MAY 8, 2023
The ninth regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lakewood, N.Y., was held, Monday, May 8, 2023, 6:30 PM, with Mayor Randall G. Holcomb presiding. Trustees present were Ellen E. Barnes, R. Richard Fischer, Nancy W. Jones and Benjamin J. Troche. Also present were Village Clerk Mary B. Currie, Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman, Police Chief Christopher A. DePonceau and Fire Chief Kurt Hallberg. Absent were Village Attorney John I. LaMancuso, DPW Supervisor Thomas R. Pilling and Building Inspector Jeff Swanson. A work session was held with no action taken.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Jones, to approve the minutes of the last regular meeting of the Board of Trustees held April 24, 2023.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
AUDIT OF CLAIMS
Motion by Trustee Troche, seconded by Trustee Jones, that the claims as audited by the Auditing Committee of the abstracts dated May 8, 2023, be approved and that the Clerk shall execute said abstracts and direct payment by the Treasurer. Abstracts (#50 & #50) Trust & Agency Fund: $ 60,815.26, General Fund: $ 87,036.30, (checks #19722 thru #19756). Voided check #19743, ACH to M&T bank.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
REPORTS
Police Chief Christopher A. DePonceau reported the Lakewood-Busti Police Department has had seven hundred twenty-eight incidents from April 24, 2023 to May 8, 2023 which included two hundred eleven business checks, twelve check well beings, six disorderly people, seven domestic disputes, six larceny complaints, twenty motor vehicle accidents, five peace officer requests, sixty property checks, fifteen shoplifting incidents, eleven suspicious situations, fifteen suspicious people complaints, nine vehicle complaints, one hundred six vehicle stops, and thirty-five warrants that were served and/or entered into the system. He added the L-BPD has handled three thousand one hundred fifty-eight incidents year to date.
Chief DePonceau also said on April 14th he and K-9 handler Sergeant Casselman picked up Sarge, the new canine dog, and said the two of them have already begun the ten (10) weeks of training.
Chief DePonceau said K-9 Officer Miro is now retired and thanked him for his nine years of service and wished him a well-deserved retirement. He also said he would like to thank everyone who donated to the canine fund and indicated donations are still being accepted.
Mr. Michael Zabrodsky, reporter for The Post-Journal, asked Chief DePonceau if he has an update on the new police cars.
Chief DePonceau said the only thing he has heard is that one of them has been assigned a VIN number.
Fire Chief Kurt Hallberg reported the Lakewood Fire Department has responded to three hundred sixty-two alarms year to date and said that is about fifteen ahead of last year, which was a record breaking year.
Chief Hallberg said it looks like the LFD will continue to be busy for the summer with all the runs, walks and the fireworks that are being planned.
Trustee Troche said he recently spoke with Mr. Jason Dearing, web designer with Jamestown Internet Marketing, who said the new web-site is currently in the stage of meeting with representatives from the L-BPD and LFD and working on designing their personal pages. He also said Mr. Alex Hallberg, LFD member, was gracious enough to take some pictures and videos of the village with his drone and will be donating them for use by the web-site.
RESOLUTION #95-2023 – APPROVE NEW LFD MEMBER
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Troche, for the Board of Trustees acting as the Board of Fire Commissioners, to approve Mr. Skyler Long, 469 Front St., Jamestown, NY, as a new member of the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department and also grant him out of district status.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #96-2023 – APPROVE CORRECTION TO RESOLUTION #96-2023, FUND TRANSFER
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Jones, that the Board of Trustees approve a correction to Resolution #89-2023, where a fund transfer was approved for $ 7,500.00 from T1093-40 {July 4th Celebration} to A7550.40{Celebrations-July 4th}, to pay for the fireworks display deposit. The correct transfer amount should have been, $ 2,170.08.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #97-2023 – SET DATE AND TIMES FOR THE LAKEWOOD BEACH
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Troche, to set the opening date of the Lakewood Beach at Richard O. Hartley Park as Thursday, June 29, 2023 and the operating times to be Wednesdays thru Sundays from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
DISCUSSION ON NEW DOCK FOR LAKEWOOD BEACH
Trustee Jones submitted a drawing of what she would like the new dock to look like, should the Board of Trustees approve the lowest submitted quote from Metallic Ladder Operations, LLC, Randolph, NY.
