October 13, 2009
Minutes of the regular Town
Board Meeting held Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 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: 6 residents,
Debra Whitson, Town Attorney, Bruce Reed, Highway Superintendent and Ellen
Estes, Town Clerk.
The Chairman, Mr. Ferebee,
called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM and invited everyone present to join in
the Pledge of Allegiance.
Resolution No. 180 –
09
Mr. Martin offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the Minutes of the September 8th Town
Board Meeting, the Notes from the Budget Workshops held September 14th
and September 22nd, the Minutes of the 2 Special Town Board Meetings
held September 23rd and the Minutes of the Town Board Meeting held
September 29th, all be accepted as presented. 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
Mr. Biesemeyer suggested that
in light of the mix up regarding the salary increase in the notes of the first budget
workshop, which was clarified during the second budget workshop, that minutes
not be posted until the Town Board accepts them. Mrs. Estes explained that can be up to a month and said she
didnÕt think they can be held that long.
Privilege of the floor was
offered.
Jean Clifford gave an update
on Golden Peaks saying they had been berry picking and to lunch twice, on a
dinner and dance cruise, to Vermont, to the seaway, to the Wilder Farm and to
Town picnics in neighboring Towns.
She said she is still pursuing use of a bus for these types of trips.
Jim Herman was present to
request permission to use Marcy Field on Saturday, July 24th, 2010
for a wedding celebration for his son.
The Board was unanimous in
agreeing to this.
Mr. Herman also thanked the
Board at this time for the Community Garden.
Randy Titsworth was present
to ask the Town Board to talk to the State on behalf of the Keene Valley
Country Club on their quest to DOT regarding the road drainage problem onto
their property.
Mr. Ferebee said he has
talked to Mike Fayette and was told that the State would put in a Òone timeÓ
swale ditch saying they told him there is no money for culverts.
Mr. Martin said maybe they
would budget for it next year.
Ms. Neville said it would be
helpful to have a letter from the Country Club stating their position and asking
for support.
Mr. Titsworth asked what the
Town had decided about the water line along Country Club Lane.
Mr. Ferebee said that at the
last meeting, the Town Board determined that the line was part of the district
when the Town purchased it. He
said that Kirk Bassarab will do a study on that line when the seasonal water
users are shut off.
He said the Town would look
at possible replacement at the end of the project if there are funds remaining
or possibly do this work in-house.
There was also a brief
discussion regarding a leak that can be heard near the Platukis house. This will also be checked out.
Mr. Ferebee said he had met
with Christine Francis at the Community Center a couple days ago and had
explained to her what the Town is looking for for space. She is going to draw up some designs.
He said he had also met with
her today at the Town Hall and had spoken to her about drawings for that
building also.
Mr. Ferebee gave a brief
update on the Water District #2 project.
He said he had held an informational
meeting at the Firehouse in Keene Valley last Thursday.
He said the floor of the
tank has been poured.
He said that Reale
Construction will be working until Christmas and would be done, but would not
be hooking up the new tank until spring.
He said Market Street would
be paved either this week or next.
He reported that no
sidewalks on Route 73 would be done until spring. He said the Church is okay with the stairs, temporary stairs
will be put in for the Post Office and he still needed to talk to the owners at
the Great Range.
He said that Luck Brothers
plans to continue working until Christmas.
Mr. Ferebee said they will
be starting on laterals for Route 73 tomorrow.
He also said they had
punctured a line on Friday and had repaired it yesterday.
Ms. Neville said she wonders
if money should be put into the Community Center budget for renovations, in
addition to the boiler.
Mr. Jaques said he is not
against adding $100,000 to the 2010 budget.
Mr. Biesemeyer said he would
like to get numbers on square footage to get an idea of the project.
Mr. Jaques suggested putting
$50,000 into the budget for now.
Mr. Ferebee said that
$50,000 can and will be put into a Capital Fund in the 2010 Budgetfor Community
Center renovations.
He also informed the Board that
the boiler work is complete, the cost being approximately $16,000 and said he
had found matching funds of 50%.
Mr. Ferebee explained that it
is necessary for the Town Board to adopt the Refunding Bond Resolution supplied
by the TownÕs Bond Counsel to be designated substantially ÒEFC Drinking Water
Statutory Installment refunding Bond – 2009Ó. He said that originally a payment of $135,000 was due in
November and that with this new resolution only $16,000 would be due based on
the money already spent.
Resolution No. 181 –
09
The Town Board adopted
Resolution No. 181 – 09, A Refunding Bond Resolution. This resolution, in its entirety, is
attached to and made a part of these minutes.
