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2004-08-02 MTG34 104 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 TOWN BOARD MEETING MTG. #34 August 2, 2004 RES. 389-396 7:00 p.m. TOWN BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT SUPERVISOR DANIEL STEC COUNCILMAN ROGER BOOR COUNCILMAN THEODORE TURNER COUNCILMAN JOHN STROUGH COUNCILMAN TIM BREWER-ABSENT TOWN OFFICIALS TOWN COUNSEL BOB HAFNER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LED BY SUPERVISOR STEC SUPERVISOR STEC-Noted that TV8 was not present 1.0 CORRESPONDENCE 1.1 Ltr. Mr. Roger Boor Town Councilman Ward 1 Town of Queensbury Dear Mr. Boor. During the early morning about 3AM, Saturday, July 30, a car went off Assembly Point Road and would have ended up in the lake near the residence of Mrs. Jane Shires. It struck her utility building on her dock. Had it not done so, the car could have rolled into the water resulting in injury or fatality. Those of us who live in the near the neighborhood observe increasing disregard for the 25 mph speed limit on Assembly Point Rd. and corresponding threats to pedestrian especially children, walking along this road. It is only a matter of time before more serious accidents will occur. I suggest that consideration be given to lowering the speed limit on Assembly Point to 15-20 mph and enforcement be real and meaningful. Thank you. /s/ John T. Brothers 12 Tall Timbers Road 1.2 Ltr. 105 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 Mr. Roger Boor Town Councilman Town of Queensbury Dear Councilman Boor, If at all possible please read this letter into tonight’s Town Board Meeting such as the other Town Board Members may also hear my concern. I am writing to you to express my concern with the automobile speeding problem and the lack of traffic enforcement on Assembly Point. Specifically there exists a problem with speeding traffic along Assembly Point Road as well as along Honeysuckle Lane. Both of these roads are often used by pedestrians and Assembly Point Road is used extensively for homeowners and their guests to access their respective docks. The speed limit is 25 mph on all of Assembly Point, although it has been my observation that this is often exceeded by drivers and the seldom law enforcement patrol on the Point results in very little enforcement. There was a serious automobile accident on Assembly Point Road this past weekend While I do not know the exact cause of this accident it should highlight the potential disasters that can occur along this narrow and often busy Town Road. Please consider options which would enhance traffic enforcement on the Point and possibly means of physically slowing the traffic such as removable speed bumps, etc. I view this to be a serious safety issue in the Town. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, /s/ Michael Kelly 2.0 INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS FROM THE FLOOR NONE 3.0 OPEN FORUM FOR GENERAL AND RESOLUTIONS Mr. John T. Brothers- Better known as Ted Brothers - 12 Timber Road off Old Assembly Point Road Noted his neighbor and friend Mrs. Jan Shires I am speaking on her behalf…passed out photos of the accident scene … 25 mph speed limit ignored in the area, many walk the road, children and pets, spoke about the accident that occurred, noted the seriousness of the situation and need of the consideration of the town, the county and perhaps the State since I was told you cannot put in speed bumps…I do not think we should allow ourselves to be detained by bureaucracy to address a problem of human safety in the age in which we live. Mr. Joseph Tornabene – 141 Assembly Point Road I am here to try and save a child’s life. Please put temporary speed bumps on Assembly Point, take them up in the winter so they can plow, noted vehicles go faster every year, sheriff patrol the road, almost daily and sometimes twice, that is ten or fifteen minutes leaving the road twenty three hours unattended. Walkers are jeopardized by excessive speed…most driveways are blind and docks are hidden by trees and shrubs, please help us slow down the traffic. Mr. Bill Bernard-133 Assembly Point Road Noted there needs to be something done especially in the summer when there are children and it is crowded. Mr. Donald Sipp-Court House Drive spoke about the make up of a board to study the growth of the Town of Queensbury and make recommendations, at one time the board was to be made up of Planning Board Members, Zoning Board Members and members of the public…at this afternoons meeting the members of the public were put off and the board would consist of only the Planning Board and Zoning Board Members, I believe 106 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 this is wrong. The perception was that this board would have some local citizens on it, now they are being eliminated. Here is the same good old boys network doing the same work that they have done in the past which has led us to this problem. I think we need people from the public who have children in school who are concerned about how the children will be educated. th Ms. Karen Angleson-1 Greenwood Lane On the June 14 workshop that was held with the Planning Board and Zoning Board you made the decision to have a committee of some sort, in addition to members of the public, suggestion was made to have school board members that was neglected at this afternoons meeting. I think someone from the School Board or from the School needs to be on that committee also. Mr. Lewis Stone-(Chairman – Zoning