VILLAGE OF AURORA BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
APRIL 25, 2007
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Aurora, New York was called to order in the Firehouse Meeting Room at 7:20 PM on April 25, 2007 with Mayor Gunderson presiding.
PRESENT: Mayor Tom Gunderson, Trustees Jim Chase, George Farenthold, Janet Murphy, and Ken Zabriskie.
ALSO PRESENT: Debbie Brooks, George Fearon (Cayuga County Legislature Chair).,Melinda Kostreva (Treasurer), and Nancy Yann (Clerk).
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
REMINDER
Trustee Farenthold reminded those in attendance that he is married to Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President of Wells College.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Trustee Farenthold moved approval of the March 21, 2007 Proposed Budget Public Hearing Minutes with correction noted. Seconded by Trustee Zabriskie, motion carried 5:0.
Trustee Zabriskie moved approval of the March 21, 2007 Regular Meeting Minutes as corrected. Seconded by Trustee Farenthold, motion carried 5:0.
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA:
Mayor Gunderson reported that he had received several letters that he would read under Mayor’s Announcements; the Association of Village’s May Meeting, which the Village of Aurora is responsible, will be May 22 at the Aurora Inn with Marian Corbett of the NYS OGS Procurement Group who will give us information on ways the NYS Office of General Services can provide municipalities the purchasing power of NYS for a wide range of commodities and services.
MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mayor Gunderson a copy of a letter that the Village had received from Options for Independence to Mr. Paul Senk, Real Estate Manager for the United States Postal Service (please see attached letter).
Mayor Gunderson reported that the Village had received a copy of a letter written to Trustee Farenthold regarding the Post Office move to the Heary Building from Congressman Michael A. Arcuri (please see attached letter). Mayor Gunderson commented that this was in the hands of Wells College and that he was unsure if the June 1 deadline would be extended.
CLERK'S ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Clerk had no announcements.
Mayor Gunderson asked the Clerk to make sure that the Flood Plain Resolution was addressed at the meeting for June 2007.
VISITOR RECOGNITION:
Mayor Gunderson welcomed George Fearon, Chair of the Cayuga County Legislature. Mr. Fearon reported that the County was implementing a new “Reverse 911” option. This will be for serious emergency notices that need to get to residents regarding such things as water issues that concern the public. The Mayor would be the contact person, with the County sending notices to those needing to be contacted.
Mr. Fearon also reported on the County’s Workers Comp. Mr. Fearon stated that the County was looking at a “self funding” Worker’s Comp. This would be a 30 percent cut in the current system.
Mr. Fearon reported that the County was updating its Pictometry GPS and that the county is installing patrol cars with surveillance cameras.
Mayor Gunderson recognized Bill Dugan. Mr. Dugan reported to the Board that Auburn Memorial Hospital was filing Chapter 11. Mr. Dugan stated that the hospital was downsizing, that it would be smaller but better, and it would take about six months to turn things around.
TREASURER'S REPORTS:
A.Monthly Reports:
The Village Board accepted the March 2007 Monthly Reports.
B.Budget Modifications:
Trustee Chase moved the following Budget Modifications:
GENERAL FUND:
$23,328.00 FROM A511 – Appropriated Reserves TO A5110.2R – Street Maintenance – Capital Reserve
$8.74 FROM A1620.4 – Buildings – Contractual TO A1620.43 - Buildings – Janitorial Services
$18.27 FROM A1620.4 – Buildings – Contractual TO A1620.45 - Buildings – Fuel Oil
$15,000.00 FROM A511 –Appropriated Reserves TO A9950.9R – Transfers Capital Project Reserves
WATER FUND:
$802.12 FROM F8340.2 – Transmission & Distribution – Equipment TO F8340.4 – Transmission & Distribution – Contractual
SEWER FUND:
$72.36 FROM G8130.41 – Sewage Treatment – Utilities TO G8130.2 – Sewage Treatment – Equipment
$8.35 FROM G8130.41 – Sewage Treatment – Utilities TO G8130.4 – Sewage Treatment – Misc. Contractual
C.Approval of Bills:
Trustee Farenthold moved approval of bills in the General Fund for claims #362 to #403 for $12,947.98. Seconded by Trustee Murphy, motion carried 5:0.
