West Seneca Town Board Meeting Minutes 08/25/2008
Supervisor Wallace C. Piotrowski 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 Piotrowski 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 Leonard Kurek, father-in-law of Police Captain Michael Boehringer. 13-A MINUTES TO BE APPROVED
13-B TABLED ITEMS 1. Adoption of Noise Ordinance Remained on the table. 2. Appointment of Edward Kowalewski as part-time laborer in Highway Dept. Remained on the table.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 1. Supervisor Piotrowski re Public hearing to amend Town Code to reduce size of Planning Board Motion by Supervisor Piotrowski to schedule a public hearing for September 22, 2008 at 7:30 P.M. for discussion on an amendment to Article 1, Section 28-1 of the Code of the Town of West Seneca to reduce the size of the West Seneca Planning Board from seven (7) members to five (5) members. Motion was lost due to lack of a second. 2. Supervisor Piotrowski re Bid date for purchase of wheelchair accessible van Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Bove, to set a bid date of September 15, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. for receipt of bids on the purchase of a Senior Citizens Wheelchair Accessible Van, noting that funding for this van was made available by NYS Senator William T. Stachowski through the NYS Office for the Aging.
3. Supervisor Piotrowski re Purchase requiring Town Board approval Motion by Councilwoman Bove, seconded by Councilman Clarke, to table this item.
4. Town Attorney re 2008 Upstate New York Officials Association agreement Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to authorize the Supervisor to enter into an agreement with the Upstate New York Officials Association for reimbursement of referee fees in the amount of $4000 for the 2008 football season. On the question, Town Attorney Edwin Hunter stated that the agreement attached to the agenda item was the 2007 agreement. The new agreement he drafted was basically identical to the Umpire Association agreement that was adopted earlier this year and had a stronger indemnification clause and a requirement that the insurance certificate be appended to the agreement. Mr. Hunter spoke with the Little Loop Football Association and the new agreement had been forwarded to them, but they returned it unsigned with the insurance certificate and asked that the town sign the agreement first.
5. Town Attorney re HRH Consulting Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Bove, to terminate the consulting arrangement between the Town of West Seneca and HRH Consulting, 344 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, New York. On the question, Councilwoman Bove thanked Town Attorney Edwin Hunter for discovering this which was an expense the town should not have been paying. Mr. Hunter stated that earlier this year he had reviewed the town’s insurance policies, and after speaking to people at First Niagara and EM Risk Management, it appeared that this was duplication and another level of expense that was not necessary. The town was fully protected with other levels of coverage.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 5. (continued) Councilman Graber noted that this was an unnecessary expense that the town had been paying and it will ultimately result in a savings of $18,000 annually.
6. Town Attorney re Public hearing on capital project bonding for W.S. Water District #3 Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to adopt the attached resolution scheduling a public hearing for September 8, 2008 at 7:30 P.M., pursuant to Section 202-b of the Town Law, to consider capital project bonding for the East & West Road Watermain in West Seneca Water District #3.
*APPENDICES* 7. Town Engineer re Hydrant addition on Seneca Street at Ebenezer Brook Apartments Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to approve an additional annual hydrant fee of $229.08 for Erie County Water Authority for addition of one hydrant and valve assembly on Seneca Street in front of the proposed Ebenezer Brook Apartments in West Seneca Fire District #5.
8. Town Engineer re Final acceptance of public watermain extension for Buffalo RV Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to accept the public watermain extension work for the Buffalo RV project completed by C.M. Holler Excavating & Grading, Inc., 34 Peuquet Pkwy., Tonawanda, NY 14150 under Public Improvement Permit #07-01.
9. Town Engineer re Rejection of bids on Ice Rink Abatement Project Motion by Councilwoman Bove, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to reject all bids on the Ice Rink Abatement Project, Job No. I-0809, on the basis of the fact that the bids were not properly advertised or lawful and request that the Town Clerk provide the town with the proofs of publication and posting of the legal notice for the bids that were received on August 13, 2008 and to accept the low bid of Empire Building in the amount of $123,970.00, noting that the bid of $82,905 from Rock Island Environmental Services was non-conforming in that no bid bond was provided and authorize Councilman Graber to execute the contract on behalf of the town.
10. Town Engineer re Knox Avenue Reconstruction Project, final change order & acceptance Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to approve final change order #2 for Kandey Company, Inc., 19 Ransier Drive, for a net deduct of $211,779.71 and accept the Knox Avenue Reconstruction Project, Job No. K-0701, at a final contract amount of $1,333,273.40.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 11. Town Engineer re Purchases requiring Town Board approval Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to authorize payment of the following vouchers for the Engineering Department: Building Science Investigations, Inc.
