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State of New York

County of Fulton

Town of Caroga

Minutes of the monthly Caroga Town Board meeting held Wednesday December 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. The flag salute followed.

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, and Travis were in the meeting room Council Members Long and Sturgess accessed the meeting remotely. Department heads Steve Jennings – Golf Pro, Greens keeper, and Manager, and Gene Centi Parks, Lakes, Recreation, and Tourism Commission were also in attendance. There were 4 members of the public also in attendance. Tor Shekerjian – Confidential Secretary to the Supervisor facilitated the ZOOM meeting. There were 40 signed in.

Supervisor Horton opened the emergency meeting by stating after the public portion of the meeting the board would go into an executive session to interview applicants for the assessor’s position.

Public Comment: Steve Putman stated he is a resident and worked for 26 years in the State Corrections Division and served 8 years as Highway Superintendent. He wrote a letter to the board members about town black top material that was given away by the current Highway Superintendent. This year the town purchased $20,428 worth of the same material. “Why are you giving it away and then going and buying it?” Mr. Putman stated the Highway Superintendent is responsible for this money lost. There are loads are all over town – at Nick Stoner Inn – when he had too much he pushed it over the bank on #18. This material was worth money. Someone has to be held responsible for it.

Council Member Glenn asked how much material he is talking about.

Mr. Putman estimates 500 ton was given away. He guessed it has a value of $10,000 - $12,000. He watched where some of the material went. There are rules, regulations, and town law that have to be followed. A shoe box of the material was brought in by Mr. Putman. He stated it is usable. The City of Johnstown has piles of it they are going to use. Mr. Putman stated he got in trouble by the previous board for wood being gotten rid of out of the ditches.

Supervisor Horton explained that he spoke to the Highway Superintendent on this. There is another side of the story. The Supervisor did not think the evidence was credible enough to go any further. There was no way to determine the quantity or quality. Supervisor Horton stated this is not the screened material the town used to repaving the South Shore of East Caroga Lake. The town received lots of this material for free. Whether that is the same material that was put someplace else, he did not know. He thinks there might be a misunderstanding as we did not pay for this material. So we are not giving something away. The Supervisor stated he could look into it further.

Mr. Putman stated the Supervisor was talking about something entirely different. Mr. Putman stated he picked this up with his hands. It could be used on the sides of the road, or on the cart paths on the golf course, or to fill the gigantic hole at the tower, or to fill in the hole where the golf course building was. The Highway Superintendent did not have the authority to give it away it is town property. The Board has a job to do to make sure the town gets what it deserves out of stuff. Mr. Putman stated a Council Member also received loads of it. He did not know it was coming. It should have been taken out of there it is unethical. Mr. Putman asked that someone go look at this.

Council Member Glenn asked where the piles of material were.

Mr. Putman stated down by the school on route 10 there are 5 – 6 piles, down at the farm on 137 – 10 loads, the Fish and Game Club got 8 – 10 loads, and at the end of Shawn Drive there are five loads. This is thousands of dollars.

Supervisor Horton stated Mr. Putman is over his 3 minutes. The Supervisor stated he did look into this and according to the Highway Superintendent the material that he did dispose of was useless. One says it has value the other says it doesn’t.

Mr. Putman asked why doesn’t any other town or municipalities give it away. Why is it out to bid? Mr. Putman had another subject he wanted to discuss. Mr. Putman stated there are signs on state signs. That is against the law. They are at Bath, Grove and both ends of Sgt. Witzke Drive. That is illegal.

Mr. Putman continued in October there was a meeting and it was put down that the 2019 highway budget was overdrawn. Mr. Putman stated that was a lie, it was not true. That is slandering him. People called him. He stated he has never gone over budget. He wanted the board to correct that.

Mr. Putman stated that recently someone took demolition to the stump dump. The Highway Superintendent was called from the job site and he approved the material going there. Mr. Putman witnessed this. He stated the nails were to be taken out of it. There were old railroad ties. His exact words were I’ll have one my special people go push it off tomorrow morning so no one sees it.

Council Member Long stated the current Highway Superintendent sent him a message that he wanted to speak.

Mr. Larry Voght Highway Superintendent stated Mr. Putman’s complaining about millings being given away. It wasn’t millings it was fill. He told Mr. Putman to watch what he says because he has 78 pictures of him doing the same thing dumping into a pit.

Supervisor Horton asked for any more public speakers, hearing none the public portion of the meeting was closed at 7:17 pm.

Supervisor Horton announced and made a motion at 7:18 to go into an executive session to discuss four candidates that have applied for the Sole Assessor position. The Town Clerk was invited in to the session for her experience with the assessor’s position. The motion was seconded by Council Member Glenn.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Council Member Donald Travis – Yes

At 8:48 pm Council Member Glenn made a motion to exit from the executive session. Council Member Long seconded the motion. All board members were in favor of the motion.

