A special meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Moreau was held on September 4, 2003 in the Town Office Building, 61 Hudson Street, South Glens Falls, New York. This meeting was held as a follow up to the month-end audit meeting that was held on August 28, 2003 when the agenda items were not completed, because a full board was not present.
Supervisor Gutheil called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
The Town Clerk called the roll, which resulted in the following Town Board Members being present or absent:
Town Board Members Present:
Harry G. Gutheil, Jr. Supervisor
Rich Hewlett Councilman
Bob Prendergast Councilman
Niki Baker Councilwoman
Todd Kusnierz Councilman
Town Board Members Absent:
None
Also Present: Jeanne Fleury, Town Clerk; Peggy Jenkins, Assessor; Sylvia Hanson, Special Projects Aide; and guests.
Supervisor Gutheil stated this special meeting was posted in a timely fashion and everybody was noticed. An agenda was also prepared.
Supervisor Gutheil reported on telephone service proposals he has received. He should be ready by the next meeting to have the board act on the proposals.
Supervisor Gutheil distributed a revised draft of the resolution and local law filing documents for proposed Local Law No. 4 of 2003 - Bluebird Road - Truck Traffic Prohibition - prepared by Attorney Auffredou. The previous drafts were prepared and dated for the last meeting.
Supervisor Gutheil said because this is such a high profile matter with the Attorney General suing our Town on this matter and Borden Chemical he thought it was important to have a full board present.
Supervisor Gutheil advised that a Public Hearing was previously held on this proposed Local Law and the Public Hearing was kept open.
Supervisor Gutheil asked if anyone had anything else to enter into the record on this proposed Local Law? There was no response. Supervisor Gutheil closed the Public Hearing at 7:05 p.m.
Supervisor Gutheil mentioned again that there was other information, an incomplete study done by Larry Lavine that we have been trying to obtain.
Supervisor Gutheil said the board has the opportunity to act or not to act on this Local Law, which has become Local Law No. 4 of 2003.
Supervisor Gutheil advised that Borden Chemical has started using the other route to haul one of their products. As of the first day of school they will be running all of their trucks down the other route. He told them that the Town isn’t designating a route. Dave Segal said the trucks were having trouble turning west onto Route 197 from the Fort Edward Road. The line for the stoplight is so close to the light that they can’t make the turn when there are vehicles stopped at the light on 197. Supervisor Gutheil called DOT and traffic and engineering will be taking a look at it and taking measurements.
Supervisor Gutheil stated that if this Local Law is adopted the roads will have to be posted. The law would be effective the date of filing with the Secretary of State. If the Local Law is sent out tomorrow that effective date could be next Monday.
Supervisor Gutheil asked the Town Clerk to read the proposed local law and the proposed resolution, which she did as follows:
TOWN OF MOREAU
LOCAL LAW NO. 4 OF 2003
AMENDING CHAPTER 136, VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC,
OF THE TOWN OF MOREAU
Chapter 136, Article II of the Town of Moreau Vehicle and Traffic Code is amended to add the following:
§136-11A. Prohibited Vehicles excluded from certain road/streets; exceptions.
No person, firm or corporation shall drive or operate or permit to be driven or operated any Prohibited Vehicle as defined herein, into, on, along or through the roads or streets described in §136-47 herein.
Prohibited Vehicle shall mean any truck, commercial vehicle, tractor, tractor-trailer combination or tractor-semitrailer combination in excess of 25 feet in length, whether loaded or unloaded and traveling to or from the Moreau Industrial Park.
Chapter 136, Article VI, Schedules of the Town of Moreau Vehicle and Traffic Code is amended to add the following:
§136-47. Schedule XVIII: Roads and Streets - Prohibited Vehicles
No person, firm or corporation shall drive or operate or permit to be driven or operated any Prohibited Vehicle as defined in §136-11A hereof, into, on, along or through the following roads or streets or parts thereof:
Name of Road/Street Direction of Travel Between Intersection of
Bluebird Road Both Route 9 and Fort Edward Road
Supervisor Gutheil asked for the record to indicate that the board is only carrying out its legislative powers as a mitigative measure and further SEQR is not necessary. It our understanding that unfinished, undelivered, Lavine Report reads "all county, state and town highway infrastructure within the town is capable of supporting truck traffic to and from the industrial park" and through this action the town is not designating a specific route or even a preferred route. This action is necessary to comply with the original SEQR findings and conditions and approvals for Spurlock (Borden Chemical).
