January 11, 2021: Regular Meeting/Organizational

January 11, 2021

Town of Brutus

Town Board Meeting Minutes

The Town Board of the Town of Brutus held a virtual regular/organizational meeting on January 11, 2021 at 6:00 PM via GoTo Meetings application. The instructions for joining the meeting were posted on the town website and the office doors of town hall.

Present:

James Hotaling, Town Supervisor                    Thomas Flynn, Deputy Supervisor

Amy Chirco, Councilor                                     John Abraham, Councilor

Derric Slocum, Councilor                                 Pamela Kelley, Bookkeeper/Assessor

Steve Siracusa, Highway Superintendent        Thomas Piascik, Town Engineer

Angela Skellington, Town Clerk                      

Guests:          

Derek Ostrowski (Chair of Planning Board), David Lipiska (Planning Board Representative)

Opening:

Supervisor Hotaling called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM

Adopt Minutes:

Councilor Abraham made a motion to adopt the minutes for the regular meeting of December 14, 2020 and the year-end meeting of December 29, 2020, seconded by Councilor Slocum.

RES 1-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

Next Meeting:

Supervisor Hotaling stated that the next meeting will be held on February 8, 2021.

Public to be Heard:

Derek Ostrowski virtually attended the meeting to check on any questions that the town board may have regarding the Special Use Permit request for Dennis Klotz on Oakland Road. Supervisor Hotaling requested Councilor Abraham to work with the Planning Board to review the town code for allowable special use permits in Agricultural-Residential and Riverfront Zones. He recommended that the Planning Board review what other municipalities allow. Mr. Ostrowski signed off shortly thereafter as there were no questions. David Lipiska did not comment when asked if he would like to address the board.

Department Head Reports:

Supervisor Report, Town Clerk Report, Highway Superintendent Report, Bookkeeper Budget Amendments, Code Enforcement Report (via email), Water Operator Reports

December 2020 supervisor report is not completed because of the Bookkeeper’s year-end procedures.

Supervisor Hotaling requested that board members work on some of the ongoing projects that the town is involved in:

·         Deputy Supervisor Flynn work with Engineer Piascik and Supervisor Hotaling on a water proposal that includes town residents that have village water.

·         Councilor Chirco work with Engineer Piascik on the Trolley Connection Trail project.

·         Councilor Slocum work with Engineer Piascik and Supervisor Hotaling on the Building project.

Town Clerk Report:

·         Tax collection began. Processed 138 payments the first week and balanced with the county.

·         Renewed System for Award Management account

·         Still closed to the public except for in-person tax payments. Tuesday – Thursday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Notices published accordingly.

Highway Superintendent Report

·         Hung air dryers in trucks

·         Hauled brush

·         Rick did monthly reads

·         Rick and Don did sign inspections

·         Kollin sand blasted park sign

·         Built sander extension and painted on truck #5

·         Moved fallen light pole in firemen field

·         Cleaned out old water truck

·         Plowed and sanded roads 

·         Cleaned waste oil tank out (cleaned slug out of bottom of tank)

·         Mixed salt and sand and put in salt shed

·         Put up snow fence at park and put barriers and signs up

·         Rick and Fred did quarterly water reads

·         Don and Kollin replaced ballast at office

·         Cleaned shop

·         Getting price on garage lights replaced with LED

·         Rick training Fred on water system 

·         Waiting for quote on camera system at highway garage

·         Pumped oil at Millis

·         Washed and greased equipment

Discussion occurred about coverage for snow plowing with a staff member soon to be on leave of absence. Truck # 6 was dressed and MEO McWethy is being trained to cover the route. Will only need one person on this. Highway Superintendent Siracusa will use Truck # 5 for dead ends. Laborer Van Norstrand will wing with MEO Morehouse.

Clerk Skellington will follow up with Civil Service to see if anyone qualified has applied. She will also have her contact person post on the Weedsport Community Facebook page. The board members agreed that priority should be given to a local resident or a resident of adjoining townships.

Budget Amendments

The Town pays for its annual insurance out of several funds. Eastern Shore Associates sends a breakdown of its total cost between the funds that should pay for the insurance based on what the insurance covers. The estimate that they provided for the 2021 budget was adequate to cover the costs but the allocation between funds is slightly different. This resulted in the General fund being slightly short. I would like to move the small amount needed from the contingent account to the Unallocated Insurance account. The budget amendment to correct this is:

DR       A1990.400 Contingent Account                                               $246.31

            CR       A1910.400 Unallocated Insurance                                           $246.31

Motion by Councilor Slocum to use funds from contingent account to pay the annual insurance to the appropriate accounts, second by Councilor Abraham.

