State of New York
County of Fulton
Town of Caroga
Minutes of the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held Wednesday September 9, 2020 at the municipal building located at 1840 State Highway #10 at 7:00 pm with the following persons in attendance by roll call. This meeting was by conference call via Zoom.com and with limited public attendance, 10 or less. Participants could dial in 1-929-205-6099. It was noted use of this phone number may be a toll call depending upon your phone service contract.
Supervisor Scott Horton - Here
Council Member John Glenn - Here
Council Member James Long - Here
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Here
Council Member Donald Travis – Here
Supervisor Horton, Council Members Glenn, Sturgess, and Travis were attending in person. Council Member Long was on the phone. Department heads in attendance were Gene Centi – Parks, Lakes, Recreation, & Tourism (PLRT) & Weed Harvesting Coordinator. There were three members of the public in attendance. The salute to the flag was held.
Public Comment: None this evening
Department Reports:
Assessor– In a written report Victoria Hayner stated there have been 15 valid sales (arm’s length transactions) and 14 non – valid sales (parcels sold to relatives, correction deeds, life estates, trusts, etc.) These sales represented 23 residential properties and 6 vacant land sales. Now is the time for property owners to discuss the value of their properties.
BTI – this program has ended for the year
Clerk/Tax Collector/Registrar/RMO – Linda Gilbert gave the board members a monthly report. An apology was given for not posting the agenda on the Facebook page due to a computer conversion today. There is a resolution for a new records retention schedule. The old one was over 200 pages the new one is over 400 pages. Any records that need to be disposed of should first be given to the Records Management Officer Linda Gilbert.
Code Enforcement & Sanitation – Supervisor Horton read from a written report submitted by Mr. Fancher. It states we are up to 198 permits and collected about $3,835 in fees last month. The new Code Enforcement officer is working 40 hours a week. Mr. Duesler has pitched in to help. The transition is going well.
Wheelerville Bike Trail – Jeremy Manning reported a massive volunteer day with 41 people showing up to do trimming and clearing brush from the main trail. They accrued 125 volunteer hours that day. That is about five weeks of the match right there. The word is spreading on Instagram and Facebook. They have finished the main trail. The rear trail is mostly finished, and they are 2/3 of the way complete on another downward trail. He is in awe of the quality work being done. They are doing well budget wise. They have spent just over $16,000.00 on the personnel budget. They will continue to work till the snow flies. He believes the first phase will be completed this fall. There is another volunteer day scheduled for September 20th and may schedule one or two more. Mr. Manning asked about the Local Law he proposed. Supervisor Horton responded this will be done later on. A public hearing will be conducted for a law to prohibit unauthorized motorized vehicles on the trails.
Supervisor Horton asked if anyone from the public wanted to address the board. It was 13 minutes after the hour. Hearing none the Supervisor closed the public comment portion of the meeting.
Golf Course – No report from Mr. Jennings. But the Supervisor reported the year to date as of last month were $145,504. The estimated revenues budgeted were $145,000. We have surpassed the anticipated revenue for the year.
Mr. Centi with the PLRT Committee, the Supervisor and Mr. Jennings are looking at trying to find other ways to increase the revenue on the golf course. They will be meeting with a consultant next week at no charge to review and look over our course. They are a private family owned company who own or manage in some degree over 100 golf courses.
Highway – The Supervisor stays in touch with Mr. Voght. The bad news is the town received word from the state that they will be cutting CHIPS funding by 20%. If you’ve spent $50,000 you will only get 80% back. Later on there will be a resolution to roll over funds that were missed in the budget. South Shore of East Caroga Lake road is torn up prepped but not in a condition to go through the winter. The town procured 100’s of tons of millings. These will be mixed with an asphalt base and then it will be put down and rolled. Highway worker Mike Voght noted the process is done through Gorman Company. They add a gummy substance and run it through a paver. It is like a base. Last week he helped over in Bleecker and they paved the S. Shore of Peck Lake with it.
Mid October Supervisor Horton anticipates the highway switching over to winter hours. Labor in the budget is broken out into summer and winter accounts.
Council Member Sturgess asked if the CHIPS funds would be used to pay for the final top coat on S. Shore Road East Caroga next year. Supervisor Horton noted this was an ongoing project and so the funds can be used on it next year. He explained that you could not complete a road project and then use CHIPS funding on repairs on that same road for the next 10 years.
