1142 ROUTE 311
MINUTES
PRESENT: MICHAEL
GERALD HERBST, COUNCILMAN
ERNEST KASSAY, COUNCILMAN
GINNY NACERINO, COUNCILWOMAN
ANTHONY MOLÉ, TOWN COUNSEL
ANTOINETTE KOPECK, TOWN CLERK
Supervisor
Salute to the Flag and Roll Call.
AUDIT OF BILLS
Mr. Herbst made a motion to approve the following bills chargeable to 2007:
General Fund $84,098.30, Highway Fund-Item 1 General Repairs $33,515.02, Highway Fund-Item 3 Machinery $2,454.44, Highway Fund-Item 4 Miscellaneous $787.07, Highway Fund-Employee Benefits $23,144.58, Patterson Light District $332.30, Patterson Refuse District # 2 $6,707.93, Patterson Park District $4,461.98, Alpine Water District $1,886.14, Fox Run Water District $14.01, Front Street Sewer District $91.06, Capital Fund $11,370.00.
Total Abstract $168,862.83
Seconded by Mr. O’Connor. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Herbst; yes, Mr. Kassay; yes, Mrs. Nacerino; yes, Mr. O’Connor; yes, Mr. Griffin; yes. Roll Call Vote Carried.
GINNY NACERINO
POWER AGAINST TOBACCO PRESENTATION – RESOLUTION
Mrs. Nacerino stated at this time I would like to introduce Anthony Masserelli, Putnam County Coalition Coordinator for Power Against Tobacco.
Mr. Anthony Masserelli stated I’m the Putnam County
Coalition Coordinator for Power Against Tobacco. I’d like first to take this opportunity to
thank Mrs. Nacerino for inviting me to speak before you this evening. Power Against Tobacco is a four-county
coalition, Putnam,
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work plan which begins on August 1st and are
completed by the following July 31st so right now we’re within the
last month of our current work plan and in your folders you will see that
current work plan and what we’ve accomplished so far and what we have yet to
complete. Included in there is our new
work plan which will begin on August 1st and will be completed by
July 2008. One of our initiatives is to
seek (inaudible) our resolution supporting the reduction, removal and/or rearrangement
of tobacco advertising in retail stores where tobacco products are currently
sold. This initiative fosters community
awareness. Our goal is to educate the
community about tobacco advertising, in particular, we would like to work with
the retailers within
Mrs. Nacerino stated I think this is certainly a worthwhile endeavor to ensure the health and welfare of our youth and I fully support it.
Mrs. Nacerino introduced the following Resolution for Tobacco Point of Purchase Resolution
R0607-04
WHEREAS, tobacco use kills over 25,000 New Yorkers every year, and is the leading preventable cause of death in our communities, and
WHEREAS, the Surgeon General has concluded that tobacco advertising contributes to youth smoking rates, and
WHEREAS, over 24,900 youths under age 18 in
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WHEREAS, 3 out of 4 teenagers shop in convenience stores at least once per week, and
WHEREAS, tobacco advertising in retail stores has a powerful influence on teens, who are significantly more likely to smoke due to advertising than they are due to peer pressure, and
WHEREAS, research shows that youth are more than twice as likely as adults to recall tobacco advertising, and
WHEREAS, outdoor and exterior facing tobacco ads at retail stores are often seen by students walking to and from school, and
WHEREAS, retail stores are an integral and valuable part of our community;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Patterson hereby partners with POW’R Against Tobacco in requesting that retailers reduce overall tobacco advertising in their place of business and eliminate tobacco advertising from areas likely to be seen by children, including exterior poles, walls, windows facing “out”, interior wall space below five feet, near candy displays, and on counter tops, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town of
Seconded Mr. Kassay. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Herbst; yes, Mr. Kassay; yes, Mrs. Nacerino; yes, Mr. O’Connor; yes, Mr. Griffin; yes. Roll Call Vote Carried.
VACATION REQUEST
Mrs. Nacerino made a motion to grant the vacation requests as written.
