D R A F T
Regular Board Meeting
4/18/2013
The meeting was called to order at 7 PM.
Supervisor Boisen led us in the Pledge to the Flag.
On roll call Board Members present were Councilman Wrisley, Councilwoman LaPine, Councilman MacDougal, Councilman Garvey and Supervisor Boisen.
Attending the meeting were Olive Alexander, Danny Sweatt, Norma Goff,
Bonnie Monoski, Dianne Lansing, Todd Goff, Louis Comeau, Tina Gardner, Rod Boula Administrator, Elizabethtown Community Hospital, Jane TerLouw and Karen East. Terry Shaw and Reverend Shaw.
Mr. Boula gave his annual update on the hospital. Another doctor has been recruited. Her name is Mary Glickman and she is working at Smith House three days a week. Dr. Demuro is there one day a week and we have a full time PA. The hospital has all new lab equipment and it is state of the art. The CT scanner has been replaced. Mr. Boula stated that there are telemedicine units in all their clinics. He talked about improvements at Westport Health Center which is undergoing an expansion project. Smith House was purchased by the hospital and is now open. The Marvin property was purchased for future expansion right now it is being used for parking. Mr. Boula discussed the Hospital’s affiliation with CVPH and Fletcher Allen. He stated that the hospital finished in the black. Elizabethtown Hospital has added pulmonary rehabilitation. The hospital is working on recruiting two more doctors. Mr. Boula thanked everyone for their support.
Danny Sweat updated the Board on the progress of the Willsboro-Essex EMS.
He asked the Board to write a letter of support for this project. The letter is necessary for the Department of Health application. Essex and Willsboro Rescue
Squads have joined together to form a not-for-profit ambulance service. This will allow the Willsboro-Essex EMS to bill for their services. They will present a budget to the Towns once one is put together. The budget will be amended once billing is implemented. The citizens will not see any difference except the name change. We have a dedicated core of volunteers and that also will not change.
We do not want people not calling us because of the billing. We will send two bills and that will be it, we will not pursue it. Reimbursements from various sources were discussed. Space for the ambulances will be rented from the Towns. Olive Alexander asked if there was a feasibility study done. She was concerned about how the cost would divided between the two towns. If it is based on property taxes then Essex would be paying more than Willsboro and that does not seem fair. Danny said that they need the tax base and call volume for division of cost is what makes sense to him.
Mr. Shaw asked if there was any way the volunteers could be compensated for the
Time they devote to the ambulance squad. Danny said this was being looked into and there was an insurance that would pay the volunteers a specified amount after they have served a specific number of years of service. Dianne Lansing asked if times the squad members are available is declared. Danny said yes and they are using an online company – I am responding. Councilwoman LaPine wanted to know what the letter of support was legally binding for. Danny stated it is for the DOH application. The turning over of the equipment to the Town and the Town turning back over the equipment to Willsboro-Essex EMS was discussed. The Willsboro-Essex EMS is a 501C3 not for profit.
Olive Alexander asked whether or not the ambulance service would have go out to bid before a contract is signed was discussed. The budget for the Willsboro-Essex EMS was discussed. How will the money collected from billing will affect the budget of the Town and the EMS was discussed.
Norma Goff asked if anyone from the County was coming to discuss the project on Beggs Point road. Norma is very concerned about the depth of the drainage ditches.
Supervisor Boisen stated that no one from the County was coming tonight. She said that they would be willing to come and meet with residents or come to a meeting at the Town Hall. Dianne Lansing asked for an explanation of the project. Supervisor Boisen
Stated that the storm drains have needed repair for some time now and this is the County’s responsibility. The project was originally scheduled for the summer of 2012. Supervisor Boisen and Jim Morgan met in 2012 or 2011 with the County. It was mentioned at various Board meetings that the County was going to put in new storm drains. The water would be cleaned before it went back into the lake. Supervisor Boisen asked if they could postpone the project, since the Town was torn up with the summer before with the sewer project. Supervisor Boisen asked if they could come down to the Town Hall with the storm drains. That posed a problem since the State owns the right of way at the blinking light. They did agree to come to the corner of School Street. They are not going down Orchard Street. Supervisor Boisen stated she talked with the County and they assured her that they will not allow a safety hazard to exist and the ditch will not be any different when the project is completed than it was before.