Supervisor Gutheil asked the Town Clerk to read the proposed resolution, which she did as follows:
RESOLUTION
TOWN BOARD
TOWN OF MOREAU
SUBJECT: LOCAL LAW NO. 4 OF 2003 - Bluebird Road - Truck Traffic Prohibition
WHEREAS, a General Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) was prepared for the rezoning of land and creation of the Moreau Industrial Park; and
WHEREAS, the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS) for the Spurlock Manufacturing Project (now Borden Chemical) ("project") in the Town of Moreau Industrial Park which was prepared and incorporated by reference in the final supplemental environmental impact statement (FSEIS), and the written findings statement, conditions and practicable mitigative measures issued under State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), for the project, prohibit trucks entering and leaving the project from traveling on Bluebird Road anywhere west of its intersection with Fort Edward Road, meaning a restricted area extends along Bluebird Road between Fort Edward Road and Route 9, and
WHEREAS, Section 1660 (17) and (28) of the New York Vehicle & Traffic law authorizes the Town to exclude "trucks, commercial vehicles, tractors, tractor-trailer combinations, tractor-semitrailer combinations or tractor-trailer semitrailer combinations in excess of any designated weight, designated length, designated height, or 8 feet in width, from highways" within the Town; and
WHEREAS, in order to comply with SEQRA, the GEIS, DSEIS, FSEIS, SEQRA findings statement and Figure 6 attached to the DSEIS and the mitigative measures and conditions contained in the aforesaid SEQRA documents, the Town of Moreau proposes to adopt Local Law No. 4 of 2003 which would prohibit the driving or operation of any truck, commercial vehicle, tractor, tractor-trailer combination, or tractor-semitrailer combination in excess of 25 feet in length, whether loaded or unloaded and traveling to or from the Moreau Industrial Park in both directions of Bluebird Road between the intersections of Route 9 and Fort Edward Road; and
WHEREAS, the SEQRA findings statement for the project dated August 4, 1997 issued by the Town of Moreau Planning Board as lead agency incorporated certain mitigative measures identified as practicable including the aforesaid truck traffic ban on the identified restricted section of Bluebird Road; and
WHEREAS, the New York State Attorney General's Office has requested that the Town adopt a local law to prohibit truck traffic on Bluebird Road from Route 9 and Fort Edward Road and has commenced litigation against the Town and Borden Chemical to enforce SEQRA compliance and specifically the enactment of local legislation to implement the identified mitigative measure; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board has determined that the adoption of Local Law No. 4 is required by and is consistent with the conditions, required mitigative measures and findings of the original SEQRA review conducted for the Industrial Park and the project; and
WHEREAS, the Town Board has conducted a public hearing as required by law, has considered the public comments and has determined that the adoption of Local Law No. 4 of 2003 is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the Town of Moreau and the residents thereof and is in the best interests of the Town of Moreau; and
WHEREAS, through this action, the Town Board is not establishing a designated route for truck traffic to and from the Industrial Park;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Local Law No.4 of 2003 is hereby adopted;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Local Law No. 4 of 2003 shall become effective immediately and upon filing with the Secretary of State.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that conspicuous and legible signage be developed and placed at appropriate locations on Bluebird Road at the intersection of Route 9 and the intersection of Fort Edward Road, and that request is hereby made to the Highway Superintendent to take any and all necessary action to immediately implement this local law.
Supervisor Gutheil asked what the Board wanted to do?
Councilman Prendergast made a motion to adopt the above resolution and it was seconded by Councilman Hewlett.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
Discussion followed on the vouchers that were in for audit.
The Highway Superintendent submitted a voucher for spring brush pick up. The board noted that it appears now that rather than billing for use of a chipper he is billing for use of a front-end loader to pick up the brush. It was agreed by the board to pay for the labor only at this point.
Voucher 1341 was withheld from payment.
There was a remaining balance on the Lewis & Greer Voucher of $6,082.40 and the board agreed to pay $4,995.00. The voucher needs to be numbered also.
The bookkeeper had given the board members a list of transfers that she made within the .4 accounts totaling $3,355.00 to cover negative balances.
Supervisor Gutheil spoke again about the Stearns & Wheler voucher and the amount that they are asking for payment on. As mentioned at a previous meeting the punch list on the control building is not done yet. The contractor claims he will be in town next week to take care of these. If he doesn't then he will be in default of his contract.
There are still complaints on restoration.
Elevations of control building site aren't right.
The allocation between the control building, storage tank and controls aren't the way they should be. There is way too much in the control building.
$10,500 of the outstanding invoices is for work that ran beyond the 10-month construction period. Supervisor Gutheil didn't feel we should have to pay this.
The board discussed how much should be paid to Stearns & Wheler. Stearns & Wheler offered to consider all the invoices paid in full if the town pays them $30,000.00 towards what they claim they are owed.
Supervisor Gutheil thought they might be better off terminating the contract, but don't give them any releases. We will then deal with the restoration issues ourselves.
Attorney Auffredou suggested that if we do agree to final numbers the
following wording be incorporated into the resolution "it represents payment in
full of all the outstanding invoices and would be subject to subject
to a termination agreement". (Amended 9/25/03 jf)
Councilman Hewlett suggested making one more offer. The board asked what figure he had in mind and Councilman Hewlett said $28,290 the same figure that was offered before. The board agreed on up to $29,000 as an offer.
