Village of Lansing

 

MINUTES of a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lansing held on Monday, March 3, 2008, in the Village Office.

 

Present: Mayor Donald Hartill; Trustees, Larry Fresinski and Frank Moore; Clerk/Treasurer Jodi Dake; Attorney David Dubow.

 

Mayor Hartill called the meeting to order at 7:32 P.M. and opened the public comment period. There were no comments.

 

                       Motion-To Close the Public Comment Period  

 

Trustee Fresinski moved to close the public comment period. Trustee Moore seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Larry Fresinski -Aye 

Trustee Frank Moore-Aye            

 

The next item on the agenda was to set the election date, time, place and rate of compensation for the election inspectors.

                  

Resolution # 5423-To Set the Village Election for April 22, 2008 from 12pm to 9pm at the Lansing Fire Station on Oakcrest Road and to Set the Compensation for the Election Inspectors at $100 Each.  

 

Trustee Fresinski moved that the Village election be held on April 22, 2008 from 12pm to 9pm at the Lansing Fire Station on Oakcrest Road and that the compensation for the Election Inspectors be set at $100 each. Trustee Moore seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Larry Fresinski -Aye 

Trustee Frank Moore-Aye            

 

Mayor Hartill stated that he would be out of town for the Monday, March 17, 2008 meeting so he would like the Board to consider changing it to March 24th.

 

Resolution # 5424-To Reschedule the March 17th Board of Trustees Meeting to March 24, 2008.  

 

Trustee Moore moved to reschedule the meeting. Trustee Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Larry Fresinski -Aye 

Trustee Frank Moore-Aye      

 

Mayor Hartill entertained the following motion:

 

Motion - To Approve the Minutes from February 4th & 14th, 2008.

 

Trustee Fresinski moved that the draft meeting notes, as reviewed and revised by the Clerk/Treasurer and the Board, are hereby adopted as the official minutes. Trustee Moore seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Larry Fresinski -Aye 

Trustee Frank Moore-Aye            

 

Larry stated that Danica Computing will no longer be providing internet service in the area of the Village office. They have found that it is not cost efficient for them and have encouraged us to look at other options. Larry has contacted Time Warner regarding their Roadrunner service and has recommended that the Board replace our current internet service for a period of three years at a monthly cost of $69.95. Time Warner will replace our Internet service we have with Danica with no installation charge if we purchase at least a 2 year plan. The following is a break down of costs:

 

$82.30/month plan will incur installation charges to bring the line to the office

$74.00/month for two years will have no installation charges

$69.95/month for three years

$55.76/month for three years if phone service was added.

 

The above services would provide a 5Mb downlink and 384K uplink for all 4 of our systems in aggregate. If the speed isn’t fast enough we could pay $93.56/month for three years for a higher speed, but Larry feels this is unlikely. Jodi asked if this speed was comparable to what we currently have with Danica. Larry will send Jodi a link to test the current speed of our internet.

 

If we wanted to add free long distance telephone for $45.95/month for 3 years, we could do that too, but Jodi’s calculations with our typical long distance charges show this option as a wash. However, our Internet fee would drop to $55.76/month for 3 years because of the bundle, making it favorable. However, Larry does not feel that the phone service is reliable enough yet because it has times when you get echoes or a line drops.

 

Resolution # 5425-To Replace our Current Internet Provider, Danica, with Time Warner Cable Roadrunner Service for Three Years

 

Trustee Moore moved to switch services. Trustee Fresinski seconded the motion. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Larry Fresinski -Aye 

Trustee Frank Moore-Aye      

 

Larry will contact L-Star to get our DLS hosted properly. We bought the vlansing.org domain so that even though our web space will change, the public will not see a difference. Frank questioned whether our service will be interrupted during the change-over. Larry doesn’t think there will be any interruption, but will check.

 

The next item on the agenda was to begin budget discussions. Mayor Hartill has collected information and presented a budget which Jodi has entered into our Budget Program and given everyone copies. He gave a general summary of his initial budget recommendations.  He has added an additional full time person to the Department of Public Works. There are some duties that are dangerous for one person to do. Safety is a priority. We have expanded our needs. We have taken on more sidewalks and are doing more things that we had contracted out in the past. In the future we will also need to consider expanding the garage. He was hopeful that we would do this with the Fire Department, but is unsure where they are with this. There are monies allocated for a new heavy truck and miscellaneous equipment. There is also $275,000 allocated for repairs to our roads. Don feels our roads are the best in Tompkins County and he intends to keep it that way with preventative maintenance. Our Taxable Assessed Value for the Village is $353,469,938. The Mayor proposed we keep the tax rate the same at $1.40/$1,000. Below is an explanation of the changes as compared to last year’s budget:

 

General Fund Revenues

A1001             $494,858 Real Property Tax increase of $7,835 which is less than a 2% increase over last year

A2665             $4,000 for the sale of the dump truck at auction

A3001             $12,655 State Revenue Sharing has been increase

General Fund Expenditures

A1420.4          $34,300 Legal rate increased from $190 to $200/hr.

A1440.4          $35,000-Engineering increase from $35,000 to $40,000 last year to allow for Lynn to also get some help with the MS4 report. Larry suggested that this be lowered back down.

A1620.2          $500 no building equipment needed this year

A1620.21        $840 lowered by $1,360 because entering a 3 yr. contract with Roadrunner for our internet service

A3310.4          $4000.00 traffic signal repair and led lights, down form $10,000 last year

A3620.2          $1,100 Code Enforcement equipment

A5110.2          $100,000.00 GMC 5500 4x4 dump with plow equipment.

