|
Minutes of the regular
Town Board Meeting held Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 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: 5 residents, 1 resident/Member
of the Press, Wendy Reynolds, Clerk to the Supervisor, 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. 166 – 08
Mr. Martin offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be
it resolved, that the Minutes from the Town Board Meetings
held September 19th and 30th and the Notes from the Budget
Workshops held September 16th and 22nd, 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
Privilege of the floor was offered.
Jean Clifford said the Golden Peaks Annual Sale, their Holiday
Craft and Bake Sale, will be held at the Community Center
on November 8th, from 10 AM to 2 PM.
Mike Hartson thanked the Board for all the positive support
with his efforts to put together the “Hill Climb” during the
Old Car Rally.
Mr. Biesemeyer said it was the Board (and the Members all
agreed) that should be thanking Mike.
Mr. Hartson said that the participates all wanted to do it
again next year, he said he would like to stage the event
at the Community Center on September 26th, 2009.
Louise Gregg asked the Board what was going on with the Water
Main Project on Route 73 in Keene Valley, asking how many
years this has been planned.
Mr. Ferebee said that the 4.2 million dollar loan had been
secured and that he was still looking for grant funding. He
said after the grant determination comes in from Rural Development,
the project will go out to bid.
Martha Allen asked whether the plan was still to get Route
73 done this fall.
Mr. Ferebee said no, it had gotten too late. He went on to
say that work at the pumping station would be done this fall
to alleviate the stress on the one pump working all the time.
Mrs. Gregg asked about the Holt House Project.
Mr. Ferebee explained that the back porch replacement had
been completed in time for the Bicentennial event saying that’s
all that was scheduled at that time to be done.
He said the next step is to get an architect in to design
the rest of the project saying that Christine Francis is going
to be working on this phase of it.
Mrs. Gregg said that she and Janet Hall had attended the
Archives Cemetery Association Meeting and had gotten a lot
of information on restoration if anyone wanted to use it.
Mrs. Gregg asked if there was a Bicentennial Report.
Mr. Martin said there would be a financial report following
the sales tax report due November 30th.
He said the committee has 1 more meeting and that the last
event will be the dedication of the Notman Park plaque at
the park where the old highway garage was located.
Ms. Neville suggested advertising the merchandise still for
sale with Christmas coming.
Resolution No. 167 – 08
Mr. Biesemeyer offered a resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the Town Board file the Preliminary Budget
with the Town Clerk. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Ferebee.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Resolution No. 168 – 08
Mr. Biesemeyer offered a resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, due to the conflict with the Veteran’s Day
holiday, the regular Town Board Meeting for November be rescheduled
to Wednesday, November 5th, immediately following the Public
Hearing upon Preliminary Budget to be held at 5:00 PM. This
resolution was seconded by Mr. Ferebee.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Resolution No. 169 – 08
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be
it resolved, that the Town Board accept and place on file
the Keene Youth Commission Program’s Final Report for the
Summer of 2008 submitted by the Director, Mitch Estes. This
resolution was seconded by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Mr. Ferebee informed the Board that the new plots near the
vault in Norton Cemetery are ready for sale. He said in this
new section there are 111 double plots and 3 singles. He also
said the selling price needed to be discussed, to meet the
cost of the preparation. He said the calculations came in
at $237 for a single plot and $474 for a double.
Resolution No. 170 – 08
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be
it resolved, that with the completion of a new section, the
moratorium on cemetery plots at Norton Cemetery be lifted
and the selling price be changed to $450 for a two grave plot
and $250 for a single grave plot. This resolution was seconded
by Mr. Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Mr. Jaques asked if there was anything new on the land acquisition
for the “new Norton Cemetery”.
Mr. Ferebee said there is no change, the swap is complete,
and NYS DEC is just waiting for a signature.
Ms. Whitson said that the State is waiting on a signature
for the DEC Conservation Easement.
