July 19, 2022 Regular Meeting Minutes
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Tuesday, July 17, 2022
The Village Board met Tuesday, July 17, 2022, at 7:00 PM.
Present: Sue Eckert, Mayor
John Markiewicz, Trustee
Janet Rudd, Trustee
Sue Sedon, Trustee
Kathleen Terwilliger, Trustee
Wendy Reu, Clerk, Recording Secretary
Nathan Matthews, Treasurer
Dan Reidell, DPW Superintendent
Carmel Greco, Village Attorney
Absent:
Public Attendance – Dan Singer, Mike Warner, Gary Gardner, Lanie Groff, Frank Pedatella, John Spaeth, Norman Richardson, Christian Klueg
Mayor Eckert called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion to approve the minutes of the June 21, 2022, Regular Meeting was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon, and passed by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
At 7:03 p.m., Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to enter into executive session to discuss pending litigation. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
The meeting resumed in regular session at 7:25 p.m. on a motion by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Mayor Eckert reported that no action was taken during executive session.
PUBLIC ACCESS: Norman Richardson asked what was happening to the old hotel. He stated pieces are falling off and windows are broken. Code Officer Reidell reported that the broken windows have plexiglass on the inside and there are no violations that can be written against the property at this time.
Frank Pedatella addressed the Board regarding the speeding that occurs on Main Street. He stated he has a house down by the spillway and the cars constantly speed over the spill way. He stated people are going to get killed. He stated a lot of people walk and someone is going to get hurt. You people need to do something. He said he spoke with the last Mayor and he had an officer go down and do radar and he was told that nothing was wrong. Mr. Pedatella said he spoke with the officer and he said a majority were going 12-15 miles over the speed limit. Trustee Terwilliger stated she would have concern if police were allowing a leeway of that much and stated she would investigate it. Mr. Pedatella stated that you people need to get together and do research, like he did. There are options available, such as speed bumps, cameras and signs. He stated there is not one sign on Main Street about the speed limit. He said he wanted to bring it to this Board’s attention because they don’t live there and don’t know what it’s like. He says he is there every day and sees it. Mr. Pedatella said he went to the troopers barracks and complained and then they came up and gave out 6 tickets in one hour. Mr. Pedatella said “there is a red pickup with a white trailer and someone needs to shoot him”. Mayor Eckert informed Mr. Pedetella that they have recently hired another deputy to add to the patrols.
Gary Gardner, a neighbor of Mr. Pedatella, confirmed that the traffic is fast at times and he supports what Mr. Pedatella says.
Dan Singer addressed the Board. He asked a question directly to Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Sedon, and Mayor Eckert as they were on the Board over the past year. He asked if they have any knowledge of kick backs in connection with former Board members or Mayor Spaeth regarding the upgraded water meters. Trustee Sedon responded that she can’t currently discuss anything regarding the issue with Mr. Singer and water meters due to possible litigation. Trustee Markiewicz answered the same, that he would not discuss it due to pending litigation. Mayor Eckert stated she deferred to the municipal attorney’s guidance and declined to comment due to pending litigation.
Christian Klueg addressed the Board. He stated there are two street trees in front of the Main Street properties he recently purchased that he would like to see removed. He stated he is going to be doing significant work to the facades of the two buildings and the trees that are currently there are very low, and push against the façade in certain places. He stated that most downtown areas have trees with higher branches so they do not obstruct the business or cause issue to pedestrians on the sidewalks or when they are parking in front of businesses. He stated the tree in front of the Annex causes a lot of issue with people parking. It is too close to the street. He stated if it were not there, he would be in favor of losing a parking space and opening the area up for better line of sight coming off Water Street. He stated there are no trees in front of the Dragon City or the 5&10 Store. Trustee Sedon asked if after renovations are done to the buildings if Mr. Klueg would put in trees with higher profiles. Mr. Klueg said he would rather have planters than trees back if anything had to be replaced. Lanie Groff, a member of the Tree Committee stated no trees would be planted in the terrace areas due to it not being good for the tree. She stated the push now was to put them on the back side of the sidewalks. Mr. Klueg stated the Allen and Palmer tree is growing up into the wires. Mrs. Groff said it was a healthy tree but sees the issue with it growing into the wires as a concern and the recommendation would be to see what National Grid thinks of the issue when they come for the planned tree trimming in September. Mr. Klueg says he understands the sentiment behind tree lined streets but in this instance, beautiful building are being obscured. Mrs. Groff said she disagreed and said that trees were put in to soften the building structure. Trustee Rudd stated she doesn’t care for the trees that are planted along Main Street. Mr. Klueg stated he was also going to be making a parking lot on space he owns between the liquor store and the old theater. He would be agreeable to plant a tree in that area when the work is complete. The Board reviewed the photos presented of the trees in question. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to remove the tree in front of the annex and to allow National Grid to make their determination on the other tree. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: Trustee Sedon
ABSTAIN: 0
Mayor Eckert closed public comment at 7:52 p.m.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Police – Mayor Eckert reported that Officer Malinda Harrington was recently hired.
