Town Board

May 1, 2018

1. Appointments

Police Department: Christine Macy (sp?) was appointed community service worker/animal warden.

Water Department: Having passed the civil service test, Kenneth Rundle, who was acting in the capacity of water superintendent, was formally appointed as Distribution Superintendent.

2. Courtesy of the Floor

(see below for a second Courtesy)

Second  courtesy: Ed Ciffone again asked that the board consider adding a second courtesy to the end of the agenda. He also asked the board the reconsider the policy, adopted by the previous board, that limited the use of the board meeting room for town organizations. In response to the latter issue, Councilman Diana explained that the group needed a certificate of insurance and that the actual fee to use the room could be waived.

RFP for town attorney services: In response to a question from Robert Puff about the status of the RFP, Supervisor Gilbert said that the responses had just come in but hadn’t as yet been reviewed.

Immigrant Protection Act: In response to a question from Robert Puff whether the board would reschedule the cancelled meeting about the county’s Immigrant Protect Act, Supervisor Gilbert said that as the county legislature had already passed the law, any such meeting would best be of an informative nature with county legislators explaining the law before the public commented on it.

Minutes of Town Board meetings: In response to comments from Robert6 Puff noting that there were no minutes for 2018 board meetings available on the web site, Town Clerk Quast explained that the minutes are available in the Clerk’s office and that it takes time for them to be added to the town’s web site.

Cablevision refund. John McMullen advised the board that he was “insulted” by the $7 refund he received from Cablevision for the outage during the March storms. The board agreed with him and it was suggested that a letter complaint be sent to the PSC.

3. Bid award for T-shirts for summer camp program

Before voting to award the competitive bid, Councilman  Diana, reminding people about the campaign to “buy local,” said it was ‘a shame” that the t-shirts could not be purchased locally but that state law mandated that the town award the bid to the lowest bidder.

4. Lighting at Granite Knolls Sports Complex

In an item not on the agenda, the board voted to authorize the purchase of lighting for the sports complex at a cost of $539,000. Town Clerk Quast, who is also the chairman of the Recreation Commission, noted that thanks to the work of the of Commission, the cost was substantially lower than the original $1.2 million estimate.

5. SelectedMiscellaneous resolutions

Awarded bid for pesticide treatment at Mohegan Lake

Reduced rental fees at YCCC for SPARC  

Extended site plan resolutions for the JV Mall for six months.

6. Second Courtesy of the Floor

Saying since it was early enough in the evening, Supervisor Gilbert added a second courtesy session

Televising work sessions: Thanking the board for using microphones at work sessions, Susan Siegel, the person writing this summary, asked that the board also televise the sessions, especially as the town is already paying for someone to turn on the microphone switch. All that’s needed, she said, was for the AV technician to turn another switch for the television. Councilwoman Roker said she agreed that the meetings should be televised. Supervisor Gilbert said he would take the request under advisement.

Court house roof leak: In response to Ed Ciffone’s question about what was being done about the leaks at the court building, Councilwoman Roker said that she has been working with town staff to get estimates for the repair.

Mohegan Auto & Tire Center: Mark Lieberman asked the board to do something about the fact that the owner of the gas station has not complied with the conditions of his approved site plan that required landscaping along Route 6 to replace the trees that he had cut down. Councilman Diana came to the station owner’s defense, saying that the owner had spent a lot of money to clean up the site and that the station was still a ‘work in progress.’ 

Homeowner concern over need for multiple permits. A Baldwin Place homeowner called the board’s attention to the difficulty he was experiencing getting the necessary administrative permits from the engineering office to correct a wetlands issue on his property. He said the process was becoming so expensive that he might have to move.  Supervisor Gilbert said he was aware of the problem and advised the homeowner to meet with him to see how the problem could be resolved. Councilwoman Roker added that the board is considering reconstituting the

E-Panel where homeowners could get an understanding of what needed to be done at the very beginning of the permit process.