Minutes of March 10, 2005

TOWN OF DRYDEN

TOWN BOARD MEETING

March 10, 2005

Present: Supv Stephen Trumbull, Cl Stephen Stelick, Jr., Cl Martin

Christofferson, Cl Christopher Michaels, Cl Michael Hattery

Elected Officials: Bambi L. Hollenbeck, Town Clerk

Jack Bush, Highway Superintendent

Other Town Staff: Mahlon R. Perkins, Town Attorney

Henry Slater, Zoning Officer

Dave Putnam, TG Miller Engineers

Debbie Gross, Environmental Planner

Supv Trumbull opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. and led board members and guests in the pledge of allegiance.

Tompkins County Youth Bureau Presentation

Kris Bennett of the Tompkins County Youth Bureau distributed the Dryden Youth Commission’s report for 2004. She said there were 9 programs funded last year through the Dryden Youth Commission and 8 this year. Funding has slowly dwindled over the last few years but the commission has been able to continue quality programming. Tracy Kurtz of the Dryden Youth Commission and Linda Schoffel of Cooperative Extension were introduced. Cooperative Extension is the largest part of the Dryden Youth Commission’s budget and provides services year-round to most of the kids that are served through the programs. It was noted there is a difference between recreation programs and youth development programs.

Cl Christofferson said he would like to better understand what the programs offer residents of the Town and how much of the money covers salaries, how many children are served, etc. K Bennett said she works for the Tompkins County Youth Services Department and none of her salary is included in the budgeted amount. The County Legislature provides funds for a rural youth services system to provide youth development services and that money is matched by the local communities. Dryden received $39,000 from the County and that was matched by the Town. The largest portion of that goes to programs provided by Cooperative Extension. Additionally local teens are employed at summer day camps (9 last year), the Youth Conservation Corps employed 8 youth to work on local parks, etc. and other employment programs. Over 200 Dryden youth participated in the programs.

Cl Christofferson said the Town spends a lot of money on a lot of different programs through the Youth Commission, Recreation Department, and the Recreation Partnership, and said he wants to maximize the benefit for that money.

L Schoffel spoke about Cooperative Extension’s involvement and said they have two staff committed to the programs in Dryden, David Hall who is full time, and Bridget Gaines who is half time, and exhibited their reports indicating participant numbers. Cooperative Extension provides youth development programs which are programs that teach life skills to youth. She said they do a lot to reach out to the kids who most need those opportunities. The programs target middle school children, are run after school and participants are often referred by the Guidance Office and teachers. They look for kids who because of social skills issues or other factors are in need of opportunities for good youth development, but any child is able to attend. They sometimes run a program more than once to accommodate everyone. All rural communities in the County participate in the programs.

Cl Christofferson said it seems like some of the programs are duplicated by the Town’s Recreation Department and it would be nice to coordinate that. L Schoffel said its different to set up a program and have kids do it, but one of the things they try to do is have the youth connect with the program manager because they are serving youth who need mentoring relationships. The State funding portion of the programs is targeted for “at risk” youth. Cl Stelick asked if there was information available with respect to how many at risk youth were served and L Schoffel said they have a new database and are presently entering that information.

Cl Christofferson said he is concerned about the portion of their budget that goes to personal services and noted that the Town’s programs serve hundreds of kids and the coaches don’t receive any compensation. L Schoffel said it’s a wonderful plan to have everything done by volunteers, but that is getting harder today. Their services fall under youth development and 4-H clubs have always been volunteer led.

L Schoffel distributed a pamphlet entitled Rural Youth Services Initiatives Update. She said their programs are tied to what indicates kids need: positive adult role models, opportunities to try new things, risk-taking, high expectations from people they can succeed with, and for behavior. They intentionally try to provide this in their programs and are underway in trying to measure it all.

Cl Stelick asked how programs were determined, and T Kurtz said they advertise for people who want to run programs and applications are submitted. Those are reviewed and programs are chosen by the commission. The schools provide in-kind support for the programs in that they provide rooms when necessary to conduct the programs in.

Cl Hattery said it looked like only $4,000 of their funding was state funds and asked if part of the County Youth Services was also state funds. L Schoffel said the County Youth Services is County money only, and the State Youth Services is State money and both have decreased a little each year for the past several years. She noted that the people employed by Cooperative Extension receive excellent benefits, and there is no cost to the municipalities for those benefits (Cornell contributes the benefits) but it is helpful in attracting people who want to do this type of work because the salaries are not very high. Budget breakdowns were provided to board members.

