Minutes of the regular Town Board Meeting held Tuesday, February 14, 2006, at 7:00 PM, at the Keene Town Hall. The following Town Board Members were present: William B. Ferebee, Supervisor, Paul R. Martin and Lawrence Jaques, Members of Council. Absent: Robert M. Biesemeyer and Marcy Neville, Members of Council. Also present: 4 residents, 1 resident/member of the press, Ron Bola, Elizabethtown Community Hospital Representative, Joanne Baldwin, Little Peaks Representative, Kirk Bassarab, AES Northeast, Bruce Reed, Highway Superintendent and Ellen Estes, Town Clerk.

The Chairman, Mr. Ferebee, called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM and invited everyone present to join in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Resolution No. 72 - 06
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Minutes of the Organizational Meeting held January 2nd, the Annual Audit held January 10th, the Town Board Meeting held January 10th, the Emergency Town Board Meeting held January 17th, the notes from the bid opening held January 20th and the minutes of the Town Board Meeting held January 31st, all be accepted as presented. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

Mr. Ferebee handed the floor over to Joanne Baldwin, a Little Peaks representative.
Mrs. Baldwin informed the Board that Little Peaks had some money set aside that is to be used for supplies and building improvements and that they would be interested in putting some money into the building if they had a commitment from the Town Board that they will be allowed to continue to use the building for an indefinite amount of time. She said they would be willing to put $30,000 to $50,000 into the building if they were sure they were not going to need the money to secure another place in the future. She asked how to propose this.
Mr. Martin said that the building used to be a school and he felt it was appropriate to continue this successful program, he said he felt the building was being put to great use.
Mrs. Baldwin said that one of the improvements that they would like to make to meet State mandates is a fence around the playground and maybe some upgrades in the kitchen.
Mr. Ferebee said he would like to have a full Board present before any commitments are made.
The topic was tabled for further discussion of the full Board.

The next individual given the floor was Larry Scovell.
Mr. Scovell said he would be retiring from the Highway Department in 2 years and would like to sell his house in Keene Valley and get something smaller. He said he is interested in a house in the Upper Jay area and wants to make sure he would be able to continue to work for the Town of Keene until retirement.
Mr. Ferebee said there is nothing in the policy manual stating that you must live in the Town of Keene, he said the only concern that has come up is the response time, when called in for emergencies. He said that very few Towns in Essex County have residence laws.

The floor was handed over to Ron Bola, a Representative from the Elizabethtown Community Hospital.
Mr. Bola gave an update on the Hospital’s plans for renovations and new services.

Privilege of the floor was offered to those in the audience. There were no further questions or comments.

Mr. Ferebee informed the Board that the construction of the Rivermede River Project had been moved back to the Summer of 2007. He said it had to be extended due to the need of an additional survey mandate, which will be done this Spring but would not leave time to complete the project this summer. He said that all the money that has been pledged will be kept at hand for the project.
Mr. Martin took this opportunity to inform the Board that a lot more sand would be needed than what has been stockpiled, he said this may be a good time for the Town to look in the neighboring Towns for a pit to purchase.
Mr. Ferebee mentioned that there will be a lot of material available following the Water District No. 2 Water Project.

Next was the Golden Peaks update.
Jeanne Clifford thanked Mr. Ferebee for attending and speaking at the Open House for their new space in the Annex building. She said close to 40 people attended.
Ms. Clifford said that Patty Bashaw would be speaking about Senior mandates at their February meeting.
She said that the group is working on a schedule for their new space which would be ready to start using in early March.