Lakes Management Program – Council Member Glenn reported that Marcus Harazin, Gene Centi, and Supervisor Horton toured Canada Lake. They learned a lot from each other. They took the town boat and monitored the bottom.
Mr. Centi reported that the weed harvesting program ended today. The boats were taken out today. They will be serviced and stored. They took a total of 3112 bushels out for the season. That is down 29% from last year. Last year 4398 bushels were removed the first year the aggressive approach was taken 6964 bushels were removed. Next year the decking on the harvester will have to be replaced. It is rotted out.
John Olm submitted a written report and also relayed his report verbally. Sue Orially of the Adirondack Watershed institute put together information as of Sept. 7th. They inspected 4166 at West Lake launch, Eurasian Water Milfoil was found and removed from two watercraft. Stewards provided advice to 6894 boaters on best practices to stop the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species.
The boat wash station has been busy inspecting a total 156 water crafts. A total of 140 watercraft were decontaminated Curly-Leaf Pondweed and Eurasian Water Milfoil was found and removed from four watercraft. Stewards provided advice to 383 boaters on best practices to stop the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species
At the East Caroga campground launch a total of 386 water craft inspected. Eurasian Water Milfoil was found and removed from two watercraft. Stewards provided advice to 534 boaters on best practices to stop the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species
The lake stewards last day working at the fishing access site was August 14th. He wanted to continue coverage at the boat wash station and the West Lake fishing access after Labor Day weekend continuing to Columbus Day holiday. They would be open Friday Saturday and Sundays from 8 – 5. The town would have to hire two lake stewards for the West Lake fishing access. Two previous employees of the Adirondack Water Shed institute are available to staff the launch.
Supervisor Horton stated he did not have time to talk to the bookkeeper about hiring the staff. He wondered if the town would be responsible for the pay for these two stewards. Mr. Olm understands through Mr. Harazin that the bookkeeper said there are adequate funds available for personal services to extend the season. The Supervisor stated $14,500 was budgeted and we are at $9,000.00. The anticipated costs to extend the season would be less than $3,200. Therefore the spending was in budget and no resolution was necessary. Mr. Olm noted the other option was to only operate on Saturday and Sundays. The Supervisor just asked that Mr. Olm keep close tabs so the line item did not go over budget. The Supervisor thanked the two stewards who will continue to work. Council Member Long noted this is money that came out of the grant he wrote and submitted and can only be used for this season. It should be used.
Town Hall Building – Council Member Travis wanted another ad put in for a maintenance person. There were responses from Facebook but it was difficult for him to contact those people. Those interested would be asked to make out an application.
Council Member Travis and the Town Clerk have been working on information on replacing the phone system. Tomorrow he will meet with Dave Falvo a town resident who has volunteered to help on this project. Council Member Travis estimates the cost to be between $5,000 - $10,000.
Council Member Travis and Supervisor Horton have been working on the doors at town hall. They thought about putting liquid sand paper on them. They tried taking the finish off on the south door. It was a disaster, it didn’t work, and the new stain would not adhere to it. There is a warranty of 10-years on the doors. Council Member Sturgess suggested sending a letter to the company. There is limited information on the doors from the contractor.
Council Member Travis stated there was a complaint about the (smell in the) Gym. Years ago he used to put lime and spread it in the cellar to sweeten the smell from the dirt. The exhaust fan on the roof was also examined. It was put in to suck the air from the basement. It is not working. He thought there was a bad bearing. He suggested an electrical contractor to fix it. Supervisor Horton or Council Member Sturgess have not smelled it. Council Member Travis responded that quite a few people have complained about it. It is a musty smell. Supervisor Horton asked him to get a price to fix the fan and to lime the cellar.
Youth – Canceled for the year
Historian – Richard Nilsen was asked to give an update on what he has been doing. He did a walk through with Jeremy Manning on the bike trail. He plans to do his article in October for the Leader Herald on the trail. He has a column the first weekend of every month called “My Adirondack Corner.” He does positive articles about the town. In the past he has talked about the black fly program, and his work with the Adirondack Water Shed Institute. He has also taken photos of the fire department progress as well as the Dollar General progress. He occasionally gets photos in the paper too. The work of the municipal historian has changed over the years. It is no long genealogy and looking up past records. It is more to give good public relations to the area which he has tried to do through his articles and photos. The Supervisor stated that the photos in the hallway could be changed out.
