Minutes of May 12, 2005

TOWN OF DRYDEN

TOWN BOARD MEETING
May 12, 2005

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

Christofferson, Cl Christopher Michaels, Cl Michael Hattery

Other Town Staff: Mahlon R. Perkins, Town Attorney

Henry Slater, Zoning Officer

Dave Putnam, TG Miller Engineers

Kristin Strickland, Deputy Town Clerk

Supv Trumbull opened the meeting at 7:10 p.m. and led board members and guests in the pledge of allegiance.

Ron Flynn, Dryden Fire Department Chief, introduced the Town’s fire chiefs’ group: Les Gifford representing the McLean Fire Department, Natan Huffmann, Chief of the Varna Fire Department, Clayton Bronson, director of Emergency Services and ambulance service for Dryden Ambulance, Inc., Jeff Surrine, Assistant Chief, and Andy Down, Deputy Chief, of the Freeville Fire Department, Tom Lobdell, Chief of the Etna Fire Department, and Brent Hollister, Chief of the Freeville Fire Department.

R Flynn said that at the request of Cl Stelick the Chiefs Group was present to provide a little history as to the emergency services in the Town of Dryden and to address and offer their opinion on the proposed emergency services’ consultant position. He said that in the past attempts by the group to meet on a regular basis, but for whatever reason the meetings stopped and ceased to exist. The interaction among the Town’s departments unfortunately only then occurred under the stress levels associated with a serious call. Approximately five years ago the chiefs once again started meeting in attempts to address the common issues that plague each volunteer department in the Town. Their meetings have dramatically evolved in five years and they now have agendas, take notes and they have constant representation from Dryden Ambulance, Inc. and the Town Board.

They have made great strides in addressing some of the major and common issues such as the declining number of volunteers available to answer calls, emergency medical services, OSHA requirements, standardization of training and certifications, just to name a few. Though they expect that declining numbers of volunteers will continue to be a problem, they have collectively worked out automatic mutual aid programs and policies to share resources between departments. To address the emergency medical services tiered response issues through the collaborative effort and leadership coming from Dryden Ambulance, Inc., the Town Board and the Town Chief’s group and by the reallocation of resources, Dryden Ambulance, Inc. implemented the med-car program to expedite the delivery of pre-hospital care to community members at no additional cost to the taxpayers. In addressing the OSHA requirements specifically relating to the ability to wear self-contained breathing apparatus, each department has agreed to use the occu-med group where two or three times a year they visit the departments in the town to conduct physicals that meet minimum OSHA requirements. Standardization of training and certifications has been accomplished through the chiefs’ meetings and they have certified in excess of 50 firefighters for each of the past two years.

In attempts to meeting the expectations of the Town Board relating to cost savings, the departments have adopted a basic turn-out gear spec, and by doing so now have the ability to buy direct from the manufacturer at factory discount prices.

R Flynn said the chiefs’ group has shown that it has the capability of dealing with the issues and they have a wide range of knowledge, expertise and total experience of over 350 years of emergency service to the communities. Now that there is an open line of communication between the town board, each department and agency, together they can attempt to overcome the issues. Collectively, they are not in favor of the town hiring an emergency service consultant and feel they are the town’s consultant. He said together they can continue to maximize the utilization of resources, create and implement critically overdue programs such as the proposed recruitment and retention program necessary to combat the declining number of volunteers. They can insure that as the town grows, so will emergency services. He said they have come a long way over the past five years by working together and by doing so have become the envy of other departments because of their accomplishments.

R Flynn said because the emergency services line item in the town budget is the second largest item in the budget, a representative from one of the departments will be present at each board meeting to give a briefing what they are working on. He said in the past they have only come to the board when they have a problem, and they don’t believe that is the way the relationship should work.

Dryden Village Mayor Reba Taylor said they replaced the fire siren this morning and it is back on top of the Village Hall and should be operational by the first of next week.

