JULY 13, 2020
The thirteenth regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lakewood, N.Y., was held Monday, July 13, 2020, 6:30 PM. This meeting was being held via Zoom.us video to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare during the COVID-19 Pandemic. With Mayor Randall G. Holcomb presiding, Trustees participating were Ellen E. Barnes, R. Richard Fischer, Edward J. McCague and Douglas L. Schutte. Also participating through Zoom.us were Village Clerk Mary B. Currie, Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman, Department of Public Works Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling, Fire Chief Kurt Hallberg and Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso. Absent were Police Chief John R. Bentley and Building Inspector Jeffrey A. Swanson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Trustee Schutte, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to approve the minutes of the last regular meeting of the Board of Trustees held June 22, 2020.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
AUDIT OF CLAIMS
Motion by Trustee Schutte, seconded by Trustee McCague, that the claims as audited by the Auditing Committee of the abstract dated July 13, 2020, be approved and that the Clerk shall execute said abstract (#7) and direct payment by the Treasurer. General Fund: $ 43,100.63, (Checks #16958 through #17005).
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
REPORTS
Mayor Randall G. Holcomb began his report by asking for a moment of silence in honor of a long time member of the Board of Trustees, Hans P.B. Christensen, who passed away July 4th.
Mayor Holcomb also wished Trustee Ellen E. Barnes a happy birthday.
Mayor Holcomb said he is happy to announce the Village Offices are open again and is hoping to be able to hold the next Board of Trustees meeting in the board room of the Village Hall.
Mayor Holcomb said he has appointed Mr. Gary Segrue as chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals to fill the vacancy when Mr. William Chandler stepped down as chairman earlier this year.
Mayor Holcomb wished to thank Highway Superintendent Tom Pilling for all the hard work he has done with the NYSERDA Grant and received word today that everything has been accepted and is nearing completion.
Mayor Holcomb said he received a phone call from a W. Summit St. resident who was very concerned about the condition of the lake and lakeshore. He asked Trustee Ted McCague if he has an update or has heard anything from the Alliance since the treatment of herbicides in the lake.
Trustee McCague said he has not received any feedback on the post treatment or on the lakefront of Sherman’s Bay.
Department of Public Works Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling said he has been in contact with National Grid about the adjustments for the lighting bill and all the lampposts on Chautauqua Ave. have been transferred to LED.
Trustee R. Richard Fischer wished to thank Supervisor Pilling for painting the flag pole at Veterans Park and commented on how nice the plaque will look when it is put back in place.
Trustee McCague indicated he has received a few questions, in his capacity with the Alliance, in regards to the status of the Crescent Creek project and that it looks like nothing is happening.
DPW Supervisor Pilling said a lot has happened, they are about 80 percent complete with the project. He said all that is left is to make the forebay and finish planting and seeding, over 300 plants have been planted to date. He noted there are still more plants and vegetation to be planted and next week more oversized rock will be delivered to allow work to begin building the forebay. He said after this work is complete, it will be ready to go.
Mr. Pilling said if anyone ever has questions about a project, they are always welcome to visit the site.
Police Chief John R. Bentley submitted the Lakewood-Busti Police Department’s Incident Analysis Report noting the L-BPD has had four hundred eighty-five incidents for the period of June 22, 2020 to July 13, 2020.
Fire Chief Kurt Hallberg submitted his report for the Lakewood Fire Department stating there has been four hundred fifty-three alarms so far this year, twenty-five of which have been in the month of July and sixty-two were in the month of June.
Chief Hallberg also reported the Lakewood Fire Department has resumed truck inspections, meetings and drills with the proper Covid-19 precautions in place. The county has resumed weekly radio checks and so far the fire department is proceeding as normal as possible.
Chief Hallberg also wished to thank the Board of Trustees and Village Residents for all their support.
Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso gave an update on the two parcels of land which are being transferred from the Town of Busti to the Village of Lakewood for the Grandview Project. He said the surveys and the legal descriptions have been completed. Mr. LaMancuso said he is working with the Attorney for the Town of Busti to get it closed and asked if anyone has the plans for the project, could they e-mail them to him so he can make sure the plans are consistent with the survey and other documents.
Mr. LaMancuso also indicated he is in the process of making some minor changes to the Chautauqua Lake Sailing Foundation Agreement. Some of the changes he is proposing is to allow them to hang a banner along the fence at the park during the term of their program and ask them to maintain that section of the fence. Another change will be to allow them to place no more than two (2) Sandwich Ad Boards along Chautauqua Ave. or Terrace Ave.
The Board of Trustees agreed to the changes Mr. LaMancuso suggested with the stipulation the Sandwich Ad Boards only go up during the day when they are holding their programs.
Mayor Holcomb indicated he would talk to the Sailing Foundation and get back to the board on their thoughts.
Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman reported she has been in contact with Edmunds Gov. and due to COVID-19 the new software “go live” date has been pushed back to December.
Ms. Troutman also reported that for the next three (3) days she will be attending an on-line training through the Office of the State Comptroller. She indicated it was the training she was scheduled to go to in March which was cancelled and has been changed to an on-line course.
