September 16, 2009 Town Board Meeting Minutes

Present:
Richard Knox - Town Supervisor
Carol Coller - Councilwoman - arrived @ 7:05
Evah Foster - Councilwoman
Courtney Jeanette - Councilwoman
David Whiteford - Councilman
Tess Eells - Town Clerk
Larry White - Highway Superintendent

Guests:
Jack White
Bobby Knox
Fred Morrill
Jane Powers
Donna Goodwin
Bill Howard

The meeting was called to order at 7:02pm by Supervisor Knox.

Acceptance of the minutes:

A motion was made by Councilwoman Foster and seconded by Councilwoman Jeanette to accept the minutes from 08/19 as presented by the Town Clerk.

Coller - absent
Jeanette - yes
Foster - yes
Knox - yes
Whiteford - yes

Motion carried.

Jane Powers & Donna Goodwin - Explaining the pros and cons of a REVAL.

Supervisor Knox stated he has received calls from tax payers who want to know why Russell does a REVAL every 3 years and some other towns do not.

Jane is from Real Property Tax Services and Donna is the Assessor for the Town of Russell.

Jane stated that the assessor has to do whatever the town board wants her/him to do when it comes to a REVAL; if the board doesn’t want one then they instruct the assessor not to do one. Since 2006 all the towns have done a REVAL but 4; Clare, Parishville, Fowler and Colton. Some towns do annual REVALS and some are tri-annual. The Tri-annual Revals seem to cause fewer problems because taxpayers expect some changes every 3 years. Jane stated that if the town gets off the tri-annual schedule than it will cause a bigger increase in taxes when a REVAL is done. The Town of Russell’s equalization rate is 93% this year which is good. Jane recommends the town to stick to the tri-annual REVAL for 2010. She stated that Donna needs the support of the board for the REVAL.

Donna stated that it is not up to her if the town does a REVAL it is up to the board. She stated that she has been putting places on the tax roll that have been built that were not on the roll, the owners never got a building permit. And it is not fair to the rest of the town taxpayers that they are not paying their share of taxes. She will do whatever the board instructs her to do.

A discussion about state lands being taxed at 100% value was carried on.

Resolution #81: Continuing with the 2010 REVAL

A motion was made by Supervisor Knox and seconded by Councilman Whiteford to continue ahead with the REVAL for 2010 and bringing the assessment value up to 100%. The MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING for the REVAL was signed by Supervisor Knox and the assessor Donna Goodwin.

Coller - yes
Jeanette - yes
Foster - yes
Knox - yes
Whiteford - yes

Motion carried.

REPORTS

Town Clerk's Report:

We sold 12 dog licenses, 5 building permits, 2 marriage licenses, 7 certified copies, pavilion electric use and $4,096.00 in DECALS for a total revenue for the month of August of $4,315.00. I searched the minutes and boxes in the store room and found nothing pertaining to a 99 year lease for the ball field.

Supervisor's Report:

1. The financial records for the month of August have been turned into the Town Clerk.

2. The Town received $89.66 from the NY Power Authority in lieu of taxes.

3. The Town received $1,880.00 from the Town Justice for August for court fines.

4. The Town received $650.00 from E.J. Noble Hospital for rent.

Highway Superintendent Report: Larry White

1. We have completed cutting shoulders on the Dutton, Cemetery, Town Line, Cassidy, Pyrites-Russell and a section of Lazy River and Burnell roads.

2. We replaced a section of fence on the Pyrites-Russell road that was removed when cutting brush to give room to repair the shoulders.

3. We completed the siding on the Museum/Common building and removed the ramp and graded in front of the Health Center.

4. We sealed a section of Dana Hill and Belleville roads.

5. We are working on the Cole road most of the trees have been removed and we should have enough fire wood for the barn. I am still looking for a pipe to store the wood in.

6. We continue to go through all the trucks and are getting them ready for inspection.

7. The men have all worked well with good progress and I thank them.

Legislature Report: Fred Morrill

1. The County budget is a challenge; I voted to leave it on the table to increase the sales tax; we asked for a budget to be brought to the table without the sales tax increase. The big cuts would be to the Highway Department and Sheriff’s Department. Larry White stated that a sales tax increase would seem to be fairer. Fred stated that sales tax is regressive. He proposed to take sales tax off the essentials like fuel, clothing and food, it was voted down.

2. Fred asked how the election went with the new machines. There were concerns about the lighting over the privacy booths and the issue of privacy in the booths.

DCO Report: Jack White

• Jack stated that as of now he is over in his budget; his account was cut 15%. He feels more money will have to be transferred back in to get him through the rest of the year. He cannot predict the amount of dogs he has to have euthanized or adopted.

• Supervisor Knox stated that the 15% cut was because the amount of sales tax was not predictable. Money will be transferred to cover the expenses.