Cl Michaels thanked the chiefs group for attending and said he takes their request very seriously. He is impressed with how well the joint meetings are going and how effective they have been. He said a few things they would look to a consultant to provide that were not mentioned was a joint analysis of the budget. The board receives a variety of budget formats. There is a concern on the board’s side whether they have the right amount of equipment and whether it is allocated correctly throughout the town. He said as they have educated themselves and as it has been explained to him, when there is an event, there is always going to be a mutual response from a number of departments and multiple tankers will be necessary. He said part of what they were looking for from a consultant was some feedback and an opinion as to how to best allocate equipment throughout the town and where funding should be directed. He said they might be a difficult area for the chiefs to tackle and might create some contentiousness in the group, especially in a group that is already working very well together, but if they are willing to do that at no cost to the taxpayer, that is pretty hard to ignore. They were also going to look to the consultant to provide any recommendations with respect to future equipment, what they should be budgeting for, etc. Some of that has come out of other discussions such as communications equipment and he said they have already had a decent amount of success.

R Flynn said one thing the town board, as well as the chiefs group, need to realize is that apparatus purchased with taxpayer funds can be used throughout the town.

Cl Stelick asked C Bronson for an update on how the system for responding to calls in Etna is working. He said from his perspective and the feedback he has received, the program has been well received and responses are prompt.

N Huffmann said he has been very happy with the program. It has not been without its problems, but those are at the county dispatch level, not within the responding people. When they are dispatched they respond and you very seldom hear a second activation for the Etna district. He said they are willing and capable of putting qualified, trained people on the scenes quickly. Cl Stelick commended all involved in that process. R Flynn thanked Cl Stelick and the rest of the board for opening the lines of communication and working with the group.

Sharon Todd of SUNY Cortland (Associate Professor & Acting Chair of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies) and member of the Town of Dryden Recreation Commission, presented preliminary results of a survey prepared as a class project, for the Recreation Commission. She said in talking with the Commission they realized that for the most part they had a pretty good start in terms of youth programming, so they thought they could help fill a gap by focusing on older adults in the community. What their study tried to do was gather views and perceptions of the residents of the Town regarding recreation, park and leisure opportunities offered by the recreation commission. They tried to focus on patterns of recreation participation by adults, park and rec facilities used, and methods of communication.

The easiest way to do this cost-wise was a phone survey and based on the population of the town they decided 375 was a good representative sample and used the voter registration list, calling every 6th number on that list. They also conducted two focus groups. 18 students spent evenings and weekends making phone calls. S Todd reviewed the results of the survey for the board (copy attached). She will work on more extensive written report this summer and provide it to the Recreation Commission.

Cl Stelick said this information will be very useful. Cl Michaels said he would be interested in seeing the information sorted by voter district. Cl Stelick said the survey reinforces a lot of what is already known.

Cortland Road Sewer District

Dryden Village Mayor Reba Taylor provided the board with a memo showing what the Village has expended so far on engineering costs, etc for the Cortland Road Sewer District and the new sewer plant. The contract for providing sewer service has expired and she explained the savings due to a change in the billing process for the residents of the district ($64,858). The Village did this in good faith because there would be a contract with the Town forthcoming. The savings realized could have been invested in the plant. The gentlemen’s agreement previously in place expired last November and the Village has continued assuming a good faith effort on the part of the Town. They no longer feel they have a good faith effort, and are contemplating reverting to the old method of billing. She distributed a list of expenses incurred by the Village for the Cortland Road project (part for the actual wastewater facility and part for the improvements to the lines, interceptor lines, etc). At one point when they looked at the engineering, TC3 was a driving force for installing an interceptor line and they are hoping that TC3 will want to contribute to the project. She understands that TC3 has been doing a lot to try and conserve and have taken steps to install new toilets, etc.

Mayor Taylor asked the Town Board if it wished to continue with these efforts and if they could set up a working committee for the process and get a contract in place. She noted that they missed last year’s bid process and have now gone from a 3.6 million-dollar plant to a 4.8 million-dollar plant because of increased costs. They want to be ready to go to bid this year and need to have a contract in place for the Cortland Road Sewer District.

