West Seneca Town Board Meeting Minutes 11/19/2007
Supervisor Paul T. Clark called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with 30 seconds of silent prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Present -
Absent - None Supervisor Clark read the Fire Prevention Code instructing the public where to exit in case of a fire or an emergency. The meeting was dedicated to the memory of Ann J. Hochul, Lois A. Smith, Edgar C. “Mickey” NeMoyer, Michael V. Walters, Sgt. Daniel J. Shaw, Andrew Burt, and Paul E. Jensen. 13-A MINUTES TO BE APPROVED
13-B LEGAL NOTICES 1. Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, that proofs of publication and posting of legal notice: “OF A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF WEST SENECA REGULATING VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC AS FOLLOWS: ADDITION TO §115-5A STOP INTERSECTIONS: ON TAYLOR DRIVE CONTROLLING TRAFFIC ON TAYLOR DRIVE SOUTHBOUND ONTO CONNER DRIVE; ON LOUISE DRIVE CONTROLLING TRAFFIC NORTHBOUND ONTO CAMELOT DRIVE; ON LOUISE DRIVE CONTROLLING TRAFFIC SOUTHBOUND ONTO CONNER DRIVE; ADDITION TO §115-9A PARKING PROHIBITED IN DESIGNATED LOCATIONS: (162) ON NORTH AMERICA DRIVE IN FRONT OF 20 NORTH AMERICA DRIVE” in the Town of West Seneca, be received and filed.
Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to open the public hearing.
Town Attorney Timothy Greenan noted that the proposed amendments were recommended by the Traffic Committee.
13-B LEGAL NOTICES 1. (continued) No comments were received from the public. Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to close the public hearing.
Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to approve the following amendments to the ordinance of the Town of West Seneca regulating vehicles and traffic: addition to §115-5A Stop Intersections: one Taylor Drive controlling traffic on Taylor Drive southbound onto Conner Drive; on Louise Drive controlling traffic northbound onto Camelot Drive; on Louise Drive controlling traffic southbound onto Conner Drive; addition to §115-9A Parking Prohibited in Designated Locations: (162) on North America Drive in front of 20 North America Drive,” in the Town of West Seneca.
*APPENDICES* 13-C COMMUNICATIONS 1. Supervisor Clark re Aviation Consultants of WNY grant application Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize the Supervisor to sign the attached resolution allowing Aviation Consultants of WNY, Inc. to apply for a grant from the NYS Department of Transportation, noting that this in no way binds the Town of West Seneca to any approvals, permits and/or licenses that may be required by the applicant for future projects or work related to Buffalo Airfield.
*APPENDICES* 2. Town Engineer re Leydecker Road Watermain Loop project, final change order & acceptance Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to approve final change order #1 for Fairway Contracting, P.O. Box 352, Orchard Park, NY 14127, for a net deduct of $3700.55 and accept the Leydecker Road Watermain Loop Project, Job No. L-0607, at a final contract amount of $69,055.60.
3. Town Engineer re NYSEG proposal for Birchwood Avenue Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Bove, to approve the NYSEG street lighting proposal for a net annual increase of $1047.36 to the General Lighting District for installing three (3) standard wood poles, 3 – 150 watt hps cobra head lights and 2 – 150 watt hps turnpike liters along Birchwood Avenue from Rt. 400 to Meyer Road.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 4. Town Engineer re Purchases requiring Town Board approval Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to authorize payment of the following vouchers for the Engineering Department:
K & S Contractors Supply Inc. (hydrant replacement) $3398.60 Peerless (hydraulic tool) $6603.00 K & S Contractors Supply Inc. (hydrant replacement & valve repair) $3080.28 M/R Simoncelli Electric Inc. (concrete work on Pamela Drive & Fawn Trail) $1822.00 Nichols, Long & Moore Construction (sanitary sewer restoration work) $17,886.89 K & S Contractors Supply Inc. (sewer repair parts) $2834.52 United Survey, Inc. (sanitary sewer repair on Sunnyside Drive) $6765.00 United Survey, Inc. (sanitary sewer repair on Elwood Drive) $7600.00 United Survey, Inc. (sanitary sewer repair on Mineral Springs Road) $3500.00 Vellano Bros., Inc. (inflow protectors) $2016.00
5. Highway Supt. re Bid date for removal of wood chip mulch Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to set a bid date of December 10, 2007 at 10 A.M. for the sale and removal of once ground wood chip mulch located at the town’s compost site at 500 Mineral Springs Road.
6. Highway Supt. re Budgetary transfer request Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to approve a budgetary transfer request of $2500 from Shelter & Trees Acct. #01.7110.0463 to Repairs & Maintenance Acct. #01.7420.0445.
7. Highway Supt. re Purchases requiring Town Board approval Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to authorize payment of $1768.22 to Great Plate Glass for a pass through transaction window and drawer in the Justice Court.