As a result of the executive session the board stated that they interviewed four candidates for the position of Sole Assessor. The interviews went very well. The applicants answered the questions candidly, the board ranked them based on a series of factors. They decided to bring back two of the candidates at a later date to interview them again. There was no decision made at this time. The board has further questions of the two remaining candidates.

Department Reports:

Town Clerk/Tax Collector/Registrar/RMO – Gilbert the Clerk submitted a written report. The clerk noted the importance of keeping our records safe. Storing working documents at the end of the day in a secure location was suggested. A memo will go out to department heads asking for a list of files they maintain.

The clerk continues to work on the web page.webpage.

The bookkeeper needs to update NYS Retirement with the clerk’s service credit. The town and the clerk were notified back in May on this.

The Tax Collector received back the signed certified letter notification on the refund check that was uncashed. The check is now over 180-day limit to cash it the $27.20 will be turned over to the Supervisor.

The Clerk knows the public was concerned about the Parks, Lake, Recreation and Tourism/celebrations line item in the budget. I have done some additional research through the Association of Towns which she will share with the town board at a future date.

Sheriff Giardino send out a survey. Copies were given to the board it is available to the public.

The Town Clerk is working with Grassland – they are requesting model and serial numbers of the golf machinery in the highway barn. They need this information so they can order parts. The clerk asked the Bookkeeper to review her files for this information. As a last resort the highway department will be asked for their help.

There was one additional correspondence today from Fulton County regarding workers compensation.

This afternoon the clerk was contacted by the Nick Stoner Trailers asking for use of the pavilion on February 6th for a non-poker run. They would like to have a fire pit which they would reseed in the spring, and want to hang tarps on the pavilion. They want the event to be outdoors with social distancing. The event would be from 9 – 5. The clerk noted a committee has not yet been formed.

Supervisor Horton stated the tarps and the congregation might be an issue. (Council Member Long was having difficulty hearing)

Council Member Glenn wondered if Mr. Ivancic was still in attendance. He saw him logged in earlier.

Council Member Sturgess asked what the date was and wondered if the area was going to be kept plowed out for it. The clerk stated the groomer could pack down the area. The clerk will relay the boards concerns.

Code Enforcement & Sanitation – Fancher – No report

Dog Control – Dutcher No report

Golf Course – no new information on the course. The Supervisor wanted to wait for the PLRTPRLT report.

Highway –Supervisor Horton stated Mr. Voght is looking for a diagnostic kit (almost $8,700.00) so they can do more repairs in house. Supervisor Horton thought more time should be spent on reviewing the need vs benefit. The clerk asked if anyone else in the area had one. Supervisor Horton suggested asking other highway garages in the county. They have helped us with paving projects and we have returned the favors.

The highway staff built a snow pusher for the cat loader. Materials cost about $1,800.00. The cost to purchase one $10,500.00, a tremendous savings. The guys can’t be thanked enough for what they do. Council Member Travis stated it looks brand new.

Daily maintenance and safety checks are being conducted.

Supervisor Horton stated they helped the snowmobile club with trails.

Council Member Long again stated the difficulty he has hearing the Supervisor. He asked him to speak louder.

Lakes Management Program – Council Member Glenn stated the program is closed down for the season. Marcus Harazin submitted the expenditure reports and vouchers for reimbursement. Council Member Glenn noted the governor signed the [Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act]in the limited salt for the roads in the Adirondacks. He wanted to make sure the town was cutting back on the salt we are using on our roads. Supervisor Horton noted the town supported that program the governor signed. It is a two year study mostly in Washington County. The Supervisor suggested talking to the highway superintendent to see if we can reduce salt usage. This effects the lakes and wells also he noted.

Town Hall Building and the NLH Mini Clinic – Council Member Travis stated the clerk reported the court room has been cold. Appolo was called in. There is one thermostat that runs two rooms. When the meeting room is at 70° the court is at 65°. The Appolo tech will meet with his boss to discuss putting in another circulator and a zone for just the court room. The thermostat would be programmable. It may save the town some energy.

Sheetrock is being installed in the mini clinic. Friday the water will be hooked up to the town hall building water. Council Member Travis noted the town has a (ultra violet) light system to sanitize it. A second light is being looked at for over in the clinic. The board of health had said they wanted a chlorination system. The architect Fred Franko was going to check with the Board of Health to see if the light system would be sufficient. The windows and doors are all in. They have heat and are getting ready to paint inside. The 15 of January is when construction is expected to be done. Then the hospital could move in. Council Member Travis stated if they don’t take the furniture to the new building he would like the chairs for the meeting room.