Resolution No. 73 - 06
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that at the request of Brett Lawrence, the NYS Outdoor Guides Association be allowed to use Marcy Field for their 25th Anniversary Summer Rendezvous, August 3rd to August 6th, 2006. Their activities will include camping, along with sporting competitions. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

Resolution No. 74 - 06
Mr. Martin offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that at the request of Don Lawrence, the Free and Accepted Masons be allowed to use Marcy Field for their annual Craft Fair on Saturday, July 15th and Sunday, July 16th, 2006. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Jaques.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

Resolution No. 75 - 06
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that at the request of Bruce Reed, the High Peaks Radio Control Club be allowed to use Marcy Field for their annual model airplane “Fun Fly” on September 15th and 16th, with overnight camping on the 14th and 15th, 2006. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

The next discussion was in regards to Code Enforcement.
Mr. Ferebee informed the Board that Frank Slycord had agreed to spend a second day each week performing his duties as Code Enforcement Officer and act as the Town’s Safety Officer for an additional salary of $4,500 per year.

Resolution No. 76 - 06
Mr. Martin offered a resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that Frank Slycord be appointed to a second day per week as Code Enforcement Officer and act as the Town’s Safety Officer for a salary increase of $4,500 per year.
Also, be it resolved, that $4,500 be transferred from the Contingent Account # 1990.4 to Code Enforcement Personal Service Account # 3010.1.
This resolution was seconded by Mr. Jaques.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

The next topic discussed was the water line requested by the new owners of the Woodruff Motel property.
Mr. Ferebee explained that Jay Haws had requested that the Town replace their old 3/4” water line with a new 2” line. He said that Mr. Haws was out of Town when the work was done in September and it was discovered that the tap could not accommodate a 2’ line. He said that the water department put in a 1” line and said that Mr. Haws doesn’t seem to want to pay the bill since he didn’t get what he requested.
Mr. Reed clarified the situation saying that the Town did this work to get the water to the property side of the Hulls Falls Road, explaining that the main is on the river side.
Kirk Bassarab, who was present and works closely with water projects, felt that the flow through a 1” line is plentiful.
Mr. Ferebee asked the Board how they would like to handle it, offering to go to Mr. Haws to ask what would be agreeable to him.
Mr. Martin said he would like to get more details.
No action was taken and the matter was tabled.

The next discussion was in regards to the Sappah barn on Route 9N.
Mr. Ferebee suggested that since nothing has been done to take this unsafe building down, after 3 letters from the Town, that the Town take the building down and have the cost levied against the property, to be paid back upon sale of the property.

Resolution No. 77 - 06
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Town Board authorize the Town Attorney to draft a letter to Mr. Sappah advising him of their intention to tear down the barn and relevy the cost to his property to be paid back upon sale of the property. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

The next discussion and resolution was in regards to transfer station punch card sales, discussed at the last meeting.

Resolution No. 78 - 06
Mr. Ferebee offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the two businesses currently selling transfer station punch cards be offered use of the transfer station with no tipping fees for their businesses. The Town Board reserves the right to re-examine this offer upon sale of these businesses. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

Mr. Ferebee asked the Board if they were interested in holding bulky days this Spring.
The Board agreed to have Mr. Ferebee check with Geoff May to see which 3 days in April would be available.

Resolution No. 79 - 06
Mr. Martin offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Board accept the resignation submitted by Richard Austin for his position on the Board of Assessment Review. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Jaques.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

The Board agreed to go ahead and advertise the vacancy of this position.

Donna Reed Austin submitted information to the Board informing them that 84 individuals had opted to use the new installment plan for paying their property taxes.
Mr. Jaques asked how many parcels there are in the Town of Keene, Mr. Ferebee said he believed there were about 1800.

The next topic discussed was Water District No. 2.
Mr. Martin shared information with the Board explaining the two different types of wells the two production wells for Water District #2 are. He said #1 is a gravel well and #2 is a stone well.
This brought about a discussion that the type of well the Town is seeking may mean that the well drilling bid will need to be re-bid.
He also shared information on the booster pump station for the neighboring properties that are higher than and next to the proposed storage tank area.

