Town Board Meeing Minutes 04-26-10

APRIL 26, 2010 TOWN BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Present: Supervisor Thomas Traudt
Councilperson Dan Staley
Councilperson Bruce Washburn
Councilperson Gina Fox
Councilperson Joseph Gelb
Town Attorney Pamela Richardson

Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance

Supervisor Thomas Traudt called this meeting in the Rhinecliff Firehouse to Order at 6:45 pm and introduced Moira Briggs from Brownie Troop #78 who led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Announcements

Supervisor Traudt read the following announcements.

May 1st, May 8th, May 29th Stone Church Landfill open for brush drop off from 9-1

Open Book days and hours in the Assessors Office
May 10th 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm,
May 11th 12 - 4pm,
May 13th 8 am-12 noon, and
May 15th 8 am-12 noon

May 21st Historical Society is holding Open Mike Forum at Rhinebeck Town Hall at 7:30. Call David Miller 876-6298 for more information

May 25th is Grievance Day 9 am - 12 noon, 1 - 4 pm, and 6 - 8pm at Town Hall

May 26th Summer Recreation sign-ups from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm in Town Hall

June 23rd - Senior Citizen Picnic at Fairground, call 486-2555 for reservations.

Business before the Board

1. Dan Staley motioned and Bruce Washburn seconded to Approve Abstract 4B, vouchers 472-518 in the amount of $39,249.26. All were in favor. Motion carried.
2. Dan Staley motioned and Bruce Washburn seconded to Approve Preliminary Capital Project #29 Revaluation/Assessment Abs 1 Voucher 1 for $18,100. The motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Board.
3. Dan Staley motioned and Bruce Washburn seconded to Approve the Bookkeeper to make the following budget transfers, amendments, and any necessary bookkeeping entries:

GENERAL FUND

Estimated Revenues 00 510 + $15,435.00
State Aid 00 3040

Contingency 00 01 1990 400 - $ 2,128.28
Transfer to Capital Project 29 00 10 9950 900 + $ 17,563.28

CAPITAL FUND

Estimated Revenues 45 510 + $17,563.28
Inter fund Transfer 45 5031

Appropriated Fund Balance 45 599 + $ 536.72

Appropriations 45 960 + $18,100.00
H29 Revaluation 45 01 1355 201

The revenue from NYS is deposited into A3040 per State guidelines. We have been paying MJW from the Capital Project 29 Revaluation / Assessment. These budget amendments and transfers will move the State money from the General Fund into the Capital Project. The State Aid was reduced by 12.5% this year which caused the necessity of a budget amendment from contingency.

GENERAL FUND

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Contingency 00 01 1990 400 - $ 830.35
Unemployment Insurance 00 08 9050 800 + $ 830.35
To cover unemployment bill for 1st qtr 2010

Discussion: Bruce Washburn questioned why the MJW additional expense for the reevaluation wasn't included in the budget for the Assessor's Office and if it has been investigated if this transfer could have been taken from within the Assessor's Office budget. Dod Crane, former Town Board member, stated this is a year we update the assessments to keep the roll values at 100 %, when the Assessor's Office budget was created and approved this expense was 100% reimbursable from the State. Shelly Day added the State has cut back 12.4% of what they will reimburse for this expense.

All were in favor. Motion carried.

4. Purchase of Business Office Accounting Software. Supervisor Traudt stated this upgrade was recommended by Sedore & the Finance and Controls Committee

WHEREAS, The business office's accounting software was last upgraded during 2004, and

WHEREAS, the Town's accountant firm has recommended that the software be upgraded, and

WHEREAS, there are funds in the Capital Project #39 Town Hall Equipment,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of The Town of Rhinebeck authorize the purchase of annual support and implementation of the accounting software upgrade from MBGUI to XPERT not to exceed $15,500.00 to be paid from Capital Project #39, 55 01 1220 204 equipment line,

Offered by: Councilperson Staley
Seconded by: Councilperson Fox

Roll Call Vote: Councilperson Fox
Councilperson Gelb
Councilperson Staley
Councilperson Washburn
Supervisor Traudt
The motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Board.

Resolution:
Certified to this 26th day of April 2010 by ____________________
Joan Winne, Deputy Town Clerk

5. A motion was made by Dan Staley and seconded by Gina Fox to Approve Town Hall usage for "Reading of the Fifth Wednesday Journal" on May 14th from 6:30-7:45 pm. All were in favor. Motion carried.
6. A motion was made by Dan Staley and seconded by Bruce Washburn to Approve April 12, 2010 Town Board meeting minutes. All were in favor. Motion carried.
7. Rhinecliff Hotel bond resolution

Town Attorney, Pam Richardson stated this is the resolution pertaining to the Bond reduction that was previously discussed and was e-mailed to the Town Clerk and Town Board last week. The reduction as discussed to $29,500.

