Board of Trustees

. Village of Walden Board of Trustees Regular Meeting September 18, 2018 Mayor Rumbold called the regular meeting of the Village of Walden Board of Trustees to order at 6:30pm. On roll call the following were: Present: Mayor Sue Rumbold Deputy Mayor Faith Moore Trustees Brian B. Sebring Larry Kraus John Ramos Dan Svarczkopf Lynn E. Thompson Absent: Also Present: John Revella, Village Manager Marisa Kraus, Deputy Clerk Dave Donovan, Village Attorney Village Manager’s Report  Discussion on civil service updates.  Went over Police Dept. Personnel matters with Chief.  Conversation with the Mayor about shared services.  Finalized the abandoned property list with Dean. Will be sending out the letters.  Went over the Ulster Ave project with the engineer. Trying to get an engineering company that meets criteria.  Comp plan meeting. Discussed some updates.  Received the updates from the Planner to finalize draft  Went over the Capital Projects and some resident concerns with DPW.  Signing for Pine St. Pump Station contractor.  Had meeting regarding outside water/sewer user. It’s not final yet, but have updates.  SW Security does security protocols and protection for schools and municipalities. Talked about potential safeguard at Village Hall. Ballistic glass for the counters.  Worked on fixed assets with the Treasurer. Had some computer issues.  Harvest Fest is going well.  PBA Negotiations continue. Trustee Svarczkopf asked about the security meeting. Manager Revella said that he is giving us a quote about potentially putting a double window at the main office. His idea is to move the desk counter to front, remove the doors September 18, 2018 1  . and put glass there at the hallway. Have it protected by some kind of ballistic material. 2 windows so 2 people can work at the same time. Then there will be single window at the court. Trustee Svarczkopf asked if there are 3 companies that can do that to get quotes from. Manager Revella said no, if there’s only one company that can do it than it’s a sole source. This is just to get an estimate to see what it would cost us. If it’s more than a certain amount than we’ll go out for public bids. Trustee Thompson questioned the timeline on replacing the computers. Manager Revella said we’re going to get some quotes on that now. Mayor Rumbold asked about the grant. Manger Revella said not yet. It could be any day. Approval of September 4, 2018 Minutes Trustee Svarczkopf made a motion to approve the September 4, 2018 Minutes. Seconded by Trustee Thompson. All ayes. Motion carried. Trustee’s Committee Reports Village Offices Liaison – Trustee Svarczkopf Trustee Svarczkopf reported that we are pretty close to deciding on the Edmunds Software. Should be able to move payroll over to that pretty soon. Holding off until the grant to replace the server. If there is no grant, going to look at upgrading and maybe work into next year’s budget. Town of Montgomery & Library Board liaison – Trustee Kraus Trustee Kraus reported that he spoke with Ginny and they put a bid out again for the renovation. She’s hoping someone is going to bid. Will look into hiring someone. The Boo Hoo breakfast didn’t turn out great, but the PD loved it. All of September, is Ban Book week. Planning and Zoning Boards as well as the Building Department Liaison – Trustee Thompson Trustee Thompson reported that she met with Dean and Manager Revella today about fire safety inspections. 3 areas set up. Dean is currently working on area 1. Paper work is finalized for the abandoned houses. Will be mailed out next week. The Code Enforcement Officer is not back yet. Dean is still trying to cover those issues on top of his regular duties. Few issues that Manager Revella is aware of that need attention. The Mayor and I went to the last Town of Montgomery meeting about the Hill St. Bridge and Rail Trail issues. They are aware of the issues. Police Department and Justice Department Liaison – Deputy Mayor Moore Deputy Mayor Moore reported that she spoke with Chief about vehicle maintenance, fuel and over time reports. Officer Montanaro attended the Tactical Officers Conference in Virginia last week. He became an instructor in Less Than Lethal Tactical and munition. September 18, 2018 2  . Officer Dudas attended Radar and Lidar Certification. SGT Metzger will be attending the Impact Conference in Saratoga. Officer Rios and Officer Fries will be attending Women in Law Enforcement training in October with Chaplain Sullivan and Chaplain Herzog. Recreation & Parks Department and Valley Central School Board Liaison – Trustee Ramos Trustee Ramos reported that he spoke with Mr. Bliss and they are hot and heavy with helping getting ready for Harvest Fest with the Walden Community Council. Touching up the park. The banner for Harvest Fest went up today. Soccer has 7 kids signed up and more are coming next week. The School District is doing well. There were some minor glitches. The district and bus company are working it out. DPW Liaison– Trustee Sebring Trustee Sebring reported that he spoke with Fred, his crew is doing patch work. Prepping for winter. Sweeping the streets. Couple house service leaks. Chipping. Sewer jetting. Concrete pad at the DPW building. The Mechanic has been busy repairing the plows and checking for cracks. Changing oils. The Water Dept. installed 17 meters. Mayor Rumbold read community events into minutes Public Comment on Business of the