Mr. Ferebee informed the
Board that Ms. Stack is interested in hiring a clerk for her office. He said that $3,200 was budgeted in the
2009 Budget and that there is still $3,000 left. He also said that $3,200 was budgeted in the 2010 Budget.
Mr. Biesemeyer spoke about a
conversation he had with Ms. Stack regarding changes necessary in the tax roll
being more than can be handled this year.
Mr. Jaques said he would
like to have Ms. Stack come to a meeting to give the Board an update.
Mr. Ferebee will ask Ms.
Stack to come to the next meeting and will talk to Dawn to see if she is
interested in working as her clerk.
The next discussion was
about the Old Mountain Road.
Details of the proposed law
were discussed.
Mr. Jaques felt the law
should include a distance allowed for ATVs, specifically up to the beaver dam.
Ms. Neville added or to the
ÒSouth NotchÓ.
Mr. Martin suggested marking
the area with signs.
Mr. Jaques said it also
needs to be a provision in the law.
The Town Board looked at the
sunrise/sunset chart from the hunting regulations and decided to use 6:00 AM to
6:00 PM as the hours for ATV use.
Ms. Whitson asked for
clarification of the distance allowed, she was assured by the Board that it
would be measured.
The Town Board discussed the
fine for violation and seemed to agree on $100.00.
Mr. Ferebee informed the Board
of the following results from the Bid Opening held today on the Holt House
Project:
Jameson
General Construction -
$157,950.00
Breadloaf
Construction - 199,000.00
Larry
Blanchard Construction - 163,398.00
He said that the low bidder,
Bill Jameson, had spoken with him following the bid opening and said he would
like to meet with the Board to discuss the project, he said Mr. Jameson said Òa
bid is a bidÓ.
Mr. Biesemeyer said he was
glad he wanted to meet because he has nothing but questions. He said he thought the bid was
completely ridiculous and he would not award any, but thought the Board owed
the low bidder the courtesy of meeting with him.
The Board discussed times
that would work for a Special Meeting, Mr. Ferebee will schedule the meeting.
Ms. Neville said she has
worked with and has seen work Jameson Construction has done and said they do a
great job.
Next was a brief discussion
about the Resolution of Qualified Abandonment of the Old Mtn. Road and
Certificate Evidencing Qualified Abandonment of a Town Highway Pursuant to
Highway Law Section 205(2).
Ms. Whitson supplied aforesaid resolution and said the certificate needs to be
filed with the Town Clerk.
Resolution No. 182 –
09
Mr. Jaques offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
This resolution, Qualified Abandonment of the Old Mtn. Road and
Certificate Evidencing Qualified Abandonment of a Town Highway Pursuant to
Highway Law Section 205(2), in its entirety is attached to and made a part of
these minutes. 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
Mr. Ferebee gave a brief
update on changes made to the budget between the Tentative version and the
Preliminary version.
He said the State Retirement
had been increased saying the letter has finally been received giving the
amount for 2010. He said that
$4,000 has been added to the HighwayÕs machine equipment line for rental. He also said that the numbers for the
sidewalk will get more precise before the budget is finalized.
The Town Board filed the
Preliminary Budget with the Town Clerk.
Resolution No. 183 –
09
The Town Board adopted
Resolution No. 183 – 09, a Resolution Amending 2009 Budget. This resolution, in its entirety, is
attached to and made a part of these minutes.
Resolution No. 184 –
09
The Town Board adopted
Resolution No. 184 – 09, a Resolution Changing Prior Transfers of
Funds. This resolution, in its
entirety, is attached to and made a part of these minutes.
Resolution No. 185 –
09
The Town Board adopted
Resolution No. 185 – 09, a Resolution Transferring Funds. This resolution, in its entirety, is
attached to and made a part of these minutes.
Resolution No. 186 –
09
Mr. Jaques offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the Town Board accept the Monthly Statement of the
Supervisor for September, and place it on file with the Town Clerk. 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
Resolution No. 187 –
09
Ms. Neville 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. Jaques.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
General Fund bills No.
G453 – G482 $48,652.98
Highway Fund bills No.
H147 – H158 26,388.42
Library Fund bills No.
L96 – L100 403.06
Water District #1 bills No.
K46 113.17
Water District #2 bills No.
KV57
37.21
Resolution No. 188 –
09
Ms. Neville offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that with 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
8:05 PM.
Ellen
S. Estes, Town Clerk
October
16, 2009
William B. Ferebee,
Supervisor
Paul R. Martin,
Councilperson
Robert M. Biesemeyer,
Councilperson
Marcy A. Neville,
Councilperson
Lawrence Jaques,
Councilperson