April 14, 2015

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

Present were: Supervisor John Urtz, Councilmen Alan Trombley, Kevin Gallagher, Karl Matt, and Harold VanWagenen

Also Present: Town Attorney David Rapke and Highway Superintendent Bill Baker.

Unable to attend:  Town Clerk Sharon Mortis; Deputy Town Clerk Kathy Piemonte filling in.

The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance.

Bid Openings:

The first order of business was bid openings. Bids for Lee Town Park Custodial Duties for 2015 were opened. Two bids were received. The first bid was from Jason Wright, Wright’s Lawn Care Service, with a bid of $9,500.00. The second bid was received from Hillside Seasonal Services for a bid of $7,500.00. Supervisor Urtz asked if there was any comments or discussion. A motion was made by Alan Trombley to accept the low bid from Hillside Seasonal Services for $7,500.00 for Lee Town Park Custodial Duties 2015. It was seconded by Karl Matt and carried.

Roll Call:                 Alan Trombley – Aye            Karl Matt – Aye          John Urtz – Aye                                                  Harold VanWagenen – Aye                                                Kevin Gallagher - Aye

Bid openings were opened for the Ultra-Thin Hot Mix Type A and/or B. There was one bid from Gorman Bros., Inc.

Prices are as follows:

Project Size                                         Type A                                                Type B

Price per Square Yard

5,000 – 14,999 SY                              $7.25/sy                                               $7.19/sy

15,000 – 29,999 SY                            $6.83/sy                                               $6.77/sy

Over 30,000 SY                                  $6.10/sy                                               $6.04/sy

It was bid as a Type A and Type B. Based on this bid form, it is not known if we need over 30,000 SY or less than in order to determine a price per square yard the town will need. It will depend on how much we will be using to determine the price. Mr. Baker indicated that last year the Town used approximately 800 tons. It cannot be approved until the equivalent of 800 tons is in relation to square yards.

John Urtz recommended the board hold this for further clarification on the breakdown of how many square yards are required. A motion was made by Alan Trombley to table this bid until further clarification is obtained and the board can be canvassed for this particular bid. Harold VanWagenen seconded the motion and it carried.

Roll Call:                 Alan Trombley – Aye            Karl Matt – Aye          John Urtz – Aye                                                  Harold VanWagenen – Aye                                                Kevin Gallagher - Aye

Audience Portion

Eric Seifert owns the property next to Town Hall and is building a home. He indicated that the pins are not in alignment with what the Town mows and what is farm land. He submitted a copy with a layout of the changes in the pin alignment to the board. The proposed changes are noted with the dotted line on the copy and the solid line is the current placement. Land will be conveyed from him to the Town and from the Town to him. The land will remain agricultural. There is no mortgage on the land.

There was no further discussion and the board wanted to proceed with a resolution subject to the lines being described by footage. The Town has accepted the concept and basically there is an agreement that Mr. Seifert can proceed with proposal. Mr. Rapke, Town Attorney, indicated that it be approved subject to a survey with descriptions of the two parcels. He indicated that any expenses associated with this transaction be the responsibility of Mr. Seifert and not the Town. Mr. Seifert agreed to this provision.  Mr. Rapke would like to see the updated abstract. Once all the documents are obtained, the board will have to give final approval.

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

Roll Call:                 Alan Trombley – Aye            Karl Matt – Aye          John Urtz – Aye                                                  Harold VanWagenen – Aye                                                Kevin Gallagher - Aye

Mrs. Armstrong from the Tug Hill Commission attended. She stated that the recent Local Government Conference was attending by some 700 people and some were from the Town of Lee. If anyone would like to access any of the materials presented at this conference, they can be found on the Tug Hill Commission’s website. If there are other questions, feel free to call the commission.

She noted that if the Town registered for the Grants Gateway in the past few years, then someone should see who the registered person is for this as well as the backup person. She suggested that this be checked. Mr. Gallagher indicated that the Town did register.