Trustee McCague asked Treasurer Troutman if she could look into some additional reporting to the Board of Trustees in regards to the notice from the Office of the State Comptroller on proper fiscal oversite. The notice indicates the receipt of review is now more crucial than ever with financial information rapidly changing.
Trustee McCague asked Treasurer Troutman if she could look into some additional reporting in a concise format to present to the board that would keep them very up to date and in tune with what is going on financially.
Building Inspector Jeff Swanson reported the YWCA has requested to place a bounce house on their East Terrace property and he is waiting for a response from the Chautauqua County Health Department on regulations of bounce houses at this time.
Mr. Swanson also reported he has received plans for a new dwelling on the corner of W. Summit St. and Sunset Ave. and is in the process of reviewing the plans.
RESOLUTION #112-2020 – AUTHORIZE HIRING OF NEW DPW EMPLOYEE
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Fischer, for the Board of Trustees to authorize the hiring of Mr. Cory Stevens, Ashville, NY as a DPW Machine Equipment Operator to replace Jeff Wadsworth who resigned from his position. Per the recommendation of DPW Supervisor Thomas Pilling, Mr. Stevens start date will be July 15, 2020 and be compensated at a rate of $18.25/hr.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #113-2020 – APPROVE NEW LAKEWOOD FIRE DEPARTMENT MEMBERS
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, that the Board of Trustees, acting as the Board of Fire Commissioners, approve Mr. James Davis, 54 New York Ave., Lakewood, Mr. Nate Card, 2023 Shadyside Rd., Lakewood, Mr. Colin Melquist, 2377 West Lake Rd., Ashville and Mr. Garrett Swan, 57 N. Butts Ave., WE Jamestown, NY as new members of the Lakewood Volunteer Fire District, also grant Mr. Swan out of district status and accept the resignation of Jake Arrance.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #114-2020 – AUTHORIZE THE USE OF RICHARD O. HARTLEY PARK
Motion by Trustee McCague, seconded by Trustee Barnes, that the Board of Trustees authorize the use of Richard O. Hartley Park, as requested by Sue Tillotson, Bonnie Loch Fiddlers, to perform a free concert on August 4, 2020 from 7-9 PM.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #115-2020 – AUTHORIZE BUDGET TRANSFER
Motion by Trustee Schutte, seconded by Trustee Barnes, that the Board of Trustees authorize Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman to make a $3,001.20 budget transfer from A-9060.80 {Hospital & Medical Insurance} to A-9060.81 {Insurance Buy-Outs} to account for Zach Johnson’s medical insurance buy out per Article VIII, Section 4 of the Village of Lakewood Personnel Policies & Procedures.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
DISCUSSION ON SALE OF VILLAGE OWNED PROPERTY
Ms. Elizabeth A. Snow, 300 Lakecrest Ave., has submitted a request to purchase a 50 ft. portion of Midcrest Ave., and Mr. Bruce Moran has submitted a request to purchase the paper street Gorden Ave., from the Village of Lakewood.
Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso said typically before any property owned by the Village of Lakewood can transfer ownership the Board of Trustees will need to make a resolution stating the property is no longer needed for village use. There will have to be a public hearing scheduled, the property will have to be surveyed, which is usually done by the seller, a legal description will need to be prepared and the property should be appraised to determine what the fair market value would be.
Trustee McCague said he would not be in favor of the sale of the two properties. He said they are right-of-ways for the village and someday could be essential for village use.
Trustee Barnes suggested tabling the request until it is determined if there are any utilities on the properties and the Trustees have an opportunity to visit the properties and determine if there could be a use for them in the future.
RESOLUTION #116-2020 – TABLE REQUEST TO PURCHASE VILLAGE OWNED PROPERTY
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee McCague, to table any action on the sale of village owned property until the next Board of Trustees meeting on July 27, 2020.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
PRESENTATION BY BARTON & LOGUIDICE
Ms. Nicole Cleary, Mr. Dave Haney and Mr. Tom Robinson from Barton & Loguidice, the engineering consultant for the village on the Chautauqua Ave., Green Street Retrofit Project, shared a power point presentation to update the Mayor and members of the Board of Trustees on this project.
Ms. Nicole Cleary, Landscape Architect, said at the last presentation back in March the project was at the 30 percent design phase. She said they are currently between the 75 percent and the 100 percent phase. They have submitted the 75 percent drawings and specifications to the EFC, the funding agency, on July 2nd and are waiting for their comments as well as the project teams comments before finalizing the 100 percent big documents.
Ms. Cleary reviewed the concept plan, went over the prospective sketch and the construction schedule. She said they are hoping the project will begin after Labor Day 2020, with construction complete before Memorial Day 2021.
RECESS
Motion by Trustee Schutte, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to recess the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees at 7:52 PM, so as to enter into executive session to discuss Police Contract Negotiations.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Present at the executive session were Mayor Randall G. Holcomb, Trustee Ellen E. Barnes, Trustee Edward J. McCague. Trustee Douglas L. Schutte, Trustee R. Richard Fischer, Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso, Village Clerk Mary B. Currie and Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman.
EXECUTIVE SESSION (Adjournment)
Motion by Trustee McCague, seconded by Trustee Barnes and unanimously carried to adjourn the executive session and regular Board of Trustees meeting at 8:40 PM.
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Mary B. Currie
Village Clerk
