NOVEMBER 8, 2021
The twenty-first regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lakewood, N.Y., was held Monday, November 8, 2021, 6:40 PM, (due to technical difficulty with Zoom.us) with Mayor Randall G. Holcomb presiding. Trustees Ellen E. Barnes, and R. Richard Fischer were also present. Trustees Edward J. McCague participated by phone and Trustee Douglas L. Schutte participated via Zoom.us. Also present were Village Clerk Mary B. Currie, Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Julie C. Toennis, Police Chief Christopher A. DePonceau, Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso, DPW Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling and Fire Chief Kurt Hallberg. Absent were Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman and Building Inspector Jeff Swanson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to approve the minutes of the last regular meeting of the Board of Trustees held October 25, 2021.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
AUDIT OF CLAIMS
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, that the claims as audited by the Board of Trustees for the abstracts dated November 8, 2021, be approved and that the Clerk shall execute said abstracts (#25 & #25) and direct payment by the Treasurer. General Fund: $ 139,154.31, (checks #18312 through #18349), Trust & Agency Fund: $ 52,877.24 (checks #6056 and #6057). Voided check #18330, M & T Bank ACH.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
REPORTS
Department of Public Works Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling reported the DPW has begun the annual leaf pick-up and will continue until the plows need to be put on the trucks. He said the Concession Stand at LaGrega field and the Water Fountain at Bark Park have been winterized and said the boat ramp dock at Community Park is scheduled to be removed Thursday, November 11th and the beach house is scheduled to be winterized on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.
Police Chief Christopher A. DePonceau reported the Lakewood-Busti Police Department has had six hundred seventy-nine incidents from October 12, 2021 to November 8, 2021. Chief DePonceau said two hundred three of those were area and business checks, twenty-six were accidents, forty-eight were property checks, twenty were shop liftings and eighty-seven were vehicle stops.
Fire Chief Kurt Hallberg reported the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department has had eight hundred twenty-nine alarms year to date, with seventeen so far in the month of November. Chief Hallberg said Captain Tom Allen has been doing a lot of training at the burn building including bail outs from the tower. The training includes participation with other fire departments in the area as well. Captain Allen has also been working on a propane fed car simulator which should be ready soon. Chief Hallberg said the work on the pole barn is complete and the rescue boat has been stored in it for the winter.
Mr. Dave Card, 38 Chautauqua Ave., presented Chief Hallberg with an envelope from the Abbot family as a thank you for helping their son and brother who was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ashville.
Village Clerk Mary B. Currie presented to the board a re-opening ceremony on Chautauqua Ave. in hopes to bring business back to our local merchants. Everyone was in agreement and thought it was a great idea. The celebration which will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 20, 2021 from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
RESOLUTION #199-2021 – APPROVE EMPLOYEE HEALTHCARE PLAN FOR 2021
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, for the Board of Trustees to approve the Univera Healthcare Plan – Access Gold 2, as the healthcare plan for eligible Village of Lakewood employees for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2022.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
DISCUSSION ON VILLAGE OWNED RIGHT-OF-WAYS
Mayor Holcomb asked Fire Chief Hallberg to discuss the importance of the village owned right-of-ways.
Chief Hallberg explained the main concern is access to the lake, should they need more water while putting out fires and to get as close to the lake as possible if there is ever a rescue needed. There are four inch pipes that run down Terrace Ave. but they are extremely old and fire hydrants can freeze. The fire department needs enough room to not only get the fire truck down the right-of-way but they need room to work off of it.
Mr. Dudley Erickson, 161 Front St., was in attendance and spoke about the size of the boat lifts on the Glenwood Ave. right-of-way. He said they block his view of the lake and doesn’t feel they should be allowed there. He also indicated that he owns a piece of property on the right-of-way and doesn’t feel it should be used by just anyone, since it is his private property. Mr. Erickson asked if the letter that was sent to him was aimed at the neighbors on the Glenwood Ave. right-of-way or if all neighbor on other right-of-ways received one.
Clerk Currie explained that all residents with a house next to each of the right-of-ways received one.
Mrs. Currie indicated she has been in contact with Mr. Colin Randolph owner of 159 E. Terrace Ave., and he told her his boat lifts are scheduled to be removed from the water as soon as the one that is in front of his is removed.