The Keep Mohawk Valley Beautiful sponsors areas to clean up their Towns. Gloves, bags, etc. can be provided. Mr. Gallagher indicated that Town usually participates in this and obtains the gloves and bags. It is generally operated over a two-week period.

Old Business

The stray dog on Walnut Drive has been apprehended. He was turned over to the city pound and probably eventually released to the Human Society for potential adoption. The neighbors had been feeding him over the winter and now he has been captured.

New Business

An office area is being built in the basement of Town Hall for the historians. A heating and plumbing quote from Mondrick’s has been received for $3,681.13. Other quotes are being obtained from other vendors for the walls, etc. The office will built in keeping with the rest of Town Hall, i.e. steel studs, etc. No work will commence until quotes and more concrete information is received.

Bill Baker, Highway Superintendent, reported that DEC inspected the fuel tank. A label was needed for the tank and stencils have been purchased and will be put on. A placard is also needed and this will also be put on. The tank was in compliance. Mr. Baker does a monthly inspection and sends in a sheet to DEC. There had been an electrical issue with the pump. A wire was shorted out and has been repaired.

Beartown Road is scheduled for repaving. The “crazy” intersection is going to be changed to a “T” intersection.

A home is being built on Mitchell Road. This is a four-rod road. The homeowner is asking that the road be widened. Mr. Baker informed them that Mitchell Road meets the category of a “low-use” road and will not be widened. The Town might want to consider putting in a culvert. It also raises the question regarding who has title to that road. Some years ago, the Federal Government constructed the road for a radar site that was there. The road had been gated. It is believed that the land that the radar site was on is now part of Paine’s or Richardson’s property. Attorney Rapke stated that the Town should research who the road belongs to. This can be done through the abstract the Paine family or Richardson family has. Title has to be clarified.

Karl Matt noted that Kiwanis Road is a mess. There is always debris and tires. Mr. Baker noted that the Town just picked up tires and there are about another twenty plus tires there again. This has been an ongoing issue.

The Highway Department staff have attending training from MSHA (Mining Safety and Health Administration) and are compliant in mining. In addition, they attending training from OSHA in New Hartford. They are up to date on their safety training.

John Urtz was called by the Mayor of Rome for a meeting. The meeting was in regard (J285 or J385 proposal) to residents of Rome who build new homes to receive a percentage rebate on their school tax bill over a period of ten years. The rebate was not going to be district wide and would not include Towns such as Lee, Ava, Annsville, etc. Mr. Urtz would not agree with not including all residents of the Rome School District in this rebate. The Town would sue the school board if this were adopted.

The Town been attempting to renegotiate an agreement with the City of Rome regarding water for the Town of Lee. There is no current contract.  (Previous contract was 2007 – 2010) The Town has attempted with this administration as well as the previous two administrations to reach an agreement and has not been successful. There has been meeting after meeting with the City of Rome. They continue to be in violation with the contract. The Town has continued to pay the increases assuming that the Town would have a contract. This has been ongoing for some five years. In October of 2014, there had been a tentative agreement that the board discussed. However, the City of Rome forgot about the agreement and has not acted upon it.

There is a bill due to the City of Rome for water. The board should consider not paying this bill, Item #35 with the Water Department, until an agreement can be considered. He recommend stopping payment and going to court to settle.

A motion was made by Alan Trombley to pay all the vouchers except hold Voucher #35 in the Water Department and was seconded by Karl Matt. Motion carried.

Roll Call:                 Alan Trombley – Aye            Karl Matt – Aye          John Urtz – Aye                                                  Harold VanWagenen – Aye                                                Kevin Gallagher - Aye

General     -      $ 112,526.10

                                    Highway   -     $   23,786.09

                                    Water        -      $ 130,583.95

A motion was made to adjourn by Alan Trombley and seconded by Kevin Gallagher. The motion carried to adjourn.

Roll Call:                 Alan Trombley – Aye            Karl Matt – Aye          John Urtz – Aye                                                  Harold VanWagenen – Aye                                                Kevin Gallagher - Aye

Meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m.

Minutes by Kathleen Piemonte, Deputy Clerk