Trustee Zabriskie moved approval of bills in the Water Fund for claims #362 to #403 for $3,508.90. Seconded by Trustee Chase, motion carried 5:0.
Trustee Zabriskie moved approval of bills in the Sewer Fund for claims #362 to #403 for $5,623.83. Seconded by Trustee Murphy, motion carried 5:0.
COMMITTEE AND BOARD REPORTS:
A.Building and Grounds
Trustee Farenthold reported that he had gotten some feedback with regard to the plantings for the Village Parks. Sara Wells and Maryann Fessenden have offered their help. Trustee Zabriskie suggested talking to Grace Bates to see if she would be willing to help as well. Trustee Farenthold reported that Ethel King-Mackenzie has offered to have her class do some clean up along the lakeshore.
Trustee Farenthold reported that the Post Office roof had a large leak behind the postal boxes after the snowstorm. Part of the ceiling fell on the postmaster. Thankfully, she was not hurt. Adam and Trustee Farenthold helped to clear the snow off the roof.
Trustee Farenthold reported that there would be an Upstate Citizens Safety Task Force meeting tomorrow at the Office of the Mayor of Skaneateles at 1 PM. Bill Maloney will attend.
Trustee Farenthold reported that he had met with Village Historian, Sheila Edmunds regarding the historical issues of the proposed move of the Post Office. It was suggested that a list of preceding Postmasters be put up as well as the locations of the Post Office in the past.
B.Recreation, Parks, and Public Events:
Trustee Murphy reported that things were moving ahead for the Recreation Program. Trustee Murphy has three applications for lifeguards.
Trustee Murphy has asked Kurt to put up the new Village Park Sign.
C.Streets and Public Safety:
Trustee Chase reported that the Village had received a letter from Doug Bates with regard to trees that need attention (please see attached letter).
D.Water and Sewer:
Trustee Zabriskie reported that the Village had received a letter from Robert Fleissner regarding his water/sewer bill (see attached letter). Trustee Zabriskie asked the Clerk to send a letter to Mr. Fleissner.
E.Community Preservation:
The Board accepted the Minutes of the CPP meetings for April 4, 2007.
F.Planning Board:
There was no report.
Zoning Board of Appeals:
The Board accepted the Minutes from the March 28, 2007 Public Hearing and Regular Meetings and the April 18, 2007 Pubic Hearing and Regular Meetings.
H.Zoning Officer:
The Board accepted the Zoning Officer’s Reports for March 2007.
Historian:
There was nothing to report.
OLD BUSINESS:
Trustee Chase moved to adopt the tax rate of 2.7 for the fiscal year 2007-2008. Seconded by Trustee Farenthold, motion carried 5:0.
Trustee Farenthold moved to adopt the Schedule of Salaries of Elected and Appointed Officers and Employees. Seconded by Trustee Murphy, motion carried 5:0.
The Board briefly discussed the 2 proposed Local Laws, No. 1 of 2007 – a Local Law Providing For The Administration And Enforcement Of The New York State Fire Prevention And Building Code and Local Law No. 2 of 2007 – Unsafe Buildings. The Board feels strongly that a Board member should have to sign all building permits. Mayor Gunderson stated that a trustee would have to do this as the current building inspector is not an employee of the village, he is an independent contractor. Trustee Zabriskie asked to table this vote until next month allowing time to meet with the Village Attorney.
At this time, Mayor Gunderson welcomed the Superintendent of Southern Cayuga Central School District, Mary Kay Worth. Ms. Worth is here to discuss the proposed School Budget for 2007-2008. Charlie Mellor, Business Manager and Ted Rejman, Board President were introduced. Ms. Worth started of by reporting that the enrollment for 2007-8 has decreased from 1500 students fifteen years ago to 900 students for the upcoming year. The Southern Cayuga School district is 168 square miles and is the third largest district in New York State. The proposed budget includes salary increases; insurance premiums and retirement cost increases; equipment and supply requests from department heads; SRO (this is the fourth year, so the school district in responsible for this item); Employment Assistance Plan; GAS 45 requirement for health insurance actual variation); Business Administrator; Early Class Size Reduction; Special Education Teacher – CSE Chairperson with summer hours; Teacher on Special Assignment – Administration; and Unemployment Insurance.