CITIZENS PRIVILEGE

William Openshaw said he has lived in the Town of Dryden on Mt Pleasant for over 30 years and he and his neighbors are concerned because of Cornell University’s plan to install wind turbines on Mt Pleasant. The area is used recreationally for bird watching, hiking, cross country skiing, and other outdoor activities. He said Cornell wants to install 8 giant windmills, 4 of them next to the WHCU radio tower and 4 on the next hill a half mile away near the Cornell Observatory. The windmills will be nearly 400′ tall with a propeller diameter of 130′. Each windmill is equipped with a generator that is as big as a greyhound bus. The tips of the propellers will have flashing lights because of FAA requirements. Each structure requires an acre of land to accommodate it. Because of their size and the fact that they will be placed on one of the highest points in the County they will be visible for miles in all directions. He said they will be a novelty at first, but very quickly become an eyesore and the negative impact to the quality of life for nearby residents will be profound.

W Openshaw said residents will have to endure the monotonous noise created by the turning propellers and generators. The disorienting effects of moving shadows created when the sun is behind the rotating blades will be disruptive and the rotating flashing lights will be stressful. He said Cornell is not concerned with what this industrial site will do to the rural integrity of the Town of Dryden and don’t care about the people whose lives they will severely impact, or they would not be considering this project.

W Openshaw distributed to the board packets of information addressing the negative effects that wind turbine sites have on communities and neighbors. The packet includes a DVD of testimonials from people who have had sites built near them. Wind turbines have been around for thirty years and there is a wealth of information and studies available, which W Openshaw said, reads like a nightmare. He asked the Board to read the information and research the topic and said this issue has major consequences to the residents of Dryden. He urged the Board to take action to prevent this potential nightmare from happening here.

Marie Read of Ringwood Road read a petition signed by several residents. It said:

“We the undersigned residents of Dryden wish to call to your attention the potential threats to the character of the Town and to its residents posed by the wind turbine installation said to be planned by Cornell University for the Mt Pleasant area on the hill directly west of Mineah Road and on Observatory Hill. Because Cornell has not yet made public the plans that we have reason to believe are in the making, we urge the Town Board to do the following two things:

1. To be ready to study any proposal made by Cornell for such an installation with great care, holding the University or its agents to a high standard of proof of the safety, harmlessness, and efficacy of such a proposal.

2. Act now to amend zoning ordinances to specify the prohibition of the placement of wind turbines in the Town of Dryden.

In the event of such a proposal, we request that the Town Board inform itself, other Town bodies, and Dryden residents of the reasonableness of this type of energy generation and the possible consequences to the Town’s rural character and to livability for its residents as well as other effects. There is now a wealth of reports detailing both the energy generation prospects for wind and the experiences of communities in which turbines have been sited. Some of them have been appended to this petition.

We are confident that if the Board were to perform careful and exhaustive studies on the possible impacts of wind turbines in our Town, such thorough research would lead to the rejection of the proposed project. We are opposed to any projects like this that have not been completely researched and guaranteed. Many of us in the area have long believed that clean solutions to the world’s energy problems must be found. Many of us have long favored wind energy as a solution, but our reading and our recent research have raised grave doubts in our minds. We have learned of recent research that shows the production of electricity from wind is minimal, undependable and inefficient. Some energy experts have called the push for installation of wind factories a scam. They say that the main beneficiaries of these projects are the wind factory owners, and this is only because of the considerable tax breaks and subsidies paid for by taxpayers. But we are principally concerned about the considerable probable impacts of these turbines on close and not so close neighbors, on people, on animals and on the land.

Here’s a short list of our concerns:

o Turbine noise at various distances under various conditions, both audible and infrasonic.
o Visual impacts of towers
o Strobing effects caused by spinning blades and the night-time flashing of Federal Aviation Authority mandated lights.
o Disruption of drainage and wells
o Impacts on recreation in the area, and on tourism more generally.
o Declining property values and other threats to the tax base and economy of the town and county.
o Bird and bat mortality and other impacts on animals, wild and domestic.
o Threats to air traffic to and from Tompkins County Airport.

Wind factories are particularly noxious to near residents as documented by reports and videos by those living near the Fenner, New York, Mayorsdale, Pennsylvania, and Lincoln, Wisconsin, wind factories, among others in the U.S. The countries of Germany and Denmark have begun to back off from windpower, not only because of its inefficiency, but also because of widespread objections from citizens. It turns out that in all these cases, wind factory promoters and owners have not been straight forward about the effects of wind turbines on neighbors, and they have not been forthcoming in addressing the issues after they have become known.

Neighbors say that their quality of life has been ruined by the effects of these turbines. The persistent grinding and thumping noise is extremely distressing. The blades, which create stroboscopic flashing effects through their houses under certain conditions, cause disorientation in addition to being annoying. Many people suffer sleep disruption, headaches, dizziness and depression, as well as other illnesses.

