August 2015 Minutes

MINUTES August 17, 2015 The meeting was opened by Mayor Kevin J. Flint at 7:00 p.m. In attendance were Trustee Louis A. Guido, Jr., Clerk-Treasurer Dorothy E. Johnson, Attorney Dennis B. Laughlin, Interim DPW Superintendent David R. Hajczewski, Mr. Jeff Wait, and Mrs. Alice Hurwitz. MINUTES The first item on the agenda was approval of the minutes as members received in written form. It was upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Trustee Harvey, unanimously carried, to accept the minutes as written. TREASURER’S REPORT Checking Account 08/01/15 Balance General $185,847.40 Water 37,466.78 Total Fund $223,314.18 Trust & Agency $518.02 Savings Accounts 08/01/15 Balance Water System Repair Reserve $ 2,896.10 Cemetery Capital Reserve 10,826.15 Unemployment Insurance Reserve 2,638.25 Water Debt Service Reserve 20,905.67 Parks & Recreation Reserve 3,494.88 Sidewalk Repair & Replacement Res 238.49 James Wait Basketball Court Fund $15,578.04 Water Taxes Taxes Unpaid 7/1/15 Water – Billed 7/1/15 $47,172.14 $48,158.71 Adjusted Paid in July 28,790.23 18,853.46 Unpaid 8/1/2015 $18,381.91 $18,539.24 It was upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Mayor Flint, Unanimously carried, RESOLVED, to accept the report as given. EAGLE SCOUT PROJECTS Albert Wait – Handicapped Areas Mr. Albert Wait has successfully completed his project of creating and updating the parking areas in the village reserved for the disabled. James Wait – Outdoor Basketball Court Mr. James Wait’s project of creating the outdoor basketball court in Alden Field is near ready for paving. The area will be marked out tomorrow to complete preparation work. SIGNS As Mrs. Hurwitz had asked for the signs designating no parking, etc. be replaced. Mayor Flint apologized for the delay and said he has the new posts and has ordered the new signs. PROPERTY ASSESSMENT Assessment Error Town Assessor Kassandra Laymon and the Otsego County Real Property Department are working on this issue. Assessment Dispute The Village has been notified (as a tax collector) that Turn One, LLC has petitioned the Supreme Court to lower the assessment on the parcel located at 10 Main Street, Cherry Valley. After following the grievance process, the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) reduced the assessed value for this building from $371,100 to $240,000. Turn One, LLC, is asking the Court to lower the assessed value to not exceed $82,650 as the fair market value. The Village was not named as a Defendant in the lawsuit. The Village uses the values as set by the Town of Cherry Valley Assessor as the fair market value assessment for taxing purposes. DPW NEW WATER METERS After discussion it was decided to have the Clerk contact Vellano Bros., where the meters will be ordered to make sure the water reading computer program she has been looking into will be compatible with these meters, touch pads and readers. If the Clerk and Superintendent can find a workable system at a good cost, it will be brought to the board for further consideration. TREE REMOVAL Superintendent Hajczewski reported that all of the current tree work has been completed by Timberworks and his department. National Grid completed areas that were in the area of their lines KUBOTA The Superintendent was authorized to have the tractor repaired where he can get the best cost. MONTGOMERY STREET PROJECT Montgomery Street is scheduled to be repaved on Tuesday, August 18th. The street will be closed for most of the day, which residents have been notified of. ALDEN FIELD BRIDGE After further investigation, Mayor Flint feels that it would be best to not use a culvert in this area as it may be too high, but to make a bridge using the steel beams we have. CEMETERY A shrub/tree had been cut down by cemetery personnel, per his job description, as it looked like it was dead. The owner of the lot was very upset as she explained these types of shrubs will go through a period where this will happen, then come back good. Mayor Flint apologized to the owner and assured her that if it does not grow back, the village will replace it. He notified the DPW that in the future, the lot owner must be notified prior to any big trimming or removal of trees/shrubs on their lot. WATER SERVICES This past winter there were several places where the water lines froze, that have not frozen in the past, for various reasons. It was discussed and decided that these property owners must run their water to keep their pipes from freezing in extreme cold whether. The excess water will be at the owner’s expense as it is to save them from having frozen pipes. AUDIT OF CLAIMS After review by the board, it was upon motion of Mayor Flint, seconded Trustee Guido, unanimously carried, RESOLVED to make payment on bills as follows: General Fund Ch #’s 11373 - 11426 $24,769.74 Water Fund " 5,430.45 Total Fund $30,200.19 Trust & Agency Fund, Including deductions – Social Security, Medicare, Federal, Retirement 1851 - 1859 $4,492.98 $3,384.93 $7,877.91 EXECUTIVE SESSION Upon motion of Mayor Flint, seconded by Trustee Guido, unanimously carried, RESOLVED to go into Executive Session to discuss employment and personnel issues. CLOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION After discussion, the Executive Session was closed upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Mayor Flint at 8:50 pm. NEW HIRE After review and full discussion, it was upon motion of Mayor Flint, seconded by Trustee Guido, unanimously carried, RESOLVED, hire Amy S. Herr as Deputy Clerk to be trained by the Clerk to take her place as Clerk-Treasurer on approximately the beginning of the next fiscal year, June 1, 2016. Mrs. Herr will receive $10.00 per hour while training and she will begin part time on or about the beginning of October 2015. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:55 pm upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Mayor Flint. Respectfully Submitted, Dorothy E. Johnson Clerk-Treasurer August 24, 2015

