March 12, 2013

The regular meeting of the Lee Town Board was held in the Town Hall, and was called to order at 7:32 PM.

Present were:  Supervisor John Urtz, Councilmen Kevin Gallagher, Alan Trombley, Patrick Hetherington and Karl Matt.   

Also present:  Highway Superintendant, Bill Baker and Town Attorney, David Rapke.

The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance.

The first order of business was the bid opening for the mowing/landscaping position advertised for the years 2013 - 2015 to include the Lee Town Hall, Lee Town Park, and the Trooper Barracks.  Two sealed bids were received:

            1.  Wright's Lawncare of Taberg, NY   total bid - $68,400

            2.  Hillside Seasonal of Lee Center, NY            total bid = $74,400

A motion was made by Alan Trombley, seconded by Karl Matt and CARRIED to later canvass the bids.

A motion was made by Alan Trombley, seconded by Karl Matt and CARRIED to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting.

Supervisor Urtz announced the public portion of the meeting.

A gentleman from New Hartford attended tonight's meeting to briefly discuss his opposition to hydrofracking.  He presented some written material for the Board to review.  He states that he is researching health issues that can arise from hydrofracking.

Mary Ellen Urtz addressed the Board requesting permission to use a Civil War photo from our archives as she is writing an article.  Additionally, she reports to the Board that there are 4 pictures on the Observer Dispatch website that were part of a story on our Bicentennial celebration.  Ms. Urtz states she attempted to download the pictures, but was unable to and was notified that the OD had the copyright.  Ms. Urtz states that the OD is selling the pictures and questions the Board if they sold the copyrights - the Town Board states they did not.  The Town Attorney will draft a form to use as permission for situations such as this.

Gerry Ritter from the Tug Hill Commission was in attendance and informed the Town Board that they are developing packets to provide to Amish families that explain NYS and Town laws, for example:  procedures on births, deaths, obtaining hunting licenses etc.  These will be delivered to Municipal Clerks and are hoped to be ready by May.

Highway Superintendant Bill Baker states he would like to put out to bid

2500 +/- tons of Type 3 modified binder for the 2013 season.  He predicts working on Palmer Rd and Steadman Rd.  A motion was made by Karl Matt, seconded by Kevin Gallagher and CARRIED to go out to bid with the opening to be on 4/09/13 at 7:30pm.

Highway Superintendant Bill Baker recommended classifying Swamp Rd as being abandoned and provided the Board a statement stating the road has not been used in 6+ years, which the Board members signed.  A motion was made by Alan Trombley, seconded by Patrick Hetherington and CARRIED to approve the request to abandon.  Copies of this will be on file in the Clerks office and sent to Dennis Davis of the Dept. of Transportation.

A motion was made by Karl Matt, seconded by Alan Trombley, and CARRIED to accept the "Consent of Owner" form developed by the Town Attorney, which is for residents to sign to hold the town harmless if the resident chooses to allow the Town to dump wood chips, leaves, stumps etc.  This is to be completed along with an Indemnification Agreement.

The Town Planning Board provided a definition for the term "building envelope" as was requested by the Board at last months meeting.  A motion was made by Alan Trombley, seconded by John Urtz and CARRIED to adopt the subdivision regulation revisions with the inclusion of the envelope definition.

Time Warner has submitted a draft of a new agreement with the Town.  The past agreement was for 10 years, the agreement recently submitted for review is for a 15 year term.  There are some differences to the original agreement such as auditing being prohibited to recover any underpayments.  Attorney David Rapke stated there is an individual from Albany that is willing to come speak with the Board to answer any questions, at no cost to the Town.  Mr. Rapke will arrange this meeting.

Correspondence was received from National Grid requesting the Town sign an easement to place a pole on property owned by Robert "Chris" Marshall, which borders the Trooper Barracks.  Board members discussed the easement and believe it would restrict the Town from doing anything such as utility work without National Grid permission.  David Piersall from the Water Department will assess the area as far as where the waterline is and report back to the Board before a decision is made.  A motion was made by Karl Matt, seconded by Alan Trombley, and CARRIED to TABLE.

