Village Board Minutes

Call to Order: 8:00PM. Pledge of Allegiance

Members Present: Mayor William Maley, Trustee Alan Higgins and Michael Tancredi

Also Present: Larry Gardner, Esq., Village Attorney and Kathleen M. Hilbert

Public Present: John Viviani, John LaVeglia, Fire Chief, Gail Shegerian, JD, Karen Wright, Jim Manalio, Harold Goldberg, Mary Warren, Jim Magnuski, Anthony Figiel, First Assistant Fire Chief, Colleen Reynolds, Keith Holmquist, Anita Ayres, Tim Larson, Anton Fyodorov, Elvira Fyodorov, Yury Fyodorov, Jim Ray, Bonnie Sims, and Bea Hoyt

Approval of Minutes: Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting held October 10, 2016

Privilege of the Floor:

Fire Truck – John LaVeglia – On behalf of the Fire Department, we have a thirty-year-old truck that desperately needs to be replaced. What kind of budget can we have on the purchase of another truck? To get anything halfway decent, say six/seven years old, that would last us another fifteen to twenty years, we need at least $150K or more. Mayor Maley – We will get together with the Fire Company and sit down and go over last year’s budget/spending and prepare a budget and come up with an amount that we can afford. Trustee Higgins – Solicit some information from some of the city fire departments that might have a truck that is only five years old with low mileage. Trustee Tancredi – The Fire Company and Board of Trustees will meet Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 7:00PM.

School Crosswalk – Mary Warren – I have a problem with the cross-walk at the elementary school. I have to cross the road every morning with five of my grandchildren. The traffic does not stop. I would like a sign put out there like Tannersville. The cop that sits there is worthless. He is parked so far back from the cross-walk and he is texting. Trustee Higgins – If this is a major issue, the school needs to provide a crossing guard. Anthony Figiel – Why can’t The Village put one of the highway guys there two hours in the morning and two hours after school. Trustee Tancredi – It is a state highway. Mayor Maley – They would have no authority. Mary Warren – If you could try to help me out, I would appreciate it. Also, during the winter when it’s snowing, the snow is never cleared on my side of the cross-walk. Mayor Maley – After Charlie Sweet does his run through and he is on his way back he will make it a priority to clear that snow.

Church – Anthony Fiegiel – Please tell me the church is getting knocked down before the winter season starts. Mayor Maley – I cannot tell you that right now but there has been some discussion with different groups that say they are going to come with proposals to The Village about doing something with it. Trustee Higgins – I would say before winter, not likely but I have been looking at it to see if we could do some bracing just so it does not fall on the stones on the west side. We are moving forward. Anthony Fiegel – The Fire Company could do a live burn there. Trustee Tancredi – State law says you cannot burn in The Village. You could however, bury it.

Christmas Trees – Gail Shegerian – We are going to be decorating the trees again this year. That will be on December 4th at Noon. We are asking for the electrical cords to be plugged in to have them lit. We wanted to do one more thing this year. We need an electrical cord. We are figuring on lighting the bridge. There is electric on the bridge. They would have to open a box. We need the electrical cords. We have one tree left to be decorated.

New Business:

Schoharie Avenue – Jim Manalio – I live on Schoharie Avenue which is a dead-end street. The water line is also a dead-end waterline. It always had a blow-off at the end which you could open to let the water flow in the wintertime to prevent freeze-ups. Hurricane Irene destroyed the blow-off at the end of the street and Joe Myers sealed it off. Since then the line has been freezing every winter. Mayor Maley – I will speak with Joe Myers tomorrow. Please leave your number so we can contact you. Jim Manalio – Gary Slutzky says the fire hydrant in front of John Hamm’s house hasn’t worked for years. Mayor Maley – This is the first time I have ever heard of any fire hydrant in The Village of Hunter not working. Anthony Fiegel will check this hydrant.

Unmowed Frontage Law – October 29, 2016 fax from Genie Darris. A copy of this law was sent to Ms. Darris. She questions whether this law is enforceable and does not want to mow her income producing property. Her correspondence is being given to Attorney Gardner.

Old Business:

Cardboard Box Hotel – Harold Goldberg – I see that last month you discussed this matter and Attorney Larry Gardner has decided that he is going to take them to court but every time he does so the work seems to be ongoing. I suggest The Village retain the engineer who did the study and evaluate the work that has been done because it really has not been done. Trustee Higgins – I think we should continue on with the court and let them supply us with the engineer’s report at their cost to prove what they have done because from what we see, they have done nothing. Let the burden of proof be on the owner not The Village. What are we looking for? For it to be structurally sound or for them to spruce-up the outside because they could make it structurally sound but it is still going to look the same on the outside. Mayor Maley – The law requires for it to be structurally sound and secure. I am going to talk to Dominick tomorrow and I will speak to Larry and get that report. What phase of the engineer’s report are they at and what is the projected time frame?