8. Highway Supt. re Military leave of absence for Joseph Steen Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to approve a military leave of absence for Joseph Steen effective October 19 – 21, 2007 and November 2 – 4, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 9. Highway Supt. re Title change for John Pangallo & Stanley Pajak to Highway Laborer Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to terminate John Pangallo as Sanitation MEO and Stanley Pajak as Sanitation Laborer and appoint them as Highway Laborers, Group 1, Step 1, at a rate of $20.62 per hour effective November 19, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
10. Highway Supt. re Appointment of Adam Johnson & Mitchell Smith as part-time laborers Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Bove, to appoint Adam Johnson and Mitchell Smith as part-time laborers in the Buildings & Grounds Department at a rate of $7.15 per hour effective November 19, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
11. Highway Supt. re Seasonal status for Tom Oleski & Thomas Ignatowski Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to correct the effective date for part-time seasonal status for part-time laborer Tom Oleski to September 24, 2007 through February 24, 2008 and change the status of part-time laborer Thomas Ignatowski to part-time seasonal effective November 19, 2007 through April 19, 2008 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
12. Chief Gehen re Member item request for youth court program Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to support a member item request from Senator William T. Stachowski for financial assistance in the amount of $10,000 for the youth court program.
13. Chief Gehen re Buckle Up New York grant Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize the Supervisor to execute the Buckle Up New (BUNY) grant with the Governor Traffic Safety Council (GTSC) during the period of October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008, noting that the Town of West Seneca has been awarded $13,000 to enforce safety restraint violations throughout the town at specified time frames during the grant period.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 14. Chief Gehen re Bid award for one unmarked police vehicle Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Bove, to award the bid for purchase of one (1) new 2008 Chevrolet Impala to be used as an unmarked police vehicle to Emerling Chevrolet, 9000 Boston State Road, Boston, NY 14025 at their low bid price of $14,696.
Supervisor Clark abstained from voting on this item because Emerling Chevrolet was a client of an accounting firm that he had a financial interest in. 15. Chief Gehen re Purchase of digital recorder Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize the purchase of one (1) 97178 1-watt synthesized trans/digital recorder from LEA-AID Intelligence Equipment, 100 Hunter Place, Youngsville, NC 27596, at a cost of $2915.
16. Chief Gehen re Purchase of three dispatch chairs Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to authorize the purchase of three (3) dispatch chairs from Concept Seating Endura, LLC, W227 N752 Westmound Drive, Waukesha, WI 53186, at a total cost of $3361.
17. Chief Gehen re Attendance of officers at training seminar Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize Captain Larry Fallon and Lieutenants Dick Cotter, Patrick Shea, Dave Szmania and John McNamara to attend the Effective Communication, Leadership and Influence and Decision Making/Problem Solving seminar(s) to be held December 10 – 14, 2007 at the Genesee County Office of Emergency Services in Batavia, New York, noting that there is no cost for this training.
18. Chief Gehen re Budgetary transfer request Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to approve a budgetary transfer request of $1500 from Police Supplies Acct. #01.3120.0400 to Other Expenses Acct. #01.3120.0419.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 19. Chief Gehen re Status change for part-time Public Safety Dispatchers to part-time seasonal Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to change the status of the following part-time Public Safety Dispatchers to part-time seasonal for the designated time frames: Richard Galli and Jeffrey Locher – November 1 – 30, 2007; Edward Jarka – December 1 – 31, 2007; and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
20. Acting Assessor re Creation of Real Property Appraisal Technician position Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to create the position of Real Property Appraisal Technician effective October 15, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
21. Tax Receiver re Status change for part-time seasonal clerks to part-time Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to change the status of the following part-time seasonal clerks to part-time effective October 31, 2007:
and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
22. Tax Receiver re Rate increase for Marcia Turner & Margaret Pomana Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Supervisor Clark, to grant a Step 2 rate increase from $7.15 to $7.40 per hour for part-time clerks Marcia Turner, effective June 25, 2007 and Margaret Pomana, effective March 5, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
23. Tax Receiver re Termination of Chris Salisbury Received and filed. 24. Recreation Director re Budgetary transfer request Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to approve the following budgetary transfer request: From: Acct. #01.7180.0149 Lifeguard/Instructors PT $1601 To: Acct. #01.7140.0230 Purchases - Equipment $341 Acct. #01.7140.0420 Telephone $600 Acct. #01.7140.0453 Photo ID Project $200 Acct. #01.7140.0443 Equip. Maint. & Repair $460
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 25. Recreation Director re Purchase requiring Town Board approval Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize payment of $7678 to West Seneca Youth Baseball for 2007 umpire fees.
26. Senior Citizens Supervisor re Purchase of kiln Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Bove, to authorize the purchase of a new kiln with furniture kit from Rochester Ceramics Inc. at a total cost of $2095.