CEO Report:

Supervisor Knox stated that because Ike had an accident and is off work the work is not getting done. Tess has been handling it as of this far. Supervisor Knox asked the board how they felt about hiring Bill Howard to cover for Ike until he is back.

Resolution #82: Temporary CEO (Bill Howard)

A motion was made by Supervisor Knox and seconded by Councilwoman Foster to hire William Howard as a temporary CEO for Ike Guyette at the pay of $350.00 a month and .45 per mileage.

Coller - yes
Jeanette - yes
Foster - yes
Knox - yes
Whiteford - yes

Motion carried.

Supervisor Knox asked Bill to do a follow up with Danny Beachard for the variance that he was suppose to write for putting his trailer in the town of Russell.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Resolution #83: Audit

A motion was made by Supervisor Knox and seconded by Councilwoman Jeanette to pay the following bills:

General vouchers # 307 to 337: $11,215.42
Highway vouchers # 160 to 175: $24,140.18
Street Lighting voucher #9:   Russell $361.95
                                        DeGrasse 115.76
                                                     $477.71

Coller - yes
Jeanette - yes
Foster - yes
Knox - yes
Whiteford - yes

Motion carried.

AMP Report:

N/A

Ball Field:

N/A

Highway:

• Councilman Whiteford asked the highway superintendent if he took fill to Mr. Larose on Fordham Hill yet. Mr. White stated they were going to but no one was home at the time and it was not marked where he wanted it. Supervisor Knox phoned Mr. Larose and asked him to flag where he wants the fill.

• Superintendent White stated he received a paper from the State of New York Department of transportation concerning High Risk Rural Roads Program (HRRRP). Larry stated that the town could get some guiderails at 100% funding from this federal grant if we qualify. He would like authorization to apply for the grant. He will call and ask how long it would take to receive the grant money if we qualify; he is getting some estimates on the areas that need the guiderails.

Resolution #84: HRRRP Grant

A motion was made by Supervisor Knox and seconded by Councilman Whiteford authorizing the Highway Superintendent Larry White to write a application for a grant for 100% federal funding for High Risk Rural Roads Program (HRRRP) for guiderails from the State of New York Department of Transportation the deadline is October 30th for the application.

Coller - yes
Jeanette - yes
Foster - yes
Knox - yes
Whiteford - yes

Motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS:

Carmen wanted to know if he was getting a plow for his tractor this year. The board will get the price for a snow blower attachment for the tractor with weights. They feel a plow is not necessary. Tess will get the model # and fax it over to LeBerge & Curtis for a quote.

NEW BUSINESS:

• Councilwoman Foster stated that the BOE wants the town to store the privacy booths; she feels if the old refrigerator was taken away then they could be stored in the kitchen. The highway men will remove the refrigerator.

• Supervisor Knox stated that the Town of Edwards sent over the budget for the Summer Youth Program; he feels they want more money budgeted. He checked what was budgeted for this year and we have enough in there to cover an increase.

• Supervisor Knox asked Superintendent White if there was anything on the surplus sheet from the DOT that he was interested in. Superintendent White stated he was going to call on a couple of items.

• Supervisor Knox asked the board how they feel about taking possession of a small piece of Property between KUNOCO and the park. They agree it would be beneficial.

Resolution #85: Parcel # 147.028-4-22

A motion was made by Supervisor Knox and seconded by Councilman Whiteford to have Supervisor Knox contact Bob McNeil at the St. Lawrence County Treasurers Office stating that the Town of Russell is interested in obtaining the Parcel # 147.028-4-22 located on County Route 24 that is adjoining to the towns park, lot size 25 feet front x 33 feet depth.

Coller - yes
Jeanette - yes
Foster - yes
Knox - yes
Whiteford - yes

Motion carried.

A budget meeting will be held on October 5th at 7:00pm @ the Town Hall; to be advertised by the Town Clerk.

Public Discussion

• Evah stated that it was a good year for the theater; it will be done with concerts for the year. They met with Mr. Bryan Thomson from Dekalb; he looked over the theater and gave suggestions on how to repair the wall with the big crack and he feels that if the wall was spot checked with plain water and a soft rag they may be cleaned. He gave a name of randy Crawford of CRAWFORD & STEARN, they are Architects and Preservation Planners to see if a grant would be possible for helping with the theater.

• Bill Howard asked when the roof will get repaired on the town hall. Supervisor Knox stated that he has a call into RSI to fix it.

• Supervisor Knox stated he is still not happy with Tisdel associates. They have not done anything about the stimulus. He will call them one more time and at the next meeting on the 5th the board can decide whether to terminate their contract or not.

Adjournment:

A motion was made by Supervisor Knox and seconded by Councilman Whiteford to adjourn the meeting @ 8:55pm. All were in favor.