MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF CATSKILL BOARD OF TRUSTEES

March 23, 2016

PRESENT: President Heather Bagshaw

Vice-President Rick Paolino

Trustee Vin Seeley

Trustee Jim Chewens

Trustee Stanley Dushane

REORGANIZATIONAL MEETING:

The Oath of Office was administered to the newly elected officials: Maria LaRosa, Vincent Seeley and Stanley Dushane, all on March 23, 2016.

Motion made by Chewens to nominate Vincent Seeley as Village President, and having no second; motion was made by Dushane, seconded by Paolino, to nominate Bagshaw as Village President. AYES: Dushane, Paolino, Bagshaw. Motion carried.

Joseph Kozloski stated that Vin Seeley served as President for the past 10 years, and did not understand how he could get the votes for the election; but not be nominated as President. Hudson Talbot and Carol Miller both made statements which echoed what Joseph Kozloski said.

President Bagshaw then nominated Paolino as Vice President. AYES: Dushane, Paolino, Bagshaw. Motion carried.

Committee Appointments were unchanged, as per President Bagshaw.

Motion made by Paolino, seconded by Chewens, to approve The Daily Mail as official newspaper. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Dushane, seconded by Paolino, to approve The Bank of Greene County as official bank for the Village. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Seeley, seconded by Chewens, to hold Village Board meetings on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month located at the Senior Center, Academy Street (off of Thompson St.) Catskill. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Seeley, seconded by Chewens, to retain the firm of Wilson, Elser, Mozkowitz, Edelman & Dicker – Alex Betke, Esq. as the Village attorneys. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made Seeley, seconded by Paolino, to accept the Investment and Procurement policies as read. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Paolino, seconded by Chewens, to accept the attached resolution regarding mileage allowance as $.54/mile. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Paolino, seconded by Chewens, to approve purchases from local vendors with a price differential not to exceed 10%. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Chewens, seconded by Paolino, to certify the election results as follows:

Seeley 322 votes

Dushane: 269 votes

LaRosa: 317 votes

AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Dushane, seconded by Chewens to approve attendance at meetings and training schools sponsored by the Conference of Mayors, Mohawk Hudson Association of Village Officials, Capital District Village Clerks Association, and State and Federal agencies.

AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Chewens, seconded by Dushane, to appoint Betsy Cothren as Village Clerk. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Dushane, seconded by Chewens, to appoint Melissa Ragaini as Deputy Clerk/Treasurer. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Paolino, seconded by Chewens, to appoint Shari Kimmel as Deputy Clerk/Treasurer. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Paolino, seconded by Dushane, to approve establishing 6 hours per day as the standard work day for Trustees and Justices for retirement reporting purposes. The total number of days reported for Trustees will be five (5) days per month. Standard work day and terms of office have already been established for other Trustees who participate in the NYS Retirement System. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Dushane, seconded by Chewens, to approve payment of audited bills. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Motion made by Chewens, seconded by Paolino, to approve submitted department reports. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Bob Hoven spoke to the Board about the Blue Star Park. This is the park where the trees were trimmed by Clear Channel and we were reimbursed for the damage. Mr. Hoven said that an arborist came to evaluate the trees at said park and was told that the cherry trees could stay, and that one tree will be removed/replaced; and that possibly another one, but will wait and see. The trees will be maintained and reassessed each year. The redbud trees near the Courthouse are also being watched and maintained as well. Motion made by Chewens, seconded by Paolino, to pay the fee to the arborist.

Hudson Talbot spoke to the Board about a tree commission, as the Village needs to secure our trees into the future and how they will be maintained from now on. There will be no new trees this year, but need to be on top of maintaining the trees.

Hudson Talbot also introduced the new Cedar Grove/Cole House liaison as Heather Perovick, she is the new outreach and research coordinator. Heather mentioned that the new season would open on May 1st with an open house and ribbon cutting for the new studio, new exhibit space as well as the art studio. Please come to the open house from 11:00 AM to the afternoon.

Motion made by Seeley, seconded by Paolino, approve the re-appointment of Ann Gibbons-Markou to the Catskill Housing Authority Board. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Nancy Richards asked the Board whether or not a decision has been made with regard to fireworks for July 4th. The Board stated that the budget has not been done yet, but that same would be discussed then. Nancy told the Board that HOCA had no money for fireworks this year. March 26 -- Walk of the Cross from noon to 1:30; Jamie Hyer asked if she could use Dutchman’s Landing on Wednesday and Friday mornings for yoga; Nancy needed a decision on the Walking Loop; and also informed the Board that the Flood Guides will be out by April 1st. Nancy asked the Board for permission to attend the Flood Mitigation Program, which will hold a session every 3-4 months for the next year. Nancy was told she could attend.

The Board asked if a meeting with St. Patrick’s school people could be set up.

Nancy asked the Board about signage and was told to keep it the same as the walking loop signage. Nancy said she needed the locations for the signs and if any would be single or double sided.

April 30th is the annual Clean Up day; teachers from the school want to help.

May 7th – Trunk Sales start

April 16th – Little League starts

Nancy informed the Board that Michael Lanuto’s Zoning Board term is up, and that another person is needed as an alternate.

OPEN

Trustee Chewens asked about Auto Zone and was informed that it is still moving forward; also asked about the new storage units coming and was told that there is nothing to bring to the Board yet. Chewens also stated that he wants to speak with NYS DOT with regard to the roadwork being proposed on W. Bridge Street and that Chewens wants to see if they could do all of W. Bridge Street. Chewens also said that there needs to be ‘curbing’ around the new gas valve by Subway.

Chewens also thanked the fire department for all the hard work done at the firehouse for the open house this Saturday.

Bagshaw thanked the Board for their support and looks forward to working together.

Joe Izzo asked the Board for permission for a Memorial Day parade; and that the committee consists of himself, Dave Darling and Patrick McCulloch. Parade will be on Monday, May 30th at 4:00 PM; and also asked to be able to make arrangements with Police Department and the DPW. The Board told Joe Izzo to go ahead with the parade plans. Mr. Izzo also asked West Point for participation in the parade.

Town Councilman McCulloch asked the Village Board if the Town and Village could come up with joint regulations on solar energy and if the planning and zoning boards worked together. Pace University is in the process of releasing guidelines for solar energy. The Town of Catskill currently has a moratorium on solar except for homeowners with solar panels on their roofs; but if panels require a set-back, they fall under the moratorium.

Carol Miller asked if the Cat museum can be restored, and Seeley told her he would find out what is going on there.

Harold Rivenburgh praised the Fire Department for the excellent job performed at BRIK Gallery fire; and the fire at Hop-O-Nose; both of which could have been major disasters. Kudos to the Fire Department on their fine work.

Open House for the Fire Department will be held on April 2nd from 2:00 – 5:00 PM. All are invited; and the Village should be proud of the new construction and how the fire station looks.

Trustee Dushane thanked the DPW for all their help with the new firehouse construction.

Pam Wright stated that the Village Yard would be held on June 11th.

Town Councilman McCulloch stated that the Town wide clean-up will be held on June 25th from 7:30 AM – 2:00 PM.

Motion made by Dushane, seconded by Paolino, to adjourn the meeting. AYES: All Trustees present. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

BETSY COTHREN