Water supply to wells is disrupted and changed, and property values plummet. Wind turbines are huge industrial installations, with accompanying industrial noise and disruption to the land. They must be carefully and properly sited. It is careless and irresponsible to attempt to site them in residential areas.

We do not believe that the Town of Dryden should sacrifice its rural character and its important natural beauty to an industrial undertaking with such a low probability of worthwhile return, not to Cornell University, and not to the citizens or the economy of Dryden.

Because to our knowledge Cornell has not yet applied to the Board for a zoning variance or other local permission for such a project to go ahead, we urge that the Board act now to insure that study of any such proposal be thorough and that the Board’s own deliberations be complete. We request now that you amend the Zoning law to specify the prohibition of the location of wind turbines in the Town of Dryden and such legislation we suggest should be narrowly crafted so as not to prohibit individual homeowners construction of small windmills on their own property to provide for their own energy needs. The action we propose would help insure that an application for variance of existing regulations would have to meet a particularly high standard of proof of harmlessness on the part of Cornell University or its agents.

We urge you to work actively with our, and your, neighbors on what we see as a large potential problem.”

The petition is signed by 20 people, but they expect to secure more signatures.

Judy Pierpont of 111 Pleasant Hollow Road said she lives right down the hill from where four of the turbines are proposed. She talked to the board about the effects of wind turbines on neighbors and disruptions in the lives of those neighbors, near and not so near. Those effects include noise, shadow flicker and flashing, strobing of the blades, ice throw and breakage, as well as possible lighting strikes. She read comments from neighbors describing the effects on their lives and noted that these people had been assured that the noise would be like a distant whisper and nothing unsettling. The noise impact increases with distance. A study done on the Dutch-German border residents living a third of mile and more from the site were reacting very strongly to the noise and residents up to 1.2 miles away expressed constant annoyance. The comments are included in the packets provided to the board.

M Read said the people who use Mt Pleasant enjoy the peacefulness and in her opinion it would be a tragedy to change that area in such an intrusive way. Visually they are incredibly dominant in the landscape and the sound would ruin it for the many people who use the area for recreation. She said there is a large birding community in the area and Mt Pleasant is a very popular bird watching area. The turbines would pose a threat to migrating birds and bats. She asked the board to think about the aesthetic effects on the countryside.

W Openshaw said there is an article in The Ithaca Journal today about what Cornell has in mind for this project and they describe the height, width and location of the towers. M Read said the reason she knew about the plans was that she works at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the lab has been asked to do a study on bird migration paths with respect to this.

D Gross thanked them for the time they’ve put into gathering the information.

Gerry Ryan of Dryden thanked the Board for the interest they’ve shown in the Lakeview Golf Course in the past, and asked whether the Town would have a representative at the foreclosure auction tomorrow. Supv Trumbull said he would be in attendance.

Michael Kimball pointed out that there are several lawsuits over wind turbines in this country (Salt Lake City and in Wisconsin). He said that at one time he was in favor of windmills, but after being informed with the material the board has he has changed his mind.

ZO Slater said he and Atty Perkins have concluded that windmills and windmill farms are not a use permitted in the Town of Dryden at this time under the zoning ordinance. Cornell University has been issued a permit to build a weather monitoring station. He said Cornell is aware that it is not a use they are entitled to.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT/DPW

Jack Bush distributed a copy of the description of the road work proposed for this year and a proposed §284 Agreement. Board members were previously provided a copy. The agreement needs to be signed by a majority of board members and the Highway Superintendent and a copy filed with the County Highway manager. All board members and Jack Bush signed the Agreement.

COUNTY BRIEFING

M Lane said he believes that people are developing a huge misconception about the local income tax study group that was appointed by to look at the concept of a local income tax. There are two municipalities in NY State that have these now (Yonkers and New York). He said this is simply a study group and there has been no recommendation or decision to do anything. It is not a group looking for other ways to tax people. People serving on the study group include Larry Baum, Noel Desch, David Dornbush, Mike Hall, Patricia Jordan, Debbie Jordan, Bill Myers and Andy Sciarabba.

The study took a look at whether an income tax might be a substitute for all or part of the real property tax. It has never been looked at as an additional tax. There are problems with the real property tax and how unequitable it might be for those on fixed incomes or small businesses. The income tax study group concluded in its first interim report that imposition of a local income tax, a payroll tax and/or a meals tax would result in a substantial reduction in property tax. They have not reached consensus on a recommendation for any new tax at the present time. They have made contact with state legislators to understand what might be possible, because no county has the right to impose an income tax by itself. It requires special state legislation. The study group was told that the Assembly would be open to that idea if it were tied to a property tax reduction and especially if a public referendum was required in order to implement any such income tax. M Lane said the important thing to think about is whether it would be a good substitute. There are downsides to an income tax that might encourage business and/or residents to live outside of the County. A commuter tax was discussed by the group, but Albany has indicated no support for that, and that may very well kill any possibility of an income tax because it may be more detrimental to the County in the long run.

