NOVEMBER 21, 2005
A work session meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Trenton was held at the Trenton Municipal Center, Barneveld, NY. Supervisor Mark Scheidelman called the meeting to order at 7:50 p.m. Present: Councilmen Shirley Poland, Betsy Mack, Bruce Kellogg, Joseph E. Smith.
CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION DEBRIS: Scheidelman reported that Humpf would accept construction and demotion debris for $60 per load. They would then take it to an old sanitation facility in Newport where it would be chopped and sold as landfill cover. The town is now paying the Solid Waste Authority $65 a load to accept the debris. Scheidelman estimates that the savings would be approximately $5,000 per year, unless the hauling fees are higher. Hawkins & Hurlbut could still be used for hauling. Agreed to get a price from Hawkins & Hurlbut and see if there would be an additional charge to haul it to Newport.
CODES: CEO Ken Cutler has requested additional office help for 40 hours at $9 per hour. He would also like additional money to pay an engineer to create a software program; this would also be an additional 40 hours at $9 per hour. Board agreed but the money must come out of this year’s budget as this was not budgeted for in 2006. The board would also like to see the results after the work is done.
TRAINING: The board agreed that it is important for Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals members to keep up to date with current laws. New members should be told that training is expected and present members should be told that the Town Board requests additional training for all members. Additional salary for attending training could be an incentive.
PLANNING BOARD CONSULTANT: The board discussed hiring a consultant who would be the contact person for the developer, work as a liaison between the board and the developer, and to handle the paperwork. This would take some of the pressure off the Chairman. Scheidelman reported that other towns have the consultant schedule a pre-meeting with the developer to make sure all requirements are met before the developer comes before the Planning Board. It was suggested that an Administrative Assistant could be hired at $9 per hour until a consultant can be found. Scheidelman would like to find someone before the beginning of next year. Smith will draft a proposal and present it to the Planning Board. Another suggestion was to appoint a Planner at the annual organizational meeting and only pay this person when needed. Each board member was asked to call one member of the Planning Board to ask if that member would be interested in being Chairman as Ansley Schmitt will be stepping down as Chairman at the end of the year. The board also needs to find out if any of the members have plans to resign from the Planning Board in the near future.
COOMBS ROAD WATER: Smith reported that the project is into the second week and it looks like they may be over 1/3 done. The Clerk of the Works has no desk to work at and has to do all his work in his truck. Smith reported that a resident who is planning on building a house in the district would like a hook up now. The cost to hook him up would be $1,500. It is not normal procedure to install hook ups on vacant lots. It was suggested that the Attorney Hughes could draw up a contract requiring this resident to build within one year or he would have to repay the town. The Water Authority would also have to approve this hook up.
SOUTH TRENTON WATER: Scheidelman received an email from Ron Hall in South Trenton asking if there are any plans for a water district there. Scheidelman stated that no one from South Trenton has turned in a petition for a water district to the Town Board.
PARKS FOREMAN: Ken Morrison has been hired to work as Parks Foreman next summer. This job would be full time and he would supervise all maintenance and repairs at the Town Park. Bob Vanderzell, who has been doing the mowing for several years, has declined an offer for this position. It was decided to offer Bob an hourly rate of $9 per hour and be under Ken’s supervision. Discussion was held on whether striping the ball fields is a duty of the town or of the groups that use the fields.
HOME OCCUPATIONS: Scheidelman feels a new classification of minor home office is needed. Smith would like to see a third classification of home business. It was reported that CEO Ken Cutler stated that the definition of a home occupation is one is located in the home and not in an accessory building. Ken will be asked to attend another work session meeting to clarify the state code definition of home occupations. The board would also like clarification on whether a resident who has a home occupation has to follow state building codes for the entire house or just part of the house. Planned Development could also be used as an alternative to Home Occupations. The board needs to decide if they are in favor of the Planning Board taking over approval of home occupations. Mack has concerns that the Planning Board is already busy and may not have time to handle the home occupations. Scheidelman suggested that a time limit of 30 days for review could be added into the local law. Scheidelman also asked the board to consider whether they want a home business and stated that the board needs to find out what conflicts home occupations may have with state building codes.
The next work session meeting will be held on December 5.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 10:14 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Anita Adam
Town Clerk
|
Work Session Meeting
|