Cl Michaels said one piece of information missing previously was what specifically needed to be done and that was largely influenced by the correction of infiltration problem at TC3. He believes reduction of the infiltration would reduce the cost of the repairs to the plant. He said we are just getting to the point of being able to do the analysis of what needs to be done.

Mayor Taylor said there is an open-ended moratorium in place until the sewer plant work can be done because it is currently operating at maximum capacity. If TC3 wants to build a dorm or new athletic facility, the Village can’t handle the increase, though they are trying to cut down on their current discharge. It is more a question of how the repairs will be paid for because interceptor lines will need to be installed due to TC3’s usage. Currently when there is a heavy rain they are knocked off line and can be fined by DEC, though the problem may not be of the Village’s making. Fines range from $5,000 to $10,000 a day.

Cl Hattery said the previous engineering numbers on the demand from the district didn’t include inflow and infiltration. They are based on water usage and so they underestimate current inflow from the district. He said he thought two members from each board could get together and ask the attorneys to work on the agreement, with the board members telling the attorneys how they want the agreement structured. Mayor Taylor noted the agreement is between the boards and the attorneys should prepare it as directed. They have a rough draft they can begin with.

Mayor Taylor invited the board for a tour of the sewer plant. It would probably be around 7:00 a.m. The board asked her to set it up and let them know the date.

Cl Christofferson asked about the moratorium on the sewer district and why it only applied to the Cortland Road Sewer District. Mayor Taylor said they didn’t have a lot of new development going on in the Village, but now they will proceed no matter what because they have two developers that have fairly large developments planned. The Cortland Road Sewer District contract needs to be in place in order for them to proceed.

Supv Trumbull and Cl Michaels will be the representatives from the Town Board and Supv Trumbull will meet with Atty Perkins soon.

Mayor Taylor also distributed information to board members about providing water to the Cortland Road Sewer District. The expense is projected at $431,000. She asked the Board to have the Town engineers review it.

CITIZENS PRIVILEGE

Simon St Laurent said there had previously been talk of increasing the Supervisor’s salary prior to election time and wondered if the board was going to do that. Cl Hattery said they had talked of splitting the Supervisor’s salary with an administrative piece with the idea that there may be other people that can handle the administrative duties. Cl Christofferson said they will probably deal with that during budget season.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT/DPW

No report.

COUNTY BRIEFING

Martha Robertson said Mike Lane is not present tonight because he is attending an employees’ dinner. The County Legislature will be considering a resolution to encourage the state to allow municipalities to initiate annexation.

The County will be holding a public hearing on three real property exemptions. The first has to do with an exemption for renovations made to accommodate persons with disabilities. Cl Michaels said he feels this will be a nightmare to administer and frustrate the people trying to benefit from it. He said those most likely to be aware of it are probably the people who need it the least. M Robertson said the Assessment Department thought it would be of value, and other Counties have similar exemptions. The exemption would only apply so long as the person with disabilities lives in the residence.

The second exemption would provide that certain unreimbursed medical and prescription drug expenses would be excluded from income in determining senior citizens tax exemptions.

The third exemption would apply to historic barns.

Cl Michaels said he has asked Claire Marcino, director of the Ithaca Community Child Care, to contact M Robertson and he would like the three of them to meet to talk about a park and ride lot there. There is already a bus stop there and it is right across the road from Warren Road Apartments, close to schools and BOCES, and the tech park. He said there is some land owned by Cornell there, and all of the reasons identified for having a park and ride lot are there. M Robertson said the results of the survey that Cornell is doing of all its employees about their commuting pattern should be analyzed and available in the next month or so.

ENGINEERING

D Putnam told the board he is obtaining proposals for delineating the wetlands on the property recently purchased. He is getting them from Barton & Loguidice, T.E.S., and from the company that did the wetland mapping for Empire Livestock. They will go with the lowest net price.

