The Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Albion was held Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 7:00 PM, at the Village Hall, 35 East Bank Street, Albion, New York.
Present were Mayor Dean A London, Trustees Eileen S Banker, Stan Farone, Gary Katsanis and Peter Sidari.
Attorney John C Gavenda was absent.
Also in attendance was the Chief Pollution Control Plant Operator Aric Albright and Superintendent of the Public Works Dale Brooks. There were 7 residents and students present.
Mayor London opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance at 7:00 PM.
DEPARTMENT HEADS
Moved by Trustee Sidari and seconded by Trustee Banker approving Code Enforcement Officer Ron Vendetti request to attend the NY Planning Federation Conference April 12th – April 14th at Bolton’s Landing New York.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
OLD BUSINESS:
Trustee Katsanis will review the current Village policies. Attorney Gavenda will be contacting NYCOM for samples.
ACCEPT TREASURERS REPORT
Moved by Trustee Farone and seconded by Trustee Katsanis accepting the Treasurer’s Report for February 2015.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
APPROVED MINUTES
Moved by Trustee Farone and seconded by Trustee Katsanis that in as much as each member received copies of the minutes of February 25, 2015 and there being no errors or omissions, minutes are hereby approved as written.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
APPROVED PAYMENT OF VILLAGE BILLS
Moved by Trustee Sidari and seconded by Trustee Banker approving payment of the following Village bills:
General Voucher #20916- $53,125.88
Water to #21087 $ 6,532.83 Sewer $ 2,743.09
The Board would like the Department Heads reminded to sign off on payments as soon as they can.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
APPROVED PAYMENT CHATFIELD BILLS
Moved by Trustee Katsanis and seconded by Trustee Farone approving the following bill submitted by Chatfield Engineers to be paid:
JMIPCF Capital Improvement Plan 09-924-54 $$7,827.46
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
APPROVED PAYMENT TO DONEGAN
Moved by Trustee Katsanis and seconded by Trustee Banker approving payment to Bernard P Donegan Inc for the following services rendered December 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015:
JMIPCF $541.53
Clarendon St Bridge 764.50
Fire Truck 34.75
FMS 104.25
$1,445.03
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
APPROVED PAYMENT TO OSBORN, REED AND BURKE
Moved by Trustee Sidari and seconded by Trustee Katsanis approving payment to Osborn, Reed & Burke LLP for services rendered February 17, 2015 in the amount of $66.00.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
APPROVED LEASE DOCUMENTS FOR 2015 TAHOE
Moved by Trustee Sidari and seconded by Trustee Farone approving Mayor London to sign the lease agreement documents with First Niagara Leasing Inc for the Police Departments 2015 Tahoe.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
APPROVED PAYMENT TO SAVARINO
Moved by Trustee Farone and seconded by Trustee Banker approving payment to Savarino Companies for Contract 4 Pay Application 9 in the amount of $38,616.69 for services rendered at the Joint Municipal Industrial Pollution Control Facility. This project is approximately 94% completed as of February 28, 2015.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
ACCEPTED APPLICATION
The following application was accepted and will be placed on file for future reference:
Markus A Lembcke Cemetery
PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED
Moved by Trustee Banker and seconded by Trustee Sidari to schedule a Public Hearing to consider re-zoning four (4) parcels on Washington Street from R2 to GC for Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 7:00PM.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
ADOPT RESOLUTION 2015-3 REPEAL SAFE ACT OF 2013
The following resolution 2015-3 was proposed by Trustee Katsanis who moved its adoption and seconded by Trustee Banker:
Supporting Legislation to Repeal the New York Secure Ammunition
and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013
WHEREAS, Senate bills S511-2015 and S1193-2015 have been introduced to the New York State Senate by Senators Michael Nozzolio and Katherine Marchione respectively, which would repeal all or part of the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013; and
WHEREAS, this Legislative Body has long advocated for the protection of the rights afforded our citizens under the Constitution, which has for generations guided our Nation and served as a framework to our republic and society; and
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment of the United States provides for the “right of the people to keep and bear arms” and further states that this right “shall not be infringed”; and
WHEREAS, members of the Village of Albion Board of Trustees, being elected to represent the people of the Village of Albion, are duly sworn by their oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate, being elected by the people of New York State, are duly sworn by their oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the Civil Rights Law of the State of New York states in Article 2 Section 4, “Right to keep and bear arms. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms cannot be infringed.”; and
WHEREAS, the lawful ownership of firearms is a recreational benefit to our residents through hunting and target shooting, along with an economic and environmental benefit to our region with several locally owned and operated gun/sporting businesses; and
WHEREAS, the New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (NY SAFE Act) of 2013 which was rushed to passage by the New York State Senate, Assembly and Governor, will have a detrimental effect on hunters, sportsmen and legal gun owners, creating a hostile environment both for them and for the sale and manufacture of legal firearms; and
WHEREAS, the legislation prohibits the sale of firearm magazines with a capacity larger than seven (7) rounds and, those firearm magazines with a capacity larger than seven (7) rounds, which are authorized to be retained by existing owners, may only be loaded with seven (7) rounds and eventually must be permanently altered to only accept seven (7) rounds or be disposed of; and
WHEREAS, few or no low capacity (seven (7) rounds or less) magazines currently exist for many of the firearms commonly possessed by law-abiding residents of New York State; and
WHEREAS, the legislation severely impacts the possession and use of firearms now employed by the residents of Orleans County for the defense of life, liberty and property; and
WHEREAS, the legislation severely impacts the possession and use of firearms now employed for safe forms of recreation including, but not limited to hunting and target shooting; and
