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Members Present
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Supervisor Norman Teed
Councilman Carl Beechler
Councilwoman Doris Day
Councilman James Mattoon
Town Clerk Linda Nieskes
Highway Superintendent Terry Featherly
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Also Present
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Water Maintenance Assistant Mike Vienna
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Absent
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Coiuncilman John Dole
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Public Attendance
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See listing in minutes book.
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Call To Order
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Supervisor Teed called the meeting to order at 7:07 PM.
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Pledge Of Allegiance
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Supervisor Teed led the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Public Hearing on Fire Contract Renewal
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Supervisor Teed called the Public Hearing to order at 7:10 PM. He asked the Town Clerk
to read the Public Notice that appeared in the Finger Lakes Times. He asked twice if
anyone wished to address the Board regarding the Fire Contracts. There was no discussion. Supervisor Teed declared the Public Hearing closed at 7:12 PM.
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Public Hearing on Local Law #1 of 2006, On Premises Business
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Supervisor Teed called the Public Hearing to order at 7:12 PM. He asked the Town Clerk
to read the Public Notice that appeared in the Finger Lakes Times. He asked if anyone
wished to address the Board regarding Local Law #1 of 2006, On Premises Business.
ROBERT OAKS, CARTER RD., GENEVA: Mr. Oaks said he thought the Local Law should be read. Supervisor Teed said it was on the Clerk’s table for public review for a month. Mr. Oaks said fine, go ahead with it.
JAMES PECK, DEWIND ROAD, NEWARK: Mr. Peck said he did not feel that enough
publicity had been done on this law. He said he thought it had not been explained thoroughly to the public. Supervisor Teed asked him if he had been to any of the Planning Board Meetings where they discussed this law extensively. Mr. Peck said he had not attended any of the meetings. He said this law affects a lot of people. He said the law does not address the difference between full-time and part-time employees. He said he may have someone work for him for one day and maybe someone else might work for 3 days. Supervisor Teed stated that some of the Planning Board Members were supposed to be at the meeting tonight to answer questions like this. He said they did not show up. He apologized for that. Supervisor Teed said it has been advertised and it has been available for review at the Town Hall. He said he does not know what else we can do. He said if he had a business and he knew that this was going on, he would make certain to look at the law and review it. Supervisor Teed said the law has been changed from a Home Occupation Law to an On Premises Business Law.
ROBERT OAKS, CARTER ROAD, GENEVA: Mr. Oaks said if you start with 3 people as employees and then you go to 5 or 8 does that mean you are in violation? Supervisor Teed said if someone wants to expand their business, they would have to go before the Planning Board to do so.
RANDY RUGENSTEIN, RT 88, NEWARK: Mr. Rugenstein asked if the property was sold in a residential area, does the permit stay with the owner. Code Enforcement Officer Ed Clark said the permit stays with the person not the property.
Councilman Beechler said he recommends tabling the Law for another month. Supervisor Teed reiterated that the Local Law is available at the Town Clerk’s office for review. He said it is up to the people to come and read the law. Councilwoman Day said everyone affected by this law needs to get a copy and read it. Supervisor Teed said this law is meant to protect the Business Owner and the neighborhoods. Councilwoman Day asked Mr. Peck if he had read the present Local Law. Mr. Peck said he had not. Councilwoman Day said she would suggest that he get a copy of the law, read through it and see if he had any other questions. She said she would agree with Councilman Beechler to table the Local Law for another month. She said everyone needs to bring their questions to the next meeting and we will act on it then. She stated that we need to bring closure to this Local Law. Supervisor Teed asked for a Resolution to table this decision until next month.
Councilman Beechler offered the following Resolution. RESOLVED that,
the hearing and any further action on Local Law #1 of 2006 On Premises
Business be tabled until next month. The Resolution was seconded by
Councilwoman Day, who moved its adoption.
VOTE:
COUNCILMAN BEECHLER AYE
COUNCILWOMAN DAY AYE
COUNCILMAN MATTOON AYE
COUNCILMAN DOLE ABSENT
SUPERVISOR TEED AYE
RESOLUTION ADOPTED - 4 AYES DEFEATED - 0 NAYS
Supervisor Teed asked if there were any other comments from the public.
There were none. He declared the Public Hearing closed at 7:40 PM.
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NYS Codes
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Supervisor Teed said Code Enforcement Officer Ed Clark and Building and
Fire Inspector Steve Studley were here tonight to discuss the new NYS Building
Codes that go into effect in January 2007. Code Enforcement Officer Ed Clark said
the new codes will go into effect January 1, 2007. He said some of the wording has
changed and there are more requirements for equipment such as elevators, lifts and
heating equipment.