Board Brenda Adams, 31 Valley Ave, asked if adding anything to agenda. Manager Revella said no. Re Hagele, 25 Valley Ave, address zoning code 305.54(D)2. He currently has an applicant in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals and he strongly feels that it’s in the Village’s best interest to take a look at this. It effects single family homes. His home would cost 350k to fix in 2000, as it applies to a single family. There are at least 50 homes near him that are framed, but are non-conforming. They have to meet the criteria of more than half of the cost. But then have to go to the Planning Board for site plan approvals. Becky Pearson, 167 Walnut St, said that in the packet, there’s stuff about Taylor. Will there be discussion about it? Manager Revella said not at this meeting. It was just informational. Some members of the Board have never seen the original Taylor Contract. Becky was wondering if a contract was brought up for the outside water and sewer. How long will it be for and if there’s a possibility for them to annex into the Village for benefit for tax purposes. Manager Revella said that they would have to reduce the sewer usage to meet the need. Becky asked how that is regulated. Manager Revella answered through our engineers and DEC. Becky thanked them for looking at the zoning code. September 18, 2018 3  . Mary Ellen Matise, 54 Gladstone Ave, sees that Attorney Dickover is copied on the memo that Attorney Donovan wrote and asked if he had commented on it. Attorney Donovan replied that he did comment on it and did corporate that in the memo. Mary Ellen asked what we can do at this point. Also, on outside water and sewer she is in favor of giving services to the East End Bus Company. Action Items Outside Water/Sewer – Amthor Property Manager Revella had a meeting with the engineer, attorney, and realtor for potential options at the site. Reiterated the need. Sewer usage we are working on a plan but there is no issue with water. We talked about duration and other potential ideas. The applicant has to get back to us. Once we have a plan together, we will bring a draft to the board. Trustee Svarczkopf asked about the duration and if there was a consensus. Manager Revella said not yet. Trustee Svarczkopf questioned if we are talking about it until we fix the price. Manager Revella said we discussed doubling the current rates. Trustee Svarczkopf asked about them being annexed and if it was something we do. Manager Revella said that the property owner would have to do that. Trustee Thompson asked what the likelihood of that happening. Attorney Donovan said that the property owner would have to petition to the Village and Town Boards, have a public hearing on the process. If it’s voted in favor, it goes forward. If voted no, it can be challenge by the property owner or one of the municipalities. It can take months/years. SEQRA analysis Trustee Svarczkopf questioned if it will cost money. Attorney Donovan said that the fees are associated typically for the application paid for by applicant. If litigation, then the lawyer fees. Trustee Thompson asked if there was any disadvantage. Trustee Svarczkopf commented that we would go from double water and sewer to regular water and sewer. Manager Revella stated that we would then get taxes. Zoning Code 305.54(D)2 Becky Pearson is concerned about the single family homes. Businesses. Non-conforming businesses as well. September 18, 2018 4  . Mayor Rumbold asked if she was concerned about Becky doesn’t think there’s going to be an issue. She’s worried about the single family homes. Whatever we can do to rectify what we do now. Don’t want to give the same thing to the businesses as you do to a family. What is written makes sense Attorney Donovan said the problem is specific, want to expand the conforming use. Law as written. Break out a section to require for area variance. Much easier for the homeowner to present. Attorney Donovan suggested that it could be applicable to any conforming use. Could be business use. Draft a local law to the effect of wanting it only for single family homes. Mayor Rumbold thought that was the issue. Becky doesn’t know how it will effect the businesses. May want to look at whole law. Attorney Donovan said that if you read my memo. It’s broader than that. Trustee Svarczkopf said there are 2 options, quick fix and long term. How long for the long term option to be ready and implement? Attorney Donovan said it is important to decide how you want it to coincide with the comp plan. Couple weeks could have something drafted, then you can digest it. Listen to what the public has to say at hearing. Becky questioned if you can just scrap the whole law and then rewrite it, so you don’t have to amend this one. Attorney Donovan said that you can repeal the entire section. Likely require an area variance. Don’t know how the Building Inspector feels. Dean Stickles, Building Inspector, said it’s a better idea to repeal. Mayor Rumbold asked if it will solve the immediate issue. Attorney Donovan said yes. But we would want to make sure to cover any inconsistency. Deputy Mayor Moore questioned if repealing a section could cause a problem anywhere else. Attorney Donovan said that expansion of non-conforming use would not be subject to the current criteria, which is probably that 50% of cost will no longer apply. Becky asked if it’s in other communities. Attorney Donovan said that he has