Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the
Town Council of the Town of Ellicott
held at the
Administration Building,
January 19,
2004 at 7:00 P.M.
Present: Supervisor Tyler, Councilman Geisler, Councilman Miller, Councilman Pickett, Councilman Taylor, Town Clerk Erlandson, Highway Superintendent Shellhouse, Attorney Lasker, Police Chief Ohnmeiss, Legislator Spicer.
Supervisor Tyler opened the
meeting at 7:00 PM and led the Town Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. Town Clerk Erlandson called the roll.
Motion
by Councilman Taylor, seconded by Councilman Pickett to accept the minutes of
the January 1, 2004 and January 5, 2004 meetings as presented by the Town
Clerk.
Town Clerk Erlandson read the
following items into the record:
1.
Letter
of resignation from Ellicott Bldg. Maintenance Supervisor Clayton Waddington,
effective April 2, 2004.
2.
Letter
from Mira Luka, Ashville, NY re damage to her car from hitting a pothole.
3.
Letter
from Debra Holmes, Celoron, re concerns about tax collection operations.
4.
Notification
of liquor license renewal: Moonbrook Country Club, 2879 Rte. 60.
5.
Notice
from Chautauqua Co. Dept. of Health re two recent rabies immunization
clinics.
6.
Notice
from Southern Tier West Regional Planning Board re an upcoming “powers &
duties” seminar for elected officials.
7.
Falconer Fire Dept. Incident Report for Oct. 2004 – Dec. 2004.
TOWN OFFICERS’ REPORTS
Councilman
Geisler commented on the Budget
Officer position for the Town of Ellicott (Minutes 1/5/04). Mr. Geisler referred to a section of New
York State General Municipal Law, which states that “budget officer” is one of
the responsibilities of the Town Supervisor.
Therefore, in Mr. Geisler’s opinion, the Town Supervisor should not be
paid extra for his duties as budget officer.
He asked Attorney Lasker for his opinion. The Town Council discussed the matter.
Motion by Councilman Geisler to rescind Resolution #3-04 appointing Ellicott Town
Supervisor Patrick Tyler as Budget
Officer for the Town of Ellicott
for 2004. The motion received no
second. Mr. Geisler withdrew the
motion.
Town Clerk Erlandson reported that he would be collecting property taxes at the Celoron Village Hall on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2003 from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Attorney Lasker reported that an arbitration hearing involving a former employee has been scheduled for Feb. 11, 2004.
Highway Superintendent Shellhouse reported that the Ellicott Highway Dept. is in the process of picking up discarded Christmas trees throughout the Town of Ellicott.
Burtis Bay Milfoil Problem – Chautauqua
Lake Partnership Chairwoman Karen
Rine updated the Town Council on the CLP’s efforts to obtain a herbicide permit from the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation. She
reminded the Council that the permit is necessary in order for the CLP to apply
herbicides to the Burtis
Bay area of Chautauqua Lake to eradicate Eurasian milfoil. Mrs. Rine stated that the CLP is currently
preparing to begin the N.Y. State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR)
process that is required before the DEC will consider granting the permit. She outlined the prospective timeline for
completing the SEQR process. She noted
that the SEQR process is quite complicated and hopes it will be completed by
the end of this year. Mrs. Rine
requested that the Town of Ellicott be the Lead Agency for the permit
process. She also announced several
upcoming CLP fund
raising events. CLP representative Eileen Anderson
distributed a number of documents re the application process. The Council asked Ms. Rine a number of
questions re the efforts of the CLP.
Declaration
of Lead Agency (Herbicide Application in Burtis Bay)
Motion by Supervisor Tyler, seconded by Councilman Geisler establishing the Town of Ellicott as Lead Agency in accordance with Article 8 of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in regards to an application for an aquatic herbicide permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for the eradication of Eurasian Milfoil in the Burtis Bay area of Chautauqua Lake. (see ‘Burtis Bay Milfoil’ file for detail)
Adopted. Ayes – 5 Noes - 0 Absent – 0
Payment of
Fee (Herbicide Application Permit)
Motion by Supervisor Tyler, seconded by Councilman Geisler authorizing the expenditure of $50.00 for the payment of a herbicide permit application fee for the eradication of Eurasian Milfoil in the Burtis Bay area of Chautauqua Lake and; further, authorizing the Ellicott Town Supervisor to sign the permit application.
Adopted. Ayes – 5 Noes - 0 Absent – 0
Water Service on Royal Oaks - No Report.
Water Service on Orchard Rd.
– Highway
Superintendent Shellhouse reported that the Jamestown Board of Public
Utilities is continuing to install curb boxes at homes along Orchard Rd.
& Southwestern Dr. as homeowners request them.
Assessing Position – The Town Council discussed the vacant Town of
Ellicott Assessor position (Minutes 1/5/04 et. seq.).
Supervisor Tyler reported that a proposed agreement with Ronald Pigman adopted on January 9, 2004 (Resolution #32-04) to
provide assessing services to the Town of Ellicott has been rescinded. Mr. Tyler outlined three
options re the assessing position.