She said the dock will be an 80 ft. aluminum dock with two ladders and said it will strictly be used for swimming, not fishing. Trustee Jones said she was also told the company will have it installed before the beach is scheduled to open.
Trustee Troche said he support the beach 100% and is very happy to see the beach open again, but he considers the dock a separate thing and with the statistics from the previous years he doesn’t think it is a good investment to spend $15,000.00 on a new dock right now. He said he sees it as a fiscal issue and would like to take this year to see how the beach does before investing the money on a dock and then re-evaluate purchasing it next year.
Trustee Jones said the dock is more of a safety issue. She added the lifeguards need to be able to get to the deeper waters, should they need to rescue someone.
Trustee Barnes said the beach belongs to the village residents and a lot of people she has talked to lately have indicated they are excited to see the beach open again. She said a dock will provide a larger swimming area and between that and a new playground and she thinks more people will use the beach this year than have in the last few years. She said she would like to go forward with the dock, with the hope the water conditions cooperate this year.
Trustee Barnes said according to the Chautauqua County Environmental Health Department there can be Algal Blooms in the morning and they will be gone by afternoon. She said by having a dock it will give the lifeguards the opportunity to walk out over the water to see the conditions.
Trustee Barnes also said it would nice to have a lifeguard at the beach house at all times to monitor the bathrooms.
Trustee Troche said since there will be no cost to visit the beach this year he would like to see a way to keep track of who is using the beach so the village can continue to keep track with the same categories as previously done.
Trustee Jones said she will ask the lifeguards to check people in when entering the beach area.
Mayor Holcomb said he would be in favor of the new dock if the Board of Trustees agree to sell the dock, if the beach is no longer being used.
RESOLUTION #98-2023 – APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A NEW DOCK AT LAKEWOOD BEACH
Motion by Mayor Holcomb, seconded by Trustee Barnes, for the Board of Trustees to approve the purchase of a new dock to be placed at the Lakewood Beach and also accept the lowest quote of $ 14,545.00, as submitted by Metallic Ladder Operations, LLC, Randolph, NY. If at any point the dock is no longer to be used at Lakewood Beach, the dock is to be sold.
Adopted: 3 ayes, (Barnes, Holcomb, Jones) 2 nays (Fischer, Troche)
RESOLUTION #99-2023 – AUTHORIZE MID-YEAR BUDGET TRANSFERS
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Troche, to authorize Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman to make the following mid-year budget transfers for a budget shortfalls: $ 79.00 from A3620.20 {Code Enforcement-Equipment} to A1420.40 {Law-Contractual}, $ 23.27 from A1620.40 {Buildings-Contractual} to A1620.42 {Buildings-Contractual National Grid}, $ 229.18 from A3120.10 {Police-Salaries} to A3120.11 {Police-Salaries-Overtime}, $ 1,163.46 from A5110.40 {Street Maintenance-Contractual} to A5110.43 {Street Maintenance-Vehicle Maintenance}, and $ 2,800.00 from A3620.20 {Code Enforcement-Equipment} to A5110.46 {Street Maintenance-Tree Service}.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #100-2023 – AUTHORIZE PAYMENT FOR STAIRS AT THE PLAYGROUND AT HARTLEY PARK
Motion by Trustee Fischer, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to authorize the Village of Lakewood to pay Invoice #2885 from Sivak Stonemasonry, LLC, Bemus Point, N.Y., in the amount of $2,800.00, related to changes in the stairs at the new playground. This charge is to be covered by the LWRP Grant for improvements to Hartley Park and/or by the Lakewood Community Development Corporation (LCDC).