Board) 192 Lake Parkway, Assembly Point Support the speakers about Assembly Point Road, I agree that speeding is out of hand. We need any remedial action that we can take, we also need an educational program. RE: Committee - noted there are four school districts in Queensbury Mr. Pliney Tucker-41 Division Road Re: 5.4 Was a full time job, now part time? Supervisor Stec-No, noted this will be a job share position… Mr. Pliney Tucker-Questioned if the job would cost any more? Supervisor Stec-No… Mr. Tucker-Re: Paint Ball petition has anyone verified the petition? Supervisor Stec-The petition that was submitted legally has little standing, it is a communication tool to the Town Board, it is not a petition to go to permissive referendum it is not to put something on the ballot…it is not required to be verified. Mr. Tucker-RE: 5.5 Power Supply is that purchasing power from different? Supervisor Stec-It is a continuation with NYSEG, there is a memo from the Budget Officer stating her recommendation for a two year contact. They are our power supply, you get a delivery from Nimo and you can shop around for who supplies the electric, they are the supplier. Mr. Doug Auer-16 Oakwood Drive - Re: traffic concern on Assembly Point Noted several years ago Paul Abess sent a letter to the Highway Supt. dealing with traffic calming techniques. Road stripping to narrow travel lanes goes a long way to slow traffic, also chevron danger zones, they are put in the road to slow people down, it is the cost of paint. This was suggested four or five years ago… Re: Report to be discussed tomorrow night came out a month ago, nothing has been done with this it has not been distributed to anybody out side of the School or the Town Officials. Planning and Zoning Board Members do not have a copy of this. The reason no one has had a chance to look at it is that it is marked confidential. I think it is a foil able document. Town Counsel Hafner-It is not a Town document until it is declare it to be the document. Mr. Doug Auer-This is important stuff…I would like to see a bullet set of action items with a time line associated with it to deal with these things. Councilman Strough-I know it was not released to the public yet and I think part of the reason is we wanted the school to get a feel and handle on it. After we have reviewed it as a draft we have allowed public input before we adopt a final version. Supervisor Stec-Tomorrow night it will be out there for the publics consumption … Town Counsel Hafner-Once you disseminate it, it becomes public at that point it becomes foil able. 107 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 Councilman Strough-Sometimes the public will see something that we didn’t. Mr. Brothers-Re: Assembly Point Road I request that you do look into all of the available options that are possible to be able to make the area a safer place. Mr. Leo Rigby- 5 Willow Road General comment about last weeks board meeting, I was present for the tax relief discussion…my concern is there was heated discussion with that and I hope that, that heated discussion does not flow into the chemistry of the Board. The Board from what I have seen has worked well together, my hope is that the Board will continue to work well together. 4.0 TOWN BOARD DISCUSSIONS Supervisor Stec-Re: Traffic Safety we are concerned about traffic safety for information purposes 1. call the sheriff on speeding issues, noted that he will contact the Sheriff’s Officer regarding this issue.. 2. lowering speed limits, the Town does not control speed limits, that is under the jurisdiction of DOT Noted that the Association of Towns over the last several years has been lobbying as a group asking the State legislature the change and give back to local municipalities the authority to control their own speed limits. That has not happened. Councilman Boor-Noted you cannot lower the speed limit, because you are at the threshold, you cannot go below twenty five unless you are a school zone with flashing lights. Will look into the lining the roads… Supervisor Stec-This will involve the elected Highway Superintendent, you can lobby him also…noted the Association could also lobby for traffic safety concerns… Councilman Boor-We understand the problem we will bring this to the attention of those that are most able and capable of changing things. Supervisor Stec-Re: Planning Board/Zoning Board Committee Workshop reviewed and updated the public on the workshop…decided to for starters have a ten person committee, five from the Zoning Board, five people from the Planning Board, the Chairman of those Boards will contact their members, if there is more than the five interested the Chairman’s will pick five the others will be alternates. … they will give us the names a week from today and a date for the first meeting. At the first meeting they will go over ground rules, these will be public meetings open for public comment, the lions share of the Town Board will be present at these meetings, minutes will be kept of these meetings anyone can go…noted if the committee wishes to expand their membership they can request that of the Town Board…this committee will look at the Comprehensive Land Use Plan the Zoning Code and Subdivision Regulations…they will keep the Town Board updated…it is important to note that we want the public to have confidence in the process. Councilman John Strough-This committee should have a staff person assigned to them so when they have mailing or minutes to be typed up that, that can