Fyodorov Doublewides – Anton Fyodorov – I am the son and partner for the two homes on Dolan’s Lane. We are here to see what we need to do in order to get the CO. Mayor Maley – There are many issues as it relates to those two properties and a large portion of the community is very unhappy that there are doublewides which are not supposed to be allowed within The Village of Hunter. When you went to the Planning Board you were looking for a lot-line adjustment and you stated that you were going to build modular homes. The Planning Board only approved a lot-line adjustment. The structures were delivered and quickly installed. The public is unhappy because this is not allowable pursuant to our law, page forty-three, which says that no manufactured homes, doublewides shall be constructed after the acceptance of the Zoning Document unless erected within a mobile-home community which is a special entity. You have structures that were put up that are in direct conflict with our Zoning Document.

There are other issues. The inspections for the sewer connections, the water connections and the electrical connections were not done. The sewer line needs to be pressure tested prior to closing the trench, and a stand pipe. The connection of the back house to the sewer system was brought through the front property. It was not connected to the street meaning Dolan’s Lane. That is in direct violation of our Sewer Use Law. The builder never had the inspections done by The Water Company when they connected to the curb stops. The connection from there to the house should be inspected by our Water Operator and no one ever called to have this inspection done. We cannot give you a Certificate of Occupancy. With regard to the electric, you cannot run a utility line across from Route 23A overhead to a shared pole with two meters on it unless you get an agreement. Fortunately, you own both properties so some of these things are not unsurmountable. Anton Fyodrov – I will take care of the electric by putting that in the deed.

Mayor Maley – Back to the issue that it was represented that the buildings were to be modular homes. Anton Fyodrov – I think that was just a misunderstanding. I read the minutes as well, and the minutes stated that it was going to be slab on grade. Modular homes cannot be built slab on grade. They need a foundation. No modular builder will build a home without a foundation. Mayor Maley – Are you stating then at this time that you had no intention from the very beginning of ever building anything other than a doublewide? Anton Ffyodrov – Yes. We showed the Planning Board a brochure. Trustee Higgins – The Planning Board does not have jurisdiction over your construction. They were only there to approve the lot-line adjustment. Trustee Tancredi – I gave you folks the benefit of the doubt because I believe sometimes that a lot of people don’t know the distinction between a manufactured home, a modular home and a trailer. Until I heard the tape and every time it was mentioned, it was mentioned as a modular. That is in direct conflict with what you were just saying that you gave them a brochure for a manufactured home. It is really upsetting that we would spend years developing a zoning document and making sure that we have the development, on Main Street in particular, match the style that we have here and that hasn’t happened. Trustee Higgins – It was said many times, was it not, that they were not trailers. At the Planning Board Meeting at which you were only there for a subdivision, was it not asked of you or your family, “Are these trailers, are they manufactured homes?” Trustee Tancredi – Who was there? Anton Fyodrov – My mother and my father. Elvira Fyodrov – Never. Never. Nobody asked us. Harold Goldberg – You have me on tape asking those questions, don’t you? Elvira Fyodrov – From agreement from the same person, we got permit. How do we know we are in conflict? Karen Wright – When the slabs were put down, were they designed by an engineer? Anton Fyodrov – Didn’t call for it. Karen Wright – Yes it does. Building standards and codes for New York State applying to manufactured housing installations – a gravel set slab or a floating slab on grounds commonly used for manufactured homes do not and never have complied with the code. You have to put in footings to extend below the frost line. Jim Magnuski – The Building Inspector approved a trailer home knowing it came in on a frame like that and the foundation was all approved for that by him? Anton Fyodrov – Yes. Permitting construction of manufactured home 28 feet by 56 feet. Jim Magnuski – He approved that knowing it violates the zoning laws? Anthony Fiegel – Who is the Building Inspector? Mayor Maley – Dominick Caropreso. Anthony Fiegel -That seems to be your problem right there. Anita Ayres – I would just like to say that first of all I do not think they are very attractive structures on our Main Street. I think they look terrible. As a business owner and homeowner in the community, I just do not feel they have any relevance to that area. That being said, I still feel that there was misrepresentation when they continued to refer to it as a modular home when in fact as he is telling us now that it actually was in fact a mobile home which would have never been allowed under any circumstances. So, I think misrepresentation by the homeowner really shows that they were pulling the wool over our eyes. Trustee Tancredi – But they did get the permit. I agree with a lot of what you said. First of all, we have architectural review on Main Street and only on Main Street because we are concerned with the aesthetic look of The Village. It is disconcerting to me that we put a Planning Board in place and even if you do not have any building experience basically all you want to do is kind of match the architectural style that you already have existing on Main Street. It’s a no brainer. Keith Holmquist – Do you have a comprehensive plan? Trustee Tancredi – Yes, we do. Trustee Higgins – It was confirmed at our Trustee Meeting that these buildings would not be trailers. They would be modular. Bonnie Sims – I would like to see these building removed. My house is not worth anything anymore.