(ice rink inspection) $4000.00
12. Highway Supt. re Military leave of absence for Joseph Steen Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to grant a military leave of absence for Joseph Steen effective August 7 – 10, 2008 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
13. Highway Supt. re Title change for William Metzger to Highway Motor Equipment Operator Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to terminate William Metzger as Highway Laborer and appoint William Metzger as Highway Motor Equipment Operator, Group 2, Step 5, at a rate of $22.72 per hour effective August 4, 2008 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
14. Highway Supt. re Title change for M. Scarpello, J. Nicholas & R. Garry to Highway Laborer Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to terminate Michael Scarpello as Sanitation Laborer and James T. Nicholas and Robert Garry as Sanitation Motor Equipment Operators and appoint Michael Scarpello, James T. Nicholas, and Robert Garry as Highway Laborers, Group 1, Step 1, at a rate of $21.24 per hour effective August 4, 2008 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
15. Highway Supt. re Appointment of seasonal part-time laborers in Sanitation Department Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to appoint the following part-time seasonal laborers in the Sanitation Department at a rate of $7.15 per hour effective September 6, 2008:
and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 16. Highway Supt. re Purchases requiring Town Board approval Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to authorize payment of the following vouchers for the Highway Department: Valley Tire Co., Inc. (tires) $6657.00
17. Chief Gehen re Attendance at Int’l. Assoc. of Chiefs of Police training conference Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to authorize Chief Gehen to attend the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) training conference in San Diego, California, November 9 – 12, 2008 at a total cost not to exceed $2121.60.
18. Chief Gehen re Bid date for purchase of three (3) marked police vehicles Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to set a bid date of September 15, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. for receipt of bids on the purchase of three (3) marked police vehicles.
The Town Board recessed at 7:55 P.M. to Executive Session to discuss Item #19 & #20 and Tabled Item #2 and returned at 8:20 P.M. 2. Appointment of Edward Kowalewski as part-time laborer in Highway Dept. Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Bove, to remove this item from the table.
Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to appoint Edward Kowalewski as part-time laborer in the Highway Department effective August 26 – December 31, 2008 at a rate of $10 per hour and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
19. Chief Gehen re Retirement of Richard Martin as Public Safety Dispatcher Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to accept the retirement of Richard Martin and terminate him as Public Safety Dispatcher effective September 2, 2008 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel, noting that Mr. Martin has served the Town of West Seneca for 30 years and will be missed.
13-C COMMUNICATIONS 20. Chief Gehen re Appointment of Donald Littler as Public Safety Dispatcher Motion by Councilman Clarke, seconded by Councilwoman Bove, to appoint David Steinwandel as full-time Public Safety Dispatcher at an annual salary of $41,803.06 effective August 26, 2008 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel.
21. Town Justices re Justice Court Assistance Program grant application Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Bove, to authorize submission of a Justice Court Assistance Program grant application in the amount of $14,608.
22. Code Enforcement Officer re Canisius High School Athletic Fields signage Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Supervisor Piotrowski, to allow Canisius High School to place a 20 square foot free-standing identification sign for their athletic fields on land immediately adjacent to 2885 Clinton Street, noting that the land is owned by National Grid and an easement has been granted to Canisius High School.
23. Senior Services Director re Rate increase for part-time Food Service Helper Carol Kennedy Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to grant a $.50 per hour rate increase to part-time Food Service Helper Carol Kennedy effective May 22, 2008 and authorize the Supervisor to complete and sign the necessary forms for Erie County Personnel, noting that Mrs. Kennedy completed the 5400 hour requirement for this increase.
24. Youth Director re Approval of West Seneca Youth Board members Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Meegan, to approve Carolyn Kuberacki of the West Seneca Women’s Club and Daniel Dunn of the West Seneca School Board as board members on the West Seneca Youth Board.
