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VILLAGE OF GENESEO April 2, 2018
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
PRESENT:
Margaret Duff, Mayor Marsha B. Merrick, Village Clerk/Treasurer Matthew P. Cook, Trustee David Woods, Planning Board Chair
Leah Fletcher, Trustee Mary Kay Yanik, Attorney
Christopher Ivers, Trustee Eric Osganian, Police Chief Mary V. Rutigliano, Trustee Andrew Chanler, Fire Chief
Daniel Quinlan, Water/Wastewater Supt.
Jason Frazier, Village Street Supt.
ALSO PRESENT:
Tom Hill John Duff Josh Williams
Tommy Tramontana Mary Roodenburg Eddie Lee
Susan Bailey Liam and Oliver Ivers Matt Leader
George Cook Faith Cook Ellen Ligon
Tina Cook
1. MEETING OPENED:
Mayor Duff opened the meeting at 5PM. Clerk/Treasurer Merrick administered the oath of office to Mayor Duff, and Mayor Duff administered the oath of office to Trustee Fletcher and Trustee Ivers.
The minutes of the March 19, 2018 regular meeting were reviewed. Trustee Rutigliano moved to
approve the minutes as amended with second from Trustee Cook. The vote was as follows: Trustee Cook-Aye, Trustee Rutigliano-Aye, and Mayor Duff-Aye.
2. HATHEWAY PROCLAMATION:
Mayor Duff read the following proclamation presented to Mayor Hatheway on March 29, 2018:
WHEREAS, Richard B. Hatheway has been a Trustee for the Village of Geneseo since April of 1982 and Mayor for the Village of Geneseo since 1986; and
WHEREAS, Richard B. Hatheway has faithfully and conscientiously served the Village and its citizens for 36 years; and
WHEREAS, Richard B. Hatheway received consistent recognition for his role as a leader and mentor throughout his career and has left a lasting mark on our community especially in the areas of master plans, regulating rental housing, building and infrastructure projects, landmark designations and restorations, Village/College relations, union contracts, personnel and human resource management, water and sewer facilities and supplying water to York, Geneseo and SUNY Geneseo and even more outlying areas, new DPW facilities, all aspects of Fire and EMS administration for a busy all-volunteer department, park improvements, property acquisition and annexations, big box stores, elections, parades and ceremonies, parking, walking and biking and transportation studies, etc.! There isn’t a facet of Village government that Mayor Hatheway hasn’t touched and had an influence on; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees and all the employees and public officials connected to the Village of Geneseo today and all throughout the last 36 years, by this resolution, wish to express their great appreciation to Mayor Hatheway for meritorious service, loyalty and dedication to the Village of Geneseo and its citizens and to all of us.
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NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees does hereby commend Mayor Hatheway for many years of valuable service and expresses its sincere thanks on behalf of the Village of Geneseo: presented this 29th day of March, 2018 by Sandra F. Brennan, Deputy Mayor.
3. ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS:
A. Mayor Duff appointed Trustee Cook as Deputy Mayor; committee assignments: Trustee Rutigliano liaison to the Water/Wastewater Department; Trustee Cook liaison to the Fire department; Trustee Ivers liaison to the Department of Public Works; and Trustee Fletcher liaison to the Police Department.
B. Mayor Duff appointed Marsha Merrick as Clerk/Treasurer and Aprile Mack as Deputy Clerk/Treasurer both for four year terms. Along with that Aprile Mack was appointed Registrar of Vital Statistics, Marsha Merrick, Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics and Debra Lund as sub-Registrar.
B. Mayor Duff submitted the name of David Woods to be re-appointed to the Planning Board for a five year term ending in March 2023. Along with that, Sandra F. Brennan’s name was submitted as filling the position of second alternate to the Planning Board. Deputy Mayor Cook so moved with second from Trustee Fletcher. All were in favor.
C. Mayor Duff submitted the name of Robert Meyers to be re-appointed for another five-year term (expiring in 2023) on the Zoning Board of Appeals. Deputy Mayor Cook so moved with second from Trustee Fletcher. All were in favor.
D. Mayor Duff suggested adopting Robert’s Rules of Order to conduct Village Board meetings. Trustee Rutigliano so moved with second from Deputy Mayor Cook and the vote was unanimously in favor.
E. Mayor Duff suggested holding official Village Board meetings on the first and third Monday of each month at 5:00PM. Deputy Mayor Cook so moved with second from Trustee Ivers. Trustee Rutigliano
understood that the meeting dates/times may be discussed in the future and the response was affirmative. The motion carried unanimously following a vote. Mayor Duff suggested scheduling the next Village
organizational meeting on Monday, April 1, 2019. Deputy Mayor Cook so moved with second from Trustee Fletcher. The motion carried unanimously.
F. Mayor Duff suggests the Board continue with Livingston County News as the official newspaper.
Trustee Fletcher so moved with second from Trustee Ivers and the motion carried unanimously. Mayor Duff explained that the official newspaper must be in print format and the LCN would fulfill that purpose.
G. Mayor Duff suggests that the standard workday for Village employees be eight hours, for retirement reporting purposes. Trustee Fletcher so moved with second from Trustee Rutigliano. The motion carried unanimously.
H. Trustee Rutigliano moved the following regarding advance payment of claims, per Village Law #5- 524(6): WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees has determined to authorize payment in advance of audit of claims for public utility services, postage, freight and express charges, seminar fees, and any other time sensitive items and,
WHEREAS, all such claims shall be presented at the next regular Board meeting for audit, and
WHEREAS, the claimant and officer incurring or approving the same shall be jointly and severally liable for any amount disallowed by the Board of Trustees, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
Section 1: That the Board of Trustees authorizes payment in advance of audit of claims for public utility services, postage, freight and express charges, seminar fees, and any other time sensitive items, and all such claims shall be presented at the next regular meeting for audit and the claimant and officer incurring or approving the same shall be jointly and severally liable for any amount disallowed by the Board of Trustees.
Section 2: This resolution shall take effect immediately.
Deputy Mayor Cook seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
I. Trustee Rutigliano moved and Trustee Fletcher seconded the motion to adopt the following pertaining to mileage reimbursement: WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees has determined to pay a fixed rate for mileage as reimbursement to officers and employees of the Village who use their personal vehicles while performing official duties on behalf of the Village: NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
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Section 1: The Board of Trustees shall approve reimbursement to such officers and employees at the Federal rate according to IRS ruling (currently 54.5 cents/mile).
Section 2: This resolution shall take effect immediately.
The motion passed unanimously.
J. Deputy Mayor Cook moved to designate the following banks as depositories for the Village: Key Bank N.A., Community Bank N.A., Five Star Bank, Tompkins Bank of Castile and Steuben Trust Company.
Trustee Fletcher seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
K. Trustee Fletcher moved and Trustee Rutigliano seconded the motion to designate Frontier Telephone of Rochester, Inc. as provider of exclusive pay telephone service including providing for a long distance carrier for pay phone service in the Village (pay phones located at 110 Main Street and 19 Highland Road). The motion passed unanimously.
L. Deputy Mayor Cook moved that the expenses of Village administration, Village Clerk’s office and one MEO/Mechanic position in the DPW be allocated by the formula 1/3 from the General Fund; 1/3 from the Water Fund; and 1/3 from the Sewer Fund. Trustee Ivers seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
M. Trustee Rutigliano moved that the Deputy Clerk/Treasurer’s salary allocation be 20% from the General Fund, 40% from the Water Fund and 40% from the Sewer Fund. Trustee Fletcher seconded the motion and all were in favor.
N. Deputy Mayor Cook moved to allocate the Village Street Superintendent’s salary using the formula 60% from the General Fund; 20% from the Water Fund; and 20% from the Sewer Fund. Trustee Fletcher seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
O. Deputy Mayor Cook moved to allocate one Motor Equipment Operator/Mechanic position using the formula 33 1/3% from General Fund, 33 1/3% from Water Fund and 33 1/3% from the Sewer Fund. Trustee Fletcher seconded the motion and all were in favor.
The Board reviewed the Procurement and the Investment Policies and were given copies of the Geneseo Code of Ethics, Conflicts of Interest and Rules of Conduct as adopted by the Village Board of Trustees
February 8, 1971 and amended during codification.
4. POORHOUSE GRANT AWARD:
Mayor Duff was excited to pass along information that the Village of Geneseo received $700,000 for the conversion of a long vacant building on Millennium Drive known as the Geneseo Poorhouse into a multi-tenant commercial building. The grant application was written by Louise Wadsworth, Livingston County’s
Downtown Coordinator. The grant application, part of the Restore New York Communities Initiative was submitted last December. Greg O’Connell owns the building.