In summary: Mayor Maley to the Fyodrovs – You have said that your intention from the very beginning was to build doublewides. That is not what is on the recorded tapes. The Planning Board only approved the lot line adjustment. A large portion of the community want these buildings to be taken down. We will review the rest of this. We will come up with solutions to the three utility issues. Then the Board and the Fyodrovs will have a discussion about possible concessions if the variance was given to leave them there rather than make you take them down. A lawsuit is not the direction we want to go. Let us try to come to some type of a compromise. We will look into code legalities and get some more information. Karen Wright – We can never happen again. Mayor Maley – There is no precedence set. There will be no grandfathering. I will put you in touch with people from the Sewer Department and if need be, Delaware Engineering. Then we need to come up with a solution for aesthetics, landscaping and sidewalks.

NYMIR Recommendations:

Policy and Procedures

It is agreed that Motor Vehicle Reports will be secured on The Village’s drivers annually and at the time of hire to verify valid licenses and review violations and accidents.

We will not adopt a policy to prohibit the carrying of weapons in the workplace.

Garage

It is agreed that pre-trip inspections be performed on a daily basis. A Driver’s Vehicle Inspection Report should be signed and submitted on a daily basis.

We will not consider adding master battery disconnect switches to existing large vehicles such as the plow/dump trucks because if you disconnect you would be resetting the computer each time.

We will not be installing a central station fire alarm system.

Water Department – Joe Myers has complied with all recommendations.

Correspondence:

1. Streamside Acquisition Program – Letter dated October 13, 2016 from Kali Bird, Catskill Center.
2. NYSIF – Disability Benefits Insurance Refund. Trustee Tancredi – How much did they return? Clerk Hilbert – Over 60% of what we paid.
3. Central Hudson’s Real Property Services – Fax and letter dated October 31, 2016
4. Greene County Emergency Medical Systems, Inc. – October 14, 2016 letter. Mayor Maley – Larry, what do you know about the location of the chase vehicle. Attorney Garner – There is a meeting tomorrow night at 5PM in Cairo. I will be attending. The question is where to place the flag car that is coming over from Windham to the 23A corridor. Lexington is asking that it be housed in one of their buildings. The Hunter Town Board is amenable to that. Trustee Higgins – Is this an ambulance or the paramedic? Attorney Gardner – The paramedics. The 23A corridor is pretty quick. We have the Hunter Ambulance. They have nothing. It is much more beneficial to them then it is to us and it can get here quickly anyway. The benefit to Lexington and Prattsville is greatly enhanced and the amount that we are diminished is minimal. The Village of Hunter Board of Trustees supports this location. RESOLUTION 2016 – 054
5. Second Annual Local Government Innovation Conference – November 18, 2016
6. Catskill Watershed Corporation – November 2, 2016 Notice of Preliminary Decisions.
7. Notice of Recording of Subdivision Plat – Filed August 30, 2016.
8. Greene County Planning Board Agenda for November 16, 2016 Meeting
9. NYCOM – November 9, 2016 letter from Peter A. Baynes.
10. Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation – Single family home repair.
11. Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation – Trailer Replacement Program.

Financial Reports:

1. Monthly Trash Bag Reconciliation
2. Bank Reconciliations
   • General Fund
   • Sewer Operating Account
   • Water Operating Account

Bills:

Account Voucher Nos. Abstract

General Fund V-188 to V-230 No. 6
Sewer Operating G-93 to G-113 G-6
Water Operating F-58 to F-76 F-6
Water Supply Capital Project H-5 H-5

The above vouchers were audited and ordered paid.

Resolutions:

Resolution 2016-054
Support of Greene County EMS Medic 9 in Lexington

Offered by Trustee Michael Tancredi; Seconded by Trustee Alan Higgins

RESOLVED that the Village of Hunter Board of Trustees supports the housing location of Greene County EMS (GCEMS) Medic 9 in Lexington on Route 23A.

The foregoing resolution was put to a vote and was carried unanimously.

Mayor William Maley voting – yea
Trustee Alan Higgins voting – yea
Trustee Michael Tancredi voting – yea

The resolution was thereupon declared duly adopted.

Adjournment:

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 11:10PM by Trustee Alan Higgins; Seconded by Trustee Michael Tancredi.

Transcribed by:
_____________________
Kathleen M. Hilbert
Clerk/Treasurer

16-11-14 minutes tentative