Seconded by Mr. Herbst. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
FOIL PROCEDURES
Mrs. Nacerino stated Antoinette and I had a brief discussion regarding the Town’s F.O.I.L. procedures and we recognized that a great many F.O.I.L. procedures are now through an email process rather than written request and in order to ensure that requests are properly handled and tracked, we suggested that possibly an email account be set up specifically for this purpose to basically ensure that they are tracked, handled and replied to within the necessary five days. Only one person and that being the Town Clerk would be responsible for processing and tracking these requests and Antoinette and I are also going to collaborate and work to revise some of the written forms that we have so I just wanted to give the Board an update about that.
RECREATION REQUESTS
Mrs. Nacerino stated I have a few requests from the recreation department, the first being a request for recommendation to have a part time receptionist/monitor for nights and weekends. The recommendation from Melissa Brichta is to hire Joann Adorno for the rate of $10.00/hr. This staff would not significantly impact the – have any physical impact. What this person would be doing is really being a summer substitute for the people that are already there. Due to demanding vacation schedules and whatnot Ms. Adorno will take the place of the regular employees.
Mrs. Nacerino made a motion to approve Joann Adorno at the rate of $10.00/hr.
Seconded by Mr. Herbst. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
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Mrs. Nacerino stated on April 27th the junior rec. board had a fashion show and the proceeds were donated to the American Cancer Society but a portion of them were donated to the recreation department. Our mission was to have something tangible to give to the recreation department to help some of the programs. Sandy Coe had decided that she would have liked to pick a digital projector which would help service staff meetings and movies for seniors and children. With the $600.00 donation some research was done and they are recommending to buy a Dell 2400MP digital projector, however this is $600.00 and Melissa Brichta will, upon Sandy Coe’s recommendation, handle the financial end of it and to see where we would get the money to budget for the other $600.00.
Mr. Herbst stated it’s more than $600.00.
Mrs. Nacerino stated it’s $1,200.00. We are giving them $600.00 and…
Mr. Herbst stated yes, but there’s more than that because they need a screen. They realize that by putting it on the wall, any damage on the walls that are already there will show up on the screen and the picture won’t be as clear or as good as it should be so they’re talking about getting a screen with it too so we’re talking about another $600.00.
Mrs. Nacerino stated but we are not entertaining that tonight Jerry. We are only entertaining the purchase of the digital projector. I have no written paperwork nor have I had any conversations about the projector as of yet. I’m sure that’s to follow, but…
Mr. Herbst stated I did have a conversation with her about it the other day that we discussed this and realized that they need the screen and if you’re looking at it, you should look at the fact that it’s not going to be $600.00, it’s going to be $1,200.00 so that’s ok…
Mrs. Nacerino stated I thought that I …
Mr. Herbst stated if they could come up with the money that’s ok, I’m not saying they shouldn’t; I’m just saying lets not look at it as the cheap way because it’s not going to be.
Mrs. Nacerino stated I just would like to state for the record that what is before us this evening is the purchase of a digital projector only, we are not talking about a screen although that may be a significant component to show movies or whatnot, that is not what’s before us this evening. We have donated $600.00 from the proceeds of the fashion show and that is to be matched by the budget – money in the budget from the recreation department and that is the motion before us tonight.
Seconded by Mr. Kassay.
Mr. O’Connor stated didn’t they have a screen.
Mr. Herbst stated no they didn’t have a screen.
Mrs. Nacerino stated I have no knowledge of a screen…
Mr. Herbst stated the screen they had they used to borrow from Unionvale and there’s no more connection there so there won’t be any borrowing from there.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Herbst; yes, Mr. Kassay; yes, Mrs. Nacerino; yes, Mr. O’Connor; yes, Mr. Griffin; yes. Roll Call Vote Carried.