PLRT Commission – Gene Centi reported they had a meeting last month. They are on track to have a winter festival. At this point in time it includes outhouse races, AMEC Races (ice racers), and some sort of family event. They are having a conflict with dates. If the festival is held on the second weekend of the month then the AMEC cannot participate. Another weekend is the snowmobile poker run and there are a couple of fishing contests. Council Member Sturgess wondered about having snowmobile drag races at Royal Mountain.
For the summer they would like to plan a parade, a triathlon, and a bike-a-thon. He believes the fire department will do a kayak run but if they don’t the commission will do it. Last they are still anticipating creating cross country/snow shoe trails on the golf course. No one on the commission has experience in this so Mr. Centi asked for help. Council Member Glenn noted the Mayfield cross country team uses the golf course on occasion. Maybe they could help.
Sewer Study – Council Member Glenn reported on a meeting on August 28 with DEC Region 5 representatives, Joseph Zalenski – acting director, Jason and Rob Supervisor Horton, Assemblyman Smullen, and Travis Mitchell were in attendance. Mr. Mitchell gave a preliminary engineering report. They toured the town and the area best served by a first phase of a limited sewer system. All were encouraging. They will continue to meet to perfect the grant application and preliminary study. A lot of good questions were asked. They discussed the density of certain areas. They looked at the needs and challenges of our community.
Dog Control – The clerk reported that Mr. Dutcher reported to her that he had 6 calls for the month.
Supervisor’s Report:
The Street Light Survey began today. They will do an inventory of all the lights. National Grid was asked to give the town a price.
Supervisor Horton contacted Pinnacale Human Resources LLC about hiring them as a consultant to advise the Town board on compensation for the Town Clerk, Highway Superintendent, Sole Assessor, Bookkeeper, Town Supervisor, Town Board members. Last year questions were raised as to proper compensation. Money was put into the 2020 budget. It will take about 3 weeks to do.
The Supervisor and Mr. Centi have been talking about hiring a consultant to work with Steve Jennings to improve net revenues from the Nick Stoner Municipal Golf Course.
Very soon the town has to work out the land Lease Contract with Nathan Littauer Hospital. The supervisor hopes to have more information for the board members next week on this. There may need to be a special meeting.
RESOLUTION #2020-115 to Acknowledge 100th Anniversary of the Kirchen Grove Association was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday September 9, 2020 at 7 pm at Town Hall.
WHEREAS, in 1910 John H. Kirchen purchased the old Grossheiltz farm where over the years many cottages were built in the grove and
WHEREAS, the Grove association was founded by a group of lawyers from Albany who would drive their buggies here, store their horses, and go to their tent platforms for a wonderful vacation and
WHEREAS, the association cleared brush and trees, maintained the road, had their own sewage system, and provided tennis and basketball courts for their members to enjoy, and
WHEREAS, 100 years later people either live in Kirchen Grove year-round or vacation there spending a memorable summer in Caroga, the gateway to the Adirondacks, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town Board does hereby recognize and congratulate the Kirchen Grove Association on their 100th Anniversary.
(applause)
Seconded by Council Member Glenn
Discussion: Council Member Glenn noted they have a sand volley ball court. It is a lovely area to rest, relax and get refreshed. They are a great group of people.
Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:
Supervisor Scott Horton - Aye
Council Member John Glenn - Aye
Council Member James Long - Aye
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Aye
Council Member Donald Travis – Aye
The clerk was thanked for her help with the resolution. The clerk in turn thanked Jack & Trish DeWeese for their help.
The Supervisor noted he is having difficulty getting an agenda to the Town Board in a timely fashion. It is important to get the information out as soon as possible to the board and not dropped in their lap at the last moment. His concern was sharing a draft agenda with the public and then it changes. It can be confusing to the public. Council Member Long noted the agenda can change during the meeting. It is always a work in progress. As long as the agenda is marked as draft that is safe. It is essential for the public to have time to understand what might be discussed because perhaps they want to speak and their only opportunity is during the public speaking section at the beginning. This agenda was not out on the web until this afternoon. Council Member Long didn’t think that was adequate. Perhaps they have a particular interest or area of expertise, something to contribute to the welfare of the community. As a legal matter unless it is a legal matter the agenda is public. It can be FOILED. The counsel he received from outside made it quite clear it is subject to FOIL.