Another drawback is a number of the entities that own a substantial taxable amount of real property would be greatly benefited if the real property tax was reduced. Some of those include AES Eastern Energy with 142 million in assessments, NYSEG with 116 million, and Pyramid Mall with 59 million, Cornell University with 52 million, and Dominion Resources with 38 million. This group is looking at what other drawbacks there may be.

M Lane left a copy of the interim report with the board and reminded them that this is a study group and there is no recommendation and there may never be any recommendation from this group for implementation of an income tax.

Martha Robertson said she was told by Tim Joseph that the idea for local income tax came from the Chamber of Commerce, the idea being that it is based more fairly on one’s income for the year, rather than their property assessment which doesn’t necessarily reflect one’s ability to pay in a particular year. She said it is important that the public knows they are working to find whatever ways they can, within serious constraints imposed by New York State, to make the tax burden as fair as possible. They are also looking at mortgage recording tax and property transfer tax.

M Robertson responded to some things that were on the radio lately about the County jail and the decision not to build a jail and how much that is costing in board out expenses. It had been said the County didn’t know how much the jail would cost or how much they were spending on board outs. M Robertson said they have some very good estimates of what the jail expansion would cost if they were to build it. It was estimated to be $20 million (as of last Fall) and indications are that it would actually be more than that. With respect to the cost of boarding out, she said it is important to note they don’t want to have to board anyone out. The cost of building a new jail at $20 million is equivalent to boarding out 52 people per day every day of the year. She said that every day they board out fewer than 52 people, they are saving County taxpayers money. They have been able to keep the number of inmates for the most part well below capacity, but have had to board out a few people due to classification issues. She said populations rates have been about what they were ten years ago, and believes that is testament to the alternatives programs in place.

M Robertson said the Ringwood Road bridge is scheduled for reconstruction in 2006. It is a very small bridge about 70 years old near Ringwood Court. John Lampman held a community meeting last Thursday to discuss the matter with residents and what the detour might look like.

ENGINEERING

D Putnam asked the board to again consider his firm’s proposal for topographic mapping for the property the Town is purchasing. He explained the Town would need it done to extend utilities to the town hall and will make anything done on the land in the future a lot easier. They will need to subcontract the aerial photograph work and are concerned about the timeframe for that. Cl Michaels said he assumed it would be something the landscape architects would need. Cl Stelick said they may not be ready for it now, but will need it. D Putnam said they will own the aerial photographs and it is a lot cheaper to do topograph maps from aerial photos than it is to pay a survey crew at prevailing wage rate to do it manually. It will give the architect a 3-d map in electronic format that they can work with for placement of the building. The Highway Superintendent will also be able to use it to site the area of the salt barn. D Gross said it will be needed for a stormwater plan.

RESOLUTION #61 – HIRE TG MILLER FOR TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING

Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby accepts TG Miller’s proposal as outlined in a letter dated February 10, 2005 to Supervisor Trumbull to produce topographic mapping of the land to be purchased from ELM Acquisition at a total cost not to exceed $4,800.

2nd Cl Stelick

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

RECREATION DEPT

Jennifer Staton presented her monthly report and said the boys travel basketball tournament was held at Dryden High School with 167 participants (13 teams). She would like to host this tournament again next year since it was a huge success.

The Recreation Dept will sponsor an Easter egg hunt on March 20th at Montgomery Park. She is working with the Senior centers to help stuff the eggs and Neptune Hose to transport the bunny.

The Recreation Partnership has distributed a survey to the Town Supervisors and others to help determine how the Partnership needs to grow.

Contra dancing will begin on March 27 at Bethel Grove, with other events to be held around the Town. She has been unable to get in touch with anyone at Varna Community Center to schedule a date there. Martha Robertson gave her some names to call.

ATTORNEY

Atty Perkins said since the Town has now held its informational meeting on the proposal real property purchase, the Board should ratify the offer to purchase and prior to that comply with SEQR. D Gross has completed a short Environmental Assessment Form and Atty Perkins has reviewed the responses on. The Board reviewed the document and found there to be no significant adverse environmental effects.

