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1. Members Present
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Norman Teed - Supervisor
Carl Beechler - Councilman
Doris Day - Councilwoman
John Dole - Councilman
James Mattoon - Councilman
Terry Featherly - Highway Superintendent
Linda Nieskes - Town Clerk
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2. Public Attendance
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See listing in book.
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3. Call To Order
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Supervisor Teed called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
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4. Pledge Of Allegiance
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Councilwoman Day led the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
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5. Public Participation
MELVIN HILL WATER DISTRICT
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John & Kathy Duchesneau-Melvin Hill Water District
Supervisor Teed said that John and Kathy Duchesneau had asked to address the Board this evening regarding the Melvin Hill Water District controversy. Mr.
Duchesneau said he had just attended the Town Board Workshop at the Town
Hall. He said he did not feel that the Board was prepared to discuss the problem
and did not have the needed data available. He said there are laws that are specific
to Water and Sewer. He said this was not handled properly. He said he understood
there were 2 residents that are still not hooked into the water. Supervisor Teed said
those 2 residents were billed for the Water District on their tax bills, but are not and will not be hooked into the district. He said they have received their water from the Village and will continue to do so. Mr. Duchesneau said he understood that the Village had guaranteed that line for one year from the time the Town took the line over. Supervisor Teed said that was correct and the Village would pay for those
breaks which occurred up to the year end. Mr. Duchesneau said that should help
build up the maintenance kitty. Supervisor Teed said with the past history of the line, one break could use all the reserve. Mr. Duchesneau said it does not make any
sense to make changes to the maintenance fees. He said as far as the $.45 discussion, the Town Engineer put the figures out there and now they won’t work.
He said someone needs to be held accountable. He said he works with engineers all the time and if they do something wrong they do it over again for free or compensate for damages. He said the Town flushed the line today and did not notify anyone that they were going to do it. He said my wife was doing dishes at the time and it sucked the water out of the sink. He said the overload to the system was because Paul Russell did not provide for pressure valves. He said why did the breaks happen, they happened because the line did not meet the needs. He said the Town Engineer was substandard. He said he challenges the Board to go back and look at all the information. Supervisor Teed instructed Michael Roulan, Town Attorney, to look into this further. Mrs. Duchesneau said we can only go on what we were told. Mr. Duchesneau said we are not blaming the Town Board for this,a couple of you were not even on the Board at the time. Supervisor Teed said he
understood that this was not pleasant for the residents. Mrs. Duchesneau said it is
not our fault and the person responsible for this should be punished.
Don Tiffany thanked John and Kathy Duchesneau for all their work on this issue.
He said he was naive to think the Town Board would take care of this. He said he was very angry and very disappointed that we have had to handle this on our own. He said Mr. Roulan’s letter explained nothing and raised more even questions. He said he came to the Workshop and felt better because he had been in the dark. He said he feels the bottom line is, it is going to cost us more than originally thought. He asked if the Town had thought about hiring a Water Superintendent. He said we need someone that is knowledgeable about the system. Supervisor Teed said we are looking into that. He said it is a burden on the Highway Department.
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6. APPROVAL OF MARCH 3, 2006 TOWN BOARD MEETING MINUTES:
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Councilwoman Day, offered the following Resolution. RESOLVED that, the March 6, 2006 Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes be approved as written. The Resolution was seconded by Councilman Beechler, who moved its adoption. 5 AYES. Motion carried.
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7. Resolutions
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A) Extend Time to Apply for Home Occupation Permit (see attached).
B) Approve Hiring of Independent Auditor for Transitional Audit (see attached).
C) Approve Appointment to Board of Assessment Review (see attached).
D) Approve Transfer of Funds for Landfill (see attached).
E) Approve Summer Hours (see attached).
F) Approve Bid for Highway Truck and Plow Equipment (see attached).
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8. Highway
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Superintendent Featherly gave his monthly report for March 2006 (see attached).
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9. Zoning Report
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The Zoning Report for the month of March 2006 was available for the Town Board and is on file in the Town Clerk’s Office.
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10. Monthly Reports
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The Town Clerk’s March 2006 report was reviewed by the Board Members for their approval.
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11. Committee Reports
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Councilwoman Day gave her monthly report for the Fire Department, Planning
Board and Historical Society.
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12. Discussion With The Supervisor
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- Supervisor Teed asked the Clerk to discuss the Sulphur Springs Festival Parade. Clerk Nieskes said the parade would be held on Friday, June 2, 2006. She said the
parade formation will be on the east end of the Village at 6:00 PM and the parade
will start at 7:00 PM and further details will be sent to us. Clerk Nieskes said the
Parade Committee just wants to know who will be participating. The following
members will participate in the parade: Supervisor Teed, Councilman Beechler,
Councilman Mattoon and Councilwoman Day.
