The Town Board of the Town of Clayton held
a Workshop Meeting at the Village Municipal Building with the
following present:
Robert W. Cantwell Jr., George Kittle,
Justin Taylor, Donald Turcotte, Bonnie Rose, Bob Boulton, Kathy
LaClair, Rob Campany (BCA), Bill Sherman, Paul Heckmann, Mary
Mascott (TIPAF), Keitha Huchzermeier, Lena Black, Bill Moore
(PPM), Jenny Burke (PPM), Kelly Vadney (WDT), Brian Hammond
(Teamsters), Bill Solar, Tim Orvis, Joseph W. Russell (Town
Attorney) (5:35)
Supervisor Cantwell opened the Workshop
Meeting at 5:00 PM.
Union Rep Appeal to the Board:
Supervisor Cantwell stated that an appeal
letter, dated 9/27, had been received on 9/28 from Brian
Hammond, Business Agent in regard to a “personnel issue”. The
Town responded that any additional information could be given in
person at this evenings meeting. Tonight we have the local
Teamsters Representative, Bill Sherman, who wishes to address
this Board.
Rep. Sherman indicated the person had
received his regular driver’s license back and therefore there
should be something we can do about reinstating him.
Brian Hammond, Business Agent, then arrived
and indicated the letter sent was requesting further review and
would prefer that this matter be expressed in Executive Session
and was hoping an executive session would be called.
Supervisor Cantwell stated everything could
be accomplished in writing however it’s clear that the teamsters
union deems this person still an employee. Supervisor Cantwell
polled the Board to see if they wanted to go into executive
session.
Councilman Taylor indicated we should
postpone this at least until our Counsel is present.
Motion by George Kittle, 2nd
by Donald Turcotte, to postpone an executive session until the
end of this evenings meeting. Motion carried.
Minutes:
Motion by George Kittle, 2nd
by Bonnie Rose, to approve the minutes of 10/11/06 as written.
Motion carried.
Motion by Bonnie Rose, 2nd
by Donald Turcotte, to approve the minutes of the Special
meeting of 10/19 as written. Motion carried.
Public:
No one to speak this evening.
Wind Turbine/Farm Committee Report:
Paul Heckmann, Chairman of the Committee
reported to the board that he had submitted a written report
including recommendations on how to proceed. He stated his
committee feels we need to move forward with these procedures.
The Town Board needs to charge the Town Attorney to prepare a
draft amendment to the ordinance and also the Comprehensive Plan
needs to be reviewed and possibly amended.
Councilman Turcotte extended a “thank you”
to Mr. Heckmann for chairing this committee. He stated that
this evening this Board needs to make a determination to move
forward. Councilman Turcotte stated that he personally hasn’t
heard anyone that is opposed. Councilman Turcotte indicated
that this is needed.
Councilman Taylor had several questions:
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Is the “overlay district based on just the potential of
this vendor? Answer: The committee met with PPM. Their
outline was smaller and the committee decided to square the area
up more. Mr. Heckmann indicated that at this time, this is the
only feasible area. In the future we can be flexible, however
this is the only area requested at this particular time.
-
Recommendation #10, is this an industry standard?
Answer: Mr. Heckmann stated that the standard is 40-50 decimals,
therefore the committee indicated that the noise levels
shouldn’t exceed 45 decimals.
-
Recommendation #8, concerning buried cables, is this an
industry standard? Answer: Mr. Heckmann indicated that the
committee wants as many of the cables buried as possible.
-
Did the committee define PILOT’s? Answer: Mr. Heckmann
stated the committee didn’t get into that, as they thought it
should be a Town Board discussion.
Mr. Heckmann stated he had a great
committee. He didn’t have anyone from along the river, because
this wasn’t a river issue at this time. He did have several
Depauville people on the committee as the proposal at this time
would be in their back yard.
Supervisor Cantwell indicated that with any
insurance, it should state the Town will be additionally
insured.
A discussion on an escrow agreement
followed. Supervisor Cantwell expressed we have a mechanism in
place for escrow when applying for a zoning permit. When you do
an application the Planning Board will approach that subject.
The Town will not make an agreement with the company prior to an
application.
Mr. Moore, form PPM, indicated that some
towns demand a separate agreement and escrow account.