Council Member Glenn noted there is nothing the board talks about that is not FOIL(able). He noted the meetings are open to the public. A tentative agenda should be available to the public to chime in on if they choose.
Council Member Long stated to make it clear if people only know what topics are going to be discussed at the board meeting the afternoon of the meeting it is a little late to do any homework, decide if they want to attend, or speak. If they know what topics are likely to come up they can better prepared.
Supervisor Horton noted Council Member Long made some good points. There are other things
that he likes to get out to the board members that may or may not fly. He is trying to get as much done as possible. A draft item may be pulled and the public gets all excited about something that is no longer on the agenda.
Council Member Long noted the Supervisor can call him to know if he has the backing for a particular idea or not. One on one conversations are consistent with open meetings laws.
Supervisor Horton will put out a Melba toast agenda on Friday the week before so there is something for the people to think about. He wants to do the agenda sooner but in 8 months it has been difficult to put one together that was not changing the last two days before the town board meeting. It is easier now that he has a computer in his office. Council Member Long agreed with this concept. Council Member Sturgess noted that public will have as much time to think about an item that pops up last minute as the board members would. How hard is it to open the floor to new items on the agenda?
Council Member Long noted the public may only want to attend if a certain topic is coming up. Notification on the Friday before – if we know about it, would be helpful to the public. The Supervisor did not want anyone to think information was being held back if it comes in at the last minute.
Council Member Glenn noted previous boards tried to have everything finalized the Friday before the meeting. It only lasted two meetings then fell apart. Try it again. The clerk noted the public can always call the office for an updated agenda. Council Member Long stated any updates should be sent out to the board members. Surely they would.
Old Business:
Franchise Agreement with Time Warner – Supervisor Horton said hopefully next month.
From the August Agenda: Cyber Recommendations from town by NYMIR. The Supervisor has a list of things that have been complied with. Some we are still in the process of completing. Training which is a recommendation not yet completed, will be another month or so down the road.
From the July Agenda: – Discuss the re-opening of the brush dump. Supervisor Horton has not heard of any complaints since going from an open gate to having a key available. Council Member Sturgess has experienced it himself. Council Member Travis stated someone took the key from the man at the dump. Closing it has reduced the problem we were having tremendously. Twelve keys were made.
From the July Agenda: – Discuss tenting in residential areas. This has been brought to the Supervisor’s attention. He did not know how much of an issue it was. Someone camped on Scott Road all summer. If there is more of that, then sanitation is going to be the number one issue. Council Member Long stated it is in part addressed by our current zoning ordinance. He thought the code officer does have powers under the ordinance. It was their intent in revising the ordinance.
The Supervisor will check with code if there isn’t an ordinance it will come back to the board.
Morey Road status: Supervisor Horton announced that today we finally got a court date of October 6th at 2 pm to go before the judge. He understands the frustration. Right after the February meeting the courts were closed. There are two property owners who have not signed. They got their checks. They have not cashed them and they have not signed their deeds over.
The following correspondence were listed on the agenda but not mentioned during the meeting. E-mail from Linda Clark to review Morey Road status?
NYS DOT notification on condition of North Bush Road bridge inspection
Bruce Buchner permit application to Dept. of the Army Corps
2021 Worker’s Compensation expense will be $25,139.93
Caroga Transfer Station to go on winter hours October 1st
Fulton Co. res. #196 urging enactment & implementation of Johnson Hall master plan
Letter from APA re: possible wetlands violation on parcel 83.-1-31
Bonnie Baswell Lakeside Motel asking for extension on waiver for a non- conforming use This was mentioned and acted upon by the Board.
The Supervisor called for any new business. Hearing none the board moved on to making resolutions.
At 8:12 pm there was a technical problem. The ZOOM call was shut down and redialed into.
At 8:15 pm the automated system stated there were 14 people dialed into the meeting.
