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Minutes of the Town Board Meeting held Tuesday, January 12, 2010, at 7:00 PM, at the Keene Town Hall. The following Town Board Members were present: William B. Ferebee, Supervisor, Paul R. Martin, Robert M. Biesemeyer, Marcy A. Neville and Lawrence Jaques, Members of Council. Also present were: 2 residents, Debra Whitson, Town Attorney, Bruce Reed, Highway Superintendent and Ellen Estes, Town Clerk.
The Chairman, Mr. Ferebee, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and invited those present to join in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Resolution No. 52 – 10
Mr. Martin offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Minutes from the Town Board Meetings held December 8th, 2009 and December 29th, 2009, be accepted as presented. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Abstain
Mr. Jaques said he was abstaining since he had missed the meeting and had not yet read the minutes.
Privilege of the floor was offered.
Jean Clifford gave an update on Golden Peaks activities.
She said they will be hosting a free tax preparation day for Seniors with earnings under $49,000. She said she would be posting this information.
She gave a breakdown on how the $2350.00 budgeted for 2009 had been spent, saying they had not used all the allotted funds.
Donna Combs asked the Board if they were aware that allowing Town property to be used for personal use is prohibited under the State Constitution.
The following discussion was in regards to the Town Board, at a previous meeting, having given Mr. Martin permission to store his property in one of the airplane hangers on Marcy Field.
Mr. Jaques said the Board had previously asked Mr. Martin to have his property out by November 15th.
Mr. Martin explained to Mr. Jaques that at a later meeting that he had missed, Mr. Martin had explained that he hadn’t gotten his property out before the snow came and had offered to pay rent and that the rest of the Board had said that wasn’t necessary that he could move his stuff out in the Spring.
Mr. Jaques said he didn’t think his stuff should be there.
Mr. Martin said the last time the hanger was rented, the Town collected $150 per month, he said he is using approximately 100 square feet and said he offered to pay $50.
Mr. Biesemeyer said he doesn’t dispute that it is probably illegal, saying he wasn’t aware of it at first, and explaining that sometimes rules get bent or broke and that no real harm has been done. He said it won’t happen again.
Mr. Martin pointed out that there are other things stored there, such as fire trucks.
Mr. Jaques said it was his understanding that the first choice in renting was for airplanes.
Mr. Ferebee said he actively advertises this space at the Lake Placid Airport.
Mr. Biesemeyer suggested creating a policy.
Mr. Jaques said they already had and he would like to check the minutes from a few years ago.
Mr. Neville said she had no problem in addressing a policy but said she felt this was just doing someone a favor.
Mr. Ferebee asked Ms. Whitson, the Town Attorney, if having refused the offered rent, was the Town breaking the law.
Ms. Whitson said she thinks it is violating the State Constitution since it is not benefiting Town residents (plural).
The Town Board agreed to do some research and set policy.
Mr. Ferebee asked the Board what they wanted to do about the proposed Town Hall addition for the Court. He said if they choose to move forward, the next step would be to have Christine Francis draw up the bid documents.
Resolution No. 53 – 10
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Town Board authorize Mr. Ferebee to proceed in having Ms. Francis draw up bid documents for the proposed Town Hall addition project. This resolution was seconded by Ms. Neville.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
The next discussion was in regards to the Water Districts.
Mr. Ferebee informed the Board that he had received information that there are stimulus funds available for water meters. He asked the Board if they would be interested in pursuing this.
Mr. Martin said that 95% of the water meters for Water District #2 have been installed.
Ms. Neville said she believes that a lot of the water users would like to have meters.
Mr. Biesemeyer said he strongly opposes water meters.
Mr. Ferebee explained that new meters would need to be installed at the main and explained the computerized system for reading them.
Ms. Neville and Mr. Biesemeyer agreed that this project should be researched.
Mr. Martin said a flat rate would still need to be used to be sure to cover expenses, he was concerned this could create “meter” headaches.
Mr. Ferebee said that Wilmington had just installed meters and that they will use them for two years before beginning to charge. He said he will talk to them about the program.
Mr. Ferebee informed the Board that when they hired Lance LeClair, Mr. LeClair was told that if he got his CDL license he would be given a 50 cent an hour increase. He said to do this the title Laborer/Equipment Operator would need to be created.
He said this increase would put Mr. LeClair at $14.30 per hour.
Resolution No. 54 – 10
Mr. Biesemeyer offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Town Board authorize the creation of the title Laborer/Equipment Operator. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Jaques.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
There was a brief discussion about hiring someone temporarily while Mr. LeClair is away for military training.
Mr. Martin said he felt it was too bad that Main Street in Keene Valley had been left in such a construction mess for the winter.
Resolution No. 55 – 10
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Town Board accept the Supervisor’s Monthly Statement for December and place it on file with the Town Clerk. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Biesemeyer.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Resolution No. 56 – 10
Ms. Neville offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Town Board approve the following bills for payment, including those that were prepaid. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Biesemeyer.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
2009 Bills
General Fund bills No. G610 – G622 $13,780.45
Highway Fund bills No. H196 – H201 1,016.75
Library Fund bills No. L124 56.32
2010 Bills
General Fund bills No. G1 –G12 $29,173.05
Library Fund bills No. L1 255.95
Water District #1 bills No. K-1 272.23
Mr. Ferebee informed the Town Board that the Auditor from the NYS Comptroller’s Office finished his audit today. He would like to meet with the Town Board next Tuesday at 4:30 PM, preceding the Town Board Meeting. Mr. Ferebee said he was told to bring pencil and paper. He said there are some changes he would like made referring to the management of dump tickets and hiker shuttle tickets, and that the Town Board would need to establish work day hours.
Resolution No. 57 – 10
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that all business having been transacted, this meeting be adjourned. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Biesemeyer.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM.
Ellen S. Estes, Town Clerk
January 14, 2010
William B. Ferebee, Supervisor
Paul R. Martin, Councilperson
Robert M. Biesemeyer, Councilperson
Marcy A. Neville, Councilperson
Lawrence Jaques, Councilperson
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