RES 2-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

Last year the Town did a permissive referendum to spend building and land reserve monies. The Town Board did a resolution opening A1940.200R-Purchase of Land account to use for this purchase.  In 2020 there was a legal fee of $335.42 spent leaving the balance of $174,664.58 untouched. This should have been set up as a capital project and I am asking the Town Board to do a resolution opening H3-Town Hall Capital Project and to appropriate the balance of $174,664.58 to that project. The following budget journal entries are needed:

            DR       A511 Appropriated Fund Balance                                             $174,664.58

                        CR       A9950.910R Transfer to Capital Projects                                 $174,664.58

            DR       H3-5031 Interfund Transfers                                                   $174,664.58

                        CR       H3-1940.200 Purchase of Land                                               $174,664.58

Motion by Councilor Chirco to open H-3 Town Hall Capital Project and to appropriate the balance in the Purchase of Land Reserve account to the H-3 account, second by Deputy Supervisor Flynn.

RES 3-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

Deputy Clerk Leicia Brown’s salary was reviewed and the Town Board elected to adjust the salary due to the large increase in minimum wage mandated by the state. This change brings her more in line with the industry standard. The Budget journal entry is:

            DR       A599 Unappropriated Fund Balance                                        $1,267.00

                        CR       A1410.130 Town Clerk – Personnel Services                          $1,267.00

Motion by Councilor Chirco to adjust the salary of Deputy Clerk Leicia Brown, second by Deputy Supervisor Flynn.

RES 4-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

Board Area of Responsibility Reports

Motion by Deputy Supervisor Flynn to pay Abstract # 1, second by Councilor Chirco.

RES 5-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

Correspondence

·         Underground Construction magazine

·         Auburn Computer – Executive Summary for the Month

·         LaBarge Group

·         Charter Communications

·         Association of Towns Virtual Conference Information Packet

·         Sales Tax from Cayuga County

·         Cayuga County Planning Board Nomination for Representative form

Bookkeeper Kelley stated that the town received more sales tax in 2020 than what was budgeted.

2021 Appointments

Motion by Councilor Abraham to the 2021 Appointments as listed, second by Councilor Slocum.

RES 6-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

2021 Contracts

Motion by Deputy Supervisor Flynn to approve the contracts, second by Councilor Abraham.

RES 7-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

2021 Public Assembly Fees

2021 Senior Exemptions

Income Limits and Percentage for the Senior Citizens Town Real Property Tax Exemption per Local Law #3 of 2002. Amounts updated to be consistent with Cayuga County Local Law #1 of 2020.

2021 Policies and Procedures

1. Regular meetings will be held the 2^nd Monday of each month at 6:00 PM. 
2. Town employees are authorized to attend Annual Meetings of the Association of Towns at Town expense, where budget allows.
3. The Highway Superintendent is authorized to purchase road materials as needed.
4. The Supervisor is authorized to pay telephone, electric, water, sewer, postage, freight and express charges when necessary, prior to Board approval and place those payments on to the next abstract.
5. The Citizen is designated as the official newspaper for required legal notices.
6. Savannah Bank is designated as the depository for checking; savings accounts; money market and investing in CD’s is also authorized at Savannah Bank. The Supervisor is authorized to invest funds in interest bearing accounts after a rate comparison.
7. The Highway Department is scheduled to work 40 hours per week.
8. Town Hall is open for 37.5 hours per week. Full time office staff is scheduled to work 32.5 hours per week.
9. Mileage for town business, in private vehicles, will be reimbursed at IRS Federal Rate per mile.  
10. The Supervisor is authorized to use a facsimile stamp when there is a large volume of checks to be signed.
11. The Town Justices are authorized to preside in other Towns in the 7^th Judicial District, as needed.
12. The Town Justices are authorized to file judgments for payments due in counties outside of Cayuga and prepay those minimal filing fees.
13. Petty Cash Funds established for $200 for Town Clerk (1 - $100 and 1 - $50 Fund for Town Clerk and $50 for Court) and a Tax Collector Petty Cash Fund for $100
14. The Town Clerk/Tax Collector and Justice Court is authorized to charge $20.00 for checks returned for insufficient funds.
15. Tax Collector authorized to collect $2.00 for each duplicate tax bill and $2.00 for late notice fee.
16. The Village of Weedsport and Weedsport School are authorized the use of the Town rooms for elections and budget votes.
17. Required deposit amount for legal and engineering expenses for reviews as per section 109-3 of Subdivision and Development Fees requested by the Planning Board or Town Board will be the total amount of the review fee.
18. The Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Town Justices and Court Clerk are authorized to attend appropriate training for their respective boards and offices and in accordance with the availability of funds budgeted for that Board or Office without the necessity of Town Board approval for each training.
19. Holidays for 2021 – New Year’s Day (1/1), Presidents Day (2/15), Good Friday (4/2), Memorial Day (5/31), Independence Day (Observe 7/5), Labor Day (9/6), Columbus Day (10/11), Veterans Day (11/11), Thanksgiving (11/25), Day After Thanksgiving – Using Election Day Holiday (11/26), Christmas (Observe 12/24)
20. Two signatures required on checks written over $ 20,000.