Motion by Donald Turcotte, 2nd
by George Kittle, to authorize Atty. Russell to propose a draft
amendment to the Town Zoning Ordinance. Motion carried.
Action on Asphalt Zipper lease purchase:
Supervisor Cantwell indicated that Counsel,
although we believe this company to be the sole source for this
equipment, suggests it goes out to bid to cover all bases
especially the lease purchase portion. Hwy. Supt. Boulton
indicated that an ad will be in the 11/1 edition of the TI Sun,
with bids due 11/8.
Motion by Bonnie Rose, 2nd
by Justin Taylor, to advertise for the asphalt zipper. Motion
carried.
Employee Handbook Update:
Supervisor Cantwell indicated the handbook
has been updated to include all material previously approved by
the Town Board. Nothing has been changed in character.
Motion by George Kittle, 2nd
by Bonnie Rose, to approve the update of the Employee Handbook
and distribution. Motion carried.
Opera House re-bid:
Supervisor Cantwell recapped that the
General Contracting bids on 9/13 were thrown out. On 9/18
re-bids were opened. We had the Special Board meeting on 9/19
to take action, however we had to “tabled action” to review all
“alternate bids”. The bid specs stipulated that all components
needed to be bid on.
After review by Counsel, it was determined
that the low bid was incomplete and should be declare as
non-responsive in that they didn’t complete four (4) of the
alternates. The low bidder had requested another week to
complete their bids, however they failed to do so. Counsel has
suggested two options: re-bid again or take the next lowest
bid.
Rob Campany of Bernier Carr & Associates
gave an overview of the partial bid from Ritchie Bros and
overview of the Upstate Construction bid. He expressed he
doesn’t have experience working with Upstate, and if the Board
decides to accept their bid, he suggest we acquire
qualifications and references from Upstate. The Board could
move forward with Upstate Construction pending review of
qualifications and acceptance from SHIPO and other agencies.
Mary Mascott, TIPAF, indicated she was very
pleased with the re-bid and the reduction in price. She also
indicated that funding has increased and they are closer to
their goal. She urged the Board to move forward with this $3
million overall project. She is satisfied with the Upstate bid,
and all prime contractors need to start soon so as to be able to
open for the 2007 summer season.
Discussions followed concerning possible
Article 78 proceedings.
Atty. Russell indicated to the Board that
in his firm opinion, failure of Ritchie Bros to properly respond
gives good ground for the Town Board to award to Upstate
Construction. An Article 78 proceeding is usually brought on
rapidly, therefore you would know soon if Ritchie Bros. plan to
fight your decision. The court would require Ritchie to post a
bond as well.
Motion by Justin Taylor, 2nd
by Bonnie Rose, to reject the Ritchie Bros. bid as being
non-responsive because they did not bid on all alternates.
Motion carried.
Motion by Justin Taylor, 2nd
by George Kittle, to accept the Upstate Construction bid as
follows: Accepting Alternates #2,3,5,6 and defer Alternates #8,9
& 11. No to Alternates #1,4,7 & 10. Motion carried.
Heritage Heights Sewer BAN:
Supervisor Cantwell indicted the Heritage
Heights BAN was paid off on October 18th.
Time Warner Franchise Agreement:
Supervisor Cantwell indicated that this
agreement is supposed to be signed and in by 11/6 and to date we
haven’t even received the agreement to look at.
Fish & Wildlife Wetland Project:
Supervisor Cantwell discussed a letter
dated 10/20, from Tom Jasikoff from Fish & Wildlife, asking for
our support for their proposed 8,000 acre waterfowl habitat
program.
Letter, dated 10/5/06 has been received
from Jason Bast, President of the Jefferson County Farm Bureau,
who has indicated the Farm Bureau is requesting the Town to pass
a resolution supporting the Farm Bureau’s position on stopping
the acquisition of 8,000 acres by U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Services for a Wetland/Grassland Management District. It’s the
Farm Bureau’s position that it will have a negative economic
impact on our entire county and especially the towns the land is
purchased in as it will remove this land from the tax rolls.
Board consensus is they need more
information before doing a resolution against.