be done and not be a burden to the Zoning and Planning Board Members. RE: School Board They could be sent a notification of the meetings and be a guest at the meetings Supervisor Stec-Agreed with that proposal…I will ask that all the schools are notified of when they meet … noted this is a purely volunteer committee… Councilman Strough-I will concur with Leo that we do not have any more meetings like last night, when I came on the Town Board strictly to do something positive for the community with out the politics. July 2004 Memo from the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, deserve a lot of credit for what they do…want to make a correction on the Building Moratorium it wasn’t citizens who asked for the moratorium it was the Planning Board. Councilman Theodore Turner-RE: Res. to control outside boilers, what we need is an opacity class? 108 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 Councilman Boor-I have coordinated that, classes will be in October. I would encourage everybody here to attend tomorrow nights meeting on the build out analysis…it is important that the public gets a real understanding of the tax implications if we don’t take a good hard look at residential growth in our community. In our Executive Session tonight we have started the process of interviewing for Chris Rounds replacement starting tomorrow. Supervisor Stec-We did also have an Executive Session regarding personnel we received several resumes from our advertisement and have several good candidates…we will start interviewing tomorrow. Hope to have somebody in place within a month. Thanked Peter Brothers for his hospitality in showing us around the lake… Read the following that was sent to the Park Commission: Dear Commission Young, The Town of Queensbury recognizes its responsibility in preserving the beauty and promoting the vitality of Lake George. We see our role as one of the many towns with jurisdiction in the basin as working cooperatively with the Commission for uniformity and protection. This is particularly the case with protection of the upland basin where differing or ineffective regulations and enforcement have significant impacts both ethically and ecologically on the residents of other lake towns. An east side home owner can readily see an overly cleared residential home standing out on the western hill side and vice versa. Negative environmental consequences effect us all. I have been discussing these issues with the fund for Lake George and I am well aware of their efforts to develop uniform regulations for visual protection of the uplands including limiting tree clearing and qualifying responsible development practices. These efforts could be extremely beneficial to the entire basin and since the Fund has laid the ground work it is up to those of us with jurisdictional authority to join the effort. Lets start with a meeting to discuss how we can go forward. Please let me know what day next week is convenient for you. Yours truly, Daniel G. Stec. Noted: met with Commission Young and Mike White at the Park Commission Mr. Stone-Noted he agrees but the LGA should have been involved in the discussion… Supervisor Stec-The point is I wrote a letter to the Park Commission about this issue that is important to both the Fund and the LGA and individuals on the lake and in the area, and I did have a meeting with them and they seem receptive and the next step is they are going to try as a Park Commission with level of jurisdictional authority to start reaching out to all the towns on the lake in Washington and Warren County as well as other Lake groups to start developing something that everyone is comfortable with levels of enforcement. It does not do our residents any good if we are working hard on upland issues and no one else is and visa versa. …need to come to a mutual agreement as to what is right for the Lake George Basin. 5.0 RESOLUTIONS RESOLUTION SETTING PUBLIC HEARING ON ROBERT MAHON D/B/A RPM ENTERTAINMENT’S APPLICATION FOR TRANSIENT MERCHANT/TRANSIENT MERCHANT MARKET RESOLUTION NO.: 389. 2004 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. John Strough WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. Theodore Turner 109 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 WHEREAS, Robert Mahon d/b/a RPM Entertainment (RPM) has applied to the Queensbury Town Board for a Transient Merchant/Transient Merchant Market License to th hold the “Impact Car Show” on August 28, 2004 at The Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom, Route 9 in the Town of Queensbury, and WHEREAS, in accordance with Queensbury Town Code Chapter 160, the Town Board referred the application to the Town’s Planning Board for recommendation and site plan review, and th WHEREAS, on July 20, 2004, the Queensbury Planning Board considered RPM’s application and the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), adopted a SEQRA Negative Declaration and adopted a Resolution recommending approval of the application subject to Town Board approval of the SEQRA, and WHEREAS, the Town Board wishes to schedule a public hearing to consider RPM’s application in accordance with SEQRA, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board shall hold a public hearing and hear th all interested persons on Monday, August 16, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the Queensbury Activities Center, 742 Bay Road, Queensbury to consider Robert Mahon d/b/a RPM Entertainment (RPM)’s request for a Transient Merchant/Transient Merchant Market License, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board further authorizes and directs the Queensbury Town Clerk to provide Notice of the Public Hearing to RPM and owners of property within 500 feet of the applicant's property by regular mail and also publish the Notice in the official newspaper of the Town a minimum of ten (10) days prior to the time of the hearing.. nd Duly adopted this 2 day of August, 2004, by the following vote: AYES : Mr. Boor, Mr. Turner, Mr. Strough, Mr. Stec NOES : None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer 110 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 RESOLUTION SETTING HEARING CONCERNING UNSAFE STRUCTURE LOCATED ON PROPERTY OWNED BY HOWARD TOOMEY RESOLUTION NO. 390. 