8. A motion was made by Dan Staley seconded by Gina Fox to refund John Imperato $300 - Hilltop Road Application fees paid to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Discussion: Pam Richardson stated the amount of $300.00 is the fees collected and deposited. Currently we have outstanding escrow fees, on this project, payable to Art Brod in the amount of $446.00. The $62.00 invoice was the Planners initial review where the procedural issues were found and the $384.00 invoice is from discussion on how this project may work. Dan Staley stated the discussion with Art Brod may benefit the Applicant in the future. Joseph Gelb stated the Board doesn't know exactly how this issue happened but feels it was a lack of communication between the ZEO, Zoning and Planning Board and we must address these issues to avoid future problems. Councilperson Gelb continued to state that at this point the Town has spent $6500.00, including the Town Attorney fees, on this issue. At this time Mr. Gelb feels we need to simply reimburse the $300.00 to Mr. Imperato and if he decides to reapply he will need to pay the necessary application fees. Ms. Richardson stated the Board will need to make a determination on if Mr. Imperato will need to pay the Planners East bills. Dan Staley stated his position and amended the motion to state the Board should apologize to Mr. Imperato for the inconvenience, refund his out of pocket for the application fees of $300.00 and destroy the $250.00 escrow check currently held. The Board can discuss at a later time payment of the Planner's bills Bruce Washburn seconded this motion. The motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Board.

9. Dan Staley motioned and Gina Fox seconded to approve the formation of temporary committee to investigate Recycling/Transfer Station alternative composed of Nancy and Tom Cunningham, 1 Town and 1 Village resident that use the station and a liaison.

Discussion: Joseph Gelb stated he feels this should be a committee of four people in addition to Tom and Nancy Cunningham. Mr. Gelb has been working on a cost study with Shelly Day and has a preliminary finding of the cost for running the transfer exceeded revenue by $135,000 last year. This means the tax on those people who don't use the transfer station fully support its functions. Bruce Washburn stated he has also been working on the cost analysis of the Transfer Station and feels Mr. Gelb's numbers are low. Mr. Washburn also stated he has researched other Towns and feels, if done properly, the transfer station could be a revenue source while addressing environmental concerns. Bruce continued by stating he fully supports 4 people in addition to Nancy and Tom Cunningham for this committee. Gina Fox suggested a neighbor or two of the transfer station could be encouraged to apply. Dan Staley suggested perhaps a Village trustee apply. Cynthia Philip stated she opposes the Village Trustee sitting on this committee; she believes the Village already has too much power over the Town. Shelly Day confirmed the Transfer Station budget is part town with approximately $23,000 in the General Fund for Village residents to use the transfer station. Joseph Gelb stated that ultimately the Board will decide on intelligent community members to appoint to this committee.

All were in favor. Motion carried.

10. A motion was made by Dan Staley and seconded by Gina Fox for the appointment of Robert Roush as Highway Department Mechanic at $20.47 per hour as per union contract.

Discussion: Highway Superintendent Kathy Kinsella stated she received 21 applicants for this position. Mr. Rousch has extensive experience repairing the specific type of equipment used in the Highway Department, is an experienced MEO, is OSHA trained, possesses a Class A Drivers License and is a Rhinebeck resident. The position will start on or shortly after May 10, 2010.

All were in favor. Motion carried.

11. Bruce Washburn recused himself from his seat on the Board and left the room for this discussion and vote. Dan Staley stated the Town received 3 applications for the open positions at the cemetery. The Applications have been reviewed with Gary Slater. Gary Slater recommended hiring Nick Washburn. Gina Fox stated she also reviewed the applications and feels that while all the applicants are good, she also recommends hiring Nick Washburn. Dan Staley motioned and Gina Fox seconded to hire Nick Washburn as a seasonal part time employee for the Cemetery at $10.00 per hour for six months, maximum of 40 hours per week. The motion carried by a 4-0 vote with Bruce Washburn abstaining from the vote.