Mrs. Nacerino stated I have before me a recommendation from Cathy Bookless who put together the slate of camp counselors for the summer program. The counselors which are three camp directors, Margie Picciano who will receive a stipend of $3,042.00, Lorraine Oliveri who will receive a stipend of $1,040.00, and Ramona Serrano which would be the
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camp assistant director for a rate of $10.40/hr. for 6 weeks; the camp counselors, Victoria Acconti for $7.00/hr., Stephanie Canonico for $7.28/hr., Nicole Martorell for $7.00/hr., Angela Olenik for $7.54/hr., John Rahe for $7.50/hr., Christina Snell for $7.00/hr., Fernie Torres for $7.50/hr., Keshia Toussaint for $7.00/hr., and Sarah Weller for $7.00/hr. We also have counselors in training which pay a fee of $20.00/wk. to be enrolled in the program to ascertain their accreditation to be counselors when they reach age and we have seven CIT’s and we have three volunteers.
Mrs. Nacerino made a motion to approve the counselors that were recommended by Ms. Bookless.
Seconded by Mr. Kassay. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
Mrs. Nacerino stated I also have from Melissa Brichta a recommendation for an employee at the rec. center to increase her hourly rate. Ms. Brichta has made a recommendation for an increase however, this past winter the personnel committee consisting of Jerry Herbst and I met with the entire recreation department who recognized the need to bring all of the employees there up to scale, however it was stipulated then and made quite clear to each and every employee that we do not do raises in mid cycle and that when the budget is prepared come January 1st we would fully support them and their quest to have their salary raise increase.
Mrs. Nacerino made a motion at this time I am not recommending a salary increase be done on that principle. I think we took an action and this Board should stick by that action.
Seconded by Mr. Kassay. All In Favor: 3, Opposed 2. Carried.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Deferred until end of meeting.
MICHAEL
CULLEN – REFUND
Mr. Griffin stated I brought this up at the last Town Board
meeting. On
Mr. Griffin made a motion that we return Mr. Cullen’s $150.00 because it should have been returned when his building permit and certificate of occupancy was pulled.
Seconded by Mr. O’Connor. All In Favor: 4, Opposed 1. Carried.
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Mrs. Nacerino stated I would just like to discuss this. I did some research and I spoke to personnel in the building department and this Cullen application for a building permit was granted and then as stipulated by Mr. Griffin, the Cullen’s were notified that they would need a variance before proceeding. The Cullen’s did go to the zoning department and Missy explained the process to them. They neglected to follow through by their own admission. A letter to renew these permits were sent to them on January 2nd, February 20th and April 3rd. They never replied. It was not until June 4th that a violation was sent and they responded in writing to void their permit and request their $150.00 back. This dates back until 2003. I’d like to know from this Board at what point does the property owner take responsibility and do we ensure a money back guarantee regardless of the outcome of a request of a building permit. According to the building department there are many building requests to void permits, however refunds have never been issued. Most recently a property owner contacted the building department and indicated he did not plan to proceed with his project. His fees were calculated at $250.00. Should we refund him too because he changed his mind. I think we have set a precedent here that would require us to refund every single permit that is taken out during the course of the year for people who do not follow through and I think that was a mistake.
Mr. Griffin stated I would respectfully disagree because the facts of the circumstances of the Cullen matter are considerably different. The building permit was issued, they were told that they could proceed, they even went so far as to issue a certificate of occupancy which I’m not even sure how that was possible, without having done the work and having the inspections done. However, shortly thereafter Mr. Piazza realized that he had issued the permit in error. If the Town makes the mistake and the Town is going to pull the permit, the Town should have automatically refunded the permit in my personal opinion. That’s because we made the mistake. If someone comes in and they change their mind, that’s a whole different situation. If someone changes their mind then there should be administrative fees involved and/or you forfeit whatever the Board decides, but this is clearly unequivocally, unquestionably a mistake by the Town and the building inspector. My personal opinion is Mr. Cullen’s fee should have been returned when he was put on notice that his building permit was canceled and his CO pulled. That should have been done automatically, immediately. Our mistake, we should pay.