A5110.4          $100,000.00 crack seal, striping, road repair, street sweep….

A5110.13        $35,000 got rid of summer help and replace with 1 full time employee

A5112.2         $275,000.00 Tentative overlay projects and storm sewer

                        1. Graham Rd                    N. Trip-Wakefield

                        2. Bush Lane                     Brook Way-Town line

                        3. Brook Way                   Entire

                        4. Brook Drive                 Entire

                        5. Butler Rd                     Recon. Entrance @ Graham West/overlay

                        6. Hickory Hollow Rd     Entire

                        7. Ayla Ways                 Although new/poor condition

                            Total Quantities 3912 tons @ $60.00 per ton $234,000

                             $30,000 is needed for storm sewer installation at Brook/Bush.

A5410.2          $5000.00 sidewalk sander

A5410.4          $7000.00 Sealer for new walks along N. Triphammer Rd. and miscellaneous sidewalk repair

A5410.41        $15,000.00 install blacktop on Northwoods and Highgate

A5680.4          $6,000 Gadabout

A6410.4          $2000.00 going Electronic with our newsletter

A7140.2          $30,000.00 to move the Uptown Road play structure to eastside of the park. This would better meet ADA standards with blacktop handicap parking and trail to the play structure. Parents with different age children can utilize the pavilion and ball field with out jeopardizing the safety of ones using the play structure.

A7140.4          $4000.00 new garbage containers & timber carpet. The currently owned swing at Uptown Park is to be relocated upon integrity inspection. This would require the purchase of timber carpet.

A7310.4          $25,600 Youth Recreation is $13,724 for the Recreation Partnership and $11,869 to the Town of Ithaca for Youth Services, an increased of $1,169

A8020.2          $1,000 for Power Point equipment

A8140.4          $6,000 for Storm Water MS4

A9060.8          $40,000 need to increase by $10,000 for a new employee with family

coverage

Account 2401, Interest & Earnings, in all funds was lowered because of the poor interest rate.

           

There is also $20,000 allocated for a fund to cover the activities that Carol previously did. It is unclear at this point how we will handle the Planning Board minutes, office coverage and fire inspections. Dan Veanor mentioned that there are transcribers over the internet which could be another option. Jodi is to contact other municipalities to see how these issues are handled there.

 

In the Water Fund there is a large capital outlay for sharing in the building of a new water tank on Burdick Hill Road. This will allow us to take down the water tank behind our office which is in bad shape. We will be using our Water Capital Reserve for this large project so that the surcharge does not need to be increased. There is a decrease in the engineering expense of $5,000. Frank questioned why the revenues would be so much higher this year than last year. Don pointed out that there is a transfer in from Water Capital Reserve that increases the revenues.

 

The Sewer Fund has decreased the amount spent on engineering from $10,000 to $5,000. The DPW plans to replace all manhole frames and lids on Brook Way/Drive and on Bush Lane. This is for infiltration and standardization. Don stated that we might consider lowering the sewer surcharge next year because our reserve is getting large. He anticipates projects in the future.

 

Don is very pleased to be able to keep the tax rate the same. He had not added any salaries in because this would have to be discussed in executive session when John O’Neil was present since he is the staff liaison.

 

The next item on the agenda was Mayor’s Comments.  Mayor Hartill stated that he attended the TCCOG meeting where they discussed Countywide Health Benefits. Don feels that there will not be a windfall of savings for the Village because it will actually only save us about 5-10%. He made inquiry as to whether there would be a problem with the way we reimburse people who are on their spouses’ insurance and they stated that this program will be very flexible. Not everyone has to be in the pool.

 

Don is trying to meet with the DEC and the Town of Lansing with respect to the Village/Town sewer issue. Don has agreed to let the Town of Lansing use our sewer lines for expanded service to the UPS Business Park area and possibly the apartments behind that. They would have the same surcharge agreement that we currently have with the residents in the Cherry Road Sewer District.

 

Jodi stated that Greg Potter from Tompkins County was here on Friday to go through the census information. They had left off the portion of East Shore Drive that is in the Village and also Nor Way. They had included the section of North Triphammer Rd. that is actually in the Village of Cayuga Heights. There were a couple of new residents that were also missing. Once Greg adjusts all this information they will meet again.

 

Motion- To Adjourn

 

Trustee Fresinski moved for adjournment.

 

Frank stated that he attended the Public Meeting on Cayuga Lake/phosphorous last Thursday. They had the local experts and other chemistry experts in attendance. Frank found it interesting that free phosphorous is substantial in water by the bottom, lower 20 feet of the lake. The main source of phosphorous is creek run-off. Lake Source cooling draws from deep levels in the north and discharges into the shallow southern end of the lake. The phosphorous is not coming from Cornell. Don stated that both sewer plants and Lake Source Cooling account for about 30% of the lake’s phosphorous. Frank feels that septic systems have to have something to do with this. The way people react to this issue is similar to global warming. It was generally concluded that Cayuga Lake is in good shape and it meets all requirements.

 

Trustee Moore seconded the motion to adjourn. A vote was taken:

 

Mayor Donald Hartill-Aye                 Trustee Larry Fresinski -Aye 

Trustee Frank Moore-Aye            

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:53 PM.                                       

                                                                                                                                                            Jodi Dake

Clerk/Treasurer