- Supervisor Teed said there was discussion last month about the Town’s involvement with the Phelps Website. He asked Kathy Jacobs if she wished to address the Board with any additional information. She said she felt that everything was explained. Supervisor Teed said he had talked with Clerk Nieskes and she felt it would not be a great amount of added work. He asked the Board for a Resolution regarding the Website.
Councilman Dole, offered the following Resolution.
RESOLVED that, the Town of Phelps pay the $1,000.00
directly to Cobblesoft for the Website. The Resolution was seconded by Councilman Beechler, who moved its adoption.
5 AYES. Motion carried.
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13. Open Forum
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Supervisor Teed asked if anyone wished to address the Board.
ROBERT OAKS, 2136 CARTER ROAD, GENEVA: Mr. Oaks asked if the Audit was going to cover the last 8 years. Supervisor Teed told him no, it would be for just the last year. Mr. Oaks said it should be for the last 8 years. Supervisor Teed told Mr. Oaks if anything is found to be a problem, then they would probably go back further; but the audit is for only the last fiscal year.
Mr. Oaks said the Home Occupation Law already existed in the Code. He said the problem is it was never enforced. He said as far as he can tell the Code Enforcement Officers do not ever go out of the office. Supervisor Teed and Clerk Nieskes told Mr. Oaks they are out of the office every day doing multiple inspections and investigating complaints...
DONALD SPRINGER, WELCH ROAD, GENEVA: Mr. Springer told the Board
that they are invited to the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 29th. He
said we need to be at the Legion by 10:30 AM that morning and they will furnish a
car for us. He said we would be receiving an invitation. Supervisor Teed asked the Board if they could advise Mr. Springer now if they will be in attendance. The following members will be in attendance: Supervisor Teed, Councilman Beechler
Councilwoman Day, Councilman Dole, Councilman Mattoon, Highway Superintendent Featherly and Clerk Nieskes. Mr. Springer also asked Kathy Jacobs
if something about the Legion could be put onto the Website. He said the Legion does so much for the Community and they are not mentioned. Mrs. Jacobs said she believed the Legion was mentioned under the Organizations of the Town. Superintendent Featherly said he knows the Legion has been a huge help to the Phelps Lions Club. Mr. Springer said the Legion gives $60,000-$70,000 a year to
charity. Mr. Springer said they want to start a Shooting Program for kids 12-18
years old. Councilman Mattoon said he is a Hunter Safety Instructor and would be glad to help them out if they needed it. Councilwoman Day said the Legion had donated the flags, poles and stands for the new Courthouse and we are very grateful for them.
TIM MILES, 1994 MELVIN HILL ROAD, PHELPS: Mr. Miles asked who he is supposed to call when he has a problem with the water. Superintendent Featherly said Kurt Owens is the only one with a water license at this time. He said Mr. Miles could call him and he would get in touch with Mr. Owens.
RICHARD ELDRIDGE, 722 SMITH ROAD, CLIFTON SPRINGS: Mr. Eldridge said the Home Occupation Law is going to be reviewed for 90 days. He said the Board needs to stand up and say it does not help us. He said you can “tweak” it all you want, it is antibusiness. He said there are loopholes and grey areas in the law. He said it the Town needs to make it go away.
DONALD ROULAND, OAKS CORNERS, NY: Mr. Rouland asked if there was a break in the water line, is the customer charged. Supervisor Teed said if the break is from the curb to the house, the owner has to pay for the repairs.
MIKE BONOWITZ, 851 SMITH ROAD, CLIFTON SPRINGS: Mr. Bonowitz asked if there was a Home Occupation Law preceding this one. He was told it was part of the Ordinance passed last year.
ROBERT OAKS, 2136 CARTER ROAD, GENEVA: Mr. Oaks said the person enforcing the law does not know what he is doing. Councilman Beechler said this was done so everyone would be on the same page. He said expansions are happening all the time and we have to keep check of them. Mr. Oaks said you need to enlighten the Code Enforcement Officer because he doesn’t know the difference.
RICHARD ELDRIDGE, 722 SMITH ROAD, CLIFTON SPRINGS: Mr. Eldridge said that he understood from what was published in the Finger Lakes Times that if your business was already established, it would be grandfathered. He said then the
Planning Board said they could reject that business. He said the ad was wrong. He said you gave the public 180 days to apply for the permit, now you are extending it another 90 days. He said if it stays in the same form that it is now, you could be opening yourself up for litigation. Councilwoman Day said we had a Public Hearing on this law before it was passed and do you know how many people showed up for that hearing? She said zero. She said we appreciate all of your input.