Mrs. Nacerino stated I agree that there was a mistake; however I do also think that mistakes are done and if this is going to be the precedent that’s set then that should be an automatic, however my concern is that the Cullen’s were very cognizant of this from the get go and they never made an attempt to recoup any of the monies at any time before now; years went by and I think there are some administrative costs and time that personnel has spent and to give them a full refund is a mistake and that is my opinion and that’s it.
Mr. O’Connor stated I spoke to Mr. Cullen and if he had known from the start that he could not get a building permit, if they had said to him as they should have that we can’t give you a building permit and what they had to do was go to the Zoning Board and get a variance and fill out all these letters to everybody within 500 feet he would not have proceeded.
Mrs. Nacerino stated he did go to the Zoning Board…
Mr. O’Connor stated but that’s when he found…
Mrs. Nacerino stated and Missy did explain the process to him.
Mr. O’Connor stated that’s right. That’s when he found out what the process was.
Mrs. Nacerino stated but he did not choose to (inaudible) at that time. It’s a moot a point, Ed, we…
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Mr. O’Connor stated that’s exactly – excuse me, I’ll finish, that’s exactly what I said. When he found out what the process was, he didn’t want to do it. If he had known that was the process before he made the application, he would not have made the application…
Mrs. Nacerino stated well he should have known…
Mr. O’Connor stated the fact is that we made a mistake; we gave him a building permit, we gave him various things. When he got a letter saying a building permit, not that you are requesting it, we are revoking your building permit, enclosed is the check for which you received, thank you very much and if you wish to proceed then you go to the ZBA and start over again but it was not his choice, it was not his mistake.
Mrs. Nacerino stated this happens with Zoning a lot too, you know, the variances are paid and applications are paid, people start to proceed and then they find out there’s violations on the property; are we going to automatically start revoking and refunding monies to every…
Mr. O’Connor stated but that’s not their mistake. This is very rare. I don’t think we make mistakes all that often, but in this case through an oversight, the building department issued a building permit that it should not have issued and if he had known – with the revocation of the building permit there should have been a check in the same envelope. Whether it was a year and a half ago, it doesn’t happen very often, it was not Mr. Cullen’s decision to change his mind. His mind was changed for him.
Mrs. Nacerino stated Mr. Cullen had ample time to ask for his money back. I think three or four years is a bit out of the parameters.
Mr. O’Connor stated well maybe he didn’t think that we’d ever give it back to him.
Mr. Griffin stated perhaps – the point is moot. We’re arguing here…
Mrs. Nacerino stated there’s no reason at all.
Mr. O’Connor stated no and I don’t think it’s a precedent.
Mr. Griffin stated I think that the precedent is…
Mrs. Nacerino stated I hope not.
Mr. Griffin stated in the future if the building department issues a building permit in error by their own admission, by their own mistake and then rescinds that building permit, it should be automatic policy that the fee is returned and then directed to go elsewhere. The fact the Mr. Cullen should have chased his money doesn’t change the fact that the Town revoked his permit in the first place. He acted in good faith, we did not. That’s my opinion and the opinion of four out of five Board members.
Mrs. Nacerino stated I just think that the time frame…
Mr. Griffin stated ok well I think he should have got his money back when he got the letter and that’s just my opinion.
ELECTRICAL CONTRACT
Mr. Griffin stated we have a memo here from Paul Fava, building and maintenance operations, regarding electrical contractors. He states are you aware the current electrical contractor has provided us with less than satisfactory service. He goes on to detail some of the issues. He is recommending that the Board consider replacing the current contractor with Elite Electric Enterprises who are providing us with a rate that is
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$15.00/hr. cheaper for both mechanic and helper than the current electrical contractor. He has also documented other companies that he has spoken with. Some have responded and some did not meet the criteria that were established.
Mr. Griffin made a motion that we follow the recommendation of Paul Fava, building and maintenance director, to hire Elite Electric for an amount not to exceed $110.00/hr.