never seen it at 50% of the cost. NYS building code is the standard. Trustee Svarczkopf asked if repealing law would do that. September 18, 2018 5  . Attorney Donovan said correct. He hasn’t analyzed for consequences. We could have a Local Law draft at next meeting. Becky wants to look further at same law to figure what to do w it. Trustee Svarczkopf questioned if we can make a small change now and repeal at another time. Attorney Donovan replied, realistically, yes but the Village Manager indicated to draft local law to fix the issues and then another draft regarding repealing and try to analyze the unintended consequences of each option. Credit Card Resolution Manager Revella said we had the opportunity to use this encompassing card that seems to be beneficial and needs a resolution to accept the plan. Trustee Ramos made a motion to approve Credit Card Resolution. Seconded by Trustee Sebring. All ayes. Motion carried. Comprehensive Policy Package Manager Revella explained there’s a copy of revised policies for all Village employees. Asked the Board to please go through that version and make notes. Mayor Rumbold asked to look for the crossed out sections. Manager Revella added that the big things are insurance cost, contributions, vacations, separation, and time off. Regular things required, harassment, violence, credit card use, vehicle use. If there’s something you see that is missing or need expansion or clarity on, please advise. Deputy Mayor Moore asked when to have it back by. Manger Revella said by Thursday before the next meeting to have it redrafted and then have a copy for the public and for department heads. Award Bid for Valley Ave Sewer Main Lining Manger Revella said this is for a section of Valley Ave. From the Community Development Block Grant. The focus on this is for the oldest and deepest areas. Which are ridiculously expensive. Relining makes more sense. Cost benefit analysis. Bid by foot. Certain sections. Will smoke test. Lowest bidder was En-Tech Corp at $75,020.00 Trustee Svarczkopf asked if there is any chance that they will wreck pipe when they do it. Manger Revella answered, yes. Dan asked if they would replace his pipe as well. September 18, 2018 6  . Trustee Sebring questioned if pictures are taken prior. Manager Revella said that they are required to take pictures and video. Deputy Mayor Moore made the motion to award the bid to En-Tech Corp for $75,020. Seconded by Trustee Thompson. All ayes. Motion carried. Public Comment Brenda Adams, 31 Valley Ave, wasn’t here for the Local Law on Sept 4th, about the water pipe to the main. Make it consistent to the sewer law. Knows it won’t have impact. Having not attended the August meeting, didn’t know what it was. Emailed the Village Manager to clarify the conversation and appreciates his detailed response to it. Read the minutes from when it was posted. It’s sad that you have to download this expense to the property owner. Would have considered the LL for the sewer to the main. The government is here to do what we can’t do on our own. The government is here to help with health and safety. Village can have a more prompt response to safety issue. Village can respond immediately. Can do it cheaper. No delay for loan process. What if they can’t qualify for the loan. Can you come up with that much money? How would you deal with it? When you live in the Village, assume taxes are paying for amenities. Second, last year, the VFW had water that ran down Oak St. Water was wasted. It was before the meter and ran through all of our systems. How many gallons were lost? An opening was required from VFW, a State Law saying they had to open the street. Once opened, at VFW expense, found the line was new and the Village records were wrong and didn’t really need to replace it. Now adding insult to injury, they have a large loan. Someone should consider forgiving a portion or the whole loan. They do a service. They are Military. They are strapped. Anita asked about cleaning at the Wooster building. Do the employees know that it’s their responsibility? That building was filthy when we did a Community Council. And must still be dirty. Does someone review that the employees have the knowledge of what they’re supposed to clean? Kids use the building and should be clean. Was the sewer done when they ripped up the street on Valley Ave? Manager Revella said that they didn’t touch the sewer portion. Brenda mentioned that the street was ripped up for so long and can’t believe they didn’t take care of it then. Manger Revella said that it was just drainage. Trustee Svarczkopf asked when Ulster Ave is going to be torn up. Will they have both lanes open? Access side streets? Manager Revella replied that it will be one lane. It’s a state road and they require one lane to remain open. There may be days when you can’t turn down a road if they’re working on that particular area at that time. Re Hagele wanted to revisit 305-54(D)2, he’s an architect and has represented clients in over 50 Zoning Board appeals and never accounted something as convoluted and confusing as this particular law. Would like to submit that you have a safety net. Review any application. Your safety net is the Zoning Board of Appeals itself. That amendment seems superfluous and unnecessary. September 18, 2018 7  . Becky Pearson asked why the Board isn’t in the meetings about the outside water and sewer. They should direct the Village Manager. How