The Town Planning and Zoning Boards interviewed select applicants for the position of secretary being vacated by Sharon Merrill.  A motion was made by Karl Matt, seconded by Alan Trombley and CARRIED to appoint Judy Tallarino of Route 26 per the PB and ZBA's recommendation; effective 4/01/2013 - term expiring 12/31/14.  The Town Board agreed to compensate Sharon Merrill for the month of April for the secretary position and for the judge's position, along with paying Ms. Tallarino during training.

The Town Clerk has requested creating the position of one to three Deputy Town Clerks as allowed by town law.  The Oneida County Dept. of Personnel has informed the Town that the position of Deputy is unrecorded at their end and procedure to create the position includes a resolution by the Town Board accepting and adopting this position.  Currently, there are two (2) individuals acting in this position to be available if the Town Clerk is unavailable; these individuals, according to the Dept. of Personnel are classified as "clerks", not "Deputy Town Clerks", until the proper paperwork is submitted.  A motion was made by Patrick Hetherington to eliminate one of the positions of "clerk" and create one of the positions as "Deputy Town Clerk" whereby the Deputy Town Clerk is granted the authority to act generally for and in place of the Town Clerk and under her direction; this motion was seconded by Kevin Gallagher and CARRIED.

Roll Call:      Alan Trombley - Nay     John Urtz - Nay            Kevin Gallagher - Aye                                         Pat Hetherington - Aye                   Karl Matt - Aye

Motion passed.

In regards to the 2^nd and 3^rd Deputy Town Clerks that was requested by the Town Clerk allotted by Town Law a motion was made by Alan Trombley, seconded by Patrick Hetherington to TABLE.

A motion was made by Patrick Hetherington, seconded by Alan Trombley and CARRIED to accept the quote that was obtained by the Town Clerk from Linton's Locksmith to replace all Town Hall cylinders and re-key at a price of $1960; additionally, a quote was also received to do maintenance on all doors at a price of $475.

Supervisor Urtz discussed how dangerous the intersection is located at Route 26 and Stokes Lee Center Road.  Recently there have been serious accidents there and there is no traffic light at this location.  The Board had decided they would like to once again submit a TE-9 for this intersection.  The Board also believes due to the seriousness of the dangers at this intersection, the State Legislators should be contacted and asked for their support.  The Board would like to meet with Senator Joseph Griffo, Assemblyman Marc Butler, Legislator Brian Mandryck, and a representative of the Department of Transportation.  The Town Clerk will contact the above and request they meet with the Town Board.

At the February Town Board meeting, bids for the Lee Town Park were opened; only one bid was received from Donna Winn's Contract Cleaning.  Mrs. Winn's bid did not include Workers Compensation coverage, which was required in the bid package.  A motion was made by Patrick Hetherington, seconded by Kevin Gallagher and CARRIED to retract the award from Mrs. Winn and rebid the position; it will also be advertised for individuals interested in the position with the Town hiring them as employees.  The deadline for sealed bids to be received by the Town Clerk no later than 2:00PM on 3/26/13; to be opened at 5:30PM at at a Special Meeting.

Supervisor Urtz announced that the County has provided a survey regarding Hazardous Mitigation with hopes that residents will complete and return.

Highway Superintendant Bill Baker announced that the 6-ton weight limit for select roads has been put in the newspaper - effective 3/15/13.

A motion was made by Karl Matt, seconded by Alan Trombley and CARRIED to accept the quote received from Tony's Ornamental Iron Works, Inc. for floor grates for the highway garage at a cost of $2900 "111.3 sq. ft. with banned edges and a black factory finish."  These grates meet H20 scale and quote was approved

Mr. Baker also announced that he has obtained quotes for a new time clock and plans to purchase a new one.  A motion was made by Alan Trombley, seconded by Patrick Hetherington and CARRIED to allow this purchase.

A motion was made by Patrick Hetherington, seconded by Karl Matt and CARRIED to approve and pay the bills.

General     -       $    14,596.41

                                    Highway   -      $    22,290.65

                                    Water        -      $      4,760.39

A motion was made by Alan Trombley, seconded by Patrick Hetherington and CARRIED to adjourn.

Meeting adjourned at 10:00 PM.