5. ENERGY INITIATIVES:
Casey Mastro from the New York Power Authority will be on the April 16th Village Board agenda to speak to the Board about the streetlight proposal. At a prior meeting this year, William Green (Energy Enterprises Inc.) was authorized to bid the energy costs for the Village facilities. That bidding will take place this week and Mr. Green will be coming to a future meeting to discuss the process, Mayor Duff explained.
6. LETCHWORTH GATEWAY GEOTOURISM:
Letchworth Gateway Villages, under the direction of Nicole Manapol, are partnering to engage industry experts to guide a local geotourism project aimed at promoting and preserving the area’s unique assets. All who are interested are invited to attend a public forum on April 26th from 6-7:30PM at Mt. Morris Central School.
Additional planning and visioning workshops will be held following the public forum. Trustees Fletcher and Rutigliano plan to attend.
4 7. PARK RESTROOM RIBBON CUTTING:
A “Ribbon Cutting with a Twist” has been scheduled for May 17th at 10:30AM at the new restroom building in the Village Park. Senator Gallivan will be attending as well. The restrooms are planned to open on May 4-5 with the official ceremony taking place on the 17th, Mayor Duff reported.
8. COMMUNITY CHAT:
The next Community Chat is coming up on May 23rd from 4:30-6PM at the Museum on Center Street.
SUNY President Denise Battles and former Mayor Dick Hatheway started the community conversations held approximately twice per year. It is a great opportunity for members of the community to come and ask questions.
9. FARMER’S MARKET REQUEST:
Ben Gajewski, Treasurer for the Geneseo Farmer’s Market, sent a request to hold the Market from June 21st to October 18th (18 weeks) on Center Street as usual from 3-6:30PM with an hour before and a half hour after for setup and tear down. Trustee Fletcher moved to approve the request from the Farmer’s Market committee to close Center Street from 2-7PM on Thursdays, June 21-October 18 for the Market vendors and shoppers. Trustee Ivers seconded the motion and all were in favor. Ben noted that there is a full slate of vendors interested in this season; many will be familiar to Village residents.
10. ASSOCIATION OF VILLAGE BOARDS:
The next meeting of the Association of Village Boards will be held April 18th at the National Hotel in Leicester.
11. MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE:
Information was received from the Real Property Tax Office that the 10 year limitation on the property tax exemption for Cold War Veterans can now be removed. Even though the Local Law passed by the Village Board in 2008 does not include the ten-year limitation, the County is suggesting that perhaps a new Local Law be considered specifically eliminating that stipulation. Discussion followed. The suggestion was made to find out how many properties this law affects and consider it again at the next meeting.
Notification was received from the Livingston County Economic Development Office that CAS (Mark Scott) has been awarded $3,500 for remodeling and signage at 46 Main Street (Big Tree Inn).
The County Planning Department (Angela Ellis) is organizing a county-wide community clean up day in April in celebration of Earth Day. They are asking for 1-2 representatives from each municipality to help plan the activities within their community. Discussion followed and more information will be forthcoming.
VFW Post 5005 Veterans would like to add a plaque to the obelisk in front of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Currently only five soldiers are listed as Civil War Veterans. Richard Platt has identified thirty more men from Geneseo who served and died in or from that war. The project will cost approximately $6,000 and the Veterans have asked for assistance with that project. Mayor Duff identified extra funds within the
Celebrations budget line and would like to be able to send the Veteran’s $500 for that purpose. Deputy Mayor Cook so moved with second from Trustee Rutigliano. The motion carried and the funding will be sent. Mayor Duff hopes to be able to send $500 more in the new budget year.
5 12. PUBLIC SAFETY:
Deputy Mayor Cook reported the Police Department statistics for the past month.
Trustee Fletcher, as new liaison to the Police Department will be taking a tour around Memorial Day.
Deputy Mayor Cook moved approval of the following changes in the Fire Department roster: new member Michael Cohen and resigned members Rich Chen and Druzell Smith. Trustee Rutigliano seconded the motion and all were in favor.
13. PUBLIC WORKS:
Trustee Rutigliano reported the following items for the Water/Wastewater Department:
• Serviced and made repairs to the trickling filters at the wastewater plant.
• Met with MRB at the Monroe County Water Treatment Plant to discuss THM issue.
• Crew members McLean, Dermody and Quinlan attended Dig Safely Training in Victor.
• Crew members assisted DPW crew members with brush pickup.
• Meter reading began today for the May water/sewer billing.
Trustee Rutigliano reported the following for Supt. Frazier:
1. Rubbish day is today and usually takes 2 days; Ironwood is here to start grinding the brush pile. They will grind a large pile of mulch for the Village residents for the year.
