gallagher to pay the bills. Roll Vote: 5 Yes.
A motion was made by CouncilmanCluen to adjourn at 9:33 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Gallagher. Roll Vote: 5 Yes.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan S. Jordan
Town Clerk
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