Town of Palatine
Regular Meeting
October 26, 2016
The regular meeting of the Palatine Town Board was held October 26, 2016 at 141 West Grand Street, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.
Present- Supervisor Sara Niccoli, Council: Betty Sanders, Niel Yerdon, Christopher Novak and Henry Vanderburgh, Town Clerk Linda Logan, Highway Supt,. Art Logan, DCO Cheryl Sebastian and CEO Cliff Dorrough.
The meeting was called to order at 6:30PM with Councilman Yerdon leading the pledge to the flag. In roll call, all were present.
Public Comment-
1. Paul Daw said he was told the employees pay checks were late last week and the Town was to pay them $100.00 each for the check being late. Paul asked where the money was coming from to pay them. Paul asked why the Deputy Supervisor could not sign them if the Supervisor was out of town.
On a motion by Councilman Vanderburgh second by Councilwoman Sanders, public comment was closed.
Highway Supt. Logan-
1. Finished hauling in sand for the winter.
2. Cutting shoulders and ditching.
3. Repaired several bumps and dips over culverts.
4. Doing maintenance on the trucks before the busy season.
5. Plow harnesses have been put on the trucks and plows and sanders are ready to go.
Councilman Novak asked Art if he had learned any more about leasing equipment for the Town, Art said he thought it was like a loan, but he will check into it before the next meeting. Councilman Yerdon asked Art if he had reached his goal for the year. Art said he had and that the good weather helped, the highway department is on track.
DCO Sebastian -submitted her written report, Cheryl said she had her yearly State inspection and passed.
Assessor Loucks- was not present, but submitted her written report.
CEO Dorrough- submitted his written report and also stated he had been to a training conference this week for his continuing education.
Town Clerk Logan- stated she had gotten the minutes of this year posted on the web site.
Planning Board- Joe Fasarella stated the Mattice site plan was approved by the County. Joe said two members of the Planning Board had attended the Fort Plain meeting on their comprehensive plan. The planning board has put together a solar farm plan for residents and commercial.
Supervisor report-
1. Working on the budget, the Board will be getting another tentative budget before the public hearing.
2. The public hearing for the budget will be held on November 10, 2016 at 6:30PM.
Council comment-
1. Hank Vanderburgh said the ethic committees will hold a tentative meeting for November 12, 2016 to make sure everything is operational.
2. Chris Novak
a. Chris said he spoke to someone at the Association of Towns and was told the Board should be approving the minutes.
b. On the tentative budget, the income versus expenses shows the court is a losing operation, and we are probably losing several thousands of dollars per year on the court system. Chris said the Town should look into consolidation of courts.
c. Chris said he has not gotten anything back from the Judge on the remodeling of the town hall.
d. Chris said he would like to write to the County to see why we are not getting more money to cover our costs for plowing.
e. Chris said to his knowledge, the money was not sent back to the contractors for the bid books.
On a motion by Councilman Yerdon second by Councilwoman Sanders, the Board all voted aye to approve resolution #62 of 2016, adopting a local law for Non Commercial and Commercial Wind Turbine Generators.
On a motion by Councilman Vanderburgh second by Councilman Yerdon, the Board all voted aye to adopt resolution # 63 of 2016, amending Local Law #1 of 2008. This will amend the powers and duties of the Planning Board members in case of a conflict or absence.
The Board decided to table the Montgomery County Multi-Jurisdiction all Hazard Mitigation Plan. (HMP)
The Board discussed the fire contracts with St. Johnsville and Canajoharie. Supervisor Niccoli said she will counter offer the Canajoharie Fire Department with a 1.9% increase from last year’s total. Councilman Yerdon said he would like to have someone from the fire department come to our meeting to explain why they are asking for a higher increase than 2%.
On a motion by Councilman Vanderburgh second by Councilman Novak, the Board all voted aye to have Supervisor Niccoli offer a counter offer of 1.9% to the Canajoharie Fire Department. If they accept the counter offer, Supervisor Niccoli has the authorization to sign the contract.
On a motion by Councilman Novak second by Councilwoman Sanders, the Board all voted aye to enter into contract with the St. Johnsville Fire Department in the amount of 1.9% per year of the contract.
On the motion by Councilman Yerdon second by Councilwoman Sanders, the Board all voted aye to approve the Justice report as presented.
On a motion by Councilwoman Sanders second by Councilman Yerdon, the abstracts were ordered paid as follows: General Fund A $ 7,356.46, General Fund B $ 167.94 and Highway Fund DA $ 35,964.87.
The Board decided the November meeting will be changed from November 23, 2016 to November 16, 2016 at 6:30PM.
Councilman Vanderburgh said since Paul Daw brought up the issue of the late paychecks, what can be done to correct this issue. Councilman Novak said it was the issue of the printing of the checks and not the actual signing of them. Supervisor Niccoli said she will address this issue later. Councilman Novak said the grievance needs to be handled differently. Town Clerk Logan said that when she spoke to Tom Quackenbush, he thought Linda had a copy of the CBA. After a brief discussion, it was found that Linda, and Art did not have any copies of the CBA. Chris said all the councilmen have e-mail copies, but it was found that Hank and Betty do not have an e-mail copy. Councilman Novak said he will e-mail a copy to the Town Clerk and she will print out hard copies for everyone.
Public Comment-
1. Skip Barshied said a lot of residents live within the Ephratah fire district and we are extremely fortunate to have the fire protection we have. Skip said if any part of the Town of Palatine would flood, it would be in the Wagner’s Hollow area. If the dam upstream ever burst, Wagner’s Hollow would be wiped out.
2. Paul Spencer said we need fire companies, if one can stay within the 2% tax cap, why can’t all of them?
3. Nancy Claiborne said that with the wind turbine law, there would by a $50.00 site plan fee along with a building permit fee.
4. Paul Daw asked what would happen if the fire companies did not agree to the 1.9% counter offer, do we have any options?
5. Sandy McCullough said the fire companies could charge us for each event they respond to. The fire companies are called to automobile accidents along with fires. Sandy said they earn every penny they get.
6. Skip Barshied asked if anyone ever sees how fire departments are spending their money. Did anyone ever see their budget?
On a motion by Councilman Yerdon second by Councilman Novak, public comment was closed.
On a motion by Councilwoman Sanders second by Councilman Vanderburgh, the meeting was adjourned at 7:49PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Linda E. Logan, Town Clerk