Seconded by Mrs. Nacerino. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
PATTERSON CHAMBER REQUEST
Mr. Jim Lowe, Vice President of the Patterson Chamber of Commerce, stated we request use of one of the offices for our meetings.
Mr. Griffin stated just for a little background for the Board; I’ve spoken with Amy and with Jim. The Patterson Chamber of Commerce has a whole new board. The place where the executive board used to meet is no longer available to them. Most of the other places they would have to meet in the Town would either be by Catches Catch Can Bases or they would have to pay. They asked me if it would be possible to use the conference room on the first floor in Town Hall once a month. They have approximately nine members on the board. The room would be more than easily able to accommodate that. In an effort to improve the working relationship between the Town and the Chamber it is my recommendation that I would like to see the Board consider the possibility of allowing them to use the Town Hall on a monthly basis to hold their executive board meetings.
Mr. Kassay stated what time frame is that as far as hours go.
Ms. Amy Lagan stated second Wednesday of the month at
Mr. Herbst stated so it would be the same time as we meet but we are upstairs so it doesn’t matter.
Mr. Griffin stated and that works out to our advantage in the sense that if we are here when they’re here, we could keep an eye on them and vice versa.
Mr. Kassay stated how long does your meeting usually take.
Ms. Lagan stated approximately 2 hours.
Mr. Griffin stated Amy and I have had a number of discussions on some of the things that I think would be a good partnership for the Town and the Chamber. Other Town’s Chambers set up and supply them funding, find the sponsors for Christmas tree lightings and pageants and other events. I was in Wallkill yesterday and their Chamber of Commerce raises money for their Fourth of July fireworks and barbeque party for the entire town so I think there’s a lot of opportunities here. If we can work with the Chamber, help them save a few bucks if they don’t have to rent a space, and at the same time foster a new era of partnership, I think it would be to our advantage.
Mr. Kassay stated I think it’s great.
Mrs. Nacerino stated I think it’s great especially that we will be here; some Patterson personnel person will be here for security purposes and you don’t need a key, you don’t need to set the alarm or have the alarm code. I think that’s important and it’s certainly a great idea.
Mr. O’Connor stated with no additional cost to the Town it sounds wonderful.
Mr. Herbst stated I think it’s great too, I don’t see anything wrong with it.
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Mr. Griffin made a motion that we allow the Patterson Chamber of Commerce to use the conference room on the second Wednesday of every month.
Seconded by Mr. Herbst. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
WWTP OPERATOR
Mr. Griffin stated I asked the Town Engineer and a few other folks to put together one of the things that – we have an 80,000 gallon per day plant under construction. It’s been suggested that we should start looking for a plant operator at this point. The Town Engineer has given a few fill in the blanks questionnaire and specs for an RFP to put out. The current construction manager recommended that we consider moving on this because frequently it’s in the best interest of the plant and the operations to have a plant operator available during construction so that they’re aware of what’s going on, what’s being built, how everything is being wired, how the systems work and have the possibility of making comments and working with the contractors if changes are needed or required. I just want everybody to know that by next meeting we’ll be bringing this up for advertising with the Town Clerk.
METRO NORTH – DEED
Mr. Molé stated this relates to the lease that the Town
entered into a few years ago with Metro North whereby Metro North had the
option to purchase the property that was leased. This is on
Mr. Griffin introduced the following Resolution for Authorization to Sign Deed Transferring Property to
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
R0607-05
WHEREAS, the Town of Patterson and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“MTA”) have entered into a Lease Agreement whereby MTA leases from the Town certain real property in the Town of Patterson as described on the attached form deed, and
WHEREAS, MTA has provided the Town of Patterson with written notice that it is exercising its option to purchase the subject property, by letter dated July 14, 2005, and
WHEREAS, the Town of
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Patterson hereby authorizes the execution of the deed in the form attached hereto to transfer to MTA the property described in the attached deed, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of
Seconded by Mr. O’Connor. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
Mr. Kassay stated I don’t know how inappropriate this may be but it has to do with the salary increase regarding Christina Rizzo. I’m a little confused on what the exact vote was. The vote was passed 3 to 2 to…
Mr. Griffin stated to not give her a raise.