Mr. Ferebee said the first reimbursement for the Holt House
Project was received in the amount of $31,000.
He said that information has been received that $29,775 is
coming on the Riverside Park (Notman Park) Project and that
the balance of the $75,000 grant will come after Rich Fazioli
completes the work he is doing.
Mr. Martin asked when the new cemetery wall will be capped.
Mr. Ferebee said the capping is scheduled for Thursday.
Mr. Ferebee said that Rural Development required a resolution
stating policies for how water interruptions would be handled
when the Water District #2 project is started.
Resolution No. 171 – 08
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be
it resolved, that any planned or routine interruption of water
will be timed when the fewest homes will be affected, the
Town will work with the residents to keep them informed, well
in advance, of any scheduled shutdown. Also resolved, that
the Town will provide at least one weeks advanced notice and
bottled water for planned water outages for the residences
served by the new pumping station. 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
Ms. Neville initiated the next discussion, asking what the
Board wanted to do about outdoor wood furnaces. She said that
she and she was sure that other Board Members are being approached
in person and by letters by residents. She suggested that
the Board take a look into this issue and suggested a moratorium
in the Hamlet until the Board receives further information
and decisions are made. She said there are seminars coming
up and if no one else could attend she would.
Mr. Biesemeyer said he felt that more information is necessary
and that a public hearing should be held before issuing a
moratorium.
Mr. Jaques said his concern on a moratorium is that people
may already have bought or put down money ordering one.
There was discussion regarding how many permits Mr. Slycord
has issued.
Mr. Jaques said he thought he had heard that no building permit
was needed as long as the OWF is installed by NYS code.
The other members said that was incorrect and that Mr. Slycord
issues permits for installation.
The Board further discussed a proposed moratorium and a proposed
public hearing agreeing to hold off on both at this time,
but to meet with Mr. Slycord, on Thursday, to get more information.
Resolution No. 172 – 08
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution and moved its adoption. Be
it resolved, that the Town Board enter Executive Session to
discuss personnel. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Ferebee.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
The Board entered Executive Session at 7:38 PM.
Resolution No. 173 – 08
Mr. Biesemeyer offered a resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the Town Board reconvene into regular
session. 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 Town Board reconvened into regular session at 7:52 PM.
Resolution No. 174 – 08
Mr. Biesemeyer offered a resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the Town Board accept the Monthly Financial
Statement of the Supervisor 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. 175 – 08
The Town Board adopted Resolution No. 175 – 08, a Resolution
Transferring Funds. This resolution, in its entirety, is attached
to and made a part of these minutes.
Resolution No. 176 – 08
Mr. Martin 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. 540 – 566 $ 21,071.37
Highway Fund bills No. 179 – 186 11,608.95
Library Fund bills No. 86 – 89 287.66
Water Dist. #1 bills No. 59 – 64 1,402.05
Water Dist. #2 bills No. 75 – 78 248.57
CPF – High Peaks Byway No. 1 – 4 3,106.26
Mr. Ferebee explained to the Board that some of the figures
in the 2008 Budget column of the 2009 Preliminary Water District
#2 Budget were actually from the 2007 Budget. He said that
the Contractual amount should be $65,655.00, making the Operational
Expense $97,100.00, making the Total Water District #2 Expense
$125,700.00.
The Board discussed the Keene Valley Fire District budget.
Mr. Jaques said he thought their raises should be capped at
3% to keep in line with the rest of the Town salaries.
The Board also discussed the public hearings that the Fire
Districts are required to hold.
Ms. Whitson will research the compliance of the Fire Districts
budgets.
Resolution No. 177 – 08
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 8:14 PM.
Ellen S. Estes, Town Clerk
October 23, 2008
William B. Ferebee, Supervisor
Paul R. Martin, Councilperson
Robert M. Biesemeyer, Councilperson
Marcy A. Neville, Councilperson
Lawrence Jaques, Councilperson
|