Historian – Nilsen – No report

Wheelerville Bike Trail – Council Member Long stated Jeremy is not on line tonight. He has a newborn baby. Supervisor Horton informed the board that the paperwork for reimbursement could be ready to be signed and notarized tomorrow. Mr. Manning was extremely pleased with the number of volunteer hours to be submitted. There were 521 volunteer hours. The reimbursement for those hours is about $16,500.00 for the in kind service. A resident in attendance figured that to be about $31 - $32 per hour. That is a tremendous amount of community support. Supervisor Horton’s wife was thanked for volunteering. The clerk distributed a brochure of the rules from Stratton Mountain Bike Park she found while in Vermont recently.

Parks, Lakes, Recreation, and Tourism Commission – Gene Centi reported there will be outhouse races on February 21st. The Nick Stoner Snowmobile club will groom for snowshoe and cross country course on the front 9 of the golf course. There is a Memorial Day parade in the planning stage. There will be a Father’s Day fishing contest on June 20th. On July 17 or 24 there will be collaboration with the Rodeo with music and food trucks. On August 21st there is another collaboration with the Rodeo for a family day with various farm and ranch activities for kids, food trucks, and more. In October there will be another Trunk or Treat. In December there will be an annual tree lighting. That is the calendar for 2021 so far. Council Member Glenn stated outstanding. Council Member Travis stated sounds like a lot of nice parties. Supervisor Horton was pleased with the cooperation of the community.

Mr. Shekerjian received a message that there will be an event on Sunday from 6 – 8 pm at the boat wash station across the street to meet Santa. Mr. Centi noted the tree was donated by Kim Walker and Keith from the rodeo. There will be goodie bags for the kids as they drive through.

Supervisor Horton asked Mr. Centi to report what the steering committee has been doing. Mr. Centi has been researching renting golf carts. He reached out to three major cart companies, EZ Go, Yamaha, and Club Cars. He asked them for proposals to supply the town with carts. He prefaced this by noting we have to move ahead quickly with this. The town needs to get an order in with any of these companies by the end of December or we will not have carts in April. He asked them for proposals for a leasing and a purchase program. The proposals were sent to the Supervisor. Mr. Centi stated leasing is the way to go right now. It is a six (6) year lease with full service on the carts for that period of time. At the end of the lease the carts are returned and we get new ones. A lease from Club Car & EZ Go is $3,091.45 and $3,000 a month respectively, and from Yamaha it is $2,790 a month for six months, payments run from May to October annually. The cost for the season is $18,548.70, $18,000, and $16,740 from Yamaha.

Council Member Long asked if the minutes of these (Steering Committee) meetings are available and that the ZOOM meeting ID be available under the executive orders that we are operating under. He wanted to make sure there was proper notification of the meetings and he wanted the meeting minutes. Mr. Centi stated he was talking about the carts right now. His request can be brought up with the Supervisor.

Supervisor Horton asked if these were gas powered. Mr. Centi replied yes. Supervisor Horton asked who does the maintenance. Mr. Centi replied the companies offer full service maintenance of the carts during the time that we own or lease. He stated they will come on demand or periodically to service the carts. “At a minimum, if everything is going fine, they will be here once a year to service all 30 carts.” That will include oil changes, plugs, full service maintenance on them. Mr. Centi stated each company provided us with a lease option. In addition to that each company is offering under the lease agreement complete service including service calls as needed and an annual full service for all of the carts. Yamaha and Club car are offering temporary replacement carts for any cart taken out of service for more than one day and that cannot be repaired on site. In addition Yamaha is offering one free trailer which is 10 carts per year for the town for a tournament. So we would not have that expense and we could also rent more. Additionally Yamaha is offering the Yama-track GPS system at no charge. Golfers will be able to download the app and use it on the course. It is a course specific GPS program that tells the length of the course and all of the stats of the course. Mr. Centi noted anytime one company offered something he went back to the other companies and asked them if they wanted to make their proposal more interesting for the town. Mr. Centi asked all three of them if there was any advertising money available or if they would sponsor any tournaments during the course of the year. Yamaha’s advertising money has dried up but he would offer a hole in one prize of a golf cart and additionally on the par 3’s they would offer other prizes such as TV’s. This would be done for the grand re-opening of the course. It was noted that normally the GPS system would cost the course money. This is being offered to the town at no charge.

Supervisor Horton asked Mr. Centi if he did any calculations on the revenues. He replied if we went with the lowest proposal that is Yamaha – that would cost $16,740 per year. He did an analysis based on this past year on an annual rental of $4,500 carts at the current rate of $12 per cart per person. The income on them would be $54,000.00 that is a profit of $37,260.00. The cost for gas needed to be deducted.

