VILLAGE
OF AURORA BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES
OF REGULAR MEETING
FEBRUARY
16, 2000
The
regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Aurora, New York was
called to order in the Firehouse Meeting Room at 7:33 PM on February 16, 2000
with Mayor Gunderson presiding.
Present: Trustees Jim Chase,
Janet Mapstone, Jeri Vargo and Ken Zabriskie.
Also present: David Brooks, Debbie Brooks, Melinda Kostreva (8:40),
Christine Nabinger, Treasurer, and Nancy Yann, Clerk.
Trustee
Mapstone moved to accept the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Village
Board of Trustees of January 19, 2000 with corrections noted. Seconded by Trustee Chase, motion carried
5:0.
CHANGES TO THE
AGENDA:
Mayor
Gunderson reported that there would be a few additions to his announcements.
MAYOR'S
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mayor
Gunderson reported that the Village Board would have to move to Executive
Session to discuss personnel matters at the end of the meeting.
Mayor
Gunderson reported that he had received a phone call from Carl Staley regarding
his resignation from Life Safety Consultants.
Mr. Staley will continue through the end of the month.
CLERK’S
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The
Clerk had no announcements.
VISITOR
RECOGNITION:
Mayor
Gunderson welcomed the Brooks’.
COMMITTEE AND
BOARD REPORTS:
A.
Buildings and Grounds:
Trustee Vargo reported that she had talked with Tricia
Ottley, from the Cayuga County Planning Board regarding the Telecommunication
Project. The clerk has sent a letter
of commitment to this project. Trustee
Vargo has also met with the clerk from Brutus and expressed her desire to meet
with the village and town
Village
of Aurora Board of Trustees Meeting February 16, 2000 Page 2 of 5
Clerk’s regarding this project. Trustee Vargo will arrange a meeting date.
Trustee Vargo spoke about the Village Web-page and
encouraged everyone to view it. Dave
Wharton has done a wonderful job.
Trustee Vargo reported that she had talked with Jane
Carpenter regarding the Cayuga County Soil & Water Conservation District’s
Annual Tree & Shrub Seedling, and Groundcover plant sale for around the
fuel tank behind the Post Office.
B. Recreation, Parks and Public Events:
Trustee Mapstone had nothing to report
C. Streets and Public Safety:
Trustee Chase reported that he would write a letter to Lorin
Correll and Kurt Wilmot commending them on a job well done in regards to the
snow plowing.
Trustee Chase stated his concern over the increased number
of trucks driving through the Village.
A discussion concerning the speed and number of trucks ensued. Mayor Gunderson suggested that people should
take down license plate numbers and report them to the police.
The Clerk reported that there have been numerous reports of
dogs running loose in the Village. She
asked how the Board would like to handle this problem since the Village has not
had a contract with a dog control person for several years. Trustee Mapstone suggested writing a letter
to the dogs owners informing them of the local law. Mayor Gunderson asked to whom the dogs belonged. The clerk gave the names of three
persons. Mayor Gunderson will write to
Carl Collier inquiring to his availability as dog control officer, and the
clerk will write letters to the known offenders.
Mayor Gunderson reported on a sidewalk issue regarding snow
removal in front of a village residence.
Ms. Bennett showed Mayor Gunderson the local law stating that the
property owner was responsible to shovel or plow the sidewalk on their
property. The Board will discuss
putting new sidewalks in throughout the Village.
D. Water and Sewer:
Trustee Zabriskie reported that Don
Bowen has collected water samples for the Health Department. When doing so, he asked Mr. Wilmot to
collect samples around the Village to check the chlorine level.
Village
of Aurora Board of Trustees Meeting February 16, 2000 Page 3 of 5
Trustee Zabriskie reported that the hydrant on Sherwood Road
has been moved and repaired.
Trustee Zabriskie reported that Mr. Wilmot would be away on
Friday, March 10th to attend the Rural Water Association Lobby in Washington,
D.C. Mr. Wilmot was asked by the New
York Rural Water Association to be a representative.
Trustee Zabriskie reported that the Board needed to move on
the issue of hiring a person to fill the position of Village Maintenance
Person. The Board expressed their
desire to advertise the position.