RESOLUTION #62 – NEG SEQR DEC – PROPERTY PURCHASE

Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

WHEREAS,

A. The proposed action involves the purchase by the Town of Dryden of a parcel of property from ELM Acquisition Corp. contiguous to the parcel currently owned by the Town on East Main Street in the Village of Dryden.

B. The proposed action is an Unlisted Action for which the Town Board of the Town of Dryden is the lead agency for the purposes of uncoordinated environmental review in connection with approval by the Town.

C. The Town Board of the Town of Dryden, in performing the lead agency function for its independent and uncoordinated environmental review in accordance with Article 8 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law – the State Environmental Quality Review Act “(SEQR), (i) thoroughly reviewed the Short Environmental Assessment Form (the “Short EAF”), Part I, and any and all other documents prepared and submitted with respect to this proposed action and its environmental review, (ii) thoroughly analyzed the potential relevant areas of environmental concern to determine if the proposed action may have a significant adverse impact on the environment, including the criteria identified in 6 NYCRR §617.7(c), and (iii) completed the Short EAF, Part II;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:

1. The Town Board of the Town of Dryden, based upon (i) its thorough review of the Short EAF, Part I, and any and all other documents prepared and submitted with respect to this proposed action and its environmental review, (ii) its thorough review of the potential relevant areas of environmental concern to determine if the proposed action may have a significant adverse impact on the environment, including the criteria identified in 6 NYCRR §617.7(c), and (iii) its completion of the Short EAF, Part II, including the findings noted thereon (which findings are incorporated herein as if set forth at length), hereby makes a negative determination of environmental significance (“Negative Declaration”) in accordance with SEQR for the above referenced proposed action, and determines that neither a full Environmental Assessment Form, nor an Environmental Impact Statement will be required, and

2. The Responsible Officer of the Town Board of the Town of Dryden is hereby authorized and directed to complete and sign as required the determination of significance, confirming the foregoing Negative Declaration, which fully completed and signed Short EAF and determination of significance shall be incorporated by reference in this Resolution.

2nd Cl Christofferson

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

RESOLUTION #63 – RATIFY PURCHASE OFFER WITH ELM ACQUISITION CORP

Cl Stelick offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby ratifies the purchase offer between the Town of Dryden and ELM Acquisition Corp for the purchase of property on East Main Street in the Village of Dryden.

2nd Cl Michaels

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

ZONING OFFICER

ZO Slater said he and the Highway Superintendent, Dave Putnam and other Town staff have been working on putting the push together to finish the Virgil Creek Project. Everything is basically done except for some work in the creek and some plantings along the bank.

It is time for the building committee to begin meeting again, and a site selection committee should be formed to decide where to place the building. Cl Christofferson, Cl Hattery, ZO Slater and B Hollenbeck will work on that committee. ZO Slater will need to submit a site plan application to the Village.

D Gross said the Town has been receiving some free advice from a consultant on energy efficiency and they may have some input in site selection. She has spoken with Egner Associations about having them meet for a presentation. D Gross said it would have to be during the day from 10:00 to 3:30 or so and asked if any board members were interested in attending and will let them know when she has it scheduled.

Cl Michaels said other things that need to be considered is furniture and wireless internet.

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNER

D Gross previously shared with the Board a draft of the Conservation Board’s 2005 proposed work plan items and asked for feedback. ZO Slater said it seemed a worthy endeavor on the part of the CB. D Gross said a representative from the Genessee Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council is going to provide some assistance with stormwater regulations.

Cl Michaels said that the Conservation Board may want to take a look at the standard conditions of approval applied by the Town to special permits. He also suggested they might come with better information for applications that explains what they need to do. D Gross said DEC has been coming out with an improved information package and the Town of Ulysses is also working on something that can be shared, and the Conservation Board may have some additional insights.

D Gross said that Tompkins County has submitted a grant application to the Quality Communities funding source on behalf of the Towns of Danby, Dryden, and Caroline and they need a resolution to attach to the application. The total project cost is calculated at $32,000. They are asking for about $24,000 in state funding. Involved parties include Tompkins County Planning, the three Towns, Finger Lakes Land Trust, NYS DEC and when they compile match it will mostly be staff hours from those groups and maybe volunteer hours as well if the Conservation Board is involved. They are asking the Towns to send the survey to forest land owners in the area when it is prepared. One of the aspects of the landowner survey is to see if anyone might be interested in conservation easements (voluntary) or creation of a resource management plan with technical assistance from DEC or Soil & Water.