First, he stated that he contacted a candidate for the position whom he
recently interviewed. The candidate is
interested in the position. Secondly,
the Town of Ellicott could continue its shared-service agreement with the Town
of Busti. He reminded the Council that
in 2003 the Town of Ellicott entered into a three-year agreement with the Town
of Busti stipulating that the Busti Assessor provide assessing services to the
Town of Ellicott (Minutes 2/3/03).
However, Mr. Tyler noted that the Town of Busti recently entered into a
regional assessing agreement with the City of Jamestown. As a result, the Town of Busti moved its
assessing operations to the city and is presently no longer providing service
to the Town of Ellicott. Third, Mr. Tyler
explained that the City of Dunkirk Assessor has agreed to provide assessing
services to the Town of Ellicott for one year at a cost to the Town not to exceed $20,000.00.
The Dunkirk Assessor would provide assessing training to Ellicott Town
Clerk Michael Erlandson. Mr. Erlandson
would then take over the position permanently on Jan. 1, 2005. Mr. Tyler noted that the contract would be
for one-year only and would expire on Dec. 31, 2004. He also assured the Council that for the
duration of the agreement the Dunkirk Assessor would provide all the necessary
assessing duties to the Town of Ellicott - including appraising, fieldwork and
training. Furthermore, the Dunkirk
Assessor would maintain certain office
hours at the Ellicott
Administration Bldg. The Council discussed the options. Councilman Miller expressed his concern that
the Town may not receive maintenance
aid from the State of New
York in 2004. He stated that he was
informed by a representative of the N.Y. State Office of Real Property
Services that a number of properties need to be revalued in
order for the Town to assure that it receives the maintenance aid. Mr. Miller pointed out that the Town of
Ellicott would save approximately $20,000.00 in 2004 by retaining the Town of Dunkirk Assessor to
train Mr. Erlandson since the Town would not need to hire a full time Assessor
this year. Councilman Geisler stated
that, in his opinion, the most viable option would be to hire the available
candidate. He pointed out that the Town
has the best chance of receiving the state aid this year if the Council
immediately hires a qualified assessor.
Councilman Taylor stated that he is in favor of retaining the Dunkirk
Assessor. He stated that the Dunkirk
Assessor is competent & qualified.
He feels that appointing Mr. Erlandson as Town Assessor would provide long-term benefits to the Town of Ellicott.
Councilman Pickett stressed that the Council needs to make a final
decision re the matter. Supervisor
Tyler expressed his concern that a part-time
assessor would not be able to
complete the necessary revaluation work to receive the N.Y. State maintenance
aid.
Hire Assessor (Stebbins)
Motion by Councilman Geisler, seconded by Councilman Pickett to hire Brenda Stebbins, Westfield, New York as the Town of Ellicott
Assessor at an annual
salary of $40,000.00 and
subject to a six-month probation.
(Councilmen Miller &
Taylor voted No)
NEW BUSINESS
Police Service to Celoron –
Councilman Geisler outlined a proposal by the Celoron Village Board for the
Town of Ellicott Police Dept. to utilize Celoron Village Hall as a satellite police station. Police Chief Ohnmeiss commented on the proposal. He stated that he is not opposed to
utilizing the Village Hall as a temporary office
when needed. In fact, he stated that he
would definitely be interested in utilizing Village Hall in some capacity. However, he stressed that he would be
opposed to providing any permanent staffing
of the facility since he does not currently have the manpower. The
Council discussed the matter.
Councilman Geisler stated that the Town Council would be receiving a
letter from Celoron Mayor Richard Slagle outlining in further detail the
Village Board’s expectations for the proposed satellite office. The Council agreed to consider the matter
& meet with Village officials to discuss the logistics of establishing the
satellite office. Attorney Lasker was
directed to look into the possible insurance
implications of establishing a satellite office. Tabled pending further review.
RESOLUTION #37-04
Budget Transfers
Motion by Supervisor Tyler, seconded by Councilman
Taylor authorizing Town of Ellicott Supervisor to make the following 2003
budget transfers:
Transfer the amount of $5,871.20 from Account #A1620.4 (Buildings - Contractual)
to Account #A1355.1 (Assessor – Personal Services); transfer the amount of
$988.02 from Account #A1355.4 (Assessor – Contractual) to Account #A1355.1
(Assessor – Personal Services); transfer the amount of $2,462.72 from Account
#A1620.4 (Buildings - Contractual) to Account #A1620.1 (Buildings – Personal
Services); transfer the amount of $484.54 from Account #A1620.4 (Buildings -
Contractual) to Account #A9060.8 (Medical Insurance).
RESOLUTION #38-04
Payment of Claims
Motion by Supervisor Tyler, seconded by Councilman Geisler to pay 2003 current claims #1557-1581,
inclusive, in the amount of $8,189.72 and charge to the proper fund or account;
and, further, to pay 2004 current claims
#17-46, inclusive, in the amount of $22,841.48 and charge to the proper
fund or account.
Adopted. Ayes - 5 Noes - 0 Absent - 0
Motion
by Supervisor Tyler, seconded by Councilman Geisler to adjourn at 8:15 PM.
Carried. Ayes - 5 Noes - 0 Absent - 0
_________________________________
Michael C. Erlandson, Town Clerk