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Moratorium on Wood Burners
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Code Enforcement Officer Ed Clark asked the Town Board to consider a 6-month
WOOD BURNERS: moratorium on external wood burners in the Town of Phelps. He said at this point there
are no State or Local regulations on these units. He said they can burn anything in them
from shingles to garbage. Councilman Beechler said he thought Geneva had a moratorium
on them now. Mr. Clark said the Village of Phelps has also done this. Supervisor Teed
said the homes are very close together to have them in the Village. Councilwoman Day
asked if a permit has to be obtained in order to have one of these burners. Mr. Clark said
yes. She asked how many permits had been given this year. Mr. Clark said 12 permits had
been issued.
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Public Participation
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Mr. & Mrs. John Duchesneau were not present at the meeting. Gert Donnelly said they did want to know what was going on. Supervisor Teed said we had the leak on Melvin Hill up by the Richmond property. He said the leaks were in the very same vicinity as the gas main. He said they cut a 10 foot section out, and we have pictures if the Duchesneau’s would like to come in to see them. He said over the main, it was very bad, but once you get back away from the main it was not that bad. He said it did have some crusting on it. Supervisor Teed said he was glad they had to cut the pipe so they could see what it looked like inside. He said there is tuberculation in the pipe. He said we also cut the 6” line and that is in the same condition but not as bad as we thought it would be. He said there may possibly be another restriction in that line. He said we have gotten some quotes on cleaning it, but the price is astronomical at $350,000. He said MRB Engineers are going to
get back to us in a few days with a more definite figure. Mrs. Donnelly said the water was still very bad. She said it is the color of the wooden railing in the Court House/Meeting Facility. Supervisor Teed said some spots on the pipe are bear. He said the problem is we do not have a picture of the pipe before we started using the seaquest; so we have nothing to compare it to. Mrs. Wickum said the whole thing was botched.
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Approve the Oct. 2, 2006 Budget Workshop Minutes, Nov. 6, Town Board Meeting Minutes and Nov. 13, 2006 Special Town Board Workhop/Meeting Minutes
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Supervisor Teed asked for a Resolution to approve the October 2, 2006 Budget Workshop
Minutes, the November 6, 2006 Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes and the November
13, 2006 Special Town Board Workshop/Meeting Minutes. Councilwoman Day offered
the following Resolution. RESOLVED that, the October 2, 2006 Budget Workshop
Minutes, the November 6, 2006 Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes and the November
13, 2006 Special Town Board Workshop/Meeting Minutes be approved as written. The
Resolution was seconded by Councilman Mattoon, who moved its adoption. 4 AYES.
Motion carried.
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Resolutions
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- Revocation of Local Law #1 of 2005, Home Occupations (see attached).
- Approval of Local Law #1 of 2006, On Premises Business (see attached).
- Accept Resignation from Planning Board (see attached).
- Appointment of Planning Board Member (see attached).
- Re-appointment of Zoning Board Member (see attached).
- Appoint new Auditor for Town of Phelps (see attached).
- Renewal of Fire Contracts (see attached).
- Schedule Public Hearing for New Administration & Enforcement of 19 NYCRR Building & Fire Code (See attached).
- Increase Value of Buildings per Loss Control Inspection done in August 2006 (see attached).
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Highway
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Highway Superintendent Featherly gave his report for the month of November 2006.
(see attached).
Supervisor Teed asked Superintendent Featherly about the roof on the Town Highway Garage. Superintendent Featherly said he had talked with DE Miller and he said he had
received a letter saying his estimate was accepted. Superintendent Featherly said Mr. Miller said he could do the roof the end of December and he would contract him a day
ahead.
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Zoning Report
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The Zoning Report for the month of November 2006 is on file in the Town Clerk’s office.
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Monthly Report
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The Town Clerk’s November 2006 report was reviewed by the Board Members for their approval.
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Discussion With the Supervisor
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- Supervisor Teed said he had been discussing water hook-up charges with other
Supervisors. He said if you hook-up within 60 days when a new water district is installed,
it is free. He said if a new home is built or it is after the 60 days, the Town of Phelps
hook-up rate is $1,000.00. He said the rate has not been increased since 2004. He stated that he is proposing that the Town increase their rate to $1,200.00 to stay in line with other municipalities. Supervisor Teed asked for a Resolution.
Councilman Beechler offered the following Resolution. RESOLVED
that, the water hook-up charge be increased from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00.
The Resolution was seconded by Councilman Mattoon, who moved its
adoption.
VOTE:
COUNCILMAN BEECHLER AYE
COUNCILWOMAN DAY AYE
COUNCILMAN MATTOON AYE
COUNCILMAN DOLE ABSENT
SUPERVISOR TEED AYE
RESOLUTION ADOPTED - 4 AYES DEFEATED - 0 NAYS
- Supervisor Teed said we received a response from the New York State
Department of Transportation regarding our request for a speed reduction on
Melvin Hill Road. He said the DOT said that after a thorough investigation,
they do not feel a reduction is warranted at this time.
- Supervisor Teed said he would like to discuss the use of the old Town Court for
additional office space for Code Enforcement, Zoning and the Assessors. He said
at the last meeting there was some discussion on the utility bills. He said last year,
for the winter months, it ran about $350.00 per month and for the other six months it
was less than $150.00 per month. He said we desperately need more room in the Town
Hall and if we tear that building down, we are going to “paint ourselves into a corner”.
He said when we discussed this a few months ago; it was thought to be a good idea. He
said then many questions came up. He said questions are good. He asked if there were
any comments. Councilwoman Day said this is an old house and in order to move offices
over there we have to have a new roof, a new furnace, siding on the outside, the windows
are not good, the second story has old cable hanging down and the basement where records are, from what she understands, is an absolute dungeon. Supervisor Teed said the basement at the Town Hall is like a dungeon. Town Clerk Nieskes said the records are
stored in the basement of the Town Hall, not the basement of the old Town Court. She said the records down there are being ruined because of the moisture in that basement. Councilwoman Day said before she would make any recommendations or vote on anything, she would need to see the expenses connected with moving the offices over there. Councilman Beechler said we need to decide what needs to be done over there and
get costs associated with those needs. Supervisor Teed said a lot of the things do not have to be done right away. He said the building could be used now and those things could be done gradually. Zoning and Fire Inspector Steve Studley said the furnace is working, there is some paint peeling on the outside, he said there are storm windows on the building. Councilman Beechler said we need to get an estimate to replace the furnace. He said he did not think the cost would be too prohibitive. He said he felt that as long as a new furnace needed to be installed, central air should also be considered at the same time. He said we would also need to run phone and internet connections to the house. Council-
woman Day said if the building is usable, we should look into it. Supervisor Teed said there is no other place for us to expand. He said we cannot add onto either side of the Town Hall because it is a Historical Building and no other alterations can be made to the back because of the parking lot. Councilman Beechler said we need to gather the expenses to make it happen. Councilwoman Day said she recalled that the Court House was going to be condemned by Code Enforcement. Code Enforcement Officer Ed Clark said that was because of the capacity issue in the building at a given time. He said the building capacity was 10 people and it was constantly overloaded on Court night. He said the use would change from a Court House to an office facility. He said the occupant load would be reduced significantly. Supervisor Teed asked what was going to be done to the interior of the building to make space for offices. Mr. Clark said one wall would be reset to make a larger office for Zoning and Code Enforcement. He said the large office in the front would have the raised floor removed and that room would be used by the Assessors. He said it would double the space we have now. He said there is no room for records they need in their office and some of their records in the basement at the Town Hall have gotten wet and are not readable. Supervisor Teed said the roof is not leaking now and those offices could move into the building with no major construction at this time.
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Open Forum
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Supervisor Teed asked if anyone wished to address the Board.
MATT ELDRIDGE, FLINT STREET, PHELPS: Mr. Eldridge said he knew of some
Grants for records storage. He said he would get the information and forward it to the Town.
COUNCILWOMAN DAY: Councilwoman Day said the Phelps Fire Department had
received a letter of commendation from Williamsville, NY for the wonderful assistance they provided to them during the recent storm and flooding. Councilwoman Day read
the letter to the Board. Supervisor Teed thanked the Phelps Fire Department as did all
the Board Members.
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Bills
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Councilwoman Day made the following Resolution. RESOLVED that
- GENERAL "A" - #344 - #379 in the amount of $64,673.62,
- GENERAL "B" - #75 - #77 in the amount of $1,820.60,
- SEWER - #26 - #27 in the amount of $91.52,
- HIGHWAY "DB" - #232 - #248 in the amount of $27,165.56, WHITE ROAD WATER DISTRICT - #19 - #20 in the amount of $45.85,
- RT. 96/488 WATER DISTRICT - #99 - #107 in the amount of $22,447.31,
- ORLEANS WATER DISTRICT - #108 - #114 in the amount of $1,625.97,
- SPAFFORD ROAD WATER DISTRICT - #94 - #101 in the amount of $6,669.46,
- MELVIN HILL WATER DISTRICT - #35 - #42 in the amount of $2,758.40,
- TRUST & AGENCY - #13 - #15 in the amount of $5,065.06 be approved. The
Resolution was seconded by Councilman Beechler, who moved its adoption. 4 AYES. Motion carried.
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Special Year-End Board Meeting
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Supervisor Teed reminded everyone that the Year-end Board Meeting would be held on
Monday, January 18, 2006 at 10:00 AM at the Phelps Town Hall, 79 Main Street, Phelps.
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Next Town Board Meeting
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Supervisor Teed announced the next Town Board Meeting will be Monday, January
8, 2007, at 7:00 PM at the Phelps Town Court/Meeting Facility, 1331 Rt. 88, Phelps. He
said that meeting would be our Regular and Organizational Meeting.
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Adjournment
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Councilman Mattoon offered the following Resolution. RESOLVED that, the meeting be
adjourned. The Resolution was seconded by Councilwoman Day, who moved its
adoption. 4 AYES. Motion carried.
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Time
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8:35 PM.
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Respectfully submitted,
Linda B. Nieskes
Town Clerk
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