HAGUE TOWN BOARD

Audit & Regular Meeting

September 8, 2009

Members present:        Dan Belden, Dick Gladu, Mark Martucci and Rudy Meola. Edna Frasier was absent.

The audit meeting was opened at 6 pm.

Supervisor Dan Belden called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 pm at the Community Center.

A moment of silence was held for Audrey O’Brien, Art Chalmers and Carmela Defelice.

Mark Martucci made and Dick Gladu seconded a motion to pay the General and Highway Claims.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.

Rudy Meola made and Dick Gladu seconded a motion to accept the minutes of both the August 11, 2009 Special Meeting and the August 11, 2009 Regular Meeting.  Dick Gladu noted a correction under Assessor & Justice for the Regular Meeting.  In the phrase “Dick Gladu reported meeting with Dave Rosebrook...” the word “meeting” should be deleted and replaced by “having a phone conversation” so the sentence should read “Dick Gladu reported having a phone conversation with Dave Rosebrook,”  All voted yes with correction as noted.  Motion passed.

Councilman Meola reviewed an issue concerning Sewer District #2 from the August meeting.  He said that he had voted for the motion to hire a company to remove hazardous material but that it had just been presented to them at that meeting and he did not have sufficient time to review it.  He now asked who gave authority for AP Reale to remove the hazardous material from the site and take it up to the landfill area which is Town property.  Supervisor Belden said that they dug it up from the original DOT property and removed it to their staging area on the Darrin property.  The DEC became involved and said they would have to move it.  So AP Realer took it up to the transfer station. Belden said he did not authorize it and did not know who did. Town Attorney Viscardi will contact the Realest and find out the story. Meola also felt that something should be done to make the DOT responsible for part of the cost but Supervisor Belden said that they would not do it when a similar situation occurred with Sewer District #1.

Supervisor Belden thanked Judy Stock for filling in to take minutes.

Committee Reports:

Assessor & Justice - Councilman Gladu reported that the Town Justice has submitted her reports on time.  As to a re-evaluation project, he reported that the time frame is not good for 2010 and also should have a bigger data base.  The recommendation from Dave Martucci, Sole Assessor, is to put off a re-evaluation until 2012.  Councilman Meola noted that since he had received the report just today that it should be put on hold for next month.

     Dick Gladu made and Mark Martucci seconded a motion to accept the recommendation of the assessor to put off a revaluation until 2012 with a check point to review the data base on sales to see if there is sufficient data for 2011. The motion passed 3 - 1.

Ayes: Belden, Gladu, Martucci

Nay: Meola

Councilman Gladu also reported that Assessor Martucci is finishing up his credits for certification.

Buildings & Grounds/Enhancement - Councilman Martucci reported that he has the

specs for the porch and read the proposal.   He also reported that Board member Frasier had met with Jerry about the veterans memorial.  They will do the fence work first and the building later.

Councilman Gladu suggested that in the upcoming budget discussions they consider a building cleaning contract for next year.  He also suggested that they get all 4 buildings tested by the same person with one methodology so that it is done in line with what the DOH is requesting.    He recommends that Tim Costello be that person and that it be addressed in the 2010 budget discussions.

 Finance & Insurance - Councilman Martucci said they will be meeting with the

insurance people.  Sewer District #1 continues to have shortfalls which will have to be addressed at budget time.  On a question from Councilman Meola, the Supervisor indicated that the cards have gone out for direct deposit for 6 employees involving 4 banks.

Councilman Gladu suggested that they consider several policy decisions during this budget cycle and have them quantified.   Are we going to ask for co pay? Will the town handle it all?  What policy will we have to deal with insurance increases?

Councilman Meola concurred that policy should be in place before budget decisions.

The Supervisor said he will set up a workshop meeting.

 Fire Department - Councilman Gladu said he would like to meet with Councilman

Martucci and Ray Mury of the HVFD to discuss the budget and he would like a 2 - 3 year plan. 

 Highway -  Superintendent of Highways Don Smith reported that the department is

short-handed because Jason Laundree is helping at the Community Center since Mike Manning is ill but they are getting ready for winter. 

Rudy Meola made and Mark Martucci seconded a motion to have a water cooler installed in the highway building.  All voted yes and motion carried.

Councilman Gladu suggested that if there are staffing concerns they may have to look into subcontracting which should be a consideration in the budget workshop. 