Norma stated that the residents in that area need to know exactly what is going to be done. We need satisfaction in knowing what to expect. Right know the ditches are seven feet across we have measured them. The ditches are 30 inches deep. They are very unattractive and do not look good in the historic distract. We feel this is a safety hazard for cars, bicycles and other things using the road. Supervisor
Boisen stated the ditch is not done it is deeper than when the project is finished.
Supervisor Boisen stated that she only knows what she was told and the ditches are deeper now than when project is finished. This was an engineered project and the engineer is here every day. They will talk with individuals or at a group meeting.
There will be some changes at the end of Beggs since that have hit ledges. Norma would like to have the ditch at Beggs covered an open ditch will be very dangerous. Norma wanted to know what will be done if the ditches do work as they are suppose to. How does this filtration system work. This a concern since for now our drinking water comes from the lake. Supervisor Boisen said she would find out how the filtration system works. Norma stated she would like to see the plans and a map if one has been created.
Todd Goff voiced his concerns and wanted to know who in the T own approved this project and allowed them to use Town property. Supervisor Boisen stated that we have no choice. Todd felt that the Town should have had a say on this. Why was the County able to just come and need no permits or Town permission? Did anyone see the plans and ask what they were going to do. Someone had to give them permission and it angered me a little bit that no one in Town was consulted about this project. Supervisor stated that she and Jim Morgan met with the County and Dave Reckon was here. They discussed the project and at that time there were no detailed plans. Supervisor Boisen stated the County has jurisdiction over the Town. It is a good project and it is important that the roads are safe for our residents and visitors. Todd is not concerned about the project itself .I am concerned about them crossing onto Town property and the Town was proper consulted. If they were given permission without Town Board or Planning approval or put it up for public discussion that is wrong. The wall was discussed and since it was considered an emergency Mr. Jackson went ahead and had the work done. The residents were not happy about this but it needed to be done. The work being done is destroying Town property and the yards are a mess down there. There is a huge ditch and it does create a problem. LOU Comeau voiced his concerns about the ditch. Lou felt that money is an issue. And the County is trying to keep the budget down. Lou wondered if the Town should fix the ditch. Councilman MacDougal wondered if drainage tiles would be choice and then fill the ditch in. Supervisor Boisen said she would ask Tony LaVinge if this would be possible. There will be more water than ever before and there will be a greater possibily of basements being flooded. We asked them to run a conduit from Main Street straight to Beggs Park so it would be a closed system. We could not address this ahead of time since we were not part of the planning process. If they had come to the Town plans could have been made to put in a proper system. Now we have a safety issue and a liability to our personal property and aesthetically it looks horrible. Councilman MacDougal stated that you are likely to have water drain out of the ground into the ditch. Supervisor Boisen said she would be happy to schedule an evening meeting so Todd could attend. It could be a full Board meeting or a private meeting so you can understand the process. Supervisor Boisen said she can’t help but feel that you think that the Town approved something without public input. The dotted is the Town had no jurisdiction to approve or not approve this project. They did come and discuss the project with Jim Morgan and me. We did not have great detail at that time. Norma said she feels that the County is at fault. They should have come to the Town and held a hearing. They should have a public information type meeting. Councilman MacDougal said he agreed with that statement. Supervisor Boisen said there was no approval on her end of the project. I was in support of the project as was Jim Morgan. We did not have complete details at that time. The details of the project changed. It was discussed how the County should have come to the Town and informed the Town Board and the resident what the plans were for this project. Todd Goff feels that Town Board failed the Town residents by not getting more information on exactly what was going to be done. Dianne Lansing asked who would be liable if an accident occurs because of the depth of the ditches. Supervisor Boisen said it would probably be the Town’s responsibility. Councilwoman LaPine said that whoever comes from the County that she wants to meet with him and wants to see the plans. Councilman Wrisley stated that a drain pipe on his property was ins5talled by the County and that anything that affect a County project the County has jurisdiction. Councilman Wrisley said he felt that the County should have come and held a meeting so the resident would know what was going to happen. Supervisor Boisen said that when a meeting is held that we could ask if the Town could fill in the ditches or would this cause a problem with the storm drains. Lou Comeau talked about the storm drain on the Church Street side of his property and the problems with it. Supervisor Boisen will get a meeting setup with the County and the Town residents and the Board.