RESOLUTION #85 – AUTHORIZE WETLAND MAPPING

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

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes TG Miller Engineers & Surveyors to obtain wetland delineation mapping services, using the lowest net price from 3 proposals.

2nd Supv Trumbull

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

RECREATION DEPARTMENT

Jennifer Staton would like to hire summer help using funds in her budget. She has interviewed and selected Elizabeth Brunelle and Trevor French. They will assist with events such as Music in the Park concerts and Dairy Days, a summer basketball league, travel baseball and softball, etc. and be available during the two weeks J Staton will be away this summer.

RESOLUTION #86 – SEASONAL PART-TIME RECREATION PERSONNEL

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

Whereas a part time position was made available with the adoption of the 2005 recreation budget, and

Whereas the two individuals listed below have interviewed with the Recreation Coordinator as well as submitted applications for employment, and

Whereas seasonal help will be needed for the Summer of 2005,

Applicant name:

Elizabeth Brunelle

Trevor French

Now, therefore be it resolved that:

The above mentioned individuals will begin working for the Town of Dryden Recreation Department beginning June 1 and ending September 1, 2005, at a rate of $9.00 per hour.

Both have colleges degrees (Cornell and SUNY Cortland) in the recreation field.

Both would work no more than 20 hours a week.

2nd Cl Michaels

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

RESOLUTION #87 – AUTHORIZE PERFORMER AGREEMENTS

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

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Town Supervisor to execute the performer agreements for the Music in the Park concert series.

2nd Cl Stelick

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

The Burns Sisters will be the first concert of the season, and J Staton said she would like to have some sort of celebration to kick off the series. Posters will be going up to advertise the concert series.

ATTORNEY

Atty Perkins previously provided the board with a proposed resolution abandoning a portion of Sapsucker Woods Road and explained this would complete the Town’s obligations under the agreement with Cornell University.

RESOLUTION #88 – ABANDONMENT OF A PORTION OF

SAPSUCKER WOODS ROAD

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

WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden (Town) and Cornell University (Cornell) entered into a certain Agreement dated July 10, 2001, which Agreement recited certain obligations of each party involving the construction of a new road by Cornell, the conveyance of such new road to the Town, the payment by Cornell of certain expenses of the Town in connection with the project, and following the conveyance by Cornell to the Town, the agreement by the Town to consider abandoning a portion of Sapsucker Woods Road pursuant to Highway Law 212-a, and

WHEREAS, Cornell has executed and delivered to the Town a good and sufficient Bargain and Sale Deed with Lien Covenant conveying to the Town a new road running from the Village of Lansing line easterly, southerly and westerly to the existing Sapsucker Woods Road as more particularly described in said Deed and depicted as Parcels A and B on a map of survey entitled “Survey Map Showing Lands to be Conveyed by Cornell University to the Town of Dryden Located on Sapsucker Woods Road, Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York,” dated May 31, 2001 and made by T. G. Miller P.C. Engineers and Surveyors, and

WHEREAS, Cornell has performed its agreements and paid its financial obligations under the aforesaid Agreement, and

WHEREAS, on February 20, 2001 the County Superintendent of Highways consented to the abandonment by the Town of Parcels C and D shown on the aforesaid map, and

WHEREAS, on July 10, 2001 the Town Superintendent of Highways recommended to the Town Board that Parcels C and D shown on the aforesaid map be abandoned, and

WHEREAS, Cornell owns the property on both sides of Parcels C and D and also owns the property on both sides of Parcels A and B shown on the aforesaid map, and

WHEREAS, after the conveyance to the Town of Parcels A and B, the section of Sapsucker Woods Road as it existed before the improvement (Parcels C and D) is of no further use for highway purposes, now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED as follows:

1. This resolution is adopted pursuant to Highway Law 212-a.

2. The Town of Dryden hereby abandons to Cornell University those parts of the old Sapsucker Woods Road depicted as Parcels C and D on the map of survey referred to in the preamble of this resolution, said parcels being of no further use for highway purposes.