Mr. Gary Padack, 159 Front St., asked why this is all of a sudden being enforced and indicated he has been storing his dock and boat lift on the right-of-way for fifteen years.
Trustee Barnes said the right-of-ways have always been an issue and unfortunately the village hasn’t been enforcing it. She said the right-of-ways are village owned property and there are very specific rules on file at the Village Hall. Any person who holds a permit for one of the public right-of-ways has to follow the rules and Mr. Randolph has been following the rules that were approved by the Board of Trustees when he applied for that permit.
Trustee Fischer said there are currently four right-of-ways that he believes the fire trucks would have problems getting to the lake. He said they are Maple Ave., Oakland Ave., Canal Ave. and Glenwood Ave.
Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso said unless someone is given permission to use the right-of-way, whether the rules are in writing or not, they cannot use that property to store anything.
Trustee McCague agreed with Trustee Barnes and said notices should be sent to property owners now so they have a fair amount of time to start making plans for next year. Mr. McCague also suggested whoever performs the audits of the right-of-ways should take pictures and bring all the data on each right-of-way to the Board of Trustees for a decision to be made.
RESOLUTION #200-2021 – STORAGE OF DOCKS AND BOAT LIFTS ON VILLAGE OWNED RIGHT-OF-WAYS
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Fischer, that the Board of Trustees allow the abutting property owners of village owned right-of-ways, who have already stored their docks and/or boat lifts on the right-of-ways be permitted to leave them there for this winter only, providing they do not block any possible emergency access. The expectation for next year will be no one is to store anything on a village owned right-of-way except for the dock/boat lifts which are granted by permit. In future years anything stored on a public right-of-way, by someone other than the permit holder, will have the items removed at the owners cost.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #201-2021 – ACCEPT LAKEWOOD-BUSTI POLICE OFFICER RESIGNATION
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to accept the resignation of Lakewood-Busti Police Officer, John Schauman effective November 9, 2021. Officer Schauman has worked as a part-time police officer for the L-BPD since May 11, 2021 and has accepted a full time position with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
Trustee Barnes wished him well in his new endeavor.
Trustee Fischer said he is a great guy and he has enjoyed speaking with him.
RESOLUTION #202-2021 – APPROVE HIRING PART TIME POLICE OFFICER
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Fischer, to approve hiring Mr. Joshua P. Peters, as a part-time Police Officer with the Lakewood-Busti Police Department. Per the recommendation of Police Chief Christopher L. DePonceau, Officer Peters’ date of hire will be November 9, 2021 and he will be compensated at the rate of $16.49/hr.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
DISCUSSION ON POLICE PREMIUM PAY
Chief DePonceau said he would like to pay his part time police officers an extra two dollars per hour when they work on a national holiday. He said the pay would come out of the part time police budget instead of the overtime budget and felt it would be a good incentive for more of them to volunteer to work on holidays.
RESOLUTION #203-2021 – PART TIME POLICE PREMIUM PAY
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to approve paying part time police officers an extra two dollars per hour when working on a national holiday.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Fischer, to recess the regular meeting at 7:30 PM, so as to enter into executive session to discuss a personnel matter.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Present at the executive session, were Mayor Randall G. Holcomb, Trustee Ellen E. Barnes, Trustee Douglas L. Schutte, Trustee R. Richard Fischer, Trustee Edward J. McCague, Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso, Village Clerk Mary B. Currie and DPW Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling.
EXECUTIVE SESSION (Adjournment)
Motion by Trustee Schutte, seconded by Trustee Fischer and unanimously carried to adjourn the executive session and re-open the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees at 8:05 PM.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #204-2021 – APPROVE PROMOTION & HOURLY WAGE INCREASE FOR DPW EMPLOYEE
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, upon the recommendation of DPW Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling, for the Board of Trustees to approve the promotion of DPW employee Mr. Ryan Vik, to Machine Equipment Operator (MEO) and a wage increase of $ 1.00/hour. The promotion and wage increase will begin on November 9, 2021 which will be Mr. Vik’s 6 year anniversary of working for the village.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
REGULAR MEETING (Adjournment)
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Schutte and unanimously carried to adjourn the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees at 8:07 PM.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, McCague, Schutte)
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Julie C. Toennis
Deputy Village Clerk