The next discussion was in regards to the Hamlet Improvement Grant money to be spent by June of 2006.
The discussion began on the topic of proposed curbing in Keene Valley from Adirondack Street to Market Street, which has been investigated by the safety group. Mr. Ferebee said he really needed more information.
Mr. Martin said the plans had been to go from the Post Office to Market Street. He said he had met with the affected property owners last fall, and after having it explained to them they were in favor of it. He said “we” can have sidewalks, curbing and parking.
Mr. Ferebee stated that talking to Mr. Biesemeyer, he thought this would have to be brought to a Public Hearing.
Mr. Jaques agreed. (continued)
Mr. Jaques said he thought the Town Board had adopted a resolution to purchase curbing since there was not enough time to do the proposed work on the parking lot at the intersection of Hurricane Road and Route 73. He said this was done prior to getting the extension to June 30, 2006.
Mr. Martin asked if the curbs are mandatory in Keene Valley following the sidewalk construction.
Mr. Ferebee said from information he was being given they are absolutely not mandatory.
The next part of the discussion was in regards to the additional $10,000 for the engineering costs of adding curbing while replacing the sidewalks.
Mr. Bassarab, who works for AES Northeast, who is the Town’s Engineering Firm said it was his understanding that due to the elevations there is a lot more survey work necessary when installing curbs to tie the road and properties together.
There was a brief discussion on how much each project, the intersection and the curbing would cost.
Mr. Martin said it was not his intention to pit one project against the other.
Mr. Ferebee said he would check into the cost of the intersection project.

Mr. Ferebee informed the Board that with the possibility of Reg Whitney changing positions from Water Superintendent to joining the Highway, they would need to decide on hiring someone new or contracting someone for the daily operations of the Water Districts.
Kirk Bassarab, who works for AES Northeast, who is interested in this operation said that the price worked out for AES to perform this service was $19,500 per year.
Mr. Ferebee said this was higher than they had been discussing and said he would like to go back and look at the numbers again.
Mr. Jaques said he would like to request a special meeting be scheduled to discuss this issue.
Mr. Ferebee tabled any further discussion and said he would work on setting a date to have a special meeting.

Mr. Reed spoke to the Board proposing the purchase of a new truck with money left in the 2005 Highway Budget after the allowed unexpended balance of $200,000 had been moved. He said that at the end of the year he still had $139,000 left. He said using this money now, it would not raise the budget by allowing for this purchase in next year’s budget.
Mr. Jaques asked if the truck he is talking about replacing really needs replacing.
Mr. Reed said it’s a 12 year old, single axle truck and yes, it is in need of replacement.
Mr. Scovell, who was in the audience, said that this truck needs work every couple trips that it goes out on.
Mr. Ferebee suggested the Board table this request for the full Board.

Mr. Martin gave an update on the 200th Anniversary progress.
He said that he and Janet Hall are the Chairpersons of the Steering Committee. He said they are working on a letter to go out to the other members, he said they plan to get a lot of people involved so everyone can play a small part in the process.

Resolution No. 80 - 06
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the Town Board accept the Supervisor’s Financial Report for January and place it on file with the Town Clerk. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

Resolution No. 81 - 06
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be it resolved, that the following bills be accepted for payment, including those that were post paid. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

General Fund bills No. 72 - 111 $10,245.46
Highway Fund bills No. 15 - 28 16,811.77
Library Fund bills No. 14 - 19 954.25
Water Dist. #1 bills No. 10 - 12 169.38
Water Dist. #2 bills No. 8 - 10 661.52
CPF - Water Dist. #2 bills No. 6 - 8 12,092.85

Resolution No. 82 - 06
Mr. Martin 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. Jaques.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Absent
Ms. Neville: Absent
Mr. Jaques: Yes

The meeting was adjourned at 8:27 PM.

Ellen S. Estes, Town Clerk
February 21, 2006

William B. Ferebee, Supervisor
Paul R. Martin, Councilperson
Robert M. Biesemeyer, Councilperson
Marcy Neville, Councilperson
Lawrence Jaques, Councilperson