RESOLUTION #64 – In Support of the

Forest Lands Focus Area Protection and Management Plan

Proposal for 2005 Quality Communities Grant Funding

Supv Trumbull offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

Whereas the Tompkins County Planning Department offered to partner with municipalities in the county to prepare a joint application for Quality Communities Grant Funds for projects of a regional nature, and

Whereas the Town of Danby initiated a proposal for collaborative development of a protection and management plan for the “Forest Lands Focus Area”, and

Whereas the “Forest Lands Focus Area” is the largest of fourteen “Natural Features Focus Areas” identified in the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan, and

Whereas this area encompasses 40,000 acres, and includes several state forests, recreational trails, unique natural areas, biological corridors, and multiple creeks and wetlands, and

Whereas the “Forest Lands Focus Area” spans across the towns of Danby, Caroline, and Dryden, and Tompkins County invited involvement of all three towns in developing a grant proposal, and

Whereas the Town of Dryden recognizes the overall value of the upland forested landscape for conservation, water quality, recreation, sustainable resource use, and quality of life, and

Whereas the Town of Dryden desires to participate in a collaborative planning effort that brings all stakeholders to the table, including municipalities, private landowners, state agencies, and other involved organizations,

Now, therefore, be it resolved that:

The Dryden Town Board authorizes the Town of Dryden to be a co-applicant on the proposal called “Forest Lands Focus Area Protection and Management Plan” which has been submitted by Tompkins County for the 2005 Quality Communities Grant Program, and

The Dryden Town Board makes a commitment that the Town will contribute a reasonable number of staff hours in support of this project as matching funds if the project moves forward, and

The Dryden Town Board authorizes the Town Supervisor or his designee to act on behalf of the Town of Dryden in all matters relating to this financial assistance.

2nd Cl Stelick

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

D Gross said she liked the proposal because they are really trying to bring all the stakeholders to the table. Cl Christofferson said it is important that they don’t say one form of recreation is more important than the other and trying to find ways that recreational activities can co-exist.

TOWN CLERK

B Hollenbeck asked the board to approve the minutes for January and February.

RESOLUTION #65 – APPROVE JANUARY & FEBRUARY MINUTES

Supv Trumbull offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the minutes of January 13, 2005, and February 10, 2005.

2nd Cl Stelick

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

DISCUSSION

With respect to the signs to be provided by the Chamber of Commerce, Supv Trumbull said he’d like it to say “Welcome to Dryden, It’s All Here”. The board agreed, and Supv Trumbull will notify the Chamber.

Supv Trumbull provided the board with copies of a proposed resolution from the Association of Towns about alternate ways of funding education and asked the board members to review it for next month’s board meeting.

Cl Hattery said he and ZO Slater and Mayor Taylor had been discussing getting the 2nd parcel-based annexation proposal and the possible solutions for getting water to the current Cortland Road Sewer District. They discussed about splitting the interests partly based on responses to the meeting organized by Michael Lane and ZO Slater’s knowledge of the preferences of some of the property owners. There was bill introduced last year that didn’t get passed by the Assembly that would permit two municipalities to initiate a larger scale annexation and one of the things they discussed between themselves and with Senator Seward’s staff was the possibility of using that on a special bill basis. They talked about the potential for an annexation that took the west side of Route 13 as an annexation that would build on where the two requests for annexation have been, and creating a water district on the east side, which is largely the TC3 property and the Westerling mobile home park. He met with Mayor Taylor and Supv Trumbull and Assemblywoman Lifton today, and she seems generally favorable to that.

Cl Hattery distributed a map of his proposal and said he is making this proposal as a way of trying to get past this loggerhead and get water to the entire area. The use of the proposed special bill would include both boards agreeing that this is a good annexation and will then be voted on by the property owners.

Cl Christofferson said he had the sense that people were generally not in favor of annexation and Cl Hattery said he wasn’t at the public information meeting, but was getting feedback in favor of annexation.

Cl Stelick asked if there was annexation would every property owner have to hook up, and Cl Hattery said no. Atty Perkins said he believed the Village’s position is if you are in the Village you do hook up to water if the line runs past your property. The Town’s policy in the past for a water district has been that you are not required to utilize the water line as your water source, but you will pay the benefit assessment whether you hook up or not.

Cl Stelick said Karel Westerling has stated clearly that he has his own well and wasn’t interested in annexation, and Cl Stelick doesn’t think he would be interested in a water district either. Cl Hattery said one way or another, that side of Route 13 has to be provided service. There are users on the east side of the road and there has to be some infrastructure up there and the Village can’t do it. In the long run a district would respect Westerling’s investment and the fact that he manages his own water system and has a license, and as regulatory authority increases over small water systems, it may get too costly for him and he may want a district-based water supply. M Lane noted that both Karel Westerling and the Nortes had said they didn’t want annexation or a water district, and he found that troubling, saying that they didn’t hear from people in the trailer park about having municipal services there.