2004 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Roger Boor WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. Theodore Turner WHEREAS, the Town of Queensbury’s Director of Building and Codes Enforcement (Director) inspected a structure on property owned by Howard Toomey located at the intersection of Rockwell and Sunnyside Roads in the Town of Queensbury (Tax Map No.: 290.5-1-59) and found that the outside walls are bowing, the roof has collapsed forcing the structure in the direction of Rockwell Road and is generally in disrepair, unusable and unsafe, and WHEREAS, the Director advised Mr. Kevin Toomey to take appropriate measures to dismantle and remove the structure from the property as more specifically set forth in the st Director’s May 21, 2004 letter presented at this meeting, and WHEREAS, Mr. Hatin advised the Town Board that in his opinion, the structure on the property is dangerous and unsafe to the general public and therefore, in accordance with the emergency provisions of Queensbury Town Code 60-11, Mr. Hatin requested Town § Board authorization to allow him to arrange for immediate demolition of the structure, and WHEREAS, in accordance with Queensbury Town Code Chapter 60 and §130(16) of New York State Town Law, by Resolution the Town Board may determine whether in its opinion a structure is unsafe and dangerous, and if so, order its demolition and/or order that notice be served upon the owner or other persons interested in the property that the structure must be renovated or demolished and removed, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that after reviewing the evidence presented at this time, the Queensbury Town Board is of the opinion that the structure owned by Howard Toomey and located at the intersection of Rockwell and Sunnyside Roads in the Town of Queensbury (Tax Map No.: 290.5-1-59) appears to be dangerous and unsafe to the public, and BE IT FURTHER, 111 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 RESOLVED, that the Town Board shall hold a hearing concerning such dangerous th and unsafe structure on August 16, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the Queensbury Activities Center, 742 Bay Road, Queensbury, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby authorizes and directs the Director of Building and Codes Enforcement to serve a notice setting forth its determinations upon the property owner or its executors, legal representatives, agents, lessees, or any person having a vested or contingent interest in the property, the contents, service and filing of the notice to be in accordance with the provisions of Queensbury Town Code Chapter 60 and New York State Town Law §130(16). nd Duly adopted this 2 day of August, 2004, by the following vote: AYES : Mr. Turner, Mr. Strough, Mr. Stec, Mr. Boor NOES : None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer Discussion held before vote: Supervisor Stec-Showed photo of the collapsed structure…Councilman Boor-Noted that the property has other issues, there are vehicles, refrigerators etc. will contact Dave Hatin about these issues… RESOLUTION APPROVING AUDIT OF BILLS – TH ABSTRACT OF JULY 28, 2004 RESOLUTION NO.: 391. 2004 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Theodore Turner WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. John Strough WHEREAS, the Queensbury Town Board wishes to approve the audit of bills th presented as the Abstract with a run date of July 28, 2004, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board hereby approves the Abstract with a th run date of July 28, 2004 numbering 24-336300 through 24-345600 and totaling $194,357.53, and BE IT FURTHER, 112 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 RESOLVED, that the Town Board further authorizes and directs the Budget Officer and/or Town Supervisor to take such other and further action as may be necessary to effectuate the terms of this Resolution. nd Duly adopted this 2 day of August, 2004, by the following vote: AYES : Mr. Strough, Mr. Stec, Mr. Turner NOES : None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer ABSTAIN: Mr. Boor RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING APPOINTMENT OF GWEN PERRY AS PART-TIME CLERK RESOLUTION NO. : 392. 