VILLAGE OF HOBART BOARD MEETING MINUTES MARCH 20, 2017
The regular meeting of the Village of Hobart Board of Trustees was called to order by Mayor Aaron Kaufman at 6:30 p.m. Those present were Mayor Kaufman, Trustees Charlie Reinshagen, David Hotaling and Gordy Key, Village Attorney John Hubbard, Clerk-Treasurer Kellee Estus, Superintendent of DPW Lucas McMullen, Chief Operator of Waste Water Richi Horne, Hobart Fire Chief Josh Mason, Tee Gould, Bill Coleman, Chris Kaufman, Sherry Hotaling and Carole Antun.
The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed by the Board. A motion to accept the report with the following changes was made by Trustee Hotaling, with a second from Trustee Key, with all in favor, carried. In the General Fund, transfer $84.38 from 1620.4-1 to 1325.4-4; transfer $2127.85 from 5110.4 to 1620.4; transfer $981.00 from 3410.4-3 to 3410.4; transfer $1054.93 from 1620.4-1 to 5142.4; transfer $38.48 from 9060 to 9060.1. In the Water Fund, transfer $ 20.00 from 8160.4 to 8310.4-1; transfer $537.77 from 8320.4-1A to 8320.4-1. Transfer $12.80 from 9060 to 9060.1. In the Sewer Fund, transfer $862.60 from 8130.4-17 to 8130.1-3; transfer $38.86 from 8130.4-1 to 8130.2-2; transfer $610.32 from 8130.4-2 to 8130.4-23; transfer $1222.92 from 8130.4-17 to 8130.4-3; transfer $325.09 from 8130.4-17 to 8130.4-4; transfer $7.49 from 8130.4-17 to 9030med; transfer $32.86 from 8130.4-17 to 9030SS; transfer $25.68 from 9060 to 9060.1. In the NYC Fund, transfer $5338.20 from 8130.4-17 to 8130.1-3; transfer $38.86 from 8130.2-13 to 8130.2-2; transfer $30.74 from 8130.2-3 to 8130.4-10; transfer $610.32 from 8130.4-3 to 8130.4-23; transfer $1105.09 from 8130.4-2 to 8130.4-4; transfer $100.72 from 8130.4-17 to 9030med; transfer $434.17 from 8130.4-17 to 9030SS; transfer $76.96 from 9060 to 9061.1.
A motion to accept the minutes of last month’s Board meeting was made by Trustee Key, with a second from Trustee Reinshagen with all in favor, carried.
Superintendent McMullen gave the water report to the Board stating all is well with no issues. He stated Carl Hanselman had the meters hooked up but they are not able to place the readers where they can get a signal so more cable would need to be run to get the readers outside to pick up a signal. In his report, Superintendent McMullen reported to the Board that the crew took off the worn out brushes on the John Deere and they have done work on the Ford 350 truck sanding and painting the frame and redoing the fenders. He also stated they have been busy with snow removal due to the most current storm. Superintendent McMullen asked to leave the meeting due to family illness.
Chief Operator Richi Horne reported to the Board that they had to do some resampling due to a storm in Connecticut that hindered lab results. They also received a quarterly inspection from DEP with everything in satisfactory condition. Jake attended his first two weeks of class at Morrisville. Chief Operator Horne stated they had a clean in place on the microfiltration racks and due to the age and additional chemical use, it did not come out as well as expected so they used hot water, but the end result was not good. She also stated that Jake handled the plant very well while she and Tim were not able to make it in due to the storm. Horne also stated they started the first quarter sampling for wet testing. Horne stated Jake will take an activated sludge class in May.
Hobart Fire Chief Josh Mason reported the narcotics are now in the drug box. Pelican boxes were ordered and the older ambulance has been serviced. Truck 1861 was serviced and inspected as well. He stated the back truck bay looks good. The new paint makes it look a little brighter. Mayor Kaufman stated the crew will be putting on a second coat of paint. Fire Chief Mason asked about the FOB quoted he submitted a few months ago. Mayor Kaufman asked why the quote was so expensive. Originally it was conveyed that adding doors to the FOB system could happen one at a time. Chief Mason said he was told a new computer system would have to be in place to accommodate the additional door FOBs. He also stated fire department elections will be held next month.