RESOLUTION# 2020-116 to make the following transfers was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday September 9, 2020 at 7 pm at Town Hall.
WHEREAS, Supervisor Horton indicated a need to make the following transfers as necessary to maintain a balanced budget, now therefore be it
RESOLVED that the following transfer be made:
FROM: DA5110.4 General Repairs $66,320.00
TO: DA5112.2 CHIPS $66,320.00
And be it further RESOLVED, this resolution is to make the following adjustments to revenues to reflect additional expected monies from the state for paving: DA3501 Consolidated Highway Aide $66,320.00.
Seconded by Council Member Long
Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:
Council Member John Glenn - Aye
Council Member James Long - Aye
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Aye
Council Member Donald Travis – Aye
Supervisor Scott Horton - Aye
RESOLUTION 2020-117 to adopt the Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records LGS-1 was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday September 9, 2020 at 7 pm at Town Hall.
WHEREAS, the Town clerk notified the Town Board of the need to adopt the new Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records LGS-1 now therefore be it
RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Caroga that the Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records LGS-1 issued pursuant to Article 57A of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, and continuing legal minimum retention periods for local government records, is hereby adopted for use by all officers in legally disposing of valueless records listed therein, and be it further
RESOLVED, that in accordance with Article 57-A: (a) only those records will be disposed of that are described in Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records (LGS-1), after they have met the minimum retention periods described therein; 9b) only those records will be disposed of that do not have sufficient administrative, fiscal, legal, or historical value to merit retention beyond established legal minimum periods.
Seconded by Council Member Long
Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:
Council Member James Long - Aye
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Aye
Council Member Donald Travis – Aye
Supervisor Scott Horton – Aye
Council Member John Glenn - Aye
Council Member Sturgess wondered why he keeps seeing the same item on the agenda – the time Warner Franchise agreement. Why hasn’t it been negotiated? It may be an option to have them provide a phone system to the town.
Council Member Long noted this has been discussed with previous administrations. He agreed the phone system is aging. His solution to this was just to use cell phones. The only down side to this was that you can’t transfer calls. Council Member Sturgess noted there was no service up here. He can’t tell you the number of dropped calls he gets on landlines and cells. Council Member Glenn thought more homework needed to be done. The Supervisor noted calls come in to the clerks’ office and are then routed out. All options will be looked at. Council Member Long noted the AT & T cell tower covers town hall but not down to Campers Corner. Council Member Long noted if a call came in for the judge even if he was not at town hall he could receive it remotely via the cell direct number. He could turn the ringer off if he didn’t want to get calls. More information was needed – the issue was tabled.
Supervisor Horton has been talking to Tim & Rose Miller owners of Pinnacle Human Resources LLP. They made a proposal for $4,500.00. We have $2,000.00 in the budget. He asked them to look at six positions so the board can make some or no adjustments. He stated it was difficult to do personnel work. He wants it to be unbiased. He did not know the market rate for different jobs. If you want good government you have to have good people, and they have to do the jobs they are supposed to do. Reviews on an annual basis could be done on appointed officials. There will have to be a budget adjustment.
RESOLUTION 2020-118 to hire Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday September 9, 2020 at 7 pm at Town Hall.
WHEREAS, Supervisor Horton contacted Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC 90 State Street 7th floor Albany NY 12207 (518) 526-1329 to evaluate and review the duties and responsibilities of the Town Clerk, the Highway Superintendent, the Sole Assessor, the Bookkeeper, the Supervisor and the Town Board Members and suggest market based compensation to the Board, and
WHEREAS, the contracted price is $4,500.00 to come from account A1430.4 and which would also require a budget transfer, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town Board does hereby move to hire Pinnacle Human Resources, LLC 90 State Street 7th floor Albany NY 12207 to evaluate the six positions list above for $4,500.00.
Seconded by Council Member Glenn
Discussion: Council Member Long noted this was a fiscal matter and several thousand dollars at a time when we have been advised of possible fiscal constraints. He can’t in all good conscience support spending this money now. He was not at all sure we needed to do this. He has not seen evidence that the salaries are out of line. Supervisor Horton noted he supported the budget passed last year with this line item in it. Council Member Long was happy with the compensation and benefits as they stand.