Museum & Historian - Councilman Meola remarked on the successful program,

“Houses in Hague,” given on Tuesday by the Hague Historical Society.  There was a large crowd and they did a great job.

 Personnel - Councilman Gladu reported that he and Councilwoman Frasier have to

meet to get several issues (evaluation, discipline, harassment, confidentiality) under control for the personnel manual updates.

 Planning/Zoning/Stormwater -  The Board had received the written report of ZEO

Cathy Clark.  She reported that an extension for the Kent-Podeswa wastewater system has been requested.  The Town Board approved a previous extension to September 1, 2009 but the contractor was not able to complete the project by then and they requested another extension to October 3, 2009 which was approved.

            ZEO Clark reported that the LGA cruise for Town officials on the Floating Classroom went well.  Those attending were Rudy Meola, Dick Gladu, Jon Hanna (ZBA), Pam Peterson (PB), Bruce Clark (PB), Michael Cherubini (PB) and ZEO Clark.  Councilman Gladu said, “The quality of water in Lake George is still very, very good.  We were able to see down 30 feet into Lake.  The LGA put on a nice tutorial.”

Councilman Gladu noted the recommendations made by the ZEO for updating the zoning code which should be considered in the budget cycle.

The ZEO reported on various training programs which were coming up.  Councilman Gladu made and Mark Martucci seconded a motion to send the ZEO and Don Smith or another highway department representative to the October 15, 2009 conference on flood zone and storm water training.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.

Councilman Gladu made and Mark Martucci seconded a motion to allow the ZEO to leave at 1 pm on October 16, 2009 with time to be made up on Thursday.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.

In the ZEO report it was noted that there were zoning violations for a fence, unregistered vehicle, and signs.  When asked by Councilman Meola what enforcement measures had been taken, ZEO Clark said that the violations had been noted followed by an appearance ticket for the fence and vehicle.  She noted that the sign should have an appearance ticket and wanted clarification by the Board because she “can’t enforce one code and not another.” 

            Councilman Gladu requested a moratorium until changes could be made in the code.  Further discussion ensued about selective enforcement and the comparable strictness of the Town and APA codes.  Town Attorney Viscardi stated that (one) “must look at a specific part and address it.  Our code could be changed as long as it is no stricter than the APA.”

            While the Board appeared to have a consensus that the code needed to be looked at for needed changes, they agreed that until a change is made the code should be enforced and the ZEO should do her job with the backing of the Board.

 Recreation/Promotion & Youth - Councilman Meola reported that everything is in

place for the Oktoberfest on September 26, 2009.  The Youth program at Silver Bay was successful.

            Councilman Dick noted that the Town may want to put some money in the budget to hire a professional planner to help pull together a consolidated promotion plan for the Town.

            Supervisor Belden noted that the County had hired a Special Events person who had visited all the towns.  His analysis was that Hague has restrictions as to the size of an event but he could look into small events.

 Sewer Districts #1 and #2 - Supervisor Belden said that they have to take a look at costs in Sewer District #1 to see if they can make it work or they may have to raise the fees.  For Sewer District #2, he said the south portion is done and people are anxious to hook up.  He spoke to the County engineer Bill Lamy today and he will get an agreement to sign with the county to let people tie in.  The north part will take about another 2 weeks for paving in Forest Bay and to fix the roads where marked.  The work has to be completed by December 20, 2009.  There is an insurance policy with AP Reale that will cover anything that goes wrong within one year of operation.  Rudy Meola made and Mark Martucci seconded a motion to authorize the Supervisor to sign the papers with the county to enable the hook ups.  All voted yes.  Motion approved.

 Town Park - Councilman Meola reported that most of the Park is closed for the

season but he will keep the bathrooms open to Columbus Day.  He opens them in the morning on weekends and closes them at night. 

            There were some minor difficulties with the help but there were some very good workers.  He stated, “The visitor center staff was great, the geese haven’t come back and the place looked beautiful.”

 Transfer Station - Councilman Gladu reminded everyone that we are on a new

schedule.  The Transfer Station will be open on Wednesdays from 10 am - 4 am and   on Saturdays from 9 am - 4 pm. It will be closed on Sundays until July 2010.

Correspondence

            The Supervisor read a note from Tyler Coffin thanking him for the chance to work with him and Bertha Dunsmore during the summer.