2004 INTRODUCED BY Mr. Roger Boor WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY : Mr. John Strough WHEREAS, Gwen E. Perry, recently submitted her resignation from the full-time, permanent Clerk position, and WHEREAS, the Queensbury Town Board and the Town’s CSEA Unit have in principle agreed to make the full-time Clerk position into a job-sharing position with two employees equally dividing the workday/workweek, and WHEREAS, Ms. Perry wishes to return to work for the Town in the job-sharing, part-time Clerk position and the Town Board wishes to approve Ms. Perry’s employment in this position, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board hereby authorizes the hiring of nd Gwen E. Perry as a part-time Clerk effective August 2, 2004, and BE IT FURTHER, 113 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 RESOLVED, that Ms. Perry shall work 20 hours per week and shall accrue leave benefits (sick, vacation and personal days) on a pro-rated basis and will be covered under retiree status for her health insurance coverage and contribution, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that Ms. Perry shall be paid at her current rate of $12.58 per hour unless otherwise agreed with the Union, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town shall continue its negotiations with CSEA regarding the full implementation of this job-sharing position, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the additional part-time Clerk needed to fulfill the duties of the job-sharing position will be hired once an agreement is reached with CSEA, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby authorizes and directs the Town Supervisor, Town Clerk and/or Budget Officer to complete any forms and take any action necessary to effectuate the terms of this Resolution. nd Duly adopted this 2 day of August, 2004, by the following vote: AYES : Mr. Stec, Mr. Boor, Mr. Turner, Mr. Strough NOES : None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ELECTRIC POWER SALE SUPPLY AGREEMENT RENEWAL OFFER BETWEEN TOWN OF QUEENSBURY AND NYSEG SOLUTIONS, INC. RESOLUTION NO.: 393. 2004 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. John Strough WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. Theodore Turner 114 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 WHEREAS, by Resolution No.: 475, 2001, the Queensbury Town Board approved and authorized an Agreement between the Town and NYSEG Solutions, Inc. for NYSEG’S provision of electricity to the Town of Queensbury, and WHEREAS, by obtaining such electric supply from NYSEG, the Town saved money by participating in a cooperative agreement for the purchase of electricity from NYSEG, and WHEREAS, the Town Board wishes to enter into an Electric Power Sale Supply Agreement Renewal Offer with NYSEG and the proposed agreement between the Town and NYSEG has been presented at this meeting, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board hereby approves and authorizes the Electric Power Sale Supply Agreement Renewal Offer between the Town of Queensbury and NYSEG Solutions, Inc., for the supply of electricity substantially in the form presented at this meeting, provided that NYSEG strikes the portion of the Agreement that authorizes the use of the Town’s name in NYSEG’s promotional materials, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board further authorizes and directs the Town Supervisor to execute the agreement with NYSEG and authorizes and directs the Town Supervisor, Purchasing Agent and/or Budget Officer to take such other and further action necessary to effectuate the terms of this Resolution. nd Duly adopted this 2 day of August, 2004, by the following vote: AYES : Mr. Stec, Mr. Boor, Mr. Turner, Mr. Strough NOES : None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer Discussion held before vote: Councilman Boor-Questioned if there was any way to know if this is the best thing to do? Supervisor Stec-Budget Officer Switzer did satisfy herself, she did talk to them, it is a savings. Member of the Chamber- noted that they can get that information for the Board. 8.0 ATTORNEY MATTERS 115 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 9.0 EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTION CALLING FOR AN EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTION NO. 394. 2004 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Roger Boor WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. John Strough RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury hereby moves into an Executive Session to discuss property acquisition. nd Duly adopted this 2. day of August, 2004 by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Boor, Mr. Turner, Mr. Strough, Mr. Stec NOES: None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer RESOLUTION ADJOURNING EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTION NO. 395.2004 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Roger Boor WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. Theodore Turner RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury hereby moves out of Executive Session. nd Duly adopted this 2 day of August, 2004 by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Boor, Mr. Turner, Mr. Strough, Mr. Stec NOES: None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer (No action taken in Executive Session) RESOLUTION ADJOURING TOWN BOARD MEETING RESOLUTION NO. 396.2004 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Roger Boor WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION 116 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 08-02-2004 MTG. #34 SECONDED BY: Mr. Theodore Turner RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury hereby adjourns its Regular Town Board Meeting. nd Duly adopted this 2 day of August, 2004 by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Boor, Mr. Turner, Mr. Strough, Mr. Stec NOES: None ABSENT: Mr. Brewer Respectfully submitted, Miss Darleen M. Dougher Town Clerk-Queensbury