Council Member Sturgess estimated the income to be $30,000.00.

Supervisor Horton asked where the dealership was located and what other courses around here used Yamaha’s. Mr. Centi stated Yamaha is out of Queensbury [it is Hudson, NY], and Cobleskill Golf Course just entered into their second agreement with Yamaha. Ticonderoga uses them and Cobleskill just bought some carts this year. Denny Fincke was thanked also for helping with this.

The Clerk asked if the attorney had looked at the lease agreement and asked if the town stores the carts or do they take them back. The town stores them. Council Member Glenn thought it was too soon to involve the attorney until the board makes a decision.

Council Member Sturgess noted he was having difficulty hearing the discussions going on in the meeting room.

Supervisor Horton stated later on in the meeting the board will address what they want to do and how they want to go forward.

Sewer Study – Council Member Glenn – nothing new at this time.

Green Lake Road parking – Council Member Long stated nothing new on this.

Supervisor’s Report:

Still working on the street lighting project – The inventory has been completed and verified by Councilman Travis, and confidential secretary Tor Shekerjian with Supervisor Horton doing about half of them. The map of the location of proposed new lighting is in the Town Clerk’s office for public inspection. An informational meeting will be held in the future using the new large screen TV. About half of the existing lights will be eliminated. They used a set of uniform rules on which lights to keep and which to get rid of. They are being evaluated for cost and environmental reasons – light pollution. The Town Center area should be a focal point and should be lit and perhaps with a decorative lighting. When the final report is back from the engineer Supervisor Horton hopes that by eliminating half the lights, keeping it at major intersections, at town center and around the golf course and town hall that we can still be within budget or less. One other factor to be looked at by the board and public are lots of controls on the lights. They can be programmedprogramed, they can be dimmed, and they can have cameras and GPS on them, and they can have communication capabilities. They have come quite a ways. It is not as simple as take this one out and putting another in.

Old Business:

Franchise Agreement with Time Warner/Spectrum - No new information. Still have to work on this. Supervisor Horton wants to know what other townships have done. He has not had time to do this.

Cyber Recommendations for town by NYMIR are being addressed. Supervisor Horton stated getting closer. A less expensive way to do the backup was found but supplies of this equipment are low. Our IT consultant Canada Lake Computers has one. He is testing it out making sure it works as advertised before it is installed at the town. It will be a little bit of a savings.

No comment on Building Code Department Fees or records room cleanup by Bookkeeper needed Robert Sullivan- President of CLVFC requested a zoning change

Phone System Bids will be discussed later.

Council Member Long having difficulty hearing the Supervisor. The clerk stated the problem is the (microphone) system was not on. Mr. Shekerjian moved the speaker closer to the camera, Council Member Long noted the importance of the distance between the microphone and the speaker. The microphone for the supervisor was turned on.

New Business:

Sexual Harassment Training – the clerk contacted Fulton County Soil and Water about the training materials they used at the County Board of Supervisors. They will send over the 2 – 20 minute videos and training documents. Everyone who works for the town has to take the training annually.

Supervisor Horton stated everyone could read over the list of Correspondence:

James Long commented on the special use permit for Manzer and Foster $100 each. A 2nd letter was received from Craig Foster for a refund. Council Member Long stated this is a little more complicated in speaking with the Planning Board Chairman Al Kozakiewicz and the Code Officer Anthony Fancher. Originally Council Member Long thought they should be refunded with an apology. “It turns out that each of the two applicants have had significant code violations. He recommends the town do nothing tonight until he investigates further.

There were 42 emails from residents regarding Zoom from 11/4 to 11/10

Correspondence from Dunn and Dunn finalizing Morey Road Case

NYS Local Retirement System paperwork updated for Judge Subik

Fulton County Solid Waste Transfer Station open Saturday 12/26 and 1/2/21

NYS Planning Federation training announcement December through April

RESOLUTION 2020-151 to set the date of claims for 2020 was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall.

WHEREAS, the town is required to post a public notice in the paper for anyone that has a claim against the town for the year 2020,

WHEREAS, the purpose of the notice is to set the date that all invoices for services render or purchases shall be submitted to the town, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town Board does hereby move to set the date of December 31st 2020 to be the deadline for the claims to be submitted.