A motion was made by Councilman Kusnierz and seconded by Councilwoman Baker authorizing payment of bills as audited and offer Stearns & Wheler up to $29,000 as final payment of all outstanding vouchers and any other claims, subject to a termination agreement and receipt of their electronic file.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
AUDITED CLAIMS:
General Fund - A Account:
Claim nos. 1276-1277, 1279-1280, 1283, 1285-1287, 1292-1298, 1332-1340,
1342-1369, 1371-1389, 1417, 1469-1470, 1597-1599, 1602-1603 $106,873.55*
*(Amended 9/25/03jf)
Town Outside Fund - B Account:
Claim nos. 1281, 1302-1309, 1600 $ 9,232.03
Highway Fund - DB Account:
Claim nos. 1310-1331, 1391 $104,321.73
Sewer I Fund - GI Account:
Claim nos. 1291, 1301 $ 61.04
Recreation Capital Projects Fund - HP Account:
Claim nos. 1408 $ 678.00
Water District 1 Fund - I Account:
Claim nos. 1392 $ 105.00
Water District 2 Fund - II Account:
Claim nos. 1282, 1290, 1299, 1393-1400 $ 14,631.25
Water District 4 Fund - IV Account:
Claim nos. 1402-1405 $ 4,829.29
Trust & Agency Fund - TA Account:
Claim nos. 1409-1411 $ 897.26
Meadow Ridge Lighting District Fund - MR Account:
Claim nos. 1289 $ 54.76
Industrial Park Fund - SP Account:
Claim nos. 1601 $ 285.00
Water District 3 Fund - SW Account
Claim nos. 1401 $ 3,685.00
Transfer Station Fund - TS Account:
Claim nos. 1278, 1284, 1300, 1412-1416 $ 6,999.49
Tanglewood Lighting District Fund - TW Account
Claim nos. 1288 $ 105.18
Water District 5 Fund - V Account:
Claim nos. 1406-1407 $ 178.29
_________________________________________________________________________________
A motion was made by Councilman Prendergast and seconded by Councilwoman Baker authorizing Bob Archambault and Shane Carpenter to serve as substitute crossing guard and transfer station laborer on an as needed basis at their current rate of pay.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
It was discovered that Zachary Chapman conducted baseball sessions this summer, without approval of the board and without filing any paperwork, and now he is looking for payment. Supervisor Gutheil will do a memo to the Recreation Director because this type of thing keeps happening, where the board grants approval after the fact.
A motion was made by Councilman Prendergast and seconded by Councilman Hewlett authorizing Zachary Chapman to be paid $20.00 per session as a Recreation Baseball Session Assistant.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
Supervisor Gutheil stated that an employee at Rec. did some part-time, substituting as crossing guard last year and does not want to do this again this year. Supervisor Gutheil wanted to know where the board stood on this. If this person goes out on unemployment, normally we would challenge it for refusal to work. The board agreed.
Discussion followed on the Parks Development Grant. The grant was awarded
9/2/02 9/20/02 and the Supervisor is still trying
to work out an agreement with them. They now want a revised map by tomorrow. The
survey map of the park and layout of proposed parking lots and concession stands
were discussed. It was the consensus of the board that the Supervisor and
Recreation Director should work out what they could by tomorrow and amend the
layout at a later date. (Amended 9/25/03 jf)
A revised proposal has been received from C.T. Male for overseeing the landfill repairs. Their proposal was in the amount of $7,820.00. Attorney Auffredou has reviewed the proposed contract and recommended that paragraph C1 be amended to include "C.T. Male will submit a draft copy of any contract agreements to the Town for review and approval prior to issuing contract agreements to the contractor for signature."
A motion was made by Councilman Prendergast and seconded by Councilman Kusnierz authorizing the Supervisor to sign the contract.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
A motion was made by Councilman Prendergast and seconded by Councilwoman Baker to adjourn to Executive Session at 8:05 p.m. to discuss Fleet Bank pending RPTL Article 7 Proceedings, Niagara Mohawk/National Grid pending RPTL Article 7 Proceedings, Erie Blvd. pending RPTL Article 7
Proceedings, Reliant/Erie Blvd. Hydropower Condemnation Proceedings, Erie Blvd. Hydropower three pending Article 78 Proceedings and New York State vs. Town of Moreau.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
The Town Clerk did not sit in on the Executive Session.
A motion was made by Councilwoman Baker and seconded by Councilman Kusnierz to adjourn the Executive Session at 8:28 p.m. and re-open the Special Meeting.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
No action was taken as the result of the Executive Session.
A motion was made by Councilwoman Baker and seconded by Councilman Kusnierz to adjourn the Special Meeting at 8:28 p.m.
Roll call vote resulted as follows:
Councilman Hewlett Aye
Councilman Prendergast Aye
Councilwoman Baker Aye
Councilman Kusnierz Aye
Supervisor Gutheil Aye
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeanne Fleury
Town Clerk