Streets – The DPW report was read and is on file at the Clerk’s office.
Trustee Rudd stated that our Village crew is excellent, and we are very fortunate for that.
Highway Superintendent Reidell opened the discussion of commercial garbage. He provided the Board with a tentative shared use agreement between the Towns of Hope and Benson and the Village. Mayor Eckert stated we still have a lot to discuss regarding picking up commercial garbage. She stated that as we have opened it up to all businesses, we need to try and come up with a rate that is fair and equitable for all of them. She stated that some businesses won’t participate, some businesses will have a small can and others will have larger volume. Trustee Sedon stated that Klippels would continue paying for their own dumpster as a community one would be too far away for them. Mayor Eckert stated we cannot provide the service for free, there has to be some compensation from the businesses utilizing the community dumpster. She stated the program would have to be run as a trial, possibly 6 months or so and be evaluated. Highway Superintendent Reidell stated he spoke with Dave Rhodes and there is no state law that says that businesses have to have dumpsters. He stated we are currently picking up commercial garbage from businesses such as the insurance agency and other office type businesses. He stated that Edinburg picks up all their commercial garage and pays $ 60/ton. He stated the residential rate is $ 33/ton. Trustee Terwilliger asked if there should be a separate dump run for the small commercial garbage that we are already picking up. Mayor Eckert what we do if we start the service and then the businesses choose not to utilize it. Trustee Terwilliger stated she felt it would be a choice that the business owner was making. Mayor Eckert stated we had to develop a fee so the service was not gifted to the businesses. Mayor Eckert asked if there could be a residential pickup day and a commercial pick up day. Highway Superintendent Reidell stated that when we started discussing picking up commercial garage, we looked at a centralized dumpster.
Treasurer Matthews stated we have no idea how much tonnage is generated. He suggested contacting all the businesses that expressed interest in participating and have them provide the Village with a print out from the last year or so from their current dumpster vendor. He stated with this information, we could at least have numbers to start working with while we try to come up to a fair rate. He stated we would have to back bill the participants. Mayor Eckert stated we should hold off on moving forward with an intermunicipal agreement until we have a better idea of the costs of the program. Trustee Terwilliger asked if it was possible for the Village to have an outside contractor come in and pick up the Village waste. Highway Superintendent Reidell stated that was not practical and would not alleviate the problem of smelling dumpsters and rodents. Mayor Eckert stated based on the discussion she is hearing, the Board still wants to proceed with looking into picking up the commercial garbage. Treasurer Matthews stated that once we have previous tonnage reports from the businesses that want to participate, we will have a better understanding of the potential costs. He stated that whatever rate we come up with, it has to be a fair and equitable amount of what it costs the Village.
Highway Superintendent Reidell discussed the trees in the back of the Waterfront Park. He stated he had a crew trim the trees by the overlook and it opened up the area for a better view of the lake. He stated there are several unsafe trees along the edge of the park that need to be addressed. He estimated that it will cost between $ 8- $ 10 thousand dollars and that he would obtain three quotes. He stated National Grid may identify a few of them as problem trees and they would remove them if that was the case. Highway Superintendent Reidell also stated he would like to hire an arborist to come up and inventory the park and village trees.
Highway Superintendent Reidell discussed the Water/Main Street intersection with the Board. He stated that in the traffic study that was done last year, the recommendation to remove the parking space north of Main Street, adjacent to Water Street. He also would like to remove one parking spot in front of Allen and Palmer and one in front of the Annex to further open up visibility at that intersection. Mayor Eckert stated it was definitely a bad intersection when those parking spaces were utilized. After discussion, Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to move the no parking zone back one spot in front of Allen and Palmer, and in front of the Annex on Main Street. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Highway Superintendent Reidell also proposed striping parking spots along Main Street, from firehouse to old bank. He felt that with the reduction of the three parking spaces along Main Street, lined parking spots would assist motorists with parking and allowing all the space to be utilized. Trustee Sedon made a motion to stripe parking spots along Main as presented. The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that the new village pickup is being built. He requested permission to deem his current truck a non necessity once he gets delivery date of the new vehicle, and to list the current truck on Auctions International at that time. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to deem the current village pickup a non necessity once delivery date of the new vehicle is obtained and to list the current truck on Auctions International. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Mayor Eckert reported we received two applications for the Crossing Guard position. She asked Trustee Rudd to assist her with the interview process of the two candidates. Due to the rapidly approaching start of the school year, Mayor Eckert asked for the Board’s consideration to defer to the interview committee’s judgement and allow them to hire a candidate immediately after the interview process. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to allow a Crossing Guard to be hired by the interview committee. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Water – It was reported that usage decreased from 3,303,000 gallons in June 2021 to 3,055,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
It was reported that there were still two meters left in the Village that had not yet been converted to radio read meters.
Code Enforcement- The Code Officer’s report was filed. It was reported that eight permits were issued.