Seconded by Council Member Glenn

The Clerk asked when the board anticipated having the last meeting so these bill could be paid. Council Member Long stated that would mean the deadline would have to be before the 30th. Supervisor Horton stated the claims could still be paid the following month. The Supervisor stated this was just a notice, not a payment date. He stated it is usually violated. But for legal reasons we have to do this.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Supervisor Horton stated we need a place to store the golf carts and new equipment and other equipment that we have for the golf course. Now we are using an area in the highway garage. They need their space. The fire company thinks they will be leaving that building around December 21st. They sent the town a proposal for leasing the old fire house for one year with four - four month extensions. The lease rate is $2,200.00 per month. The town would pay for the electricity, gas, there’s no taxes on the building, the town would do regular maintenance – mowing, and anything major the Fire Company would be responsible for. They need to have access to the fire hydrant on the property. Supervisor Horton talked to NYMIR and asked if this was a covered & reasonable customary expense. They said yes it is and there would be no problem with them paying/reimbursing the town for that. This will be the first of many things that the Supervisor will do the legwork and then make sure they are within the terms of the insurance policy and make sure the expense is reimbursable. Shortly there will be other expenses related to the golf course fire claim…

Council Member Long made the follow resolution.

Resolution 2020-152 to lease the old fire house was offered by Council Member Long at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall.

WHEREAS, the town is in need of a place to store golf carts, new equipment, and other equipment that we have for the golf course due to the fire at the golf course building on November 15, 2020, and

WHEREAS, the town received a lease agreement from the Caroga Lake Volunteer Fire Company for the property located at 1785 St. Hwy 10 Caroga Lake NY for the purpose of storing and maintaining equipment owned by the town, and

WHEREAS, the town shall pay the sum of $2,200.00 per month on the first day of each month beginning January 1st 2021 for the term of one year which may be extended in four month increments a maximum of four times, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town board does hereby move to lease the old fire house in accordance with the terms set forth in the lease agreement.

Seconded by Council Member Sturgess

Council Member Glenn commended the Supervisors negotiations with the fire company. Supervisor Horton stated it actually helps the taxpayers out a lot.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Phone System: Council Member Travis stated this is something he, Dave Falvo, the clerk Linda Gilbert, Tor Shekerjian have worked on since September 1st. Five different companies were contacted. The field was narrowed down to two. One is Northeast 880 Watervliet-Shaker Rd “they were at $6,939.00 but I talked Shari Dunlap down to $6,250.00.” That is a $732.00 discount. The maintenance was $500. “They are going ½ on the maintenance – they went to $250 on the maintenance fee.” The clerk asked for how many years. Council Member Travis replied three. They said they had a better product than the other company. They want 60% down and the remainder when the job is finished. They have a state contract he noted. The clerk asked if the product under state contract is the same product being looked at. Council Member Travis did not know. The clerk stated this call was made late this afternoon. As one of the committee members this information was not discussed with her. They sent a prospectus of their company to Council Member Travis. They have 24 employees, 7 technical people, and have 40 billion in revenues. They gave a list of customers they have done business with.

The second company is PCM Communications LLC, Cutter Drive Johnstown NY. That was $5,426.00. That is with a five year warranty.warrantee. They offered a backup battery system for an extra $150.00. They have an hourly rate for work. The warrantywarrantee is $350.00 at the time of purchase. They have different phones than Northeast. PCM is out of Mayfield or Broadalbin. The other company is out of Albany. PCM is a one man company.

Council Member Travis stated Northeast would respond right off 24/7. The other place Council Member Travis stated he would be there that day or maybe the next he was by himself. The clerk stated he said he would respond pretty promptly.

Mr. Falvo recapped how the group reviewed all of the systems. Either company would be a fit for the town. The local company always answered his phone and was always available. He stated Northeast has more boots on the ground.

Council Member Long state we have been told by the governor that we must plan for emergency events. It seems to him the most flexible system which he has mentioned in the past is a cell phone based system. He noted the close proximity of the AT&T tower to town hall. The only problem he saw was transferring calls. Once people get used to calling a direct number he doesn’t see it as a downside. The capital cost is far lower and he did not think the operating cost was unreasonable.

Mr. Falvo stated it was tough to run a business that is cell based. He knows of companies that have tried it and it has not worked that well. There were problems with all features. For full disclosure Supervisor Horton noted Mr. Falvo is a sales engineer for Spectrum Communications. He is a qualified individual and it was noted that his company was not a good fit.

Supervisor Horton asked about conference calling with more than two people. It could not be done on the existing system earlier this evening. Do we know if this new system can do a multiple person conference call? The clerk state she would find out and put in a call to the PCM owner. Council Member Long noted the cell phone conference call showed how cell phones can work in this environment. Council Member Long noted some may not need a cell phone choosing to use their own cell phone.

Council Member Sturgess was concerned about the cost if people did not want to use their personal cell phone for town business. Walking around with two phones. The cost for broken phones, and updating phones as new models come out every 6 – 8 months. Council Member Long used his 6-year-old phone this evening. Supervisor Horton apologized but it is 9:55 pm and there is more on the agenda. Supervisor Horton asked if this project involved any new wiring. Council Member Travis stated the existing wiring would be used. The Supervisor asked for his recommendation. Council Member Travis thought going with the bigger company Northeast. The clerk disagreed. Council Member Travis made a motion to go with Northeast.