3. The Supervisor of the Town is hereby authorized to execute and acknowledge in the name of the Town and to affix the seal of the Town to a quit-claim deed to the lands so abandoned and to deliver the same to Cornell University.

4. The Supervisor of the Town is also authorized to execute and deliver such other documents as may be necessary, convenient or required to complete such transaction.

5. The adoption of this resolution shall be an immediate abandonment and discontinuance of the use for highway and street purposes of said Parcels C

and D.

2nd Supv Trumbull

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

Atty Perkins said he had on the agenda a resolution to approve the construction of an addition to the highway garage. That resolution would be subject to a permissive referendum. They have not received the actual figures for construction, so that resolution will be presented next month.

Proposed Findings, Resolution and Order on the annexation application of Dryden Mutual were sent to the board by Atty Perkins. Atty Perkins said that after reviewing the record, this is what he thought the record supported. He asked that the board review and edit it. A memorandum was also sent to the board regarding the Simonet annexation hearing scheduled for next week.

Atty Perkins previously provided the board with a copy of a proposed agreement with the Community Science Institute for the continuation of the volunteer monitoring program for Six Mile Creek.

RESOLUTION #89 – AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN AGREEMENT -

SIX MILE CREEK MONITORING

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

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Supervisor to execute an agreement with the Community Science Institute for volunteer monitoring of Six Mile Creek.

2nd Cl Hattery

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

ZONING OFFICER

ZO Slater said Jeff Kirby, the Town’s telecommunications consultant was present, and the board had previously been provided with a copy of his review of the Town’s current telecommunications law.

J Kirby said he had reviewed the town’s ordinance in light of his experience with other ordinances and municipalities across the state and with his familiarity with the trends in the industry and what types of applications he is seeing and involved in in other municipalities, and how those issues are being addressed. His comments were not geared toward making the process simpler or more difficult to facilitate or discourage any particular types of applications. They are simply preliminary comments to initiate dialog so the board can begin to decide how to move forward with updating the ordinance. He said some of his comments are fairly straight forward and others are more substantial and may need some discussion.

Cl Christofferson said he felt our local law was more complex than it needs to be and could probably be streamlined while still protecting the Town. J Kirby said it is longer than the majority of similar laws in other municipalities, but he doesn’t find it to be more complex though it may appear that way because of the way that it is organized. The telecommunication committee consisting of Cl Christofferson, Debbie Gross and ZO Slater will meet with J Kirby to discuss the proposed changes.

J Kirby reviewed some of his major points including:

· Considering private use/co-location on structures currently only used for emergency services.

· Amending the way a carrier can change the type/size/frequency of antennae and making that process easier.

· Instead of encouraging applicants to build to their minimum requirements for present use, investigating what opportunities there may be for something better.

· Giving consideration to specifically permitting certain types of structures.

ZO Slater said during the April meeting there was a discussion about electrical inspectors in the Town and he has reviewed what currently occurs in the Town. In general the Town Board authorizes electrical inspector by resolution and most recently authorized Atlantic Inland, New York Board of Fire Underwriters and Commonwealth Electrical Inspection Agency to conduct electrical inspections. ZO Slater said he has discussed this with Floyd Ferris of Commonwealth and also talked to Atlantic Inland about hiring practices and liability coverage. He has received a certificate of insurance from Atlantic Inland that names the Town of Dryden as a protected party. New York Board of Fire Underwriters has a training program, but we don’t know the value of that particular program. He has also learned that Atlantic Inland has started an in-house training program. The current local law has been unchanged since 1981 and is probably something the Town should review.

The City of Ithaca employs its own electrical inspector and the Towns of Lansing and Groton and the Village of Lansing have collectively hired an individual to do their inspections. The person working for Lansing and Groton would be interested in also working for the Town and is certified. ZO Slater estimates it would cost approximately $12,000 annually and a fee would be collected from applicants for the inspection service. The board asked ZO Slater to collect more information on the potential cost of providing this service.