Council Member Sturgess asked if the town had descriptions of each job, and how can this company do anything until that is done? Supervisor Horton noted they were a professional human resources company. They have a huge database. They ask what the hours and duties are, compare what is required by law. They may find the town is below market rate or that automatic increases are not warranted.
Council Member Sturgess wanted to have job descriptions and duties spelled out.
Council Member Long noted the town board, highway superintendent, and town clerk are all defined by law exactly what each of us must do. As elected officials we should want to do more than just what the law requires. With the previous administration we lost the custodian, “I was cleaning toilets.” Not part of what the law says. You volunteer where ever else you can that is why he is the Clerk/Secretary of the Planning & Zoning Boards, and Board of Assessment Review. He was concerned for the non-elected positions. The elected people “we are here to serve,” but non-elected need to be adequately compensated.
Supervisor Horton note public service is different than a regular employee. There is a certain degree of wanting to give back to your community. But that doesn’t mean that these individuals should be either taken advantage of or over compensated. Council Member Long responded “understood.”
The clerk asked if there were other firms that do this type of work. Should another quote be obtained? Maybe the price is high or maybe it is low. We don’t know if we don’t compare.
The supervisor asked for help in soliciting other agencies.
Supervisor Horton read his monthly quote on the agenda. “Do not wait for ideal circumstances, nor the best opportunities; they will never come,” J. E. Stuart. We can get bogged down overthinking things and never getting anything done.
Council Member Glenn mentioned a company that came in to Gloversville. They tried to quantify exactly what each title was each position and what the compensation would be.
The supervisor thought that company was only going to look at one official and the cost was going to be $2,000. This is 6 positions for $4,500.00.
Council Member Long stated the one person – non – elected under compensated is Jennifer Blowers. We have the competence to know what we should be paying.
This will take three weeks.
Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Aye
Council Member Donald Travis – Aye
Supervisor Scott Horton – Aye
Council Member John Glenn - Aye
Council Member James Long – Nay – for budget reasons
Supervisor Horton received a letter dated September 4, 2020 from Bonnie Baswell requesting an extension of the waiver for non-conforming use of the Lakeside Motel property 234 Kasson Drive due to COVID-19. Her mother passed away, rooms used to be rented out. Our code says
if a non -conforming use is discontinued for 12 months it reverts back to. This is a LF district. They have plans to open the motel. The time frame is October 1, 2019 when they ceased renting rooms to September 30, 2022. That would be three years. They want to have the option of opening the motel back up.
Council Member Sturgess noted one of the biggest problems in this town is lodging. All they have to do is rent it once next year. Who pays attention if it is rented or not. Why is this an issue?
Council Member Long thought at the minimum the town should be doing is a year. The code officer should know so everything is up to code or a neighbors make reports. The Supervisor knows the person who turned the water on.
Council Member Glenn wanted a guide to see some kind of improvement. Council Member Long stated as a town board we cannot make those kind of conditions. If changes are made they will have to go back to the Zoning Board for a use variance or the Planning Board. He noted it is possible an executive order may preempt.
They are claiming hardship due to COVID which falls under the emergency powers act.
RESOLUTION #2020-119 to Grant a waiver requested by the Lakeside Motel for continued non- conforming use was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday September 9, 2020 at 7 pm at Town Hall.
WHEREAS, Supervisor Scott Horton received a letter dated September 4, 2020 from Bonnie Baswell 3151 Springmeadow Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80906 requesting an extension of the waiver for nonconforming use of the Lakeside Motel property located at 234 Kasson Drive Caroga Lake NY due to COVID-19, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the town grant the extension for the nonconforming as listed on pages 88 and 89 of the Town of Caroga Zoning Ordinance until summer of 2022.
Seconded by Council Member Glenn
Discussion: Council Member Sturgess was in favor of a one year extension because they do not have a clue as to what they are going to do there. We don’t want it to go three years and then find out ……
The motion was amended by Council Member Sturgess to make the date for a one year extension from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2021.
Council Member Long seconded the amended motion.
Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:
Council Member Donald Travis – Aye
Supervisor Scott Horton – Aye
Council Member John Glenn - Aye
Council Member James Long – Aye
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Aye
RESOLUTION 2020-120 to hold a public hearing on proposed Local Law 3 “A Local Law to ban unauthorized Motorized Vehicles and ATV’s on Town Owned Recreational Bike Trails.” was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday September 9, 2020 at 7 pm at Town Hall.