Approval of minutes
March 21st, 2013 Regular Board meeting were approved as presented. Motion
to accept minutes was made by Councilwoman LaPine. Seconded by Councilman MacDougal. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes, Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
March 25th, 2013 Special Board meeting was approved as presented. Motion to approve minutes made by Councilman Wrisley. Seconded by Councilwoman LaPine. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman
MacDougal-abstain, Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
April 3rd, minutes-Special Board. Motion to approve minutes as presented was made by Councilwoman LaPine. Seconded by Councilman Wrisley. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal- Abstain, Councilman Garvey-abstain and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
The bills were presented and reviewed by the Board. Motion to accept bills as presented was by Councilman MacDougal. Seconded by Councilman Garvey. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal- yes, Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
The Zoning Officer report was presented and discussed by the Board. Motion to
accept the March report made by Councilman Wrisley. Seconded by Councilman Garvey. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes, Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
Supervisor’s County Report
The issue now that the Supervisors are working on is the change of hours for closing time at bars.
There is list of items that the residents of Horace Nye could use to brighten their rooms.
Committee meetings
The Personnel committee has met and are working on job description and the Employee Manual. They will meet again on5/23/13 at 6PM at the Town Hall.
The Grange Hall committee met at 6PM on 4/18/13. The MOU was discussed.
The committee is waiting for a budget from them.
Councilman MacDougal is trying to get a Building and Grounds meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 24th.
Old Business
Ground water capital project update
The hydro geologist came Monday to run test on new sites. The results of the tests are not immediate and will have to wait for the reports.
Water Connection fees
Town received a letter in in August of 2012 from Barbara Kunzi, which Supervisor
Boisen had no knowledge of. Councilman Wrisley spoke with Barbara and she knows she is not due the $300 refund. She understands the law now. She wants to know why she is paying for water on her tax bill. Supervisor Boisen feels that the Nextel money the Town receives should be used for all water users.
New Business
Letter of Support for Willsboro/Essex EMS was discussed. Supervisor Boisen will compose the letter and email it the Board members to review before she sends it.
The contract for drug testing was discussed. Supervisor Boisen stated that the contract with Dr. Josh did not work out and she would like to contract with Standard Medical.
Motion to authorize Supervisor Boisen to sign the contract with Standard Medical was made by Councilman Garvey. Seconded by Councilman Wrisley. Roll call
Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes
Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
The wall facing was discussed. Motion to authorize Supervisor Boisen to sign
the contract with AES Engineering for wall facing project was made by Councilman Garvey. Second by Councilman Wrisley. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
The Town Clerk’s report was present and discussed by the Board. Motion to accept
Town Clerk report as presented was made by Councilman MacDougal. Second by Councilman Garvey. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
The Tax collector’s report was presented to the Board and was discussed. Motion
To accept report as presented was made by Councilman Garvey. Second by
Councilman MacDougal. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
Water/Sewer Rents report was present. It was discussed by the Board. Motion to accept report as presented was made by Councilman Garvey. Second by Councilman MacDougal. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
Supervisor’s report was presented and discussed by the Board. Motion to accept
Report as presented was made by Councilwoman LaPine. Second by Councilman
Wrisley. Roll call Councilman Wrisley-yes, Councilwoman LaPine-yes, Councilman MacDougal-yes Councilman Garvey-yes and Supervisor Boisen-yes.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:13 PM.
Respectfully submitted
Audrey Hoskins, Town Clerk