Atty Perkins said the reason the Town originally had a choice of inspectors was that some builders work better with certain inspectors and the more you narrow the choice of qualified people the more potential there is for disputes about whether the code was met. The original purpose was to keep it competitive while offering a choice of qualified providers. ZO Slater it was suggested that there are some people who will keep finding another inspector until they find one that passes what they want to present. He said he’s always felt that the Town had a good handle on this. Cl Christofferson asked him to discuss it with Atty Perkins, taking into consideration the potential cost of contracting with someone for this service and what kind of liability coverage they should have. Cl Michaels said he would work with Atty Perkins and ZO Slater on this.

ZO Slater said on April 22 the Planning Board by vote recommended the Comprehensive Plan to the Town Board, and according to legislation, the Town Board then has 90 days to act. However, the plan has now been amended. Cl Christofferson said before he is ready to act, he would like a final copy of the plan. The County needs to review it under General Municipal Law. Atty Perkins said because the plan was changed, the Planning Board should rescind its previous resolution and when a final document is in place, they need to pass another resolution. The nature of the changes made will dictate whether another public hearing is necessary.

Virgil Creek instream work resumes next Monday, with a plan to complete work by July first.

ZO Slater took care of agenda items for Environmental Planner Debbie Gross, who was unable to attend the meeting. She had previously provided the board with a copy of the town’s second annual Storm Water Management Plan report that needs to be filed by June l. The plan was presented at the Conservation Board meeting on Tuesday. ZO Slater explained that stormwater management is a concept that was originated by the Environmental Protection Agency in the early 90’s and has been phased into activity over time. The final phase began in February 2003, and the whole idea is to protect water assets. The Town assumed a role as an MS4 community (small municipal storm sewer) which is based on population density and the Town exceeds that density in the Varna area. Each year an annual report must be filed by the Town detailing the progress it has made in implementing the plan previously filed and what activities are planned for next year. D Gross is now working on a draft of local legislation relative to stormwater management and will presenting it to the board in the near future.

RESOLUTION #90 – APPROVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN ANNUAL REPORT

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

Whereas the Town of Dryden was required by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to apply for a SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewers (MS4s), Permit No. GP-02-02, and

Whereas Dryden completed a Notice of Intent (NOI) and Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) in order to apply for this permit by March 10, 2003, and

Whereas this Permit was approved by DEC and Dryden was given SPDES Number NYR20A231 and has until January 8, 2008 to fully implement its Storm Water Management Plan, and

Whereas DEC requires the Town of Dryden to submit Storm Water Management Plan Annual Reports by June 1 of each year, which assess progress for each year of permit activity, outline plans for next year, and incorporate public comment, and

Whereas the first annual report was duly submitted by June 1, 2004, and

Whereas a public presentation and opportunity for public comment on the second annual report was properly noticed and held at the May 10, 2005 meeting of the Dryden Conservation Board, and

Whereas all public comments received will be incorporated into the Second Annual Report before submission to the DEC, and

Whereas the report includes a Municipal Compliance Certification Form, which must be signed by “a principal executive officer or ranking elected official, or duly authorized representative of that person as described in Part VI.I.2. of the permit”,

Now, therefore, be it resolved that:

1. The Town Board of Dryden accepts this Stormwater Management Plan Annual Report, upon condition that all public comments discussed at the May 10 public meeting, at this May 12 Board Meeting, or submitted by May 20, 2005 are incorporated into the final report, and

2. The Town Board of Dryden authorizes the Town Supervisor, Steven Trumbull, to sign the Municipal Compliance Certification and submit the report to DEC by June 1, 2005.

2nd Cl Hattery

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

There is an opportunity to have outfall mapping done via a grant the Town of Ithaca has obtained. This mapping is necessary in connection with the SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewers (MS4s).