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Mr. Kassay stated to not give her a raise.
Mr. Griffin stated the motion was to not give her a raise. Would you like to revisit that resolution and vote differently.
Mr. Kassay stated no. I was just confused as to the way it came across. That’s what I thought it was.
Mr. O’Connor stated I think it could have been worded not to grant this raise or other raises mid year.
Mrs. Nacerino stated the (inaudible) not to make the recommendation based on the meeting that we had and the policy that we set forth, the action that personnel…
Mr. O’Connor stated not to pick on this person as unworthy of it, but that it violates the principle that we had agreed upon of not having mid-term salary changes.
Mr. Griffin stated so if somebody gets a different job title, different job duties…
Mr. O’Connor stated that’s a different thing.
Mr. Griffin stated well that’s sort of what’s going on here.
Mr. Herbst stated that’s what I said what’s going on.
Mrs. Nacerino stated not really. The motion was passed and carried.
Mr. Herbst stated well then if she gets a different job we can bring it up again.
Mr.
Mrs. Nacerino stated are we going to move backwards and…
Mr. Griffin stated we already have. Mr. Kassay brought up a point of order and asked a question.
Mr. Kassay I asked a question (inaudible) allowed to ask that question.
Mrs. Nacerino the motion is carried; we’re going to rescind the motion as…
Mr. Griffin stated no.
Mrs. Nacerino stated well that’s all I said, Mr. Griffin.
Mr. Kassay stated thank you very much for allowing me to back track to just clarify what I wanted to ask.
GERALD HERBST
SIDEWALK –
Mr. Herbst stated we have one bid on the sidewalk and that’s $12,690.00 and I’m not even sure there is that kind of money in their budget or they even budgeted for it. With John Taylor being away and no way to check on it and this being the only bid we’ve got, I’d like to just table this until he gets back and I’ll bring it up again as soon as we find out whether there is any money and if they budgeted for it or not.
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Mr. Herbst stated did you all get copies of the letter for the movie license or the write up on it.
Board members said yes.
Mrs. Nacerino stated movie license is something that’s mandated so it’s something that’s necessary.
Mr. Herbst stated yes it is mandated but did you all have a chance to look at it.
Mr. Molé stated I took a look at it. I looked at the terms
and conditions and I just want to make note that it says if any dispute arises
out of it, it’s arbitration but it’s arbitration in
Mr. Herbst stated I’ll table this item until the next meeting and until those issues are resolved.
SPEEDING ON
Mr. Herbst stated the Supervisor had a request from someone
who works at the recreation center stating that they were hit in their car by a
speeder on
Mr. O’Connor stated I was on
Mr. Herbst stated the reason that Deacon Smith is a speedway
is because of the trucks on Route 311 and a lot of people that want to go to either
Mr. Molé stated one thing the Board can do is send a letter to the sheriff’s department advising them of that fact and see if they can’t get more patrol cars out there more often.
Mr. Griffin stated we’ve had the garbage truck hit out there. Ernie, if you have any suggestions from your extensive background in law enforcement that might be helpful as well.
Mr. Kassay stated being that a letter is going to be generated out of your office, I would include the Deacon Smith location in the letter and give them some background information regarding the children on that road.
DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE REQUEST – COMMUNITY DAY
Mr. Herbst stated I’m going to recommend that we deny that request because community day has always been non political and I would like to see that it would remain that way. It’s open to everybody and we are there to have a good time not to be campaigning or politicking. I’m going to request that a letter be sent to the Democratic Committee explaining to them that they are certainly welcome to come but just as guests.
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Mr. Griffin stated no table.
Mr. Herbst made a motion that a letter be sent to the Democratic Committee denying their request.
Seconded by Mr. Kassay. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
Mr. O’Connor stated just for the record; we treat all the other parties the same way.