ROBERT OAKS, 2136 CARTER ROAD, GENEVA: Mr. Oaks said he wanted to point out that an ad in the Merchandiser is not a legal notice. Supervisor Teed told Mr. Oaks that we put all of our legal notices in our official paper, which is the Finger Lakes Times.
KATHY DUCHESNEAU, 1991 MELVIN HILL ROAD, PHELPS: Mrs. Duchesneau said she had found a law stating that the minutes were to be done and available to the public within two weeks of the Town Board Meetings. She said she had requested the minutes of the March Board Meeting and she was told they were not done and could not be given out until they were approved. Clerk Nieskes told Mrs. Duchesneau that the minutes are to be done within 10 days of the Board Meetings and she was well aware of the law. She said she had already told Mrs. Duchesneau the minutes were not done because she is also the Town Tax Collector and has been overwhelmed with tax work. Mrs. Duchesneau said then you need more help. Clerk Nieskes told her she has help but because of budget constraints
she can only have help for a limited time and she is responsible for doing the tax work, as well as keeping up on the Town Clerk’s work. She told Mrs. Duchesneau that the Board had been very supportive and understanding of the lateness of the minutes. Mrs. Duchesneau said that the law states they are to be done and that Clerk Nieskes could be in trouble for not adhering to that law. Clerk Nieskes told
Mrs. Duchesneau that she would check with the NYS Association of Towns to see
if the minutes could be given out before approved. She said she has been instructed since day one, that the minutes were only supposed to be given out after approved. Clerk Nieskes showed Mrs. Duchesneau that she had a copy of the approved March minutes for her and told her she could pick them up after the meeting. Mrs. Duchesneau said she just wanted Clerk Nieskes and the Board to be aware of the law.
CAROL WICKUM, 1655 MELVIN HILL ROAD, PHELPS: Mrs. Wickum asked when they were going to have clean water. She said it is a problem and her clothes are a mess. Supervisor Teed said that he knew it was a problem, but they had started flushing the line and that should make things much better.
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14. Next Town Board Meeting
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The next Town Board Meeting will be held Monday, May 1, 2006, at the
new Phelps Town Court, 1331 Rt. 88, Phelps at 7:00 PM.
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15. Bills
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Councilman Mattoon offered the following Resolution. RESOLVED that the following bills:
- PREPAID GENERAL "A" - #91 - #104 IN THE AMOUNT OF $35,950.99,
- GENERAL "A" - #105 - #124 IN THE AMOUNT OF $8,246.09,
- PREPAID GENERAL "B" - #22 IN THE AMOUNT OF $78.00,
- GENERAL "B" #23 - #30 IN THE AMOUNT OF $523.62,
- GENERAL "B" - #31 IN THE AMOUNT OF $12,868.79,
- PREPAID HWY. - #51 - #52 IN THE AMOUNT OF $9,735.97,
- HIGHWAY "DB" - #53 - #69 IN THE AMOUNT OF $32,712.17,
- PREPAID SEWER - #6 & #7 IN THE AMOUNT OF $41.98,
- SEWER - #8 IN THE AMOUNT OF $100.00,
- WHITE RD. WATER DISTRICT - #1 - #3 IN THE AMOUNT OF $110.00,
- PREPAID RT. 96/488 WATER DISTRICT - #17 - #18 IN THE AMOUNT OF $739.64,
- RT. 96/488 WATER DISTRICT - #19 - #24 IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,179.55,
- PREPAID ORLEANS WATER DISTRICT - #21 & #22 IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,070.33,
- ORLEANS WATER DISTRICT - #23 - #31 IN THE AMOUNT OF $8,395.13,
- PREPAID SPAFFORD RD. WATER DISTRICT - #17 - #19 IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,816.52,
- SPAFFORD ROAD WATER DISTRICT - #20 - #24 IN THE AMOUNT OF $189.26,
- MELVIN HILL WATER DISTRICT - #3 - #7 IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,728.68
be paid. The Resolution was seconded by Councilwoman Day, who moved its adoption. 5 AYES. Motion carried.
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16. Adjournment
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Councilwoman Day offered the following Resolution. RESOLVED that, the
Town Board Meeting be adjourned. The Resolution was seconded by Councilman Dole, who moved its adoption. 5 AYES. Motion carried.
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17. Time
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8:25 PM
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