Dog Control – The Dog Control report for June indicated he was still patrolling the Village periodically for people not picking up after their dogs. He reported complaints of one barking dog and one loose dog.
Joint Youth – Trustee Sedon reported that Camp is underway, and the kids are going to the Mayfield beach for swimming.
Highway Superintendent Reidell stated that the police need to patrol the beach, at least once a shift, as people are starting to leave garbage and having fires down there.
Park Use Requests – No requests were received.
Marketing – Village Clerk Wendy Reu gave an update on Marketing. She reported that the DOINS was very well attended, by both participants and vendors. She stated that the Leader Herald did three feature articles on the front page of their paper over the course of a two week period. Mayor Eckert stated she had heard nothing but good things about the event. The Clerk reported that all the vendors that participated this year requested to come back next year, as did all of the parade participants. She stated that she is actively trying to recruit ride vendors for next year. The Clerk reported that she has been posting events that are happening in the Village on social media and website, along with utilizing the FC Chamber of Commerce pages and 44 Lakes.Com page. She provided the Board with statistics from the viewership of the social media posts and the numbers have increased significantly. The Clerk reported she is looking into having an end of summer event, perhaps an UNDOINS next year. She stated we could discuss it at budget time and have more information then. She stated it would be unique for the Village and potentially draw more people to the Village at a time when they might not be coming.
Report on Village Projects – John Spaeth provided an update on the Village projects. Mr. Spaeth reported the bid proposal deadline for the RFP for Engineering and Permitting was July 8th. He indicated we only received one bid. The bid solicitation included a direct mailing to six companies, four of which are state certified MWBE firms. He stated we also placed a legal notice in the Gazette papers. Mr. Spaeth had Treasurer Matthews check with the Comptroller’s office to see if we could proceed. We were told that we have done our due diligence, and as long as the bid received was complaint with the RFP we could accept it and begin the project. The bid was submitted by Elan Planning and Design, LLC in the amount of $ 172,245. 00. After discussion, Trustee Rudd made a motion to accept the bid of $ 172,245.00 from Elan for Engineering and Permitting of the Walkway at the spillway. The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Tree Commission – Lanie Groff discussed the tree in front of Allen and Palmer. She stated as a member of the tree committee, she couldn’t recommend cutting it down. She stated she agreed that it needed to be trimmed and it was the wrong tree in the wrong spot. She stated she would wait to hear what National Grid says about the tree. Mrs. Groff said she is still waiting for quotes on trees and anticipated a fall planting time for the next cycle.
ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTS
Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to approve Annual Financial Report for Village for the purpose of Audit. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to approve Annual Financial Report for Joint Youth Commission for the purpose of Audit. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
PAYMENT OF BILLS
The monthly financial report was reviewed and bills to be paid from the General Fund in the amount of $ 30,389.70, from the Water Fund in the amount of $ 3,312.20, and from the Joint Youth Fund in the amount of $ 1,228.07, were presented for payment. Motion to approve payment was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
OLD BUSINESS:
Mayor Eckert reopened the previously tabled subject of snow removal from sidewalks. The Board reviewed sample codes from other municipalities. The Clerk advised the Board that they could take bits and pieces out of any sample code to combine their own code that they felt best met the needs of the Village. After discussion, the Board agreed that sidewalks should be cleared within 24 hours of a snow fall of 6 inches or greater. Trustee Sedon stated she could not clear her sidewalk down to the sidewalk. Options were discussed, such as applying salt or ashes on sidewalks that had frozen over. They discussed gathering a list of individuals who could be contacted to remove snow from the sidewalks. Mayor Eckert stated there were many things that needed to be considered before moving forward.
Mayor Eckert reported to the Board that we have not have any offers on the Third Street property. She felt we should move forward with obtaining the services of a real estate agent to list the property. After discussion, Treasurer Matthews was directed to request quotes from three different real estate companies: Howard Hanna, Thomas J Reality, and Coldwell Banker and the information would be reviewed at the next meeting.
Mayor Eckert presented an intermunicipal agreement between the Village and the Town of Northampton that would allow the Town to reimburse the Village for grave digging services. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to approve the intermunicipal agreement to reimburse the Village for grave digging for the Town. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Eckert presented the FC Planning Services Agreement for 2023 in the amount of $ 400.00. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to renew the FC Planning Services Agreement as presented. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Mayor Eckert issued an Official Proclamation proclaiming August 14, 2022, as St. Francis of Assisi Day in the Village of Northville in honor of the 100th anniversary of the church.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Norman Richardson gave the Board information about commercial and private garbage pickup practices when he worked in the city.
John Spaeth stated he felt that a possible compromise for commercial pick-up rates would be to only charge the businesses the same rate residential garbage is, $ 33/ton vs $ 60/ton. He stated that way they would be getting the same service at the same rate for the taxes they pay.
Mike Warner discussed street trees and the brush pickup around the Village.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy L. Reu, Clerk