Ms. Brooks asked if was any reason for the low water
pressure at her residence on Cherry Avenue.
Mayor Gunderson said that the lines might be frozen.
E. Preservation Panel:
Mayor Gunderson read a letter he had
received from Judith Warren, Chair of the Community Preservation Panel. She is quite concerned about the lack of
communication from the Zoning Officer.
Ms. Warren’s request for a key to the Clerk’s Office was approved.
F. Planning Board:
There was nothing to report.
G.
Zoning Board of Appeals:
There was nothing to report.
H. Zoning Officer:
Trustee Mapstone moved to accept the
Zoning Officer’s Report dated January 2000.
Seconded by Trustee Vargo, motion carried 5:0.
TREASURER'S
REPORTS:
Trustee
Vargo moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report for the Month of January. Seconded by Trustee Zabriskie, motion
carried 5:0.
Village
of Aurora Board of Trustee’s Meeting February 16, 2000 Page 4 of 5
A.
Monthly Reports:
Trustee Vargo moved to accept the Monthly Report for the General Fund dated January 31, 2000. Seconded by Trustee Zabriskie, motion
carried 5:0.
Trustee Vargo moved to accept the Monthly Report for the Water Fund dated January 31, 2000. Seconded by Trustee Zabriskie, motion
carried 5:0.
Trustee Vargo to accept the Monthly Report for the Sewer Fund dated January 31, 2000. Seconded by Trustee Zabriskie, motion
carried 5:0.
B. Budget Modifications:
There were no budget modifications.
C. Approval of Bills:
Trustee Zabriskie moved to approve the bills from the General Fund, Claims #262 to 285 in the
amount of $4,335.08. Seconded by
Trustee Mapstone, motion carried 5:0.
The bills were approved after agreeing to not continue with the Agway
Service Contract (this bill was removed from the list).
Trustee Chase moved to approve the bills from the Water Fund, Claims #262 to 285 in the
amount of $3,788.44. Seconded by
Trustee Mapstone, motion carried 5:0.
Trustee Mapstone moved to approve the bills from the Sewer Fund, Claims #262 to 285 in the
amount of $3,373.44. Seconded by
Trustee Chase, motion carried 5:0.
OLD BUSINESS:
Mayor Gunderson asked the Board what they wanted to do about delinquent water/sewer accounts. A lengthy discussion ensued. Several options were proposed, such as increasing the late penalty to 10% every quarter and pulling the meters. Mayor Gunderson asked the Board to think about the options and be prepared to discuss them at the next meeting so a public hearing could be arranged if necessary.
Trustee Zabriskie asked about the charges of second water meters referring to the letter of Robert Cerza. This too brought a lengthy discussion. He gave the clerk a draft of his response. The clerk will hold this letter until the matter reaches a final decision. Mayor Gunderson also asked Ms. Nabinger to check with Williamson Law Book to see if the water program could be adapted to our needs.
Village of Aurora Board of Trustee’s Meeting February
16, 2000 Page 5 of 5
NEW BUSINESS:
Trustee Mapstone stated that there was concern from residents as to whether they were required to have a zoning permit to post their new 911 numbers. Mayor Gunderson assured her that this was not necessary since the county required residents to post them.
Mayor
Gunderson reported that the Clerk had received a letter from the Aurorafest
Committee requesting the use of the Village Park and a subsidy of $1,500. Trustee Mapstone asked if the Board could
make a decision next month since she would like to discuss the proposed
location of the event. It was agreed to
table this matter until the March meeting.
Trustee
Mapstone moved to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. Seconded by Trustee Vargo, motion carried
5:0.
The Board discussed the resignation of Ms. Nabinger and
options for hiring a new treasurer. Ms.
Nabinger now puts in between eight (8) and ten (10) hours per week. The position of Village Maintenance Person
was also discussed. Upon motion of
Trustee Vargo and seconded by Trustee Mapstone, the Executive Session was
adjourned.
Upon
resuming its regular session, the Board discussed benefits and salary for the
positions of treasurer and village maintenance person. No decision was forth coming.
ADJOURNMENT: