Supervisor David P. Kelly opened the Workshop Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Pawling at 7:00 PM November 5, 2014 at Pawling Town Hall, 160 Charles Colman Blvd., Pawling, New York. Present were Councilmen Montemarano, DeRosa, Upham, Johnson and approximately 18 interested citizens. EXECUTIVE SESSION The motion to enter Executive Session was made by Supervisor Kelly at 7:02 PM to discuss litigation with the Town Attorney, seconded by Councilman Johnson, motion passed unanimously. The motion to return to the regular order of business was made by Supervisor Kelly at 7:15 PM, seconded by Councilman Johnson, motion passed unanimously. DISCUSSION - LOCAL LAW/GAS STATIONS/CONVENIENCE STORES Supervisor Kelly said Town Attorney Terry Stewart was here for this discussion tonight. Councilman DeRosa explained that the Implementation Committee has been working on the gas station/convenience store revision for quite some time. Councilman DeRosa gave an overview of the history of the existing wording and the proposed wording and outlined the proposed changes. The main changes are increasing the distance between gas stations from 2,000 feet to 3,000 feet and measuring the north lane separately from the south lane and some other minor changes. Councilman Johnson asked about adding Route 55 and other highways into this revision. He also asked if anyone had coordinated with the Village of Pawling to see what their zoning for gas stations on Route 22 was. Supervisor Kelly expressed concern about a gas station/convenience store effecting existing businesses. Following discussion, the Board agreed that they should move forward with this revision and Councilman DeRosa would check with the Village of Pawling, research adding other highways with the Town Attorney and look at the first paragraph of the law to see if it needed a revision to make it clearer. PUBLIC HEARING/2015 BUDGET Supervisor Kelly opened the public hearing on the 2015 budget. Harvey Matcovsky, resident of Holmes, expressed concern about the large benefits given to Town Board members. He asked what the increased revenues in the budget were based on. Also, he asked when the Castagna project would begin paying taxes. Erica Smith thanked the Board for funding the partial paving of Bundy Hill Road. She would appreciate seeing more funding for road paving in the Town of Pawling, as Town roads are in a dismal state of repair and felt more money needed to be allotted for that infrastructure. There were no further comments and Supervisor Kelly made a motion to close the public hearing, seconded by Councilman Johnson, motion passed unanimously. RESOLUTIONS The Board discussed the proposed resolutions. Following discussion, it was agreed that resolutions 2014105, 2014106, 2014107, 2014108, 2014109 and 2014110 would be placed on the November 12, 2014 Town Board meeting agenda. Following discussion, the Board decided to move forward with the following resolution: Resolution 2014111 Release RFP Generator Project; Water District #2 Whereas, the Town of Pawling operates a Water District in the Holmes / Whaley Lake area, and Page 1 of 5
Whereas, said district is known as Water District #2, and Whereas, from time to time the districts pumping and filtering system will lose electric power due to a storm or other natural disaster, and Whereas, the Town Board is currently underway with a project making improvements to said pumping and filtering station, and Whereas, residents have inquired to the addition of a generator to said improvement project which would greatly enhance the supply of potable water to the customers during such power outages, now, therefore, be it Resolved, that the Town Board hereby releases the RFP Town of Pawling Water District No.2 Generator Installation Project on or before November 10, 2014 with a bid opening set for November 25, 2014 at 10am. MOTION: SECOND: Supervisor Kelly Councilman Johnson Councilman Johnson said he has been working on this for a long time. It has always been on the wish list for the district. There are 58 households there and if the power goes out, there is no water. The cost that will be saved probably in the first few years will be not having to truck the water in when the power goes out. He was not sure if the concrete pads for the propane tanks were included in the RFP or if the pad would be done separately. Supervisor Kelly said there is a company the Town works with for propane and Wendel Weber, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds can contact them regarding the propane for this project. Councilman Johnson said this is being done under the funding of the original rehabilitation bond. Supervisor Kelly said an additional well did not have to be drilled under the rehabilitation project so that was a savings. ROLL CALL VOTE: Councilman Johnson AYE Councilman Upham AYE Councilman DeRosa AYE Councilman Montemarano AYE Supervisor Kelly AYE OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD SHARE THE ROAD SIGNS Supervisor Kelly said Betsy Brockway and Brian Griffin are doing work on bicycle paths in Pawling and also with the Dutchess County Transportation Council. They would like to have the Town Board request that the County put up signs on West Dover Road to share the road with bicycles. The County would put up the signs, if approved, at no cost to the Town. West Dover Road is a heavily used road by bicycles. Supervisor Kelly made a motion to authorize the Supervisor to write a letter to the Dutchess County Engineering Department and Department of Public Works to request signage to share the road with vehicular traffic and bicycle traffic, seconded by Councilman Upham, motion passed unanimously. WHEEL LOADER FOR HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT Councilman Johnson said he, Councilman Montemarano and John Daley, Highway Superintendent met with a representative of H.O. Penn, which supplies CAT equipment and Mr. Daley has looked at John Deere equipment. Councilman Montemarano and Mr. Daley have Page 2 of 5