2021 Fee Schedule

NOTE:

►In addition to the fees listed above, an applicant must reimburse the Town of Brutus for all professional fees incurred by the Town for the review of any plans and/or proposals, including but not limited to engineering and legal fees, incident to the issuance or denial of any permit or other approval.

►All permits are valid for one year. If work is not completed within the one-year term of the permit, the permit may be renewed twice for a period of one additional year each time at a fee of one half the original fee. If work is not completed at the end of three years (from the date of original permit issuance) a new permit must be secured for which new and/or updated plans, drawings and/or specifications must be submitted and all applicable fees paid.

Old Business

Shadybrook Lighting District status

The changeover to energy only is being implemented. Engineer Piascik will forward the bid specifications for electrical contractor (repairs and maintenance) to the clerk for advertisement.

Land Purchase on State Route 31

Waiting on the seller to sign the purchase agreement. The land is going to be surveyed.

Water for 8734 Weedsport Sennett Road

A review was done of town residents who are outside users of village water. Water would need to be purchased from Sennett. Probability of supplying southern portion of the town including people on Ross Drive. Engineer Piascik calculated some preliminary amounts – 148 units, $6,000,000 – does not include debt load on any of the properties. 3%, 38-year loan and there is possibility of receiving some funding. Without any funding, the cost would be $1,800 per year. Possible roads to include: Bentley School, portion of Mills, Tanner, State Route 34, western section of Ryan, Downs, Ball. Project would include a water tank between Weedsport-Sennett Road and Shepherd Roads.

Engineer Piascik has spoke to the engineer for the Town of Sennett. There is aging pipe on Weedsport Sennett Road that the town could possibly work with the village on replacing.

In the meantime, Supervisor Hotaling will consult with the village to provide water to 8734 Weedsport-Sennett Road as an outside user. Supervisor Hotaling stated the goal is to form a district and negotiate a rate so that all town residents would be paying about the same price for water.

Oakland Road Zoning – Business

Clerk Skellington read the list of items that Code Enforcement Officer produced for the property of items that the owner would need to be sure are completed from a codes standpoint. If the allowed uses for Special Use Permit are updated, there is an estimate of about four months as a 30-day permissive referendum would need to happen for public comment.

Supervisor Hotaling stated that the town is moving in the direction of Recreation/Tourism. Small shops could be built or operated in townships offering growth, revenue of sales tax, etc.

Grants/Projects

Engineer Piascik stated that the Accessibility Project at Aqueduct Park has a contracted amount of $ 203,225. Pay application submitted by contractor is $180,500 which Engineer Piascik recommends that the board pay. There are some things still to be done and Engineer Piascik will communicate with the contractor.

Motion by Councilor Chirco to pay the amount of $180,500 to the contractor on the Accessibility Project at Aqueduct Park. Motion seconded by Councilor Abraham.

RES 12-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

There are now concrete barriers at the bridge in the park so as not to have snowmobiles entering the park that could produce damage to recent work completed. Notification is on the website.

Engineer Piascik stated that Supervisor Hotaling signed the report for the NYS DOT.

Engineer Piascik will contact New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) regarding the pier reconstruction.

He will get a summary sheet of projects out to board members soon.

New Business

Local Law for Prohibiting Sale and Possession of Dangerous Substances

There is a county law in place that prohibits the sale and possession of dangerous substances, which are mislabeled or unlabeled, whose intended purpose is to be ingested to mimic the effects of controlled substances and/or marihuana and which have no other legitimate use or purpose.

The law was communicated to the clerk to bring to the board for review of making it a local law for the Town of Brutus. The board members discussed the matter and agreed that it would be a good idea to have this local law. The clerk was requested to consult with the town attorney. This could be set for permissive referendum resolution at the February meeting.

Purchases

There have been a few needed, inexpensive purchases made by town employees that included taxes and the employees are requesting reimbursement. The employees need to bring a tax-exempt form to ensure that the town does not pay tax.

Lights at Highway Garage

Highway Superintendent Siracusa is obtaining quotes and a general price is $ 150 each for 20 lights. Money is in the budget for the purchase. The lights are about 20 feet high.

Motion to close the meeting at 7:27 pm made by Councilor Chirco, second by Deputy Supervisor Flynn

RES 13-2021 VOTE: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Angela M. Skellington, Town Clerk