DRAFT                      TOWN BOARD MEETING

                                  NOVEMBER 17, 2000

 

The regular monthly meeting of the Town Board was held on Thursday, November 17, 2000 with the following persons in attendance:

 

Supervisor Ray Rice

Councilman Marshall Courtney

Councilman John Loughlin

Councilman Peter Beisel

Councilman Gloria VanVliet

 

Guests:   Peter Ungerland, Building Inspector

                                                      Art Cross, Highway Supt.

                                            Dawn Letus, Daily Freeman Reporter

                                                      Bethany & Dan Snavely

                                                      Ann & Lou Gordon

                                                      Ira Weiner

                                                      Greg Gulbrandsen

                                                      Robert Richter

 

Recording Secretary: Diane L. McCord

                                                                          Town Clerk, RMC

 

Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM

 

Pledge to the Flag

 

PUBLIC COMMENT:

 

Peter Ungerland - Building Inspector: Peter Ungerland is requesting a full time assistant.  A letter to the Town Board has been written.  Former assistant Cathy Tomaseski cannot return to work.  Debbie Lamb has been working for the Building Inspector temporarily for six months and Peter Ungerland would like to have her on a full time basis.  Supervisor Rice believes the right time to address this matter is the first of January at the Organizational Meeting.  Peter Ungerland explained he had been without assistance for eight months and this was a hardship trying to keep up with the work.  Debbie Lamb is now working and doing a good job.  She has the experience in the other offices – the Assessor’s office as well as Deputy Tax Collector.  Supervisor Rice agreed Debbie has done a good job and we are looking forward to continuing this service.

 

Councilman Gloria VanVliet hoped we could notify Peter Ungerland and Debbie Lamb before January as to what will actually take place for Debbie Lamb would like to continue on and Peter and Debbie work well together.  According to Councilman VanVliet this position should be made full time.

 

Councilman John Loughlin asked if Debbie was still a Deputy Tax Collector?  Debbie has spoken to Pat Huber, Tax Collector, and there will be no problem with her accepting this position.  Peter Ungerland was assured Debbie would have the position and he appreciated this.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

1.  Announcement of schedule for leaf pickup

 

2.  Request for volunteers for the Recreation Board

 

                           TOWN BOARD RESOLUTIONS

 

1.  RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN A CONTRACT FOR COURT BAILIFFS - 11/16/2000

 

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

 

WHEREAS, the Town Court Justices have requested that the Town provide the services of a Court Bailiff for the Town Courts in the 2001 Budget,

 

WHEREAS, the Ulster County Sheriff has agreed to provide a Court Bailiff on a contractual basis,

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to sign a contract with Ulster County for Bailiff Services at a rate of $13.77 per hour with a total expenditure not to exceed $6,000 for calendar year 2001.


                                              

RESOLUTION OFFERED BY COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN

RESOLUTION SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR RAY RICE

 

 

                               SUPERVISOR RAY RICE                        AYE

  COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY     AYE

  COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN        AYE

  COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL                   AYE

  COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET             AYE

 

RESOLUTION DULY ADOPTED.

 

2.  RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF EMPLOYEE         HEALTH BENEFITS AT THE 2000 LEVEL WITH NOTED CHANGES

 

DISCUSSION: There will be a 20 % increase in GHI Insurance with a $2,500 Prescription Cap and a $5 generic charge, $10 brand-name charge and a $20 non-formula plan.  There will be an increase in MVP.  The Family Plan will increase from $517.29 a month to $545.72.  The Single Plan MVP Plan will increase from $198.57 to $214.22.   

 

Councilman Courtney commented that in this day and age lots of employees are being asked to contribute to their health plan.  Our health plan has eroded over the years.  One way of keeping the cost of our health care down is to increase the co-pay, however, none of our town employees are overpaid and we should maintain the health plan as it is as best we can.  

 

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

 

WHEREAS, the projected costs of Employee health benefits has risen dramatically for 2001, and

 

WHEREAS, the Town Board has considered numerous options to contain this expense without reducing the benefit to our employees,

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board authorizes acceptance of employee health benefits at the 2000 level with the following changes: a $2,500 cap on GHI prescription plan and a three tier plan of $5, $10 and $20 for generic, name brand and non-formula prescriptions.

RESOLUTION OFFERED BY COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY

RESOLUTION SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN

 

                             SUPERVISOR RAY RICE                          Aye

COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY      Aye

COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN        Aye

COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL                   Aye

COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET            Aye

 

RESOLUTION DULY ADOPTED.

 

3.  RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ADOPTION OF THE 2001       BUDGET  - NOV. 16, 2000

 

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

 

WHEREAS, the 2001 Town Budget was presented to the public on November 2, 2001, and the following changes have been applied to the budget since the public hearing,

 

1) line 264 A9060 Med. Ins.                                 $ 81,000.00

2) line 397 9060 Med. Ins.                                   130,000.00

3) line 398 9061 Med Ins. Buy Back                                          750.00

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board adopts the 2001 budget in the form presented to the public with the above described additions.

 

RESOLUTION OFFERED BY COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY

RESOLUTION SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL

 

SUPERVISOR RAY RICE                          AYE

COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY      AYE

COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN        AYE

COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL                   AYE

COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET            AYE

 

RESOLUTION DULY ADOPTED.

 

Councilman Courtney commented on the 2001 Budget stating it was a good budget and the Town Board will be able to give our employees a cost of living raise and still provide a three and four percent reduction in taxes.