Cl Hattery said the public users on that side of the road need a solution (the ones already served by the Village water system) that can’t be accomplished under the current arrangements. The Village can’t go out there and make an investment. ZO Slater pointed out that Village believes the water line on the east side of Route 13 is in dire need, and is the most attended line they have.

Cl Michaels said he thought the business owners and residents of the trailer park would benefit in terms of having a police force close by. The business owners had indicated they wanted water service.

Cl Hattery said this idea has some possibility legislatively and asked the board to consider it and suggest any changes. He said the Town needs to move ahead in some way. Cost is an issue for infrastructure since the DOT deal is apparently stalled.

Cl Christofferson and Cl Hattery suggested a survey could be conducted of the owners and residents once cost figures have been agreed on by the municipalities.

RESOLUTION #66 – APPROVE ABSTRACT #3

Cl Stelick offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #3, as audited, vouchers #126 through #190, totaling $227,864.15.

2nd Supv Trumbull

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

Cl Hattery asked if there had been a meeting with the Village of Freeville about the Fire Fighters Length of Service Award Program. Supv Trumbull said Doug Cotterill was going to be talking with them, and Cl Hattery said it would be a good idea to have to have a board member present for that meeting.

Cl Michaels said he has spoken with Ron Flynn about hiring a consultant to work with the fire departments and he is going to get some feedback from the departments about that. Cl Michaels said he would like to get moving on that. He views it as a two-part project: figuring out exactly what it is we need, and then looking at designing a position to fill that need. He feels it is ultimately going to be a permanent position, and hopes to have the feedback by next board meeting.

Cl Hattery said he had been approached again about the agriculture group’s request to be acknowledged as a formal committee and the board should respond to them. Supv Trumbull is meeting with Ken Miller on Monday about this. Cl Michaels said he would be interested in what they have in mind, but doesn’t have strong feelings one way or another.

Cl Christofferson said TC3 now has a fiber optic cable and has the possibility of that being used by the Communication Media Arts Program. They are interested in doing some broadcasts on public channels. He said he feels that people who do not have access to the internet and computer systems are at a disadvantage, especially children trying to do work for school. He asked Time Warner to come up with a figure for what it would cost to provide Road Runner for everybody in Town and the cost was 1-2 million dollars. He has some numbers and will bring them to the next meeting. He also noted the TC3 students may want to broadcast some town meetings.

Cl Stelick said he has been working with Time Warner on the franchise agreement and they may be coming to the next board meeting.

On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the board moved into executive session at 10:15 p.m. to discuss the employment history of a particular person and matters of litigation, and reconvened at 10:45 p.m.

The Board reviewed a resolution creating civil service positions in the Town.

RESOLUTION #67 – CREATION OF POSITIONS PURSUANT TO CIVIL SERVICE LAW

Cl Stelick offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden, has been working with the Tompkins County Civil Service Agency to qualify employment positions in the Town of Dryden in accordance with applicable Civil Service laws, rules and regulations; and

WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden desires to adopt a classification plan, formally create, and appoint employees to the positions set forth below, subject to a thorough review of the competitive classification of the Recreation Coordinator, Zoning/Code & Fire Enforcement Officer, Director of Zoning and Building, and the Environmental Planner positions:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the Town of Dryden establishes the following positions in accordance with applicable New York State laws and the Civil Service Rules for Tompkins County:

1. The following positions are reaffirmed as existing positions, which positions are by statute believed by the Town to be positions in the unclassified service pursuant to Section 35 of the Civil Service Law:

1. One Town Supervisor.

2. Four Councilmen.

3. One Town Highway Superintendent.

4. One Town Clerk

5. Two Justice (part-time)

RESOLVED, that the following persons were elected or appointed to the positions noted:

1. Steven Trumbull, Town Supervisor

2. Stephen Stelick Jr., Councilman

3. Martin Christofferson, Councilman

4. Michael Hattery, Councilman

5. Christopher Michaels, Councilman

6. Bambi Hollenbeck, Town Clerk

7. Christopher Clauson, Justice

8. Joseph Valentinelli, Justice

9. Jack Bush, Town Highway Superintendent

2. The following positions are established as positions in the competitive class pursuant to Section 44 of the Civil Service Law and the Civil Service Rules for Tompkins County, subject to a thorough review of the classification of the Recreation Coordinator, Zoning/Code & Fire Enforcement Officer, Director of Zoning and Building, and the Environmental Planner:

1. One Court Clerk (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Exempt Class of Civil Service)

2. One Senior Typist

3. One Recreation Coordinator

4. Two Zoning/Code & Fire Enforcement Officers

5. One Director of Zoning and Building

6. One Administrative Services Coordinator

7. One Environmental Planner

8. Six Heavy Equipment Operators (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Non-competitive Class of Civil Service)