WHEREAS, while there are some areas of the legislation that the Village of Albion Board of Trustees finds encouraging, such as the strengthening of Kendra’s Law and Marks’s Law, as well as privacy protections for lawful permit holders, we find the legislation fails to offer little meaningful solutions to gun violence and places undue burdens where they don’t belong, squarely on the backs of law abiding citizens; and
WHEREAS, there are many parts of this legislation that place an unfunded mandate on the local Sheriff Departments, County Clerk’s Office and County Judges, while tax payers are crying out for relief; and
WHEREAS, there will be significant financial impact due to the approximately 4,850 Orleans County pistol permits that will have to be renewed requiring additional manpower and computer systems; and
WHEREAS, requiring law-abiding gun owners to verify ownership of certain types of firearms every five years, in addition to registering them on permits, which now also must be renewed every five years, does not increase the safety of the public and is unnecessarily burdensome to the residents of New York State; and
WHEREAS, this legislation effectively treats countless New York State law abiding gun owners as criminals; and
WHEREAS, the enactment of the NY SAFE Act has engendered significant controversy over both the process by which it was enacted and certain provisions contained within; and
WHEREAS, the manner in which this legislation was brought forward for vote in the State Legislature is deeply disturbing to the Village of Albion Board of Trustees; and
WHEREAS, this legislative body unanimously voted to oppose the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 for all reasons stated above in RESOLUTION NO.2013-7 of the Village of Albion Board of Trustees proceedings of July 24, 2013; now be it
RESOLVED, that the Village of Albion Board of Trustees does hereby support Senators Michael Nozzolio’s and Katherine Marchione’s bills S511-2015 and S1193-2015 to repeal all or part of the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board supports the introduction of an Assembly bill which calls for the repeal of the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Act of 2013; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board supports efforts by the New York State Legislature to remove funds for enforcement of the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Act of 2013 from the New York State Budget; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this Resolution be forwarded to the Governor of the State of New York, Senator Robert Ortt, Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, Assemblywoman Jane Corwin and all others deemed necessary and proper.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
AMA REGARDING BLUE CONTAINERS
Ms Lisa Stratton from the Albion Merchants Association informed the Board of Trustees that they have purchased hanging flower baskets. They will not be using the blue containers as flower pots this year and suggested using them in the parks. Mayor London will bring it up at the next joint meeting with the Town of Albion.
The Board of Trustees agreed to help with the cost of the flyers the Albion Merchants are having printed by the Lake Country Pennysaver, which will include information about the downtown concert series.
CORRESPONDENCE
The Board of Trustees received a correspondence from Orleans County regarding a meeting they will be hosting regarding joint shared services and government efficiency plan that New York State is requiring be put in place. They will be hosting the meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 6:30 PM.
CORRESPONDENCE
The Board of Trustees received notification from Bernard P Donegan’s office with the interest rate for the $650,000 Bond Anticipation Note. This is for the funding of the Clarendon Street Bridge project. They received three bids:
First Niagara Bank, NA 1.2000%
Roosevelt & Cross Inc 1.3750%
Oppenfeimer & Co Inc 1.5000%
ACCEPTED APPLICATIONS
The following applications were accepted and will be placed on file for future reference:
Claude E Behe WTP Operator Trainee
Codey W States Anything
RETIREMENT INTENTION
The Board of Trustees received a correspondence from Sergeant William G Scribner stating his intention to retire during the fiscal year June 1, 2015-May 31, 2016.
RETIREMENT INTENTION
The Board of Trustees received a correspondence from Officer John M Doyle stating his intention to retire during the fiscal year June 1, 2015-May 31, 2016.
CLARENDON BRIDGE PROJECT
The Superintendent of Public Works Dale Brooks informed the Board of Trustees that Clarendon Street will be closed starting March 20, 2015. Keeler Construction will start the project as soon as the utility companies have all their lines moved.
RESIDENTS
Mr Benjamin Frevert and Mr Ram Shrivastava from Larsen Engineers did a presentation regarding the Village doing a solar study. They will be able to review our electric bills on line. The cost will be $2,500 to get started plus a percentage of the construction cost. The $2,500 will be given back and rolled into the financing. Larsen Engineers would assist the Village in obtaining funding for the project.
ALBION HERITAGE TRAIL
Mr Tom Rivers addressed the Board of Trustees about the Albion Heritage Trail. He would like the Board to ask Ms O’Connell if she feels the Village would have a good application for that project. Ms O’Connell will be attending the April 8th meeting to discuss the services she offers.
ELBA
Moved by Trustee Banker and seconded by Trustee Sidari approving to move forward with Elba regarding their Pollution Control Plant, Water Plant and possibly repairing any water line breaks. Attorney Gavenda will work with Elba’s Attorney on the agreement.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
VILLAGE PROPERTY
A resident inquired if the property behind TOPS that the Village owns is for sale. The Board of Trustees stated that it is not at this time, but will keep his contact information on hand.
ANNUAL MEETING DATE SET
Moved by Trustee Sidari and seconded by Trustee Katsanis to schedule the Annual Meeting for Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 6:00 PM.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Moved by Trustee Sidari and seconded by Trustee Banker to adjourn to executive session for personnel issues at 9:02 PM.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
EXECUTIVE SESSION CLOSED
Moved by Trustee Farone and seconded by Trustee Katsanis to come out of executive session at 9:39 PM.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
MEETING ADJOURNED
Moved by Trustee Katsanis and seconded by Trustee Banker that there being no further business, meeting is hereby adjourned at 9:40 PM.
CARRIED
5 Ayes 0 Nays
Respectfully submitted,
Linda K Babcock
Clerk-Treasurer