 

4.  RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ADJUSTMENTS TO THE 2000       BUDGET

 

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

 

WHEREAS, adjustments to the 2000 Budget are required in order to properly reflect changes in certain accounts,

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board authorizes the transfer of the following amounts from the indicated accounts and fund Balances to the indicated active accounts.

 

From: A.1990.4    Contingency                      $1728.98

A1355.2     Assessor Equipment                 241.94

A599        Fund Balance                     6,129.85

Total.........................................$8,100.77

 

To:           A.1110.4    Justice Contractual              $  103.11

A1355.4     Assessor Contractual                497.61

A.1670.4    Postage                                   6.72

A.7140.1    Rec. Payroll                      6,622.84

        A.8011.4    ZBA Contractual                     870.49

Total..........................................$8,100.77

 

RESOLUTION OFFERED BY COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL

RESOLUTION SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN

 

SUPERVISOR RAY RICE                          AYE

COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY      AYE

COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN        AYE

COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL                   AYE

COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET            AYE

 

RESOLUTION DULY ADOPTED.

 

5.  RESOLUTION TO FUND A FERAL CAT NEUTERING PROGRAM

                                      NOV. 16, 2000

 

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

 

WHEREAS, feral cats are a recurring problem in some areas of the Town,

 

WHEREAS, a program of utilizing volunteers to trap, neuter and return feral cats has proven effective in some localities,

 

WHEREAS, a town resident has offered to match funds contributed by the Town,

 

WHEREAS, Town employees would not be utilized for this program and the Town’s sole involvement would be the partial funding of the neutering fees,

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board authorizes that $500.00 be allocated from the fund balance as the Town’s share for the neutering program.

 

RESOLUTION OFFERED BY COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN

RESOLUTION SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET

 

SUPERVISOR RAY RICE                          AYE

COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY      AYE

COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN        AYE

COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL                   AYE

COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET            AYE

 

RESOLUTION DULY ADOPTED.

 

6.  RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF BILLS RECEIVED SINCE THE OCTOBER BOARD MEETING

 

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, County of Ulster as follows:

 

WHEREAS, the Town of Esopus has been presented with vouchers for payment and these vouchers have been examined and approved by the Town Board,

 

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the following vouchers be approved for payment:

 

GENERAL FUND        #759-863           $34,779.40

HIGHWAY FUND              #279-306             17,050.26

STREET LIGHTING            #11                     4,165.61

PORT EWEN SEWER          #160-170               5,137.30

PORT EWEN WATER  #239-262             10,866.96

 

TOTAL...................................................................$71,999.53

 

RESOLUTION OFFERED BY COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL

RESOLUTION SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR RAY RICE

 

SUPERVISOR RAY RICE                          AYE

COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY      AYE

COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN        AYE

COUNCILMAN PETER BEISEL                   AYE

COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET            AYE

 

RESOLUTION DULY ADOPTED.

 

8.  A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER

     MEETINGS OF THE BOARD

 

A MOTION WAS MADE BY SUPERVISOR RAY RICE AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY TO ACCEPT THE OCTOBER MINUTES OF THE TOWN BOARD.  ALL TOWN BOARD MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.  MOTION CARRIED.

 

9.  CORRESPONDENCE AND THE FOLLOWING REPORTS OF        BOARDS AND COMMITTEES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE TOWN

     CLERK’S OFFICE:

 

Town Clerks Monthly Report dated October 2000

Port Ewen Water and Sewer Monthly Report dated October 2000

Fire Inspection Report for October 2000

Monthly Report of the Building Department dated October 2000

Report of the Highway Supt. for October 2000

Planning Board Minutes dated October 26, 2000

Town of Esopus Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes dated October 17, 2000

Economic Development Committee Minutes dated October 23, 2000

 

PUBLIC COMMENT:

 

Announcement of the availability of correspondence and reports of committees.

 

Robert Richter - Esopus: Bob Richter asked if the buy-out of health insurance was still the same?  Supervisor Rice stated it was one third the cost of the average of the two health plans?  How many people are eligible continued Bob Richter?   Supervisor Rice answered four or five.

 

Bob Richter also asked what the status of the new water standpipe was up Snake Hill and are we moving ahead with that?  Supervisor Rice answered we still have application with New York State for funding and we are on the list.  We are still investigating getting clear title to the property.  Mr. Richter asked if it were possible for us to get clear title?  Supervisor Rice believes we can get clear title.  This property was donated.

 

Ira Weiner - West Park: How much money was spent on engineering studies, surveys and site plans for the standpipe on this property?  Supervisor Rice did not have those figures at hand but suggested Ira Weiner contact the Water/Sewer Supt. Don Kiernan. 

 

Ira Weiner continued stating he knew the Town had loaned a lot of money to the Library to do a site plan review.  Is there any plan for the Library to pay that money back?  Supervisor Rice answered one loan for $10,000 had been paid back immediately and the other loan for $25,000 is pending.  Ira Weiner asked if the Library had approached the Town Board for money toward funding for their expansion plans?  Supervisor Rice said the Town had not been approached. 

 

Robert Richter - Esopus: Are all the playgrounds complete now?  Supervisor Rice answered we still have surfacing material to be placed in Connelly and that should complete the playgrounds.

 

A MOTION TO ADJOURN WAS MADE BY COUNCILMAN JOHN LOUGHLIN AND SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR RICE.  ALL TOWN BOARD MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.  MOTION CARRIED.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Diane L. McCord, Town Clerk, RMC