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TOWN OF ROSENDALE
TOWN BOARD WORKSHOP/PUBLIC HEARINGS
NOVEMBER 3, 2010
The meeting was called
to order by Supervisor McDonough at 7:36 pm at the Rosendale Community
Center with the Pledge to the Flag.
PRESENT: Councilman Robert Gallagher
Councilwoman Manna Jo Greene
Councilman Kenneth Hassett
Councilman Richard Minissali
Supervisor Patrick McDonough
ALSO
PRESENT: Jennifer Metzger, Nava Tabak, Heidi Jewett, Rayne Kouhout,
Leslie Treut, Ken Oldehoff, Perry Soule, Billy Liggan, Nick Mercurio,
Sandy Peterson, Tim Morrison, and Betsy Tuel all members of various Town
Commissions, Boards and Committees; plus about 20 residents.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Supervisor McDonough asked if there were any public comments to be
offered that did not pertain to items on the agenda: Douglas
Jones and several other residents of Woodland Drive wished to
discussion the cellular tower being considered for Davis Street (if
their backyard). They
questioned the Town Code where it states that if a suitable site exists
there is no need to go forward looking for alternate sites; is the
Rosendale Water Tank a viable site. Supervisor
McDonough responded that this matter is best addressed to the Planning
Board; Billy Liggan interjected that he did not believe that this issue
is before the Board this month. Mr.
Jones’ group addressed the concern they had about the “balloon test”
which was conducted for only two hours instead of four hours and that it
was done during the week during work hours when most residents were not
home; that test was rescheduled and done on Election Day (11/2/10) and
they feel the test site was moved back to an area that was covered with
dense foliage. Supervisor
McDonough and Mr. Liggan restated that the applicant (Verizon) was not
on the Planning Board agenda for 11/4/10 but the public hearing is still
open and comments will still be taken by the Planning Board.
APPOINTMENTS:
Supervisor McDonough told the Board that the appointment of Laura Prince
to the Board of Assessment Review, which expired on September 30th, needed to be acted upon; Ms. Prince has indicated that she would like to continue on the Board.
A motion was made by
Supervisor McDonough to reappoint Laura Prince to a five year term on
the Assessment Board of Review; seconded by Councilman Gallagher. Roll Vote: 5 Yeses.
1). PUBLIC HEARING NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY (NRI). The Notice of Public Hearing was read by the Town Clerk; a brief introduction was given by Supervisor McDonough. Jennifer Metzger, Environmental Chair, gave an overview of what the NRI is and its uses. The inventory includes 23 maps, 20 panels are on display in the corridor of the Community Center, and will be available on line. Ms.
Metzger stated that our Town Code we should have this inventory to help
with better land use; as a planning tool for land use projects; or
anyone for smart use of their land or create open space planning. Ms.
Metzger said that this project has been on the agenda since the 1980’s;
the project would have cost $40,000 if it was done by a consultant but
with volunteer skills, time the cost was kept to $1,600 plus $1,300 for a
software program which the RCCE (Rosendale Commission for the
Conservation of the Environment) can use to reflect changes in the
ground to keep the maps up-to-date (it is a living document); it should
not be used for decisions on projects but to supplement site visits and
etc. Ms. Metzger paid
special thanks to Nava Tabak, Vice-Chair, for all her map work and
converting the final product from GIS to PDF format; she then added
thanks to all the volunteers past and present for all the hours of work
they provided to produce these results.
Nava Tabak gave a
visual presentation of how the maps can be used, individually and as
overlays by individuals, contractors and planners for both small and
large scale development. Ms.
Tabak stated that sources for the data came from federal, state and
county sources; errors are to be found in the maps as they are only
representations (the primary error is the scale); they can be used as a
great starting point (they are not worthless) and are constantly being
up-dated.
Supervisor McDonough
complimented the Commission for the incredible job they did on the maps
and the narratives which are available on-line; the overlays are not
currently available.