27. Youth Director re Resignation of Sheila O’Brien Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Graber, to accept the resignation of Sheila O’Brien and terminate her effective November 19, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
13-D REPORTS ISSUES OF THE PUBLIC RESIDENT QUESTIONS OVERTIME ACTIVITY Michael Lowe, Southgate Drive, stated that he was reviewing some payroll records released by the town through a FOIL request and he found that in 2006 the Dog Control Officer received a lot of overtime, in particular, the two pay periods immediately following the October storm. The records indicated that for the weeks of October 8 – 21, 2006 the Dog Control Officer worked 24 regular hours and eight hours of other, yet received approximately 135.3 hours of overtime, totaling $4346. The following two-week time frame he worked 40 hours and recorded 102.1 hours of overtime, totaling $3281.23. Mr. Lowe stated that he tried to determine how this was calculated and had also checked the Blue Collar contract with regard to overtime, but the dollar amount did not make sense when compared with the hours. Councilman Graber stated that after the October storm the Dog Control Officer and Asst. Dog Control Officer were taken out of their normal job activities to help with the State of Emergency in town, and their overtime was reimbursed by FEMA. Mr. Lowe stated that he also noticed a lot of overtime where there was not a complete work week. For example, the first week of 2006 there was 64 hours of straight time and 12.2 hours of overtime. He questioned if Other Gross in the payroll report represented sick time, personal time, vacation time, etc. Comptroller Charles Koller suggested that Mr. Lowe contact his office and schedule an appointment and he would review with him the payroll report he was questioning.
PRESENTATION OF COMMUNICATIONS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS TERMINATION OF PART TIME LABORERS IN BLDGS. & GROUNDS Motion by Councilman Hicks, seconded by Councilman Osmanski, to terminate James Galvin, Mark Guzzo, and Erik Staychock as part-time laborers in the Buildings & Grounds Department effective November 16, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
PURCHASE OF YES T-SHIRTS Motion by Councilman Hicks, seconded by Councilman Graber, to authorize payment of $2400 to New Creation Signs, 68 School Street, West Seneca, for 560 YES t-shirts.
TOWER LEASE AGREEMENT WITH VERIZON WIRELESS Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilman Hicks, that the Town of West Seneca enter into a tower lease agreement with Verizon Wireless for the purpose of the town providing space on its telecommunications tower in return for an annual fee of $18,000 per year with annual increases of 3 percent, noting that the term of this agreement is for an initial five years with an additional four 5-year extensions. On the question, Councilman Graber stated that when the town built the telecommunications tower for the Police Department, it was decided to build it a little stronger for an extra $75,000 so that up to three cellular service companies could locate on the tower and provide additional revenue for the town. The contract with Verizon Wireless will generate $450,000 in revenue for the town without even taking into account the 3 percent annual increases.
PAYMENT FOR SIGNAL REPAIR Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to authorize payment of $8472 to JJ Emergency Electric for repair of signal on Slade Avenue at entrance to Shops at West Seneca.
TERMINATION OF D. WASIURA AND R. LEISING AS PART-TIME DISPATCHERS Motion by Councilman Osmanski, seconded by Councilman Hicks, to accept the resignation of David Wasiura and Roger Leising and terminate them as part-time Public Safety Dispatchers effective November 15, 2007 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
PRESENTATION OF COMMUNICATIONS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS APPOINTMENT OF FULL-TIME SANITATION LABORERS Motion by Councilman Graber to terminate James Alba, Kevin Farrell, and Kevin Zimmerman, as part-time laborers and appoint them as full-time laborers in the Sanitation Department effective November 19, 2007 at a rate of $15.69 per hour and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
UPDATE ON FLOOD INSURANCE ISSUE Councilman Bove stated that a meeting was held November 1st at the Cheektowaga Central School concerning the flood insurance issue. Representatives from FEMA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) who had worked on the new flood maps for the South Buffalo area were present at the meeting, and it was noted that in a few months the new flood map for West Seneca would be completed. Councilman Bove initially understood that the new map would be based on free flow of water, which would negate the help of the ice retention structure. However, on November 2nd she was invited to tour the Buffalo abatement measures and the West Seneca facility along with Town Engineer George Montz and Highway Supt. Patrick Finnegan, FEMA and NYSDEC representatives, Buffalo Councilmen, and a representative from Senator Schumer’s office. Mary Colvin, the lead person for FEMA, said that they would work through the design of the new map and she would speak about the ice retention facility. Councilman Bove hoped that this would be used in the decision to redo the maps to benefit the residents affected in West Seneca. She would continue to give updates on this issue as she receives further information. INSTALLATION OF FIOS IN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND BURCHFIELD CENTER Councilman Bove stated that she and Councilman Graber had checked pricing and found that it would be a savings for the town to install FIOS through Verizon in the Police Department and at the Youth Bureau. Motion by Councilman Bove, seconded by Councilman Graber, to authorize the installation of FIOS in the West Seneca Police Department and at the Burchfield Center. On the question, Councilman Graber stated that the Burchfield Center was serviced by Time Warner so there was little or no savings; however, the Police Department had Level 3 and the savings would be about $2000 annually. The technological capabilities would also be dramatically increased. Councilman Graber thanked Councilman Bove for continuing to look for ways to reduce costs.
ADJOURNMENT Motion by Supervisor Clark, seconded by Councilman Graber, to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 P.M.
_______________________________________ PATRICIA C. DEPASQUALE, RMC/CMC |