Mayor Kaufman continued the meeting with old business stating the Rural Development LEP requirements would be tabled. He stated the trees on Maple Avenue have been not been taken down yet due to the owner of the tree company having a back issue and then postponed due to the large snowstorm we received. These trees are separate from the discussion of the Board in January to have additional trees in the Village looked at to determine if they are dangerous and then have multiple tree companies contacted to give a quote on the work. In regard to the FOIL requests, Mayor Kaufman stated some neighboring Villages don’t charge, some do. Village Attorney Hubbard stated if the request is readily disclosable and can be sent by email, there is no charge, but if it has to be printed a copy could be 25 cents plus a handling fee. There is a FOIL law guideline that must be followed. A motion to accept this as a guideline for charging fees was made by Trustee Hotaling with a second from Trustee Key, with all in favor, carried.
In regard to the Activity Center room for rent, Mayor Kaufman stated there have been two calls regarding the same vacant room at the Activity Center. The Board will determine the rent using a formula based on the square footage of the room. In regard to the request from the SK Royals AAU girls’ team to use the gym with the fee waived, the Board agreed unanimously to allow this due to the fact that all girls are from Hobart and South Kortright. One stipulation is that if someone wants to rent and pay for the space, the team has to give up their slot and reschedule for another time. In regard to the new water law and shut off notices, Mayor Kaufman stated he would like to offer payment plans to the customers that have balances due on their accounts. Some of these balances are not small. The payment plan would be for balance due now, not for the new charges that will be in April – that will have to be paid as per the new water law. A motion to accept the use of payment plans for balances due now was made by Trustee Hotaling with a second from Trustee Reinshagen, with all in favor, carried.
Trustee Hotaling stated it has come to his attention that people are accessing the Village’s property off of Reservoir Road to access their own property. He feels that now that the Village has become aware of this, the Village should place additional posted signs on the property stating no motorized vehicles and no trespassing. This will be done when the weather gets better and the property is accessible by foot.
In regard to the 2015-2016 County Foreclosures, Mayor Kaufman stated there are 7 parcels that are in the Village that are on the list. The County is offering the Village to go in with them on the properties subject to foreclosure to receive tax payments. A motion to present the resolution to the County was made by Trustee Reinshagen with a second from Trustee Hotaling, with all in favor, carried.
In regard to the tentative budget, Mayor Kaufman stated he is still looking for the water fund to balance. He asked the Board members to look at it and see if they could find a solution to this. After a brief review, Mayor Kaufman stated he would continue to work on it.
Mayor Kaufman opened the floor to community participation. Bill Coleman asked what the Village’s plan was to clear the sidewalks. He said the Village needed bigger equipment and help. Mayor Kaufman agreed with this and read a snowstorm protocol memorandum that was put in place himself to give specific duties and steps of the Village employees during a snowstorm. Those steps were not followed by all employees. Josh Mason stated DOT was helping clear snow in Walton. Sherry Hotaling stated they were in Hamden as well. Mayor Kaufman said he would contact DOT in the morning as he was not aware the DOT would help with snow removal.
Mayor Kaufman excused himself as Mayor and stated he would be joining the audience and become a resident. Deputy Mayor Hotaling was given control of the meeting. Aaron Kaufman asked the Board individually if there was anything that they had done or approved anything that they disagreed with in the past year. Trustee Key said no and Trustee Hotaling said not in the past year no. Trustee Reinshagen stated the hiring of an inexperienced person for Superintendent was something he regretted. Aaron Kaufman asked how the Mayor and Board have done with balance of infrastructure improvements and balancing funds. Trustee Hotaling stated he thought they had done a good job. Aaron Kaufman asked if they felt the current Board was more proactive than the past administration. Trustee Key stated he thought so, Trustee Hotaling said yes and Trustee Reinshagen said at least even to the past administration. Trustee Reinshagen stated there needed to be better communication between the employees and the Board. The employees needed to work together better. Some discussion followed regarding the employees not having their monthly employee meetings. Aaron asked the Board their opinion on DPW and the job that they are doing. He said that it was brought to the attention of the Board that it was the Mayor who terminated an employee last year. He stated the termination was decided by the Mayor and the entire Board unanimously, not just the Mayor.
Aaron Kaufman resumed his position as Mayor. A motion to approve bills on Abstract No. 10 was made by Trustee Hotaling with a second from Trustee Key, with all in favor, carried.
General Fund Voucher No. 286-327 $24,629.91
Water Fund Voucher No. 140-154 $ 2,563.87
Sewer Fund Voucher No. 225-248 $ 5,993.18
NYC Fund Voucher No. 227-248 $ 5,277.70
A motion to approve payment in the amount of $221.72 for meals Jake Palmatier purchased while attending school at Morrisville for two weeks was made by Trustee Hotaling, with a second from Trustee Key, with all in favor, carried.
A motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:24 p.m. was made by Trustee Hotaling with a second from Trustee Key, with all in favor, carried. Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kellee J. Estus
Clerk-Treasurer