With no comments being
made by either the Town Board or the public at this time (8:05 pm) the
Supervisor ended the presentation but left the public hearing open for
further comments.
2). PUBLIC HEARING ON 2011 BUDGET: The Notice of Public Hearing was read by the Town Clerk. The
hearing was opened at 8:05 pm. with comments from the Supervisor that
the tentative and preliminary budgets are “wish lists” from the
department heads which will be refined with conversation/comments from
the Board and the public which is the purpose of this hearing.
Patrick Jordan
addressed the Board by stating that the budget is up 14.3%, $331,000 of
which is to be raised in taxes; he continued that he respects the Board
but that this is not their best work; the tax payers are saying “no more
taxes”, are you listening. Mr.
Jordan cited the Town of Esopus with 0% increase (no raises for
employees) in their budget, City of Kingston 6.5%; this is our last shot
for in-put into the budget, tax increases must be stopped at the grass
roots. Mr. Jordan offered
the following suggestions for reducing the proposed budget: 1) Salaries;
no increases; he noted that increases ranged from 2-3% and even a 5%;
contract obligations can’t be helped. 2).
Discretionary Funds; mandated costs can’t be helped which accounts for
65% of the budget but that leaves 35% as discretionary where hard cuts
have to be made. 3). Recreation Budget; this is not a mandated item; the
main gripe here is $34,000 for the recreation manager; this is more
than the supervisor, town clerk or bookkeeper. Mr.
Jordan stated that he had a one-on-one conversation with Supervisor
McDonough and he could not define the exact job responsibilities for the
position; need for a 40 hour position was questioned and also the fact
that the employee has an addition job outside of the Town during the
usual work hours; this had always been a part-time position and seemed
to work well.
Ken Oldehoff commented that he doesn’t begrudge salaries and he was happy that the pool opened on time this year.
Doug Jones commented
that many people are not getting raises; he is concerned that if taxes
don’t stop rising he may be unable to stay in town.
Edward Williams
commented that his primary residence is in New Jersey but he has a
secondary home here; he questioned whether a police force is mandated;
Supervisor McDonough responded that the state does not mandate a police
force. Mr. Williams
suggested that a study be done of crime statistics in local towns that
do not have their own police forces (Esopus and Marbletown); $441,000
without benefits (over ½ million dollars when benefits are included) is a
lot of money; think outside the box. Mr. Williams said he does not have garbage service, mail or road services at his property; he agrees with Mr. Jones’ sentiments.
Henry Jordan stated
that he was an accountant; he cited the supervisor’s department as being
up 5% this year and 20% in each of the last two years, why; $3,000 in
the town clerk line that has not been expended, why is it still in
there; election expenses are out of site (Supervisor McDonough responded
that these are mandated costs); Buildings is up $85,000, he thought
this appeared “padded” (it was explained that this includes phones,
electric, contractual expenses); Special Items Unallocated, this is
liability insurance etc.; Police Unallocated (this is being held for
three years against salary settlement for contract under negotiation);
Schools of Instruction (Supervisor McDonough stated that some of the
schooling is mandated for continuing education); Programs for the Aging,
nice to have if we have the money; Pool budget is up from $67,000 to
$87,000 ( Supervisor and Councilman Hassett explained that we subsidize
the operation of the pool; Mr. Hassett added “more than we like to”);
Youth Camp, charge more (Supervisor McDonough noted that we re-coupe
that revenue and we added an additional session).
Tim Morrison asked if
employees contribute to their health care costs; Supervisor McDonough
responded they do, non-contract employees contributed 15%; Highway (they
have a contract) contribute about 15%; Police contribute 0%); Mr.
Morrison suggested that we check with other municipalities to see what
their employees are contributing; Supervisor McDonough stated that 15%
is pretty standard.
Betty Greenwald stated that this is no time for any increases; this is a poor community and any increase is reprehensible.