Resolution 2020-153 to purchase new phone system for Town Hall was offered by Council Member Travis at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall.

WHEREAS, Council Member Travis, Tor Shekerjian, Linda Gilbert and Dave Falvo met numerous times from September 1st to the beginning of December to discuss various options, and research various companies to replace the existing phone system at town hall which is no longer supported by Frontier Communications for updates to the phone system currently in use, and

WHEREAS, Council Member Travis contacted Northeast Communications this afternoon and got a reduction in their price for NEC phones, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town Board does hereby move to have Northeast of 880 Watervliet - Shaker Road replace the phones at town hall at a price of $6,250.00 with an annual maintenance fee of $250.00.

Seconded by Council Member Glenn

Discussion: The clerk stated its $1,500 more with less warrantywarrantee, the owner of PCM responded to the clerk’s text stating there has to be enough dial tones (lines) for the conference call to go through. She didn’t believe that Northeast would respond at 10 pm. She noted PCM has installed systems for the hospital, Ruby and Quiri and several other businesses in Fulton and neighboring counties.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member Richard Sturgess - No

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Nay

Supervisor Horton stated everyone received the six (6) page proposal from Phinney Design Group. Council Member Long was not sure he received it. The clerk scanned and sent it to Council Member Long yesterday. Supervisor Horton explained that state law allows for a town to contract for professional services without going out to competitive bid. The Supervisor stated he looked at three architectural firms that specialize in clubhouse design for golf courses. One was in Colorado the other in Atlanta Georgia. Phinney Design Group is in Saratoga. They’ve done work at Saratoga National, Kinderhook and are currently working on Ticonderoga Clubhouse right now. The Ticonderoga course also had a fire and coincidentally NYMIR is the insurance agent for them.

RESOLUTION 2020-154 to engage the services of an architect to design a new clubhouse was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall.

WHEREAS, The Nick Stoner Municipal Golf Course building burned to the ground on November 15, 2020, and

WHEREAS, the Supervisor has researched architects that design golf course buildings, and

WHEREAS, Supervisor Horton has had some discussions with people in the construction trade who had opinions on architects but approved of the Phinney Design Group, and

WHEREAS, the hiring of Phinney Design Group is contingent upon approval by our insurance company NYMIR approving, and

WHEREAS, no tax payer money will be used for this architect, and

WHEREAS, time is of the essence for this professional advice with the scope of work covering five different phases of design. Now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the board approve the expenditure of one lump sum of $24,000.00 for the first three phases to define the scope of work, and come up with a conceptual plan with the next two phases is the heart of the design work/specifications, and go out to competitive bid.

Seconded by Council Member Glenn

Discussion: Council Member Long stated if he had to make a decision tonight there is no question that Phinney Design would be the architect he would pick. The process is what concerns him. He thought the town should get multiple proposals. He knows Phinney is the strongest candidate by far. Supervisor Horton entertained spending the time to look at other design groups. If another firm was just a bit less expensive but didn’t have the experience of Phinney and they make a mistake. Who are they going to point the finger at? This would only be saving insurance money the town had already paid for in a premium policy. That is the supervisor’s argument. Supervisor Horton did consult with counsel on this. We are in the right to do this.

Council Member Sturgess asked if the money goes from the insurance company to the architect. Supervisor Horton replied we pay the bill and get reimbursed. Supervisor Horton noted the town has already received a down payment of $50,000.00 from the insurance company to help the town’s cash flow. The town shouldn’t ever get into a cash flow bind.

The Clerk asked if the design group is going to bring this board location options, or has something already been discussed? The short answer Supervisor Horton stated is yes. No decisions have been made on this other than we need a clubhouse and it’s got to go someplace. There is a strong feeling out there, and the architect he thought concurs with it. It will be an architectural design befitting an Adirondack community.

The clerk reviewed the phases of the outline submitted by Phinney Design Group. Phase 1 is meeting with the client. The SupervisorSuperivsor extended the clerk liberty but asked that she be short. She continued - It is spelled out that they would visit the site, and then provide code and zoning analyses and then review space, schedule, and budget needs with owner. The clerk stated the public needed to know this.

Supervisor Horton stated this was going to be extremely transparent. Council Member Glenn stated that is why there is a steering committee. The recommendations will be coming from the committee not Scott Horton. Supervisor Horton thanked the public for their suggestions.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Superivsor Horton wanted to formally add Denny FinckeFinke to the steering committee. His grandfather along with Cyrus Durey built this course. He is an avid golfer and has a lot of connections with the golfing community and has many ideas. He lives here in town.

