Regular Meeting Minutes November 19, 2024
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
The Village Board met Tuesday, November 19, 2024, 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/Code
Rick Richardson, Chief of Police
Public Attendance –The entire NCS Lady Falcons Class D NYS Soccer Championship team and their parents, Blanche Draupun, Mike Warner, Amy Davis, Katie Fitzgerald.
Mayor Eckert called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion to approve the minutes of October 15, 2024, Regular Meeting was made by Trustee Sedon, seconded by Trustee Rudd and passed by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
PRESENTATION: Mayor Eckert welcomed the NCS Lady Falcons Class D NYS Soccer Championship Team and their parents and congratulated them on their State championship win. She read the following proclamation:
Whereas, the Northville Central School Lady Falcons won the school’s first Girls Class D NYSPHSAA state SOCCER championship on November 17, 2024, and
Whereas, under the direction of head coach, Doug Hammons, the Northville Central School Lady Falcons finished the season with a 14-7 record overall, and
Whereas, The Northville Central School Lady Falcons defeated Copenhagen 1-0 in the championship game; and
Whereas, Lillian Chamberlain was recognized as Outstanding Goal Keeper during the championship game by NYSPHSAA, and
Whereas, Lexi Ginter was recognized as Most Valuable Player during the championship game by NYSPHSAA,
Now, therefore, I, Mayor Sue Eckert, along with the entire Village of Northville Board of Trustees, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, November 19, 2024 as:
Northville Central School Lady Falcons Class D NYSPHSAA SOCCER Champions Day.
On behalf of the Board, Mayor Eckert presented the State Champions with a banner made in their honor, acknowledging their historic win. She indicated that the banner would be hung at the entrance of the Village for a period of time and would then be given to the school for display.
Mayor Eckert also issued an invitation to the 2024 Lady Falcons Class D State Soccer Champions to be the Grand Marshals in the 2025 DOINS parade on Saturday, July 5th at 1 p.m. She stated the theme of the parade would be “Hometown Pride” and the Village would be honored if they accepted the invitation. Coach Doug Hammons, on behalf of the team, accepted the invitation to be the Grand Marshals.
Mayor Eckert also acknowledged the 2024 Boys Falcons Soccer team for their season as well. She indicated the boys were Section 2 Class D Champions, Regional Champions and State Finalists.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Police – The police report was filed with the Clerk and read at the meeting. Chief Richardson reported 76 calls were handled by the NPD during the month of October.
Streets – The DPW report was read and is on file at the Clerk’s office.
Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that the kayak launch ramp is complete. He indicated that a picnic table, donated by the Rotary Foundation is assembled and out for use at the launch area.
Mayor Eckert read a letter received from HRBRRD thanking the Village for making a dump truck available to the district in the wake of the devasting storm damage from the July 16th storm this year.
Water – It was reported that usage increased from 2,063,000 gallons in October 2023 to 2,491,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
Mayor Eckert presented a quote in the amount of $2,411.34 from Kinsley Power Systems for repairs at well house, to remove and replace thermostat gasket and refill with coolant. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to approve the quote of $ 2,411.34 for repairs. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Code Enforcement- The Code Officer’s report was filed. It was reported that eight permits were issued in October.
Dog Control – No report.
Joint Youth – Trustee Sedon stated that the Commission recently met and they voted to sell the bounce house and the obstacle course, as they were deemed a non-necessity by the Commission. She stated that no decision was made about the beach for next season. Trustee Sedon stated that there was an individual that was camping in a camper at the beach the previous weekend. Mayor Eckert stated it was reported to the police and the individual was told they needed to remove the camper from the property. Mayor Eckert reminded the Board that they had previously decided that if there were issues, the gate would be closed. Trustee Sedon asked if we should shut the gate now. Chief Richardson stated he was not opposed to just closing it, but for now, he would monitor the area.
Park Use Requests – There were no park use requests.
Marketing – The Clerk/Marketing Director gave an update on the Holiday Tree Lighting and Parade scheduled for December 7th. She again reiterated that this year, the parade will stage on North Third Street, facing Reed, and proceed from Reed, to Main, to Washington. She stated that this will bring the parade through more of the Commercial district and provide more parking for participants of the parade in the Washington Street area.
The Clerk/Marketing Director reported that unfortunately there will not be horse drawn sleigh rides this year as the company we have always used and had on schedule for this year, decided in mid-November that they did not feel they could conduct the rides safely due to the inability to access the park from the driveway next to the firehouse with the construction that is occurring in the area. As we had such late notice from them, we were unable to retain the services of another company as these events book out a year in advance. She stated that despite reaching out to the company in early October to discuss a safe route, they never came in to speak with her until November 15th. She told them that the Village could close certain areas of streets to provide a safe environment for loading and unloading but was informed by the company that they took another job in a nearby municipality for the same evening. It was reported that this company had done the wagon rides for the Village for decades. Several names of companies were discussed at the meeting and the Clerk/Marketing Director said she would try to contact them but at this late date, she was not optimistic in being successful.