July 2015 Minutes

MINUTES July 14, 2015 The meeting was opened by Deputy Mayor Edward Harvey at 7:20 p.m. In attendance were Trustee Louis A. Guido, Jr., Clerk-Treasurer Dorothy E. Johnson, Attorney Dennis B. Laughlin, and Interim DPW Superintendent David R. Hajczewski. MINUTES The first item on the agenda was approval of the minutes as members received in written form. It was upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Trustee Harvey, unanimously carried, to accept the minutes as written. TREASURER’S REPORT Checking Account 07/01/15 Balance General $185,179.44 Water 13,246.87 Total Fund $198,426.31 Trust & Agency $5,449.57 Savings Accounts 07/01/15 Balance Water System Repair Reserve $ 2,896.05 Cemetery Capital Reserve 10,825.97 Unemployment Insurance Reserve 2,638.21 Water Debt Service Reserve 20,905.31 Parks & Recreation Reserve 3,241.57 Sidewalk Repair & Replacement Res 238.49 James Wait Basketball Court Fund $15,578.04 Water Taxes Taxes Billed 6/1/15 Unpaid Water $193,355.01 Adjusted Paid in June 145,196.30 Unpaid 7/1/2015 $48,158.71 It was upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Trustee Harvey, Unanimously carried, RESOLVED, to accept the report as given. CLERK-TREASURER POSITION Due to the absence of Mayor Flint, Trustee Harvey suggested waiting to hire a new Clerk-Treasurer. After discussion, it was upon motion to set up interviews with two applicants who live in the village. The Clerk will check with the Mayor regarding the date, which is tentatively scheduled for August 13th. PROPERTY ASSESSMENT ERROR Trustee Guido found an error on the assessment of property #58.14-1-25.00, Patricia Ludder Jackson. The property is only assessed for the land, no buildings. The error happened during the re-evaluation in 2011. He has contacted the county Real Property Tax Department for help in correcting this. FLOWER DONATIONS Donations have been received from: Kathryn Lane RBS Thank you to those who have donated and/or beautified their properties. BEAUTIFICATION AWARDS Beautification Awards given by an anonymous donor have been chosen as follows: Town Auto Sales – Commercial Allen and Wendy Whiteman – Residential Louis and JoAnn Guido - Residential Margaret Wickwire – Residential Recipients were awarded a plaque as well as a check for $500.00. Congratulations to all. EAGLE SCOUT PROJECTS Ryan Jaquay – Revolutionary War Veteran’s Graves The Clerk suggested someone guide Mr. Jaquay in this project, as the area in the front by Alden Street is not mapped at all. If Mr. Jaquay could do this it would definitely benefit the village. DPW ALDEN FIELD – Bleachers The bleachers have arrived this evening. DPW will put them together when time allows. MONTGOMERY STREET PROJECT After discussion, it was upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Trustee Harvey unanimously carried, RESOLVED to accept the only bid as follows and have the entire length as stated re-paved: Suit-Kote – Main Street to Kilfoil Street - $24,248.49 Kilfoil Street to Hamilton Street – 8,729.69 Total cost to do entire street $32,878.18 Superintendent Hajczewski will contact Suit-Kote. CEMETERY – Part Time Maintenance Worker Trustee Guido asked if employee Hugh Bresee is going to get a raise and suggested a $2.00 increase per hour. After much deliberation, it was upon motion of Trustee Harvey, seconded by Trustee Guido, unanimously carried, RESOLVED to increase Mr. Bresee’s rate if pay by $2.00 per hour, giving him a total of $12.00 per hour. Cemetery Fence It was decided to have the broken posts removed from the fence at the front of the cemetery. More Lot Space The Clerk said someone had approached her about the village purchasing the Rebekah Lodge for more cemetery space. Board members said it would be too costly to remove the building and not much space would be gained. HANDICAP PARKING PLACE Trustee Harvey suggested village put a handicapped parking place in the village parking lot (near NBT Bank) as there is often no parking spots left on the streets in this area. It was upon motion of Trustee Guido, seconded by Trustee Harvey unanimously carried, A handicap parking area will be created within the village parking lot, near NBT Bank. NEW WATER METERS Superintendent Hajczewski suggested purchasing some new water meters, a remote reader, and other necessary equipment to go along with it. Trustee Guido said he would be willing to purchase the first 5 or 10 (depending price) of the meters and readers as long as his home gets one. Approval was given to Mr. Hajczewski to continue pricing meters and to purchase as above. NEW TREES – National Grid It was decided to wait until fall to possibly purchase some trees. COUNTY STRATEJIC PRIORITIZATION PLAN Hold on until Mayor Flint can give his advice. AUDIT OF CLAIMS After review by the board, it was upon motion of Trustee Harvey, seconded Trustee Guido, unanimously carried, RESOLVED to make payment on bills as follows: General Fund Ch #’s 11325 - 11372 $22,187.05 Water Fund " 3,606.02 Total Fund $25,793.07 Trust & Agency Fund, Including deductions – Social Security, Medicare, Federal, Retirement 1847 - 1850 $744.44 $1,799.14 $2,543.58 ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned upon motion of Trustee Harvey, seconded by Mayor Guido at 8:10 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Dorothy E. Johnson Clerk-Treasurer July 21, 2015