VILLAGE OF CANASTOTA

MINUTES

December 5, 2022

Mayor Warner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

PRESENT:	Mayor Rosanne Warner; Deputy Mayor Doug Gustin and Trustees Jeffrey Watkins, Bill Haddad and Lori Torrey; Village Administrator Jeremy Ryan; and Bruce Burke of PAC 99.

ABSENT:	None.

Motion by Trustee Haddad, seconded by Trustee Watkins, approving the attached minutes from the November 21, 2022 Board of Trustees meeting. Passed 5 to 0.

Motion by Trustee Watkins, seconded by Trustee Haddad, to approve the attached General Fund Abstract in the amount of $183,943.35. Passed 5 to 0.

Motion by Trustee Torrey, seconded by Trustee Gustin, to approve the attached Sewer Fund Abstract in the amount of $73,251.05. Passed 5 to 0.

Public Comments.

None.

Motion by Trustee Haddad, seconded by Trustee Gustin, to authorize the Administrator to move forward with negotiating a memorandum of understanding with Madison County for information technology services at a cost of $54.00 per hour for labor. Discussion: Trustee Watkins asked if this is to negotiate and not to approve the memorandum. Administrator Ryan wants to move forward with the County and pick from the a la carte menu. The Board talked about options and cost. Trustee Watkins asked if they are going to provide adequate service. Administrator Ryan noted that he spoke with Cazenovia and they are not pleased - he also spoke with the Town of Lenox and they are pleased. Other municipalities have not responded. The Mayor asked if they are looking to add personnel to help with all of the new clients they are taking on. The Board noted that the County budget did pass. Trustee Haddad is in favor of having a non-exclusive relationship with the County. Administrator Ryan advised that there will be a Memorandum of Agreement and not a contract. He will reach out to a per diem company to see if they would be willing to work with us if the County could not get to us. Administrator Ryan noted that the next cheapest IT company would charge $95 per hour. The Board talked about options available. Trustee Watkins is concerned about having too many people involved if we do more than one contract. The Mayor noted that this is only giving Administrator Ryan the ability to go to the County and pick out services and not obligate us to anything. The Board would still have to approve any agreement. Trustee Watkins would like to make sure that we have an out. Passed 4 to 1. Trustee Watkins voting Nay.

Motion by Trustee Watkins, seconded by Trustee Gustin, to accept a winning bid of $1,225.00 from the username "star" on Auctions International for a surplus office copier Passed 5 to 0.

Motion by Trustee Haddad, seconded by Trustee Torrey, to authorize the destruction of the following outdated/obsolete documents: Insurance binders from 2014, 2015 and 2016; canceled check stubs from 2012, 2013 and 2014; general abstracts from June 2013-May 2014 and June 2014-May 2015; sewer abstracts from June 2013-May 2014 and June 2014-May 2015. Passed 5 to 0.

Motion by Trustee Watkins, seconded by Trustee Haddad, to take No. 9 from the agenda to executive session after the other items on the agenda. Passed 5 to 0.

Discussion regarding the attached resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter into an intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Lenox to accept American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the Town in the amount of $100,000. These funds are for the continued operation and maintenance of the Village sewer system, which transports and treats sewage for various Town sewer districts and extra-territorial Town residents. The Mayor asked for discussion on this rather than a motion. She noted that she and Clerk/Treasurer Williams have talked about this and would like to hold this off until our next meeting to allow us to ask some questions and get some information before acting on this.

Motion by Trustee Haddad, seconded by Trustee Torrey, approving the attached Resolution authorizing premium holiday pay for part-time police officers. Discussion: Trustee Watkins does not believe that this should be retroactive to June 1. Administrator Ryan noted that he wrote it back to June 1 because it was in the budget. The Mayor stated that it was budgeted for and a mistake was made and the officers were not paid. Mayor Warner stated that if she were asked to work on a holiday, she would probably stay home. Trustee Watkins thinks we should move forward but does not think that it should be retroactive. The cost is $1,500 and change. Trustee Watkins stated that because it is just being brought to our attention, it should be from this day going forward. Mayor Warner noted that there were discussions and it was in the Chief's budget. It was not changed in policy and she does not believe that it would be fair. Trustee Haddad is in favor of paying them but has a problem and noted that part-time people should check their pay and does not believe that it should have taken this long to bring it to our attention. He is still okay with it, but thinks it should have been brought to our attention before now. Administrator Ryan advised that the Chief brought it to his attention, not one of the officers. The Mayor believes that an officer brought it to Chief's attention. The Board is grateful that we have officers to fill these shifts. Passed 4 to 1. Trustee Watkins voting Nay to the retro pay only.

Administrator's Comments.

Administrator Ryan advised the Board that the brine truck needs about $1,300 in repairs to be road worthy. It needs repairs and will need to be replaced very soon. He advised the Board that they are looking for a used truck. The Board discussed putting the brine on one of the other plow trucks. The Board would like to see if we can put a brine machine on another. They also noted that this truck was supposed to be surplused a couple of years ago. Administrator Ryan advised the Board that the Police Department took possession of the Durango on Friday and it will go into service tomorrow as 203. The vehicles will be rotated to keep the mileage even. The Board talked about vehicle replacement plans. Administrator Ryan and the Mayor will meet with Center State CEO on December 15, 2022, regarding Micron opportunities. Administrator Ryan also reported that the BAN sale occurred today. The low bid was 3.965% on the $975,000 issue. He talked about the trouble that a school bus had making an east turn from Peterboro Street heading south and had to back up and try again because of the parking on the south side of Center Street only 53 feet from the corner. The Mayor would like us to speak with the owner of the pizza store because his employees park there and have for many years. Trustee Haddad would like us to talk with the school and the DOT. Administrator Ryan received a notice that the parts for the elevator are tentatively scheduled to be here the week of December 20, 2022.

Mayor's Comments.

The Mayor has received three (3) letters from Town of Lenox Supervisor requesting sewer services for three (3) parcels on Route 5 - two (2) parcels owned by Cary and one owned by the Hi-Way Bowl. They want to be let into the sewer system but do not want to annex into the Village and Supervisor Pinard is in favor of their entering into the sewer system. Supervisor Pinard noted that annexation would not help the sewer site of the budget only the general side. The Board talked about the sewer unit charge. Mayor Warner advised that she has talked to other Mayors about not having people annex into the Village for their services and she noted that the Village of Wampsville is annexing properties from the City of Oneida that are receiving services. Trustee Watkins is in favor of annexation. He asked what the Town is giving up for the district. The Mayor advised that these properties would be outside of existing districts and the cost would be borne by property owners. Trustee Watkins asked what the Town will give up. The Mayor believes that they should work to develop a district before they come to us with this. The Mayor and the board discussed options and Trustees Haddad, Watkins and Torrey believe that they should annex. Trustee Gustin stated that a sewer district would be okay but if the rest of the board wants annexation, he would go along with it. The Board talked about the services that would be provided to these properties if they annexed. The mayor will go back to the Town with this. Trustee Haddad asked if this should be part of the comprehensive plan. Mayor Warner will bring it up again to the committee.

Mayor Warner received a letter from the Canal Corp regarding the Canal Corp as a lead agency. She also received a letter from the Empire Center regarding recent legislation regarding unions. We received a donation check from Clark Equipment and a letter to the Canastota Police Department in the amount of $750.00. The Mayor explained that this is unbudgeted gifts and donations. This will go into the general fund. Mayor Warner would recommend using it for the police department and suggested some improvements to the police garage locker rooms that will benefit the police department.

Motion by Trustee Haddad, seconded by Trustee Watkins, to ad this to the executive session discussion before we accept this. Passed 5 to 0.

The Mayor has a menu for the new deli across the street which will open sometime this week. She went to the Mayor's meeting for the County last Thursday night. They discussed police, fire, EMS, AIM funding, cannabis sales and Micron. The Mayor was named to the Public Safety Governor's Policy Committee. Mayor Warner suggested that we look at our insurance when it renews. The Mayor advised that she has a list of bowling participants and noted that there are about six (6) names on the list of people on the league. Administrator Ryan talked about the holiday party. He reached out to people to see if they would like something in-house or at a restaurant. Theodore's would charge $25/person for a buffet. The Board discuss options for having something in-house or planning food in the office. Friday nights are available. The board also talked about pros and cons of having the party in the building or outside and about moving it into January for more availability. Mayor Warner advised that we have the audit back and she will have it available at the next meeting. She had conversations with Bob Menikheim and Joel Arsenault regarding a farm brewery. There is a location behind the old White Elephant and it is zoned Agriculture. The Mayor asked for a business plan to forward to the Village attorney. She advised that, based on the discussions with Joel Arsenault, it appears that this use would fit in the AG district, but the Mayor would like a business plan to make sure and she believes that this would have to go to the planning department.

Correspondence.

None

Trustee Comments.

None.

Motion by Trustee Watkins, seconded by Trustee Gustin, to enter Executive session regarding personnel and contractual discussions at 8:00 p.m. Passed 5 to 0.

Administrator Ryan left the meeting at 8:17 p.m.

Motion by Trustee Gustin, seconded by Trustee Watkins, to exit executive session at 8:50 p.m. Passed 5 to 0.

There was no action taken on the following agenda items:

Motion to approve the attached request from Department of Public Works laborer Janet Pynn for an extension of her unpaid leave of absence, with the knowledge that she has a follow-up appointment with her doctor on December 8 and could return to work as soon as December 9.

Motion to extend the appointment of Nicholas Hluska as temporary full-time DPW laborer, which is scheduled to expire on December 16, with an end date to be determined by the Board. This date is dependent on Janet Pynn's return to work.

Motion by Trustee Watkins, seconded by Trustee Torrey, to adjourn the meeting at 8:51 p.m. Passed 5 to 0.

Respectfully submitted,

Catherine E. Williams

Clerk/Treasurer