Proposed elimination items are as follows: local funds to support half-day Pre-K beyond the grant funds; Director of PPS; 2 Special Education Teachers and 5 Teacher Aides; 1 Science Teacher; 2 Instructional Services Teachers; Job Share; 4 Department Coordinator Positions; Grades 6-8 Local Summer School Enrichment; Health Insurance adjustment with rate change from 9 to 7 percent; adjustments in interscholastic equipment, supplies and contractual; adjustments in bus parts; and adjustments to travel, conferences, staff development.
Program adjustments/impacts include: Pre-K full time teacher and aide for morning and afternoon sessions. This wills double the capacity from 18 to 36 students. Special Education Teacher will chair Committee on Special Education and Teacher on Special Assignment from PE/Athletic will assist part time as Dean of Discipline, work summers, and provide administrative coverage after school hours and Saturdays.
For more information on this proposed budget, please see attached document from Ms. Worth.
Ms. Worth reminded those in attendance that the vote will be Tuesday, May 15 from 6 AM to 9 PM at the SCCS Planetarium.
Mayor Gunderson and the board thanked the Ms. Worth, Mr. Mellor and Mr. Rejman for sharing the proposed budget and their insight on the preparation of this budget.
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Gunderson reported that the Village had received the Contract from Life Safety Consultants for 2007-2008. Trustees Zabriskie and Murphy would like to start looking at how other municipalities use and contract for these services. Trustee Farenthold moved to renew the Contract for the Code Enforcement Officer/Life Safety Consultants for the fee of $229.00 per month plus building permit fees. Seconded by Trustee Chase, motion carried 5:0.
Trustee Murphy motioned to start a comparison among other municipalities of services for code enforcement. Seconded by Trustee Zabriskie, motion carried 5:0.
Mayor Gunderson reported that the Village had received a Contract from Trillium Graphics/Jacci Farlow for the Web site. Trustee Farenthold reported that he and Trustee Murphy were in total agreement that Ms. Farlow has done a tremendous job and recommended that the Contract be renewed. Trustee Farenthold moved to approve the Contract. Seconded by Trustee Zabriskie, motion carried 5:0.
Mayor Gunderson reported that the Clerk had received a packet of material from Village Attorney, Andy Fusco regarding the Report to The Village Trustees with Recommendations for Clarifying and Improving Efficiency of Administration of the Aurora Land Use Regulations dated April 2007. Mayor Gunderson has asked the Clerk to distribute these reports to the Board Members as well as the Chairs of the Planning Board, Community Preservation Panel and the Zoning Board of Appeals (a copy of the letter is attached). Board members are asked to note the timetable for the new zoning law adoption in monthly meetings as follows:
April 2007Report to Board Members
May 2007Unveil and discuss the enclosed report
June 2007SEQR Review
July 2007Public Hearing and Adoption of Local Law
Mayor Gunderson reported that the Flood Plain Regulations must be adopted , and the Village will need to repeal the current Local Law by August. The Planning Board will need to review this and get back to the Village Board.
At this point, Trustee Chase asked the Clerk for the “Truck Bids” for the 1997 Ford Pick-up Truck. The bids are as follows:
Philip Murphy$4,000.00
Mark Jordan$4,200.00
Jim Van Opdurp$1,107.00
J. Raymond Boles$2,027.00
Turek Farms$4,203.00
Brian Dugan$2,755.35
Trustee Chase moved to accept and award the high bid to Turek Farms for $4,203.00. Seconded by Trustee Farenthold, motion carried 4:1, with Mayor Gunderson voting nay.
Trustee Farenthold moved to put the money from the sale into the Equipment Reserve Fund. Seconded by Trustee Murphy, motion carried 5:0.
With no further business to discuss, Mayor Gunderson asked a motion to adjourn.
ADJOURNMENT:
Trustee Zabriskie moved adjournment at 9:30 PM. Seconded by Trustee Chase, motion carried 5:0.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy M. Yann
Village Clerk