long is the contract for? Water and sewer lines. Brenda spoke well. Put a liner in, need to fix sewer line..? put a liner in or a whole line in? For months, the VFW had water running down wasting water. There was no law to begin with. Who was telling them to have that work done. You should repay that. Is there any news about the Clerk position? Is it going to be full time, part time? There’s something in the packet that had Marisa Kraus as the Village Clerk. Mayor Rumbold stated that she is the Deputy Clerk. Becky asked if we have any comments on the clerk. Mayor Rumbold said that she will report back. Ron Font, 33 Winding Brook Dr, is recently retired and has traveled the area to Florida, Montgomery, Pine Bush and their Main Street is beautiful. Very active areas. But then come back to Walden, looking at Main St and it’s almost depressing. Questioned if there is anything that can be done to beautify Walden. Mary Ellen Matise, 54 Gladstone, Brenda’s comments were excellent, the Village can respond to a water main break, time factor, use factor, she was right on. If you pass a law, it’s not the end of the world. You can revisit it. Not necessarily targeting a certain property, but a certain issue. Since June 25th about site obstruction, one corner, still has not been dealt with. Mayor Rumbold stated that it has been dealt with. The process has been started. Mary Ellen said that the process has been started, but not completed. The parties involved received a letter and had 10 days to comply. That was a month ago. Mayor Rumbold said that she hasn’t been by there today, but has driven by many times and never had an issue. Mary Ellen added that we have a clear cut code of a 2 foot limit. Over that is a violation of the code. It’s not a grey issue. Bringing it up because if we don’t …what happens if there is an accident, these are not complicated issues. Manger Revella said that it’s all on the list. Payment of the Audited Bills Deputy Mayor Moore made a motion to pay the audited bills. Seconded by Trustee Ramos. All ayes. Motion carried. Correspondence None Miscellaneous Comments from the Board of Trustees September 18, 2018 8  . Deputy Mayor Moore wanted to give a reminder for RDAC Spruce Up this Friday beautifying West Main St, North and South Montgomery, the Skate Park. Anyone interested, can meet at RDAC at 8:30am on Friday. We will provide breakfast, T-shirt and lunch. Still looking for volunteers and properties to spruce up are needed too, including Walnut St. Anyone who has a project that needs to be completed, can come to RDAC to let her know by 3pm tomorrow. Trustee Thompson said that several of us were in the Montgomery Day Parade had a great time. Hopefully some folks from Montgomery will come to Harvest Fest. Asked if the work place violence and other trainings discussed had been scheduled. Manager Revella said that there’s a workplace violence and sexual harassment training scheduled for all employees tomorrow. Trustee Svarczkopf questioned that when coming into the Village on 52, there’s a Village speed limit sign for 25 mph and then about 30 feet there’s another sign for 30mph. Manger Revella said that’s the speed limit on all streets, unless otherwise posted. Trustee Svarczkopf stated that he would like to revisit the water and sewer at a later date. Thanks to the Orange County Personnel Dept. for helping the Deputy Clerk and offering more training. Trustee Kraus added that he would like to revisit the water and sewer as well. Thinks that Brenda made good points. Mayor Rumbold said that she has lived in Orange County all her life and they used to talk to neighbors when there were issues. They didn’t use codes or laws to get back at a neighbor you don’t like and try to address things. If someone has issue, get a resolution. May not be as quick as some would like. Do take it into consideration. I would rather talk to my neighbors, than to make it difficult to live there. Executive Session Deputy Mayor Moore made a motion to enter into executive session to discuss PBA Negotiations and personnel history of particular persons. Seconded by Trustee Ramos. All ayes. Motion carried. Reconvene Trustee Ramos made a motion to reconvene the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. Seconded by Trustee Svarczkopf. All ayes. Motion carried. September 18, 2018 9  . Village of Walden Board of Trustees Regular Meeting September 18, 2018 Motions & Resolutions Approval of September 4, 2018 Minutes Trustee Svarczkopf made a motion to approve the September 4, 2018 Minutes. Seconded by Trustee Thompson. All ayes. Motion carried. Credit Card Resolution Trustee Ramos made a motion to approve Credit Card Resolution. Seconded by Trustee Sebring. All ayes. Motion carried. Award Bid for Valley Ave Sewer Main Lining Deputy Mayor Moore made the motion to award the bid to En-Tech Corp for $75,020.00. Seconded by Trustee Thompson. All ayes. Motion carried. Payment of the Audited Bills Deputy Mayor Moore made a motion to pay the audited bills. Seconded by Trustee Ramos. All ayes. Motion carried. Executive Session Deputy Mayor Moore made a motion to enter into executive session to discuss PBA Negotiations and Personnel. Seconded by Trustee Ramos. All ayes. Motion carried. Reconvene Trustee Ramos made a motion to reconvene the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. Seconded by Trustee Svarczkopf. All ayes. Motion carried. September 18, 2018 10