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #101-2023 – AUTHORIZE NYS ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEF’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Fischer, to authorize 1st Assistant Chief Steve Smouse to attend the New York State Association of Fire Chief’s annual conference, June 14-17, 2023 at the Oncenter in Syracuse, NY. Mr. Smouse will be reimbursed for any legal expenses associated with his attendance.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #102-2023 APPROVE HERICIDE APPLICATION SERVICES CONTRACT
Motion by Trustee Jones, seconded by Trustee Barnes, for the Board of Trustees to authorize Mayor Holcomb to sign the Service Contract/Agreement with Solitude Lake Management, Cortland, N.Y. and related documents in connection with the application of the aquatic herbicides, Aquathol K and ProcellaCor EC, to the targeted areas of Chautauqua Lake bordering the Village of Lakewood.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #103-2023 ACCEPT PROPOSAL FROM CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
Motion by Trustee Barnes, seconded by Trustee Jones, for the Board of Trustees to accept the proposal from the accounting firm of Bahgat & Laurito-Bahgat, Certified Public Accountants & Consultants, 16 West Main St., Fredonia, NY, for consulting services with the village. The fee for such services will be $ 150.00 per hour and will only be used as needed.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #104-2023 – SET DATE FOR VILLAGE WIDE GARAGE/YARD SALES
Motion by Troche, seconded by Trustee Jones, to set Friday, June 2, 2023 and Saturday, June 3, 2023 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM as the times and dates to conduct the annual Village Wide Garage/Yard sale days.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #105-2023 – APPROVE & ACCEPT QUOTE TO REPAIR RECOGNITION WALL
Motion by Trustee Jones, seconded by Trustee Troche, for the Board of Trustees to approve and accept the lowest of two (2) quotes that were submitted for repairs to be made on the wall at Recognition Park. The lowest quote was presented by Sivak Stonemasonry, 4320 Bayview Rd, Bemus Point, NY., in the amount of $ 18,000.00 and the repairs scheduled to be done are the removal and disposal of the current brick cap, fabricate and install 2 ¼” Limestone cap, Rockfaced outside with drip edge in the bottom, 148 sq. ft. cap and repoint loose mortar in cracks.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #106-2023 – AUTHORIZE MEMBERSHIP WITH CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Motion by Trustee Jones, seconded by Trustee Troche, to authorize the Village of Lakewood to become a member of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce at the Main Street 1 level, with the new member discounted cost of $ 150.00 for the first year.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RECESS
Motion by Mayor Holcomb, seconded by Trustee Troche, to recess the regular meeting at 7:13 PM, so as to enter into executive session to discuss a personnel matter.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Present at the executive session, were Mayor Randall G. Holcomb, Trustee Ellen E. Barnes, Trustee R. Richard Fischer, Trustee Nancy W. Jones, Trustee Benjamin J. Troche, Village Clerk Mary B. Currie, Village Treasurer Apryl L. Troutman and Police Chief Christopher DePonceau.
EXECUTIVE SESSION (Adjournment)
Motion by Mayor Holcomb, seconded by Trustee Barnes and unanimously carried to adjourn the executive session and re-open the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees at 7:35 PM.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
RESOLUTION #107-2023 – SET LIFEGUARD PAYS FOR THE 2023 BEACH SEASON
Motion by Trustee Jones, seconded by Trustee Barnes, to set the pay of the lifeguards for the 2023 beach season as $ 16.00/hour for the Supervising Lifeguard and $ 14.50/hour for all others.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
REGULAR MEETING (Adjournment)
Motion by Mayor Holcomb, seconded by Trustee Barnes and unanimously carried to adjourn the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees at 7:36 PM.
Adopted: 4 ayes, no nays (Barnes, Fischer, Jones, Troche)
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Mary B. Currie
Village Clerk