selected a CAT machine, and it seems to be the right machine for the job. He has supplied the Supervisor with both lease and outright purchase prices and trade in allowances for the existing equipment. Councilman Johnson made a motion to authorize the Supervisor to move forward with this purchase and recommend the best way for the Highway Department of the Town to purchase this unit, seconded by Supervisor Kelly. Supervisor Kelly said it is his opinion that it would be best to do a Bond Anticipation Note (B.A.N.) this year for the full purchase price of the unit. We can also look at using approximately $60,000.00 out of fund balance. The motion passed unanimously. HOLMES WHALEY LAKE CIVIC ASSOCIATION BUILDING REOPENING Supervisor Kelly met yesterday with representatives of the HWLCA and they have asked him to bring a request to the Board for some dates for some functions they would like to hold at the HWLCA building, which the Town Board has closed during renovations. They are requesting this Sunday for their Penny Social, and a list of additional dates, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday when they would like to hold events. Supervisor Kelly made a motion to authorize the building to be reopened for a set period of time for the events set forth as they requested, seconded by Councilman Johnson. Councilman Johnson said he thought the Board was acting on the advice of the Town s Building Department in closing the building, because this is a health, safety and welfare issue to the community. He felt that the Board was not able to reopen the building. If there is some way they can be allowed to do something, he would certainly be interested in entertaining it. He is not looking to displace them, although the Board did provide them with an alternative place to use. Are the Board s hands tied by building and zoning codes? Councilman DeRosa said he felt the building would not be safe for occupancy for the Penny Social. There is a hole in the floor and the company is working on the building. It would be up to the Building Inspector to make sure the building is safe for occupancy and it meets all fire codes. Supervisor Kelly said he was at the building today and spoke to the contractor. There is a hole in the floor and they are doing work. It is not a safe location now. They will be working as fast as they can and it is easier for them not to have to close and seal the building every night. He brought the motion forward but the Board made a decision based on the recommendation of the Code Enforcement Officer, who said the building is not safe during construction. This is a health, safety, welfare and liability issue and he will vote no on the motion. Councilman Johnson asked for a time frame for the building to be closed. Supervisor Kelly said he did not know at this point in time. Councilman DeRosa said it will be up to the Building Inspector to say whether or not the building is safe and whether or not it meets code. Following discussion, the vote on the motion was as follows: ROLL CALL VOTE: Councilman Johnson NAY Councilman Upham NAY Councilman DeRosa NAY Councilman Montemarano NAY Supervisor Kelly NAY HOLMES WHALEY LAKE CIVIC ASSOCIATION BUILDING WELL TANK REPLACEMENT Councilman Montemarano said he received an email from the engineer for the project this morning. As part of the handicapped accessible bathroom changes in the lower level of the building, they have to move the well tank to a different area. After looking at the tank, it has Page 3 of 5
been in service since 1996 and the engineer recommends it be replaced, a cost of approximately $900.00. The motion to execute the change order for the placement of the well pressure tank was made by Supervisor Kelly, seconded by Councilman Johnson, motion passed unanimously. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS KELLY Supervisor Kelly said he received correspondence today from DASNY, saying the paperwork is in order for the $50,000.00 grant for the ballfields and the Town can now begin to receive reimbursement. Supervisor Kelly said Wendel Weber, Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds, is going to NYC tomorrow to pick up a donation of a number of bicycles. He has spoken to Melissa Smith about a program to teach youth about repairing/rebuilding bikes. Supervisor Kelly said the Town has been contacted by the Comptroller s Office and will have a preliminary audit in the upcoming weeks and on November 17 th, a representative of the Comptroller s Office will be here in Town Hall. He has a meeting scheduled with the County Executive to discuss transferring ownership of the Whaley Lake Dam property. As of today, the roadway for the Whaley Lake Dam was staked out. The application for the reconstruction of the dam is in its last phase. Earlier in October, he met with the Director of the Pawling Free Library to discuss the Library offering programs in conjunction with the Town and in Town buildings. Supervisor Kelly said the Harlem Valley Appalachian Trail Community completed two events, Trail Day on October 20 th and Family Hiking Day on September 27 th and they keep moving forward. JOHNSON Councilman Johnson said he was in