MARCH 26, 2018
The fifth regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lakewood, NY, was held Monday, March 26, 2018 at 6:30 PM, with Deputy Mayor Edward J. McCague presiding. Trustees present were Ellen E. Barnes, Randall G. Holcomb and Douglas L. Schutte. Also present were Deputy Village Clerk Mary B. Currie, Village Treasurer Andrea J. Windoft, Police Chief John R. Bentley, Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso, Public Works Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling, Fire Chief Steve Smouse and Building Inspector Jeffrey A. Swanson. Absent were Mayor Cara Birrittieri and Village Clerk Joseph M. Johnson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Trustee Schutte, seconded by Trustee Holcomb, to approve the minutes of the last regular meeting of the Board of Trustees, held March 12, 2018.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
AUDIT OF CLAIMS
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Holcomb, that the claims as audited by the Auditing Committee of the abstracts dated March 26, 2018, be approved and that the Clerk shall execute said abstracts (#41, #42), and direct payment by the Treasurer. Trust & Agency Fund: $57,643.03, (Check#4363 thru Check#4371), General Fund: $ 86,149.15, (Checks #14625 thru #14663).
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
REPORTS
Department of Public Works Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling reported that he is waiting to hear from the school on when they can meet to discuss the fuel island. Also that he has met with the engineer for the Crescent Creek Project, he was hoping to be able to do a little clearing but the DEC wants them to wait for now. Mr. Pilling noted the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit has already been completed and submitted.
Police Chief John R. Bentley reported that the Lakewood-Busti Police Department has handled two thousand one hundred eighty-six incidents year-to-date, three hundred sixty-six of which have occurred since the previous meeting. Chief Bentley also reported that the two new Police patrol cars have been ordered.
He then indicated that a couple of the Lakewood-Busti police officers assisted Jamestown and Buffalo Police Departments in a slow speed, hostage taking chase over the weekend which ended with our guys flattening the tires on the car and having a successful apprehension of the guy that had been robbing Taxi Cabs from Buffalo.
Chief Bentley then asked that if anyone ever sees something that might look like a burglary in process to please call the police. He had just been at a home on Park St. Ext. which had been broken into, a couple of the neighbors mentioned they had seen some strange happenings there but never called.
Fire Chief Steve Smouse reported that the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department has responded to one hundred eighty-five calls year-to-date. He thanked Deputy Mayor McCague and Trustee Schutte for recently taking the time to come to the Fire Station for a little tour of the facility.
Deputy Mayor Edward “Ted” McCague indicated that he & Trustee Schutte had gone to the fire station on Tuesday, March 20th which happened to be their training night and that Trustee Schutte participated in a training exercise which they got some good pictures of. Deputy Mayor McCague strongly urged anyone who has never gone to the fire station to go when they have an open house, you can really get a great idea of what it is they do.
Building Inspector Jeffrey Swanson reported that Aspen Dental is moving along rapidly and also that there are a couple of small things coming to the mall. The bad news was that Cummins Engine Plant has withdrawn their plans for the multi-million dollar, 110,000 sq. ft. addition, due to the cost kept getting higher.
Trustee Barnes asked if he knows if it is permanently withdrawn. He believed it is just put on hold for now.
Trustee Barnes asked Mr. Swanson if he knows of any plans Happy Hounds would have for the property they own to the east of their building. He indicated that he has not heard of anything in the works.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Trustee Holcomb reported that the NYSERDA meeting will kick off at 9:30 AM, Thursday, March 29th.
Deputy Mayor McCague said the Zoning Committee has completed the changes to the zoning codes and it is ready to go to a vote. He wanted to thank Trustee Holcomb, recent Planning Board Chair Kaie Smith, William Chandler and Jeff Swanson for all the time and effort they’ve done on making changes to the Zoning Codes for the Village of Lakewood. He also thanked village attorney John I. LaMancuso for monitoring and doing the final work on it.
Deputy Mayor McCague reported that the Planning Implementation Committee has released the new web site to the Mayor and Trustees for their input.
Ms. Kaie Smith said she has heard from Trustee Holcomb, who thought it was great. She is still waiting to hear from the rest of the Trustees, if everyone likes it then it can go to the village attorney so he can look at the legality of it. She was hoping it can be up and running by the middle of April.
Deputy Mayor McCague indicated that he has seen it and thinks it looks great, he believes it is really going to update the image of the village.
Deputy Mayor McCague reported that on Monday March 19th, village planning consultants Eve Holberg and Steve Sandberg met at the village hall with property owners from Chautauqua Ave. to explain to them about the Main Street Grant Program. There was a wonderful showing of property owners and they seemed very interested in what they had to say. There is a form the property owners need to fill out on what they would like to have done to their property, as of right now they have five forms turned in, the deadline is April 2nd.
ANYONE TO BE HEARD
Ms. Harriet Sessler, 130 Erie Street, introduced herself as the new Market Manager for the farmers’ market and wanted to run a few changes by the Board of Trustees before they proceed. First they want to change the name to Lakewood Farmers’ Market and Artisans’ Market, which would be so they can have farmer’s produce and also some craft vendors. Another thing they would like to change is the days. They would like it to be on Thursdays from 2pm to 6pm from June14th thru August 30th. They would also like to change the location from the vacant lot on Chautauqua Ave. to a section of West Terrace Ave., between Chautauqua Ave. and Packard
Way, which they would like to have blocked off. They would like to have some signage and have already talked to Code Enforcement Officer Swanson about that possibility. Ms. Sessler said they are thinking about a temporary sign that could be placed under the Village sign, on the corner of Chautauqua Ave. & Rt. #394. That sign could be easily removed when it is the off season. They would like a few small temporary signs that would just say Farmers Market Today. They could be put up and removed the days of the Market.