13-D REPORTS
ISSUES OF THE PUBLIC EXPENDITURES IN ANIMAL CONTROL DEPARTMENT Michael Lowe, 98 Southgate Drive, stated that several weeks ago he had e-mailed all the Town Board members an adobe file of the Dog Control Officers’ expenditures for water, wireless communications, etc., and he questioned if they had any comments on this information. Supervisor Piotrowski responded that Mr. Lowe’s points were very well made and taken and he had many thoughts on the issue. He suggested that Mr. Lowe stop to see him at his office during the day or he is also available in the evening. Mr. Lowe thought the public in attendance at the meeting would also like an answer to some of the expenditures since there was a lot of money being spent. The cell phone bills were exorbitant and he thought the calls should be mostly incoming with not many outgoing calls. Mr. Lowe thought the cell phones were being used randomly for personal use and the public should not be paying for that. There were also a number of large charges under commercial card services that he was questioning. Mr. Lowe asked that the board members e-mail him if they had anything to report on this issue. YOUTH DIRECTOR POSITION Michael Lowe, 98 Southgate Drive, referred to a previous comment from Councilman Graber that Mark Lazzara’s position as Youth Director was a Civil Service position and stated that he checked with people in Erie County and they had on file a position of West Seneca Youth Center Director, not West Seneca Youth Bureau Director. Councilman Graber responded that whatever the exact title was, Mr. Lazzara was selected off a Civil Service list. Mr. Lowe stated that he would check this with the County and the labor attorney. Councilman Graber suggested that Mr. Lowe check with Kathy Hauger in the Supervisor’s office who handled personnel issues. REQUEST FOR LIST OF EMPLOYEE COSTS Paula Minklei, Orchard Park Road, recently visited the Town of Orchard Park website and viewed a list of employee costs for the year ended December 31, 2007. The list was broken down by job title and three categories – 1) total wages (including regular, overtime, longevity, stipends for waiving insurance coverage, sell back of vacation and holiday time, and uniform allowances); 2) total estimated benefits (including payments made to the retirement system, health, dental and life insurance, the town’s share of social security and medicare, and payments to the employee health reimbursement accounts and associated administrative fees); 3) totals of the first two categories. Mrs. Minklei found these figures very interesting as they probably approximate what would be found in the Town of West Seneca employee costs and because they gave figures to compare to pay received for similar jobs in the private sector where most of the taxpayers receive their own income and benefits. She requested the same information for West Seneca, organized by appropriate departments, be made publicly available to residents prior to or as a supplement to the 2009 town budget proposal. Mrs. Minklei noted that the Orchard Park Town Supervisor indicated it was a simple matter to extrapolate the information and it was the public’s due in the interest of open government. She commented that with the question of downsizing government coming before the voters this fall, the public should be particularly aware of the size and complexity of employee costs with which the Town Board members must deal. This was a major part of the tax obligations and needed adequate oversight. Mrs. Minklei urged the board members to direct the Supervisor and Comptroller to clearly provide this information as part of the 2009 budget process so that board members and the public can easily review the budgetary requirements.
ISSUES OF THE PUBLIC RESIDENTS INUNDATED WITH DEER Linda Wagner, 75 Valley Drive, commented that she and her neighbors have been inundated with deer and they were looking to the town for help. She referred to the bait and shoot programs in Cheektowaga, Williamsville, and Amherst and asked that something be done in West Seneca. Supervisor Piotrowski referred this matter to Chief Gehen and Animal Control. PRESENTATION OF COMMUNICATIONS BY BOARD MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS UPDATE ON OXBOW PROPERTY Town Attorney Edwin Hunter stated that he received a letter from Dean Drew, Attorney for the Jacobs’ family, and he had located the file on the oxbow property. Mr. Drew understood that the search and survey had been sent out subsequent to the deaths of several members of the Jacobs’ family in 2003. Mr. Drew hoped to have these documents shortly and would be updating the search. RENOVATIONS AT SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER Councilwoman Bove stated that she was asked by a number of senior citizens to publicly thank the Buildings & Grounds Department for their help in renovating the senior citizens center. The dance floor was in, everything looked beautiful, and the senior citizens were very proud of their center. CLEANING OF CREEK NEAR HARLEM ROAD Councilman Clarke thanked Highway Supt. Patrick Finnegan and his department for an excellent job in cleaning the creek from Harlem Road to the National Fuel property and noted that their cleaning work highly improved the flow of the creek. TERMINATION OF AMERICORPS EMPLOYEES AS TOWN EMPLOYEES Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilman Clarke, to terminate the following AmeriCorps employees as employees of the Town of West Seneca effective August 9, 2008: William Boldt, Christine Dalka, Joseph Demma, Adam Ellsworth, Michele Graber, Kevin Hayes, Robin Heiss, Bryan Lawrence, Shannon Lazzara, Melissa McGreevy, Patrick Metzger, Beth Miller, Lissa Piper, Carol Quinnan, Joshua Randle, Richard Rechtien, Aurtha Reinard, Kate Sarata, Catherine Seweryniak, Carrie Smith, Michele Tori, and Deirdra Wright; and further, the Town of West Seneca will no longer be responsible for processing payroll for 201 AmeriCorps members.
ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilman Graber, seconded by Councilwoman Bove, to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 P.M.
_______________________________________ PATRICIA C. DEPASQUALE, RMC/CMC |