WHEREAS, Jeremy Manning discussed with the town board the need to have ban unauthorized motorized vehicles and ATV’s from the recreational bike trails, and
WHEREAS, the Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo was involved in drafting the document which includes the legal intent, definitions, prohibited acts, enforcement, penalties, exclusions, rules and regulations, and authority, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, and enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Caroga as follows: the Town Board of the Town of Caroga hereby finds that the use of ATV’s and Unauthorized Motorized Vehicles in the Town’s designated bike and hiking paths/trails creates a hazard and detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town and the users of the trials currently owned by the Town for recreational purposes and any extensions thereof that may occur, and be it further RESOLVED, that the public hearing shall take place on Wednesday October 14, 2020 at 7 pm.
Seconded by Council Member Long
Discussion: Council Member Sturgess asked if the snowmobile trial system goes up through there at any point in time. Council Member Long answered that it does not. Mr. Manning stated it does not go through that parcel. It goes along the edge. Council Member Sturgess asked about future expansions going into those trails. Mr. Manning responded potentially down the road. One of the reasons snowmobiles shouldn’t go on the trail is because it is radius of the turns and the berms are tight. It is also a winding trail. He noted the grant states the bike path is for non-motorized vehicles.
Council Member Sturgess was concerned with the future growth of this project moving on to other areas that may currently be motorized. The Town has just spent thousands of dollars on Morey Road to get it open for snowmobiles. If it is designated as a bike trail then all of the sudden snowmobiles can’t go on it. Mr. Manning noted the funds to create trails can’t be used on state land.
Council Member Sturgess was concerned with the language on pages one and two of the local law that say on all designated bike trails.
Supervisor Horton noted Mr. Manning’s point is we have no jurisdiction on state land. Council Member Sturgess is making the point if down the road we put money into a trail that is used by both… the Supervisor can see a shared trail. But it would be designed differently than this exclusive design for mountain bikes.
Mr. Manning reiterated that it is because of the funding that the law needs to be enacted. Other grant sources won’t have this restriction.
Supervisor Horton noted the proposed local law says the users of the bike trails currently owned by the town. This legislation has nothing to do with properties not owned by the town. Section 7 says the town board is authorized to adopt rules and regulation by resolution to further implement the provisions of this chapter. The meat of this is to make sure if damage is done to the trail that we have a law that is enforceable.
Council Member Glenn agreed with the bones of this. He also understands where Council Member Sturgess is coming from. He was concerned with the further expansion.
Mr. Manning stated that the trail would never intercede with DEC land for like the Shaker Mountain unit management plan.
Supervisor Horton stated this only has to do with the property the town owns. This law would not apply to expansion onto DEC land. If the town did own land and there were snowmobile trails on that and they wanted to use the snowmobile trials for bikes, the town would have to make an exception to the law. Mr. Manning noted maybe in the future a trail would go along the perimeter of the golf course. He didn’t believe there would be conflicts.
Supervisor Horton thought a couple good points were raised, but don’t effect the body of the proposed law. Things can be changed. The snowmobile club will be invited to the public hearing.
Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:
Supervisor Scott Horton – Aye
Council Member John Glenn - Aye
Council Member James Long – Aye
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Aye
Council Member Donald Travis – Aye
The Clerk noted that any significant changes to the proposed Local Law would require another public hearing.
Supervisor Horton made a motion to approve the minutes of the Aug 12 and Aug 26 minutes & pay the bills as presented for audit. Council Member Glenn seconded the motion. Council Member Sturgess noted the voucher from the North Bush Church listed an hourly rate to mow the cemetery. The board approved a flat fee of $300.00.
Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:
Council Member John Glenn - Aye
Council Member James Long – abstained as he has not seen minutes marked final
Council Member Richard Sturgess - Aye
Council Member Donald Travis – Aye
Supervisor Scott Horton – Aye
At 9:06 pm Council Member Glenn made a motion to adjourn. Council Member Long seconded the motion. All board members were in favor of the motion.
Respectfully Submitted,
Linda M. Gilbert RMC, CMC
Caroga Town Clerk
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