Mrs. Nacerino stated the intent of community day is to bring people together in a lighthearted atmosphere. We don’t want to have division with political parties or politicking and that’s not the purpose of the day so they can save that for another time.
Mr. Griffin stated so who’s sending this letter.
Mr. Herbst stated I recommend the Supervisor’s office.
SET PUBLIC HEARING –
Mr. Herbst stated the building inspector has not completed everything yet. They have to get an engineer there to look at it and we don’t know when that will be so I have to table this item until the next meeting.
BUDGET TRANSFERS
Mr. O’Connor stated I’d like to make a motion to transfer some fund balance appropriation requests to transfer funds from one line to another as needed; fund balance appropriated $7,000 to water administration contractual, from fund balance appropriated $300.00 to tax certiorari account, another from fund balance appropriated $19,200.00 to the tax certiorari account, another fund balance appropriated transfer $12,800.00 to the tax certiorari account, fund balance transfer from the sale of equipment balance account $1,100.00 to the tax certiorari account, transfer from the fund balance appropriated account $4,500.00 to the tax certiorari account.
Seconded by Mr. Herbst. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
PROPOSED RESOLUTION –
Mr. O’Connor stated I gave everyone a copy. I have been batting for it; we all have been
batting for it a number of times, for some time as to is there anything we can
do to address some of the water quality issues, particularly in Putnam Lake and
a few other places, but Putnam Lake in particular since it’s a very stressed
location because of the small size of houses.
We were talking at one time about having a septic district and having a
special tax authority to raise money for use and enhancement purposes and/or
rebates on encouraging people to do a pump out.
Some people seem to never do it and other people do it with a frequency
more than even recommended. I would like
you to read this proposed resolution. We
are not doing this tonight. As we might
know the City of New York gave the County some time ago $30 million with
interest to $35 or $40 million, and most of it or all of it was spent but some
of that has to come back because the County still owes to the fund because they
borrowed it for the purposes – almost all the money was used for a land
acquisition which we could argue as to how good that was for water quality
projects but the County has to return to this fund at least $5 million that
they borrowed for purchasing land. If we
could talk the County into using part of that for a revolving fund for
encouraging, by rebate, people to have their septic system pumped out in
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greatly improve the quality of the effluence coming out of
the tank. People aren’t going to do that
on their own but if they were told part of the price would be covered they
probably would. A couple million dollars
would go a long way as a revolving fund with the interest on it between us and
ALTERNATE COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS – DISCUSSION
Mr. O’Connor stated an alternate communications provider has
come to us and that is an alternative to Verizon. As we know, they’re the monopoly of the phone
companies that have broken up a long time ago.
We’ve been approached by a company called Broadview Networks and they’ve
given a semi-formal proposal as to how much they would charge to do the same
things that Verizon does. According to
their estimate, by looking at how much Verizon charges us for various things
and how much they would charge, we could save about give or take $7,000.00 per
year. Particularly, the line charges are
about half and the usage is quite less. There’s
a lot of companies that do this now; they offer to provide the same service as
the major companies did in the past, except do it cheaper. I did contact the – they have about 75,000
customers now. They have been in
existence for at least a dozen or more years so they’re not a complete flash in
the pan. I contacted some of the bigger
customers that they mentioned to me i.e., the Renegades, the Rockland County
Disabled Association,
Mr. Herbst stated did you check some of these places; you called them.
Mr. O’Connor stated I spoke to the person in charge of
utilities for the Renegades, for Rockland County Disabled Association,
Mr. Herbst stated the reason I say that is because I once switched from Verizon to Z-tel and for the first six months my bill was about 75% of what Verizon’s was and then all of a sudden I started getting hit with double the charges of what Verizon would be. That’s why I wonder when they come in so cheap we don’t know how long that would last.
Mr. O’Connor stated $7,000.00 is not all the money in the
world. We do pay a lot of money to
Verizon; it’s not like it’s half the price or anything. Unfortunately, phones are very expensive
these days no matter who gets it. The
only other thing they have is a certificate of excellence from
Mrs. Nacerino stated I would be interested in having them do a presentation, but I think we should also (inaudible) entertain another proposal as well.