RESOLUTION #91 – ACCEPT SERVICES OF TOWN OF ITHACA FOR OUTFALL MAPPING

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

Whereas the Town of Dryden was required by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to apply for a SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewers (MS4s), Permit No. GP-02-02, and

Whereas Dryden completed a Notice of Intent (NOI) and Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) in order to apply for this permit by March 10, 2003, and

Whereas this Permit was approved by DEC and Dryden was given SPDES Number NYR20A231 and has until January 8, 2008 to fully implement its Storm Water Management Plan, and

Whereas the MS4 Permit requires permittees to develop a map of their MS4 area that shows, at a minimum, the location of all outfalls and the names and locations of all waters of the United States and other MS4s that receive discharges from those outfalls, and

Whereas the DEC has developed technical guidance for the required mapping, and

Whereas the Tompkins County Stormwater Working Group has received funding to assist municipalities in meeting the mapping requirements, and

Whereas the Town of Ithaca has developed a specific mapping protocol and hired field staff to conduct the inventory and is offering to extend this service to other municipalities, and

Whereas the Tompkins County Planning Department will enter the data into a map for the Ithaca-Tompkins County MS4 area, and

Whereas these services are funded by grant monies administered by the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District for the Stormwater Working Group,

Now, therefore, be it resolved that:

1. The Dryden Town Board accepts this offer of services by the Town of Ithaca and Tompkins County for outfall mapping, and

2. The Dryden Town Board authorizes the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District to reimburse the Town of Ithaca and Tompkins County through the grant monies for outfall mapping work done in the Town of Dryden MS4 areas.

3. The Dryden Town Board requests notification to the Dryden Environmental Planner prior to outfall mapping activities in the Town of Dryden, and the opportunity for Dryden staff to review the mapping protocol.

2nd Cl Hattery

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

ZO Slater reported in-service training sessions for the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals will in June. The plan is to provide 3 hours in-service training per year. ZO Slater said he and D Gross were going to head up the training, but since Debbie is going to be moving to India, he will be doing it largely by himself. If he should find an area where he is not comfortable with a subject, he will seek assistance. Trainings will probably be conducted on regular meeting nights as agendas permit.

DISCUSSION

Supv Trumbull received a letter from Carol McTague, Sr Municipal Consultant, Office of Telecommunications, of the NYS Department of Public Service. She has reviewed the proposed Time Warner Cable franchise agreement and makes certain recommendations with respect to that proposal. The board agrees with her recommendations and Supv Trumbull will ask Time Warner to modify the franchise agreement based on her recommendations, with a three year term, and forward it for review.

The board discussed the proposal to trade court security services for zoning/code enforcement services. There would be a reduction in the general fund revenues and the board feels the court budget should be reduced by the amount allocated for court security. Supv Trumbull noted that the current court security person may be called on for service for jury trials. The board asked Atty Perkins to draft a contract with the Village to trade services on a trial basis through the end of the fiscal year.

There is a voucher submitted by the court to reimburse a justice for expenses and there was some question about what should be reimbursed. The voucher was removed from the abstract and the board asked that the bookkeeper draft a policy addressing reimbursable expenses.

Cl Stelick said he has spoken with the Highway Superintendent and the Fire Department regarding a fuel contract. The Fire Department would like a clause providing for notice prior to cancellation. The board agreed to a 30 or 60 days notice and Cl Stelick will relay that to the department.

Cl Michaels suggested that the town’s community centers be contacted to see if there is any work to be done at the centers that could be done by the Youth Conservation Corps this summer. Cl Stelick said he is working on that, but has had problems getting feedback from a few.

RESOLUTION #92 – APPROVE ABSTRACT #5

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

RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #5, as audited, vouchers #276 through #353, excepting #354, totaling $248,575.88.

2nd Cl Christofferson

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

Cl Stelick asked whether anyone had received the proposed changes to the employee policy his wife had worked on. Cl Christofferson said he would take it to the personnel committee for their comments, bring it back to the board, and then forward it to the town attorney.

Atty Perkins said he had a matter for executive session involving union contract negotiations.