Rayne Kouhout,
Recycling Coordinator, stated she has been doing this work for 17 years,
the fees have been raised twice; there are two employees in her
department and she nets $20,000 + per year by breaking down recyclable
materials, which is very hard work in all kinds of weather. Supervisor
McDonough noted that the Transfer Station brings in more money than the
cost of operation and does a terrific job; Mr. H. Jordan, Mr. Jones
agreed that the Transfer Station is the best department and Ms.
Greenwald said that Rayne deserves a raise, look at the work they do.
Doug Jones asked if we
have looked into coverage by the Sheriff’s Office as opposed to the
Town Police; Supervisor McDonough stated that it’s different coverage
especially the over night shift where the Sheriff has three cars
covering the county so response could be slow. Mr. Jones asked if they would charge for the service; Supervisor McDonough responded that he did not know.
Henry Jordan
questioned the Medical Insurance line increase; Supervisor McDonough
said that the increase is correct and that figure could double for 2011.
Sarah Charlop-Powers
stated that an energy audit was done on the five buildings owned by the
Town; it has suggestions that could save money and shows the cost of
implementation and how long it will take to re-coupe the investment. Ms.
Charlop-Powers stated that she would be happy to meet with the Town to
go over the audit; she further stated that Central Hudson will pay up to
70% of the cost of lighting upgrades.
Councilwoman Greene
said that meeting should take place with the different facilities to see
where changes can be made; Supervisor McDonough added that a sit-down
should be done with Carl Hornbeck and Shawne Rider to see what can be
accomplished.
Alex Ferguson stated
that the full audit reports are available on-line; Supervisor McDonough
requested that Mr. Ferguson e-mail him the address.
Betsy Tuel asked if
there would be a chance to review the revised budget prior to adoption;
Patrick Jordan said they had an opportunity to reduce the budget before
this, do you trust they will do it in a week; Supervisor McDonough
responded “come and see”, we will try to have copies available.
Sandy Peterson replied that she doesn’t mistrust government.
Edward Williams asked
when the budget needed to be adopted by; Supervisor McDonough responded
that it must be adopted by 11/20/10. Mr.
Williams said he realizes that the Town Board can not get rid of the
police in one week but it should be considered; Supervisor McDonough
replied that there is a process which must be initiated by the public
through a petition.
Tim Morrison
complemented the Highway Department for changing the windows and
insulting areas of the garage on their own; he applauded their effort.
Jennifer Metzger
stated that an energy conservation grant was applied for but we did not
receive it; most of the u-grades are of small cost; Supervisor McDonough
responded that perhaps some money could be used from the Capital Fund
to proceed with the up-grades.
Henry Jordan
questioned the increases in the Highway budget items DA5110.41 of
$10,000 (no figure in 2009) which was explained as being for engineering
studies for sidewalks on James Street; an increase of nearly 50% in
DA5130.2 from the actual expenditure in 2009 was explained as equipment
that will need to be replaced or up-graded; Mr. Jordan said that the
budget should be based on what you actually spend rather than what was
budgeted.
After the explanation
for the $10,000 for engineering studies for sidewalks a rather lengthy
discussion ensued with questions being raised as to whether the whole
town would have to pay for sidewalks in specific areas that don’t
benefit the whole town. Councilman
Hassett agreed that $10,000 is a lot of money for a study especially
when we don’t have it; he suggested that we look into forming a sidewalk
district; Supervisor McDonough added that studies have to be done in
order to obtain grants. Several
residents expressed disgust that money is always going to Main Street
and James Street projects and they don’t want to pay for them.
Betty Greenwald asked
why we are talking about sidewalks when the pool is so shabby;
Councilman Gallagher stated that we have put over $60,000 into the pool
in the last three years; it would take a ½ million dollars to replace
the pool and that would necessitate floating a bond which the tax payers
are not going to want.