RESOLUTION 2020-155 to add Denny Fincke to the golf course steering committee was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall.

WHEREAS, The Nick Stoner Municipal Golf Course building burned to the ground on November 15, 2020, and

WHEREAS, a steering committee was formed at the November 25th meeting see resolution # 2020-147 now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town Board does hereby move to appoint Denny FinckeFinke to serve on the golf course steering committee.

Seconded by Council Member Long

Council Member Sturgess had a conversation with Mr. Fincke and noted how passionate he was about the golf course. Mr. Centi was asked for his input and stated he has had some great conversations with Denny. He and the Supervisor met with him for several hours early this spring. He was very passionate and has lots of connections. They talked about golf carts and he looked over the proposals. Supervisor Horton spoke with the other committee members and also spoke to Steve Jennings as well about this.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Supervisor Scott Horton - Aye

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Horton explained the need for this resolution to solicit bids for a temporary clubhouse structure and for utility services including setting a utility pole, a temporary septic holding tank system and temporary water, electric, phone and internet service for a temporary golf course clubhouse. He noted if the golf course doesn’t reopen then the insurance company has to pay business interruption at $194,000.00 a year. That is more expensive than $20,000 for a temporary clubhouse. The town owns the telephone pole. The Supervisor wants to move forward so people can play golf in April. He stated that this will be paid for with our insurance company NYMIR.

Council Member Long thought the resolution was reasonable but there was language missing. He thought a date should be set for receipt of the bids, and to note if the bid is binding or at the board’s discretion to accept.

Supervisor Horton stated it was still a little nebulous as we don’t know if we are hooking to a holding tank or do something else. He will need some guidance. He is asking the board to let us go out and get bids/pricing. He wants support of the board to go out with the intent of us to make these decisions. Once we solicit bids the Supervisor did not have a problem putting those things in there.

Council Member Long thought it was helpful for the bidder to a have a specific date. This is a board decision.

Council Member Sturgess wondered how we put something like the septic issue out to bid. Are we going to pump to a holding tank or to our ex leach field. Council Member Long wondered if we needed an engineering firm to guide the board. It was asked if Phinney could help the town with this. Supervisor Horton responded that is why he was pushing to get them. They would help….again this has to be run past the insurance company. This is all a reimbursable expense. This will allow us to be playing golf instead of preventing us from not playing golf. The Supervisor noted the amount of time it takes to get utilities to schedule and perform work to provide service.

RESOLUTION 2020-156 to solicit bids for services for a temporary clubhouse structure was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall.

WHEREAS, The Nick Stoner Municipal Golf Course building burned to the ground on November 15, 2020, and

WHEREAS, there is a need to put in place certain facilities to and for a temporary clubhouse structure, and

WHEREAS, we have an architect who can help us in this endeavor, with some work already being done, and

WHEREAS, time is of the essence with the winter season upon us, and

WHEREAS, the SupervisorSuperivsor still has to contact the insurance company to see what they are paying for, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the following solicit bids for a temporary club house structure and for utility services including setting a utility pole, a temporary septic holding tank system and temporary water, electric, phone and internet service for a temporary golf course club house

Seconded by Council Member Long

Discussion: Supervisor stated remember nothing gets contracted without board approval.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

The next two proposed resolutions were tabled. More work has to be done with interviews.

Resolution 2020-xxx to set the compensation for the Sole Assessor position.

Resolution 2020-xxx To appoint an individual to the position of Sole Assessor for the Town of Caroga, to fill out the remaining 6 year term of VickiVikki Hayner,

The board discussed and set a hybrid meeting for Wednesday December 16 at 10 am to interview candidates for the assessor position. Council Member Long suggested reusing ID’s for the ZOOM meetings.

Council Member Long noted the Department of State training called into question of the legality of waiting rooms. This was mentioned to Mr. Shekerjian in a private chat. He suggested eliminating them. Waiting rooms were explained as being when someone joins a meeting then there is a manual step for the moderator to allow them to attend. GoToMeeting.comGotomeetings.com does not have this feature. Mr. Shekerjian noted that no one has ever been locked out of a meeting. Council Member Long stated someone tried to join when the board was going in executive session and was not let in. The person I-messaged Council Member Long.

Supervisor Horton wanted to make a resolution on the golf carts but, he noted, they already solicited the bids. “They jumped the gun.” He stated. He made a resolution to accept the low bidder Yamaha to lease 30 gas carts from W & B Golf Carts out of Queensbury[Hudson] NY for six years.