2. We have been getting equipment ready for the May 12th Auction in Palmyra and sealed bids. We would like to ask the Board for Approval that the following equipment be declared surplus. Trustee Rutigliano so moved with second from Deputy Mayor Cook:
2012 John Deere X700 Mower, Vin # MOX700AKCMO70180 1990 Pace Enclosed trailer 6’ x 10’ Vin # 40LFB1014LPV09941 1995 Flat open trailer 6’ x 10’ Vin # P961610S6RL019161
(We are accepting sealed bids for this mower and trailers, bids will be opened Apr 30th) 2016 Bobcat S570 Skid Steer Vin # ALM416027, Tag #334
2012 Chevy 2500 Pickup with Western plow Vin # 1GC2KKG8C2147817 2006 Western Hitch Salt Spreader, Model 500, Tag #185
2014 Bobcat Salt Spreader trailer mount body Vin# 6601280
The vote was as follows : Deputy Mayor Cook-Aye, Trustee Fletcher-Aye, Trustee Ivers-Aye; Trustee Rutigliano-Aye, and Mayor Duff-Aye.
3. Crew has installed a storm drain line across the Highland Park driveway for the Teresa House to hook a sump pump into. Restoration will need to be done on the yard area and asphalt.
4. Street Sweeper is getting a full servicing and will be back in service this week.
5. Highland Park Depot and Bathrooms have been getting a lot of attention. New bathroom partitions, paint, urinal, floors waxed, exterior trim. Prisoners from the Livingston County Sherriff Department will be painting the exterior in June.
6. Crews have been tree trimming in various areas around the Village.
7. DQ and I have been working on preliminary budget numbers and bid requests for projects that will be coming up in June. We also are looking over the sewer plant UV design and options.
Mayor Duff asked why seemingly new equipment is declared surplus. Supt. Frazier explained that the equipment sells very well at auction. Usually funds garnered are on the order of $100,000 and in this way equipment is always fairly new and in good condition.
6 14. TRUSTEE REPORTS:
Deputy Mayor Cook: Matthew will be working with the Hc3 Committee and the next task will be to identify the demographic of people to reach with the Healthy Campus Community Coalition. Matthew is also working on a renter’s association.
Three will be going to the International Town/Gown Association conference at the beginning of June:
Deputy Mayor Cook, SUNY VP Bonfiglio and Hc3 Coordinator Shelly Wolanske. Funding for the attendees will be coming from the Hc3 budget. Coalitions are one agenda topic of the conference.
Trustees Duff and Cook attended the second in a series of events held to discuss substance abuse. At this event, held at the Central School on March 26th, Kevin P. Hill, MD presented The Unbiased Truth Marijuana, Alcohol & Opioids. This second in a series of events wasn’t as well attended as the first but was informative, according to the Trustees. The third event will be held at the Geneseo Riviera on April 19th at 6PM.
Trustee Fletcher: Leah brought up the topic of liaisons to different community groups. She wonders if perhaps the groups themselves would like to come and talk to the Board. She has been attending Conesus Lake Association meetings. Trustee Ivers suggested compiling a master list and inviting them on a regular basis. In that way, priorities and goals can be discussed. Geneseo Community Main Street former President Josh Williams said it is very helpful to have Board representation at those meetings. Trustee Rutigliano said that even though that is helpful, sometimes groups feel that a Board member has the final say for the Board and don’t understand that the liaison is just that, a representative of the Board, not the Board itself. It was noted that Sandy Brennan would like to be a liaison to the Promote Geneseo group and that might be a good fit.
Trustee Rutigliano: Mary is in the process of compiling a list of how many feral cats there are. After that, the committee will try to come up with a solution. When cats are unhealthy they pose threats to other animals and humans. The problem becomes a public health issue that affects the whole community.
Mayor Duff mentioned that she realizes that the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals are autonomous groups but she would like to attend a meeting sometime in the future. David Woods said that the Planning Board meetings are open to the public and she is more than welcome to attend. Mayor Duff will check with ZBA Chair Meisel as well.
15. CLERK/TREASURER’S REPORT:
Clerk Merrick noted that she is working on filing the Village’s Constitutional Tax Limit form with the Comptroller as well as continuing on with the March financials.
16. ADJOURN:
With no further business to discuss, Deputy Mayor Cook moved to adjourn the meeting with second from Trustee Rutigliano. The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 6:15PM.
Marsha B. Merrick, Village Clerk