Mr. Craig Seger, 31 Winchester Road, handed out a drawing to the Board of Trustees showing what their ideas are for the blocked off section of W. Terrace Ave.
Trustee Barnes asked what they will do if they get more vendors than they anticipate for the blocked off area.
Ms. Sessler felt they would be lucky to have 6 vendors for this year since they are getting a late start in putting the market together. In future years when it grows, they are hoping to have vendors along Chautauqua Ave.
Trustee Barnes asked DPW Supervisor Pilling & Fire Chief Smouse if either of them would have any concerns with closing the small section of W. Terrace Ave. for a few hours.
Mr. Pilling & Mr. Smouse both didn’t see a problem with it being closed.
There was discussion about the Village being the sponsor, vendor fees, & liability insurance which they will be looking into further.
The Board of Trustees thought all the plans that Ms. Sessler & Mr. Seger have made sound great and gave them their blessing to move forward.
Mr. Seger also wanted the Board of Trustees to know that the various committees in the Village have begun accumulating and recording the volunteer hours that they have been putting into the village. He said there are two reasons why this is done, one, because it gives some ammunition when applying for grants and two, when put on the village web-site it will show people what the village is doing. Mr. Seger went on to explain how volunteers will keep track of their hours and get them posted to the web-site.
Ms. Nancy Padak, 159 Front Street, who is the vice president of the Library Board, handed out a packet of information from the library to the Board of Trustees. The packet includes the budget request for next year, an annual report that goes out to the community plus frequently asked questions about their 259 Project. She went on to explain what the library has been doing for the past year, the present and the future. The packets are available at the Village Clerk’s Office for anyone who would be interested in looking at one.
Ms. Karen Dennerlein, 1 Winchester Road, briefly explained the 259 Project and said she would be happy to answer any question that people might have about the 259 Project.
Trustee Holcomb asked Ms. Dennerlein what their feedback on the project has been so far.
Ms. Dennerlein said the big thing is the tax question and that they are worried about their taxes. She said the most important thing is for people to understand that they are going for the same money, it is a flat budget that they are asking for. She went on to explain how the tax part of the project will work and pointed out that all the information is also in the packet.
Trustee Holcomb asked if it is a “yes” vote would it be for both Lakewood and Hazeltine Libraries. Ms. Dennerlein said it would be. She said this would not have to be put up for referendum every year, they would follow the same laws as the school districts do. She continued to answer a few question from the Board of Trustees on the 259 Project.
Deputy Mayor McCague asked if they could explain, if this does go through, how the money would be collected and disbursed.
Library Director, Mary Miller, responded by saying right now they receive money from the Town of Busti in February and money from the Village of Lakewood in June. If the vote goes through they would not receive the money from Southwestern School until January 2019. The request from the Library to the Village of Lakewood is for 2018 funding.
At the Library on April 5th & April 19th at 5:30 pm there will be discussions on the 259 Project for anyone who might have questions or need more information, Ms.
Miller wanted to make sure everyone gets out on May 15th to vote.
RESOLUTION #46-2018 – APPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (SEQR) FORM
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Holcomb to approve the Environmental Assessment form since there is no significant adverse impacts on the environment, in connection with the local laws #1, #2 & #3-2018 as proposed.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #47-2018 – APPROVE AMENDMENTS TO LOCAL ZONING CODE LOCAL LAW #1-2018, LOCAL LAW #2-2018 & LOCAL LAW #3-2018
Motion by Trustee Holcomb, seconded by Trustee Barnes to approve the amendments to the Local Zoning Law, [Chapter 25]. Local Law #1-2018, (Property Maintenance), Local Law #2-2018, (Fences/Walls) and Local Law #3-2018, (Amend Local Law #6-2016, Brush & Yard Waste Management).
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #48-2018 – AUTHORIZE MID-YEAR BUDGET TRANSFER
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Schutte, authorizing Village Treasurer Andrea J. Windoft to make a budget transfer of $ 1,500.00 from Trust and Agency Acct. T-1093.40, [4th of July Celebration] into Acct. A-8510.40, [Community Beautification], in connection with the 50% deposit due for this year’s 4th of July fireworks display.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #49-2018 – AUTHORIZE 25TH ANNUAL GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Motion by Trustee Holcomb, seconded by Trustee Schutte to authorize Mayor Birrittieri, members of the Board of Trustees, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and other Village of Lakewood Officials to attend the 25th Annual Local Government Conference to be held Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at Houghton College, Houghton, N.Y.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #50-2018 – SET TIME & DATE FOR A PUBLIC HEARING
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Schutte, for the Board of Trustees to set 6:45 PM, Monday, April 9, 2018, as the time and date to conduct a public hearing on the Village of Lakewood’s Tentative Budget for the upcoming fiscal year, (06/01/2018 – 05/31/2019), as presented.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
RESOLUTION #51-2018 – UPDATE THE STANDARD WORKDAY AND REPORTING RESOLUTION
Motion by Trustee Holcomb, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to update the Standard Workday and Reporting Resolution to include DPW Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling, Village Clerk Joseph M. Johnson and Village Treasurer Andrea J. Windoft, all who were appointed on January 8, 2018.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Holcomb, McCague, Schutte)
Motion by Trustee Barnes, second by Trustee Holcomb, and unanimously carried the Board adjourned at
7:40 PM.
____________________________
Mary B. Currie
Deputy Village Clerk