Council Member Long noted the town board is supposed to make a motion to solicit bids. He was a little concerned that the law was not followed. The supervisor was proposing a resolution to accept the solicited bids they did without authorizing soliciting bids. Since we are meeting on the 16th the Supervisor stated we can cross the ‘”T’s” and dot the “I’s.” The deadline for bids was set as tomorrow. They have researched the top three.

RESOLUTION 2020-157 to solicit bids to lease, rent or purchase 30 golf carts for six years was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall.

WHEREAS, The Nick Stoner Municipal Golf Course building burned to the ground on November 15, 2020, and

WHEREAS, there is a need to have carts at the Nick Stoner Municipal Golf Course for 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, and

WHEREAS, bids will be accept until December 10, 2020, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town board does hereby move to soloist bids to lease, rent or purchase 30 golf carts for six years.

Seconded by Council Member Long

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

RESOLUTION 2020-158 to set the year end and organizational meetings was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall

WHEREAS, the Caroga Supervisor has determined the need to hold two meetings, and

WHEREAS the board discussed setting the end of year Town Board meeting for December 30, 2020, 7PM, and the organizational meeting on January 6, 2020 at 7PM and

WHEREAS, the Supervisor stated the meetings will be both virtual and in person, with no more than 10 persons attending in person. Temperatures of all in-person attendees will be taken before admittance to the meeting. Face masks required. The in-person attendance may be subject to change based upon COVID circumstances. Now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town Board will hold an end of year Town Board meeting on December 30, 2020, at 7PM, and an organizational meeting on January 6, 2020 at 7PM.

Seconded by Council Member Long

Discussion: Council Member Long wanted to use the same ZOOM ID again.

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Aye

Supervisor Horton didn’t remember getting the 11/11, 11/17 2020 meeting minutes. Council Member Long didn’t get any that were marked final. Accepting the minutes was tabled.

RESOLUTION 2020-159 to renew Landfill use permit for Town Trucks at Mud Road was offered by Supervisor Horton at the regular monthly meeting of the Caroga Town Board held on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7 pm at town hall

WHEREAS, the town received the 2021 Landfill use renewal application from the Fulton County Department of Solid Waste dated November 18, 2020, and

WHEREAS, the board desires to enter into contract with the county to use the site in 2021, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Town of Caroga does hereby move to authorized the Supervisor to sign the 2021 Landfill Use Renewal Application for the year 2021.

Seconded by Council Member Long

Adopted by a roll call vote as follows:

Council Member Donald Travis - Yes

Supervisor Scott Horton - Yes

Council Member John Glenn - Yes

Council Member James Long - Aye

Council Member Richard Sturgess - Yes

The clerk received notice on December 1st 2020 of the application to the New York State ABC Board for Royal Mountain Ski Area Inc. The owner has asked the board to waive the 30-day waiting period.

RESOLUTION #2020-160 to waive waiting period for a New York State Liquor License for Royal Mountain Ski Area Inc.

Offered by Council Member Long Seconded by Council Member Glenn

WHEREAS, the Caroga Town Board held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday December 9, 2020 at 7:00 pm at 1840 State Highway #10 in the Town of Caroga for the purpose of conducting town business, and

WHEREAS, the Caroga Town Clerk did receive a standardized notice form for providing 30-day advance notice to the local municipality from Royal Mountain Ski Area, Inc. located at 3072 State Highway #10 in the Town of Caroga and the County of Fulton on December 1st 2020 stating that they are applying for a liquor license pursuant to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, and

WHEREAS, Jacob Tennis the ski resort owner would like to expedite the process in obtaining said license, and have asked the Town Board for a statement of acceptance therefore waiving the 30-day waiting period for a New York State on premises liquor license enabling the establishment to move forward in opening the business this winter, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Caroga Town Board does hereby move to accept the application for a liquor license on the premises known as Royal Mountain Ski Area Inc. 3072 State Highway # 10 Caroga Lake NY 12032 and does hereby move to waive the 30-day waiting period.

Adopted by the following roll call vote:

Supervisor Horton - Aye

Council Member Glenn – Yes

Council Member Long – Aye

Council Member Sturgess – Yes

Council Member Travis – Yes

Supervisor Horton made a motion to pay the bills as presented for audit. Council Member Glenn seconded the motion.

Adopted by the following roll call vote:

Council Member Glenn – Yes

Council Member Long – abstained

Council Member Sturgess – Yes

Council Member Travis – Yes

Supervisor Horton – Yes

Council Member Sturgess wanted to approve the use of the pavilion for the Snow Mobile Club. Other board members wanted more information, and tabled this until the 16th.

At 10:37 pm Council Member Long made the motion to adjourn. Council Member Sturgess seconded the motion. All board members were in favor of the motion.

Respectfully Submitted.

Linda M. Gilbert, RMC, CMC

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