The last day for the board to act on the Dryden Mutual annexation petition is May 31. If the board doesn’t want to meet prior to then and adopt the proposed findings, it will be approved by default. Cl Christofferson asked whether Dryden Mutual’s position has changed. If DOT is not going in and the cost of bringing water to their site will be their responsibility, they may not want to do this. Atty Perkins said he hasn’t heard anything since the hearing. Cl Hattery said he had talked with Carl Ford, DOT Regional Director, in early May and he said the reason DOT had been partnering with Tompkins County was so that the building could be built by a third party and they were hoping to circumvent some state requirements by buying a turn-key building from a third party. There was a legal opinion that if they had a third party do it, they would still have to meet the same requirements. Cl Hattery said he believes the option has expired, but DOT is still interested in the site, though their process will be slower. Cl Christofferson said he is in favor of it as long as Dryden Mutual is aware of the situation and still wants to move forward.

Atty Perkins said the board has three choices. They can not do anything tonight and ask Dryden Mutual if they want to withdraw their petition. They can approve it tonight. Or they can do nothing, in which case on the 31st it will go through by default. If Dryden Mutual wants to withdraw, the board can call a special meeting. Supv Trumbull will contact Dryden Mutual to see if they are still interested in annexation.

Atty Perkins said that apparently the biggest problem with the Simonet petition is the assessment certification. He suggested that Simonet have the certificate corrected prior to the hearing next week, and Atty Perkins will contact him.

Cl Christofferson said with Debbie Gross leaving it is a good time to look at that position and decide whether any changes need to be made. He asked whether a full time position was necessary, or whether the Town should hire a consultant on an as-needed basis. Cl Michaels said he believes the town needs someone on staff. He was on the board when the Town didn’t have this position and it has proved valuable.

Cl Stelick noted the Town is now part of Civil Service, which requires things to be done in a different manner. There may be a hiring list to review and the Town will need to go through Tompkins County. They have applied to make this position exempt. Cl Stelick asked Supv Trumbull to find out if there is a list in Tompkins County for this position. If not, the Town can hire a replacement on a provisional basis, and they will take the test when it is next offered. If there isn’t a list the Town can collect applications, then forward them to the County.

Cl Hattery said he had no objections to hiring someone they call a planner that is largely focused on environmental planning as opposed to having an environmental planner, and D Gross has said it was her understanding that was more in line with the current job titles that exist now in Tompkins County.

On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the board moved into executive session at 9:49 p.m. to discuss collective bargaining negotiations. The board came back to regular session at 9:56 p.m.

RESOLUTION #93 – AMEND RESOLUTION #83 (APPROVAL OF CONTRACT WITH THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS FOR SOUTHERN CAYUGA LAKE INTERMUNICIPAL WATER COMMISSION EMPLOYEES)

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

WHEREAS, the majority of the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission’s (Commission) non-managerial employees in the Production and Distribution Departments voted affirmatively on January 31, 2001 to be represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers for the purposes of collective bargaining; and

WHEREAS, the Commission, in good faith, entered into contract negotiations with the union for a successor contract to the original contract that expired on December 31, 2004; and

WHEREAS, on December 9, 2004, the Commission’s negotiating team reached tentative agreement on a contract with the union’s negotiating team; and

WHEREAS, on December 15, 2004, the employees in the union bargaining unit ratified the tentative contract; and

WHEREAS, the Commission has reviewed and approved the tentative contract; and

WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden Board has reviewed the tentative contract and determined it to be acceptable;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, the Town Board of the Town of Dryden does hereby approve the tentative contract; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the Town Board authorizes the Town of Ithaca Town Board or the Town of Ithaca Supervisor as agent for the Commission to sign said contract as presented, or in the alternative the Town Supervisor of the Town of Dryden is authorized to sign said contract as presented, provided similar authorizations are received from the other member municipalities.

2nd Cl Christofferson

Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes

Cl Christofferson Yes

Supv Trumbull Yes

Cl Michaels Yes

Cl Hattery Yes

On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 9:56 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristin Strickland

Deputy Town Clerk