The Clerk/Marketing Director provided a copy of the 2024 Fulton County Sales Tax comparison chart for the Board’s review. She indicated that out of the 15 towns and villages in the county, only 5 municipalities saw an increase over last year for the same quarter, and three of those municipalities were less than 1% increase. She stated that the Town of Northampton and the Village of Northville saw an increase of 3.83% and 2.42%, respectively, and that can be attributed to the number of events that the are hosted in and by the Village of Northville, along with the variety of businesses that make Northville their home. It was noted that as the Village is inside the Town limits, a portion of their 3.83% percentage is attributed to the Village as well.
Report of Village Projects – Nothing new to report.
Tree Commission – No report.
FINANCIALS
Motion to amend the 2024-25 budget as follows:
Increase appropriations by line item A3120.4 – Public Safety (Police) -Contractual – $10,000
Increase appropriated fund balance by line item A0914 – Assigned Appropriated Fund Balance – $10,000 – Pertaining to the donations received for purchase of body cameras
Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to amend the budget as presented by Treasurer Matthews with reference to the donations received for the purchase of body cameras. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
TRANFERS
$5,000 To: A6989.4 Economic Development – Contractual Exp.
From: A1930.4 Judgements & Claims
$10,775 To: A9010.8 State Retirement
From: A1990.4 Contingent
Trustee Rudd made a motion to approve the transfers as presented by Treasurer Matthews. 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
PAYMENT OF BILLS
The monthly financial report was reviewed and bills to be paid from the General Fund in the amount of $ 151,242.91, and from the Water Fund in the amount of $ 13,643.44 were presented for payment. Motion to approve payment was made 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
OLD BUSINESS:
Mayor Eckert presented Local Law #2 of 2024- Amending the Village Code as Regards Certain Speed Limits in final format for the Board’s review. As there were no changes to the proposed law, Trustee Terwilliger made a motion to approve and advance Local Law #2 to Public Hearing on December 17, 2024. 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 presented Local Law#3 of 2024 – Amending the Village Code as Regards to Waste Collection Guidelines in final format for the Board’s review. As there were no suggested changes to the proposed law, Trustee Rudd made a motion to approve and advance Local Law #3 to Public Hearing on December 17, 2024. 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
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Eckert presented the Joint Youth Agreement between the Village of Northville and the Town of Northampton for the period commencing June 1, 2025 through May 31, 2030. After review, Trustee Sedon made a motion to approve the Joint Youth Agreement as presented. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Mayor Eckert presented the Zoning and LWRP Modifications that would be necessary for abolishing the Planning Board and assigning the duties of the Planning Board to the Zoning Board. She stated this was the next step in the process to scale down to one board for that will address both Planning and Zoning. After review, Trustee Markiewicz made motion to advance the modifications to the Village Attorney to put in final format for review. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon, Trustee Terwilliger
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
CORRESPONDENCE –
PUBLIC ACCESS: Katie Fitzgerald addressed the Board and said that she had questions and a statement to make but they do not address agenda items based on the new rules the Board adopted. Mayor Eckert stated that while meetings are open to the public, the Board has no obligation to allow the public to speak at the meetings. She stated that the purpose of the meetings was to conduct Village business and while they do allow public comment, the comment period is not meant to create a public forum. Mayor Eckert stated that the Village was advised by NYCOM that if we wanted to continue to allow public comment sessions, it should be done with time limits and should address agenda items only. Mayor Eckert informed Ms. Fitzgerald that she received her recent letter but had no way of contacting her as contact information was not provided in the letter. Mayor Eckert informed Ms. Fitzgerald that there is a Code of Ethics and she is welcome to review it in person or FOIL it.
Mike Warner stated that he found a set of house keys on the street. He was advised to turn them over to PD.
Mr. Warner stated that he was against the kayak access that was created. He stated it is going to create issues. Mayor Eckert stated that the project went through both our Village Attorney and NYMIR, our insurance carrier, before it was even approved for installation.
Mr. Warner stated that he did not feel the Village should assist the school with their sidewalk removal project. It was noted that the sidewalk the school was addressing in their Capital Project was not the one in front of the school, but rather sidewalks that lead up to the building, and as such, the Village would have no part in that project.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Sedon, seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy L. Reu, Clerk