Mr. O’Connor stated when we get a formal proposal I would like to say to Verizon can you match that. They might make a new offer. If not there are others.
Mr. Kassay stated it’s a competitive market.
PATTERSON TOWN BOARD
TOWN BOARD MEETING
Mr. O’Connor stated I will contact the regional representative who is in Patterson so I will call him.
EXECUTIVE SESSION – PERSONNEL
Deferred until end of meeting.
ERNEST KASSAY
Mr. Kassay stated at o4:30 p.m. n
June 20th Michael Capra, Mark Farrell, myself, Frank Farrell and
Frank Grady met at the ballfield. They
came to the meeting and explained to us what they intend to do. The policy is as follows and will commence on
July 1st: Their policy is if
there’s an incident that Frank Grady would discover the next morning after
these softball or baseball games occur, he will contact me, Frank Farrell and
these two gentlemen. Every team that
played that night will be assessed a $25.00 penalty. They will be able to
monitor who may be causing problems and every time there is a problem they all
know it’s going to cost them. That may
be deterrent enough so that we won’t have this problem anymore. We’re going try
this policy and see how it works out. They
will take care of collecting the monies.
The Town will not be involved in it.
They’re going to take responsibility for that.
Mr. Griffin stated is the Town
going to get the money.
Mr. Kassay stated only if there’s
a charge for what is damaged there. If
they collect money and there is no problem in the future, they will give the
money back but if there is something left there like tires for example, we will
keep the money it costs us to dispose of the tires. It would be like going to the recycling center
and having to get rid of tires so that’s where the money is going to come from.
Mr. Herbst stated $25.00 isn’t
very much for a team, however you got to remember last year, one of the teams
brought their kids down who went over and played against the building and put
dents in the building. $25.00 would not
fix that.
Mr. Kassay stated if there’s
criminal mischief done and you can prove who did it and it’s a crime that takes
place that involves thousands of dollars, that’s a separate issue.
Mr. Griffin stated it would be
$150.00 for the night. There’s three
games. This involves six teams.
Mr. Kassay stated they are going
to take care of it. They are setting it
up.
Mrs. Nacerino stated who’s…
Mr. Kassay stated Mike Capra and
Mark Farrell will take care of what I mentioned. If there is a problem, they have my number,
Frank’s number. On the weekends there
have been no problems with the Brewster Rockets; they play on Sunday. On Saturday’s the little league has been
there on occasion and there has been a litter problem which Mark and Mike have
addressed on their own. I told them if
they needed me to contact anyone from little league I would. They said right now they were working on it;
they’ve been in touch with certain individuals to let them know they have to
pick up their litter.
Mr. Kassay made a motion to authorize the Town Clerk to
advertise a public hearing for
PATTERSON TOWN BOARD
TOWN BOARD MEETING
Seconded by Mrs. Nacerino. All In Favor:
aye. Carried.
Mr. Kassay stated Chris O’Doyle
has been accepted as a member of the Putnam Lake Fire Department.
ADVERTISE PROPANE BIDS – WWTP
Mr. Kassay made a motion to authorize the Town Clerk to
advertise for sealed separate bids for the purchase of liquefied petroleum gas
(propane) with sealed bids to be opened on
Seconded by Mr. Herbst. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Griffin stated we got a letter from Cornell Cooperative
Extension. The
PUBLIC RECOGNITION
None.
There being no further business, Mr. Herbst made a motion
to go into Executive Session at
Seconded by Mr. Kassay. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
Mr. O’Connor made a motion to close Executive Session
at
Seconded by Mr. Kassay. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
There being no further business, Mr. Herbst made a motion
to adjourn the Town Board meeting at
Seconded by Mrs. Nacerino. All In Favor: aye. Carried.
Respectfully submitted,
________________________________________________
ANTOINETTE KOPECK, TOWN CLERK