Montana last month and he met a gentleman who knew about Pawling because of the Appalachian Trail, which was amazing. He is working on the restructuring of the golf course and operations to bring it into a break even or profitable situation as far as the overall operation of the golf course. He will bring some new ideas to the Board following a meeting with Gary Lattrell. Regarding Pawling Water District #2, there is a hydrant that is being replaced because it hasn t been in operation for some time. He is working with Morris Associates to see if it can be moved. Councilman Johnson and his wife donated Town of Pawling book ends to the Town. MONTEMARANO Councilman Montemarano said he is getting near the end of the basketball rehabilitation project. He thanked John Daley for all of his help with this project. He suggested designating a section of the trails this year as cross country trails. He would also look at some portable ice rink barriers for ice skating. The funding for the basketball rehabilitation project has come from application fees from the Triathlon, and the Triathlon is helping the teen programs. The Teen Center Advisory Board is on board with the funding. DEROSA Councilman DeRosa said he attended the Dutchess County Shared Services Summit on October 15 th and attended a Rebuilding Together celebration at the home of a Pawling resident where work was done by the organization. He attended an Economic Development Course with a number of Town of Pawling Planning & Zoning members. He was contacted by a local resident regarding a dog park and he will meet with her on that. He has been keeping an eye on the HWLCA project. The Implementation Committee is working on the Timber Harvesting regulations. UPHAM Councilman Upham said he wanted to thank Bob Reilly and JoAnne Daley for their help on the Historic District Committee. He will follow up with the Library on their plans to expand their services, there are great ideas coming from that meeting. Page 4 of 5
PUBLIC COMMENT John Daley, Highway Superintendent explained that Councilman Montemarano not only spent many hours on the details of the basketball rehabilitation project, but was also up there with a rake and shovel doing a lot of physical work, which he doesn t look for thanks for. Mr. Daley thanked the Board for their help with the wheel loader. Harvey Matcovsky said regarding the contract with the ambulance service, he asked if the nursing home in Pawling and the Castagna project would be sharing the cost of the ambulance service. Susan Pieratti, resident of Pawling, New York said she wanted to talk about the Holmes Whaley Lake Civic Association. She said the deed allows the HWLCA to continue their programs in the building. Her question is why the building was open on Election Day with all of the construction going on, allowing 475 people in the building to vote. If the building was not safe for the HWLCA to hold their programs, why was the building open for Election Day if the building has been deemed not safe? She felt there was a lack of respect and communication between the Town and the HWLCA regarding the closing of the building. There was no forewarning that the building was going to be closed and the locks were changed. The community is hurt over this situation. Erika Smith, resident of Pawling and member of the HWLCA asked when they will know whether or not they will be able to use the building for the Holmes tree lighting ceremony. The planning for this wonderful community family event is underway and they will need to know soon if they will be able to use the HWLCA building following the tree lighting ceremony for their pot luck dinner. They need to know how long they will be locked out. She asked that the communication portal be opened. Betty Kimma, Holmes resident and member of the HWLCA said she leads the senior exercise class at the HWLCA through Dutchess County Office of the Aging. All through the construction, she has been able to use the building for her class. She only uses the building for one hour Monday and Friday mornings. She was able to get into the building on Monday while construction was going on and there was no problem with her class interfering with construction. She wondered when she would get a key back so she can get in and hold her class. It is not healthy for the seniors not to exercise. Tom Corrao, Town of Pawling Building/Zoning Inspector, said he apologized for the timeliness of the closing of the building but he stands with his recommendation to keep the building closed until it is deemed safe. The Board should know that it was expressed to him that Election Day was coming up and it could not be moved, so he went to the HWLCA building and made arrangements with the contractor to put up barriers and things like that and make the building safe for Election Day. He did inspections throughout Election Day to make sure the building remained safe. The barriers were sufficient for Election Day but obviously the contractor can t keep the barriers up all of the time, which is why he recommended the building remain closed. He understands people are looking for communication as to when they can get back into the building. They can call him and he would be more than happy to keep them informed as to the progress. When the construction gets to a point that the building is safe to use, he will recommend the building be reopened. There were no further comments from the audience. Supervisor Kelly made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:17 PM, seconded by Councilman Johnson, motion passed unanimously. Town Clerk Page 5 of 5