Discussion

1. Review of Endeavor contract for Thompson Mazzarella Park by Counsel
Joseph Gelb stated that he, Gina Fox, Elizabeth Spinzia and Joe Brant met with Victor Cornelius of Endeavor to discuss the possibility of restructuring the Endeavor contract so not risking the entire $20,000. Mr. Gelb would like to sit with Sally Mazzarella to come up with a more logical scheme of payments; currently the Town pays in advance, the next payment will bring us to the end of May. Mr. Gelb suggests giving Endeavor a thirty day notice of termination and then put a new contract in place. Gina Fox stated two things proposed as part of his contract are grant applications to the legislative member initiatives with Saland, Cahill and Gilibrandt. Ms. Fox has called their offices and even she can just submit for these grants, she would be willing to put all three of these grants together at no cost to the Town. Sally Mazzarella stated Endeavor is being paid a set package fee for all of the grants and rewrites of the grants, the simple grants are included in the fee. Sally Mazzarella continued by stating its great that Gina is willing to help out. Bruce Washburn stated the committee didn't go into the legal questions but has a clear view of "stay the course". The committee reviewed and discussed the grant writer applications and while there wasn't any commitment to anyone individual they felt Endeavor was the best qualified grant writer that applied. Mr. Washburn is not opposed to looking at and interviewing other grant writers but would rather wait on termination until a decision has been made. Mr. Gelb stated the termination would help negotiate a new contract with Mr. Cornelius. Dod Crane stated he feels Mr. Gelb's idea is valid, asking Mr. Cornelius to justify the $16,000 already paid when not producing a positive end result. Mr. Gelb stated he is not suggesting a new grant writer, he is suggesting restructuring the current contract. Sally Mazzarella stated she believes Mr. Cornelius is willing to sit down and come up with an alternative. Dan Staley stated he is concerned with loosing ground. Gina Fox stated the work is already done and paid for. Any grant writer can resubmit. Tom Traudt suggested working with Mr. Cornelius without terminating the contract. It was the consensus of the Board to work with Endeavor, Inc. to restructure the existing contract without terminating.
2. Weston & Sampson agreement update from Counsel. Pam Richardson stated she has reviewed this contract and has requested extensive changes including a large portion of the scope project had been omitted, along with other changes; the changes are ready to go out for their review. Joseph Gelb stated the Board doesn't want to run up a large bill by our attorney reviewing this document and wishes to shift this expense to Weston & Sampson. Ms. Richardson stated her secretary makes the physical changes to send off to the committee and her secretary doesn't charge. Dan Staley asked Ms. Richardson for an estimate on additional review time. Ms. Richardson stated the review is almost done. Mr. Staley asked for the amount of time Ms. Richardson has already spent in review. Ms. Richardson stated she doesn't have the exact amount of time at hand but she has spent a few of hours on review. Supervisor Traudt stated council found an $89,000. portion of the contract that had been left out and feels her review is money well spent. Ms. Richardson stated the Committee questioned Weston & Sampson prior to their recommendation and were told the contract dollar amount did include the work omitted from the bid proposal. Dan Staley stated the Board needs to do this right; the Board is committed to the park project and feels when complete the park will be a wonderful asset to the Town. Steve Block asked if the omitted scope of work was also left out of the RFP. Pam Richardson stated the work was in the RFP, Phase 2 was not shown in the contract. Gina Fox stated she agrees with Dan Staley but doesn't want to see the money eroded away with legal fees and grant writing, she would rather see a ball field in place. Pam Richardson stated that when the Board asked for the contract review this was done in order to see the ball fields built. Bruce Washburn stated the Thomas Thompson Trustees understood that no one would donate money for infrastructure and that is all of the money we currently have, the Board will continue to look for money to build the park. Sally Mazzarella stated she is not sure why the Board is having a discussion on if we are going to move forward with the construction of the park, the RFP has gone out, the phasing is critical with some experts/professionals and some volunteers, we need to be sure the end project is planned with infrastructure that accommodates the entire park "master plan" so each piece creates a well planned phased park. Dod Crane questioned if the work that is being done now will need to be altered in 3 to 5 years when the funds are available; used the example of the Village purchasing the house next to the Village Hall that still stands empty. Melissa Cohen stated she is chair of the subcommittee for the skate board portion of the park; her committee is raising their own funds for building this portion of the park. Their first fundraiser is a concert on May 22, 2010 at the Rhinebeck High School. Sally Mazzarella stated there will always be changes and we need to start somewhere and this phase is extremely critical. Joseph Gelb stated that it appears unlikely the Town will be awarded any of the grants applied for and therefore would like community input on how the Board should proceed with the park plans. Sally Mazzarella stated the Park has been in the planning stages for 5 or 6 years, many public meeting have already been held to receive community input. Bruce Washburn stated the Board held a public hearing on the park last June. Dan Staley stated that while the community has already given their input perhaps the Board could hold a Saturday forum at Town Hall to receive additional input. Supervisor Traudt suggested the Board continue this discussion at the next workshop meeting. Gina Fox stated the consultants may be available to answer questions at the May 10, 2010 workshop meeting. Steve Block stated their has always been a lot of public support for the Park the concern is the funding.
3. Department expenditures/revenues - budget comparisons by calendar quarters. This discussion was opened by Councilperson Gelb. Mr. Gelb stated that he has reviewed the first quarter budget expenditure report for each of the departments that he is liaison to, in some departments it appears the larger part of the budget is used during the first quarter. Mr. Gelb encouraged each Board member to review their departments' expenditure report. Bruce Washburn stated he feels Mr. Gelb has a good point and a good start and suggested each Board member further break their department into the following three categories for a clear view of what is going on: Equipment, personal services and contractual.

Adjournment

With no further business before the Board, the Supervisor accepted a motion from Dan Staley seconded by Gina Fox to adjourn this meeting. All were in favor. The Supervisor declared this meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Winne
Deputy Town Clerk