2007 Budget Public Hearing:
The following public was present for the
2007 Town Budget Public Hearing:
Paul Heckmann, Keitha Huchzermeier, Lena
Black, Tim Orvis, Joe Russell, Bill Sherman, Kelly Vadney, Brian
Hammond, Bill Solar
Motion by Bonnie Rose, 2nd
by Donald Turcotte, to open the public hearing at 6:00 PM.
Motion carried.
Supervisor Cantwell stated that the Tax
Rate will remain @ $2.00 and with the exception of adding the
ambulance service, the tax rate has remained constant for 15
years. The Supervisor gave an explanation of the budget. One
item under Grant Administrator will be extracted from the budget
as the Board has decided not to do it this year.
Tim Orvis questioned the budget being $4
million higher than the previous year.
Supervisor Cantwell explained that the
renovation of the Opera House had been factored in for $2.8
million, $1.3 million was received from grants and the other
$1.5 million had been secured by private funding. This still
has to show up in our budget if we are to expend funds. This
money is not at local tax payers expense. Frink Project also is
in the budget for $1.1 million and secured by grants and land
sales and again not at local tax payers expense.
There were no further questions or
comments.
Motion by Donald Turcotte, 2nd
by Bonnie Rose, to close this public hearing at 6:10PM. Motion
carried.
2nd SMSI Grant application:
The 2nd SMSI Grant application
has been submitted by the Village.
Assistant ZEO:
Board reviewed the draft ad written by the
ZEO. The Village Board will review this proposal also.
Councilman Taylor asked about the ZEO IMA
Agreement updates. He is waiting for legal review. Atty.
Russell indicated that when this agreement was altered, it
changed some of the legal aspects. He will send his
recommendations soon.
Also discussed was changing the ZBA from a
seven (7) member board to a five (5) member board. Atty.
Russell indicated that when we went to a seven (7) member board,
it was done appropriately. Councilman Taylor stated he had also
done an extensive investigation of this matter and agreed we had
done this properly.
TIERS Quarterly Report:
Supervisor Cantwell distributed the 2nd
Quarter (April-June) 2006 report from Thousand Islands Emergency
Rescue Service. He urged Town Board members to review this
report.
Executive Session:
Motion by George Kittle, 2nd
by Bonnie Rose, to move into Executive Session with Brian
Hammond, Bill Solar, Bill Sherman and Atty. Joe Russell in
attendance, at 6:20 PM to hear an appeal. Motion carried.
Mr. Hammond and Mr. Solar left at this
time.
Motion by George Kittle, 2nd
by Donald Turcotte, to come out of Executive Session at 6:50
PM. Motion carried.
Discussion followed.
Supervisor Cantwell indicated that the Town
Board just had input from Brian Hammond, Business Agent for Bill
Solar, and also heard from Bill Solar former employee bringing
the greivance. The Board indicated that they are at step 3 of
the grievance procedure.
Atty. Russell inquired if Highway
Supervisor Boulton had any duties for this person that didn’t
require a CDL. Answer: Supt. Boulton indicated that he did not
and wouldn’t be creating a job.
Councilman Taylor inquired as to the hiring
practice of the Highway Supt. Answer: Mr. Boulton indicated
that an ad is placed in the paper and a CDL license is required.
Atty. Russell indicated the Town knows they
may have a problem with their liability insurance if this person
is rehired. If the Highway Supt. cannot create a job for this
person and a driving position is not obtainable due to lack of
CDL, then there isn’t a job for this person. If the person was
reinstated, he would have to do whatever job was given to him.
A question arose as to whether the Highway
followed Federal or State requirements. Highway Supt. Boulton
indicated he follows the County and will check with Jeff. Co.
Highway Superintendent Lawrence.
Supervisor Cantwell indicated he will ask
the insurance company to write a formal letter concerning the
liability issue.
Supt. Boulton also indicated that Mr. Solar
didn’t properly notify his employer of an accident and also lied
about the incident.
If Mr. Solar files for the next step, we
should talk with Mr. Hammond to let him know that there were
several reasons for the dismissal.
A formal response needs to be given to Mr.
Hammond and Mr. Solar of our position.
Motion by George Kittle, 2nd
by Bonnie Rose, to adjourn this Workshop Meeting at 7:00 PM.
Motion carried.
Kathleen E. LaClair, Town Clerk