A motion was made by Supervisor McDonough to close the public hearing at 9:05 pm; seconded by Councilman Hassett. Roll Vote: 5 Yeses.
Sarah Charlop-Powers
from the Environmental Commission presented an informational sheet to
the Board and the Town Clerk containing recommendations from an energy
audit which was done through New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA) for conservation measures that can be
instituted in the five Town owned buildings. A
brief discussion followed; a review will be conducted in each building
to see what improvements can be made that will have the lowest cost and
highest return and could be done in-house.
3). DISCUSSION AED’S(Automated External Defibrillators): Police
Chief Perry Soule has recommended the Town contract with Heart Masters
from New Paltz to perform a review and assessment of the Town’s current
program and make recommendations to assure regulatory compliance and
conforms to the American Heart Assn. standards. The review/assessment is expected to take 20 hours at the rate of $75 per hour pro-rated in 30 minute intervals. Councilman
Hassett asked what we will receive for our $1,500; Chief Soule stated
that the Town presently has seven machines; the contract will include
staff training on the use of the machines and CPR to AHA standards; they
will audit department records and create logs; this will bring us into
OSHA compliance which we have not had since Andy Buboltz left. Councilman
Hassett stated that he would like to see units added at the Youth
Office, Transfer Station, Highway, and Building & Assessors Offices.
4). DISCUSSION
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT: Supervisor McDonough advised that Carl Hornbeck
and Tom Fiore are currently handling the MS-4 program and doing all the
associated work and he would recommend hiring a consultant who can
devote exclusive time to the program where Carl and Tom cannot. Jennifer Metzger that MS-4 is really a fulltime job for people who already have a fulltime job. Councilman
Hassett asked if we have looked into other consultants besides Barbara
Kendell; Supervisor McDonough responded “no”, he will check but doesn’t
think we can do any better. Councilwoman Greene said she thought fees
for engineering should be passed on to the applicants; Ms. Kendell would
be charging $75 per hour for minimal services; Councilwoman Greene also
suggested that training should be coordinated with the Rondout Creek
Watershed to help keep costs down.
5). RESOLUTION: A
resolution will be presented next week to authorize signing the Ulster
County STOP DWI Funding Contract for 2011.
6). RESOLUTION: A resolution will be presented next week to adopt the 2011 Town of Rosendale Budget.
7). DISCUSSION: A
discussion will take place next week on the revisions that are being
made to the Town Fire Prevention Law which will be in draft form.
PICKLEFEST: Billy
Liggan was present and stated that he had communicated with Police
Chief Perry Soule who was also present and there were no unresolved
issues having to do with the site plan as presented.
A motion was made by
Councilman Gallagher to accept the 2010 Picklefest site plan as
presented; seconded by Supervisor McDonough. Roll Vote: 5Yeses.
8). EXECUTIVE SESSION: A
motion was made by Supervisor McDonough to enter Executive Session at
9:30 pm for the purpose of discussing continuing police contract
negotiations with Chief Soule; seconded by Councilman Minissali. Roll Vote: 5 Yeses
Out of Executive Session at 10:15 pm; no decisions were made.
Supervisor McDonough left after the Executive Session at 10:20 pm.
AUDIT OF BILLS:
Abstract #10 (cont’d):
GENERAL FUND VOUCHER’S #975-976 TOTALING $ 386.06
Abstract #11:
GENERAL FUND “ #977-1026 “ $17,829.14
HIGHWAY FUND “ #225-236 “ $ 2,744.58
SEWER FUND “ #157-161 “ $ 450.58
WATER FUND “ #165-169 “ $ 483.24
A motion was made by Councilwoman Greene to pay the vouchers; seconded by Councilman Gallagher. Roll Vote: 4 Yes, 1 Absent.
A motion was made by Councilman Hassett to adjourn at 10:45 pm; seconded by Councilman Minissali. Roll Vote: 4 Yes, 1 Absent.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan S. Jordan
Town Clerk
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