RESOLVED, that the following persons are appointed provisionally to these competitive class positions subject to examination pursuant to applicable civil service laws or pending jurisdictional classification to remove them from the competitive class as designated:

1. Deborah Gallagher, Court Clerk (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Exempt Class of civil service)

2. Dianna Applegate, Senior Typist

3. Jennifer Staton, Recreation Coordinator

4. Henry Slater, Zoning/Code & Fire Enforcement Officer

5. Kevin Ezell, Zoning/Code & Fire Enforcement Officer

6. Deborah Gross, Environmental Planner

7. Stephen Card, Heavy Equipment Operator (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Non-competitive Class of civil service)

8. Donald Lawson, Heavy Equipment Operator (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Non-competitive Class of civil service)

9. Charles McDaniels, Heavy Equipment Operator (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Non-competitive Class of civil service)

10. Jon Sinnigen, Heavy Equipment Operator (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Non-competitive Class of civil service)

11. James Smiley, Heavy Equipment Operator (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Non-competitive Class of civil service)

12. Samuel Sweeny, Heavy Equipment Operator (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Non-competitive Class of civil service)

3. The following positions are established and believed to be in the non-competitive class pursuant to Section 42 of the Civil Service Law and the Civil Service Rules for Tompkins County:

1. Six Motor Equipment Operators

2. Eighteen Seasonal Workers

3. Two Working Supervisors

4. One Maintenance Worker

5. Three Typists (part-time)

6. One Court Attendant (part-time)

7. Four Project Assistants

RESOLVED, that the following persons be appointed to the non-competitive class positions noted:

1. Barbara Gera, Typist (part-time)

2. Louis Crandall, Court Attendant (part-time)

3. Kelly Ashworth, Project Assistant

4. Stephen Bell, Project Assistant

5. Lawrence Carpenter, Working Supervisor

6. James Connors, Working Supervisor

7. Brian Hollenbeck, Motor Equipment Operator

8. Melvin Keech, Maintenance Worker

9. Jason O’Brien, Motor Equipment Operator

10. Colin Rockwell, Motor Equipment Operator

11. Larry Sponaugle, Motor Equipment Operator

4. The following positions are established and believed to be in the labor class pursuant to Section 43 of the Civil Service Law and the Civil Service Rules for Tompkins County:

1. Two Laborers

2. One Cleaner

RESOLVED, that the following persons be appointed to the Labor Class positions noted:

1. David Griffin, Laborer

2. George Moore, Laborer

5. The following positions are established and believed to be in the exempt class pursuant to Section 41 of the Civil Service Law and the Civil Service Rules for Tompkins County:

1. Two Deputy Town Clerks

2. One Bookkeeper to the Supervisor

3. One Deputy Town Highway Superintendent

4. One Secretary to the Town Highway Superintendent (Pending jurisdictional classification to the Exempt Class of civil service)

5. Two Court Clerk’s **

**There are currently two Court Clerks in the Town of Dryden, one position is already established as an exempt class position. The Tompkins County Personnel Office is petitioning the State for authorization for the Town of Dryden to have two Court Clerks in the exempt class. Until that position is approved, the second Court Clerk will be listed in the competitive class pursuant to Section 44 of the Civil Service Law.

RESOLVED, that the following persons be appointed to the Exempt Class positions noted:

1. Wanita Baldwin, Deputy Town Clerk

2. Kristin Strickland, Deputy Town Clerk

3. Dawn Bogdan, Bookkeeper to the Supervisor

4. Randy Riker, Deputy Town Highway Superintendent

5. Debra Smiley, Court Clerk

and it is further

RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk and other Town officers are requested and directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Tompkins County Personnel Office for processing by said office to obtain certification of the positions as set forth; and it is further

RESOLVED, that the Town Supervisor, Town Clerk, and Attorney for the Town are hereby authorized, requested, and directed to take such further actions and to prepare and deliver such other documents as may be necessary in order to obtain and maintain appropriate Civil Service certification for the positions set forth above and any such additional positions that may be created in the future.

2nd Cl Hattery

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

RESOLUTION #68 – AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SUBMIT BID ON GOLF COURSE

Cl Stelick offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:

RESOLVED, that the Town Supervisor is authorized to submit a bid under certain conditions for the property identified as the former Dryden Lake Golf Club at the foreclosure sale to be held March 11, 2005.

2nd Cl Hattery

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson No

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

Cl Hattery noted that the board had previously made a negative declaration after reviewing an environmental assessment form related solely to the acquisition and not for a change of use.

On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Bambi L. Hollenbeck

Town Clerk