Unfinished Business

            Additional complaints have come in about a previous complaint related to dogs.  The Board was satisfied with the action taken and had removed all legal action.  Visits have been made to the site to verify the actions taken.  The Town Board will send a letter to the complainant stating that the Board feels the problem is resolved and the case is closed.

.

            There was a discussion related to a memo sent to the Board by Councilman Frasier who couldn’t be at the meeting.  Councilman Meola read parts of the memo and asked what it was about.  Supervisor Belden discussed the issue of fees for vendors at the park.

            A letter was received from Barbara Patchett with a proposal to continue with maintenance of the flowers.  Dan Belden made and Rudy Meola seconded a motion to have her continue to September 30, 2009 for $150.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.

            Mark Martucci made and Dick Gladu seconded a motion to ask Barbara Patchett for a proposal to do the fall decorations.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.

Communications & Petitions

Supervisor Belden said that a letter had been received from Bill Ehlert dated 8/11/2009.  It was addressed with Donny earlier tonight.  The Highway Committee should return a letter and tell him that his proposal didn’t meet specs.  It didn’t meet them because we went with standard state bids. 

Councilman Meola felt that that the proposal should have been passed on to the board.

Supervisor Belden said that he and Board member Frasier had a conference call with Time Warner Cable.  They are going to come up with a proposal for Summit Drive and West Hague Road to the County line.  They said that nothing would be done until spring.  They will need easements from Niagara Mohawk and possibly from the phone company.  In the first proposal our share was $132,000 but it included a mile and a half of Essex County road which Hague shouldn’t pay.   Belden said, “They’re supposed to get back to me and I’ll make sure the Board gets a copy of it.”

Councilman Meola asked about other country roads.  Belden said that for Dodd Hill Road there are only 5 homes and the catch is if you don’t get all five families it will cost more.  They will wait to see the new proposal.

Board members received a letter from Joel Jordon who has old boats and junk on his property and wants to clean it up.  He would like the Town to pay for a dumpster.  Since the Town cannot selectively do that, the Supervisor will write a letter to him letting him know that they can’t do it.  Other options were discussed.

The Hague Volunteer Fire Department requested use of the Main Room of the Community Center on November 2, 2009 to resume their Election Day luncheon.  Rudy Meola made and Mark Martucci seconded a motion to honor the request.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.

A memo was received from ZEO Clark with information on the need to update the green code book with changes in the dog and cell codes that have already been approved.  There has already been 4 - 5 thousand dollars spent on these books so should continue to update. The cost is $170 for each book for members of the various boards and the Town Board had already budgeted for updates. The Board approved going ahead with the updates.

The Fish & Game Club has requested $3750 for next year for promotion of their events - especially the Ice Fishing Tournament. The request will be considered when the Board is working on the budget.

Dick Gladu made and Rudy Meola seconded a motion to accept as complete the application from Boyer (12.14-1-16), 9667 Lakeshore Drive, for a sewer variance and to set a public hearing for October 13, 2009 at 6:15 pm.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.  The Board will meet at 5:45 pm that evening to do the audit of the bills.

Rudy Meola made and Dan Belden seconded a motion to authorize the Supervisor to sign an intermunicipal agreement related to the 400th Explore NY grant.  All voted yes.  Motion passed.

Supervisor’s Report - The County budget is in bad shape.  They will probably lay off more people. Councilman Meola suggested that they reduce the supervisors pay by 10%.  He said he brought it up but it was voted down by the other supervisors.

The Sagamore Hotel is the biggest unit for occupancy tax and with it closing down during winter the County will take a big hit.

Privilege of the Floor

Donna Wotton addressed the issue of charging vendors for the Oktoberfest.  She said only 3 vendors were not civic entities (which do not pay anyway) but those 3 are providing services and intend to provide proceeds to the Town of Hague. The Board did not want to set a precedent and suggested that the Town Clerk will do the paperwork and give it to them and will take the $50 vendor fee out of the proceeds. Rudy Meola moved and Dick Gladu seconded a motion to request that the vendors sign a paper to that effect.  All voted yes.  Motion approved.

Michael Cherubini, Pat Hintze and Donna Wotton all made suggestions to the Board relative to funding and planning of special events and what part the Chamber of Commerce plays in it.

The regular meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm and the Board went into Executive Session for a legal matter.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Stock

Acting Secretary