The Seneca Falls Town Board Held a Year-End Meeting on Thursday, December 29, 2011 in The

SENECA FALLSTOWN BOARD PUBLIC HEARINGS & YEAR-END MEETING DECEMBER 29, 2011

The Seneca Falls Town Board held a Year-End Meeting on Thursday, December 29, 2011 in the Town Hall Meeting Room, 81 W. Bayard Street.

Present were Supervisor Peter Same; Councilpersons Timothy Snyder, T.J. Casamassima, Susan Sauvageau and Duane Moore. Also present were Patrick Morrell, Attorney for the Town and a Member of the local Media.

Public Hearing – Proposed Local Law to Supersede Residency Requirements for Town Police: Mr. Same stated the proposed Local Law would allow Members of the Town Police Department to reside outside Seneca County within a 30-mile radius. He opened the Public Hearing for comment at 7:03 P.M.

Bill Sweeting, 2791 Farron Road, stated his problem is the Police Chief who lives outside the County doesn’t want to support the Community who pays him. He thinks the Police Chief should be part of the Community where he works; if he doesn’t want to live in and support the Community, he should go someplace else.

Councilman-Elect Emil Bove expressed his opposition to this law. He believes the Police Chief should reside in Seneca Falls. The matter was discussed with the new Chief and he has his reasons for not living here. He thinks eventually he should move here. He doesn’t expect him to move here now because over the course of the next year or so, the existence of the Police Department will be carefully examined by the new Board, and hopefully, there will be a referendum so the people of all the Town can decide if they want a Police Department and consider all options.

Robert Wayne, 2515 Lower Lake Road, stated he is against this local law as he is concerned the Chief will not get to know the people in the area. He is also concerned that it will open up the door where maybe eventually the whole Police Department might not be living in our Community.

Dan Babbitt, 32 Pleasant Street, stated he is not going to say he is against it or for it, but it would be nice to have the Police Chief nearby. He thinks it would be the best idea to have this person move closer – it would make him more accountable.

Trooper Steve Kelly stated his personal opinion is that he would prefer that the Town Police and the Chief live in the township they work in. He left his job in Rochester and came back because he felt it was more important the he police the area he lives in. He also feels this is not the appropriate time to make a decision – he feels it should be left to the new Town Board.

Since there were no further comments, Mr. Same closed the Public Hearing at 7:10 P.M.

Public Hearing – Establish District for Existing Debt and Retiree Obligations of Village: Mr. Same opened the Public Hearing for comment at 7:10 P.M. relative to establishing a district for existing Debt and Retiree obligations of the Village.

Since there were no comments, Mr. Same closed the Public Hearing at 7:11 P.M.

Public Hearing – Establish District for Existing Debt and Retiree Obligations of Town: Mr. Same opened the Public Hearing for comment at 7:11 P.M. relative to establishing a district for existing Debt and Retiree obligations of the Town.

Since there were no comments, Mr. Same closed the Public Hearing at 7:12 P.M.

Public Hearing – Extension of West Seneca Falls Water & Sewer District: Mr. Same opened the Public Hearing for comment at 7:12 P.M. relative to extending the West Seneca Falls Water & Sewer District.

Mr. Morrell stated the idea is to have one water district for the entire Community, and one rate for all users; it is the function of the Town Board to set the rates. They can do that even if there is more than one district – they can set the rates equally. The issue with the current districts is that some of them have debt and some of them do not. He is advising the Board that rather than to make one district at this point, create a district for the Village boundaries so that there is a district and an entity with which to set the rate and bill the users. He noted the remainder of the Town is already within various districts that the Town has set up. Dave Shaw asked if the comments also applied to sewer; Mr. Morrell replied yes – water and sewer.

Since there were no further comments, Mr. Same closed the Public Hearing at 7:15 P.M.

Mr. Same opened the Year-End Meeting at 7:15 P.M. A roll call was taken of Board Members and all were present; the Pledge of Allegiance followed.

Mr. Same stated Interim Police Chief Stu Peenstra has presented the Board with a letter, and would like to address the Board.

Chief Peenstra stated it is his recommendation that the Board backfill two vacant full time positions that have been created due to retirement of two Officers, and to promote one current full time Officer to Sergeant to backfill his position. He is recommending the promotion of Officer Sue Hawker to Police Sergeant. Officer Hawker is a highly respected and trained 17-year veteran of the Seneca Falls Police Department, and he is proud to recommend her for this promotion.

Chief Peenstra is recommending that Angela Mansell be moved from her current part-time status in the Seneca Falls Police Department to a full time position as Police Officer. He is also recommending that James B. Chechak, who is currently working part-time at the Seneca County Sheriff’s Department and Waterloo Police Department, be hired as a full time Police Officer for the Seneca Falls Police Department.

Chief Peenstra stated he was asked to try and hire part-time people to alleviate some of the overtime that is occurring in the Department. He was able to find five part-time Officers – this is just to work them to reduce the cost of overtime created at times by vacations, sickness and shift coverage. The five part-time Officers that he is recommending to be hired are: Robert Steele, Luke Laskoski, Dean Zettlemoyer, Scott Angotti and Rob Lichak.

Chief Peenstra said it is his recommendation that beginning January 1, 2012, the Seneca Falls Police Department will begin to work a 12-hour work schedule that contains one 8-hour work day in a two week period. He indicated that this one 8-hour work day will eliminate the four hours of built-in overtime that the Officers currently receive, saving the Town over $44,000.00 a year. This was a unanimous decision by all Members of the Police Department as they always work to provide a better service at a cheaper cost.

Mr. Same stated Chief Peenstra has done what the Board has asked him to do at the time and point when the Board talked about him becoming Interim Police Chief. He said there are retirements, and those positions have to be filled, and there has to be a chain of command on the shifts. He noted the Board agreed that there would be eleven Officers and a Chief, and that is exactly what this manning will bring the Department to. This is what is budgeted, and he thinks this is the right thing to do in order to provide the protection the Town needs. Mr. Same is hoping the Community will accept what the Town Board has chosen to do in establishing the Townwide Force, and understanding the importance of protection which has a cost associated with it, which the Board believes is well worth the benefit to the Community.

Mr. Casamassima asked that this be tabled only because the meetings he had - none of this was indicated; he actually heard quite the opposite of what was going to take place. Mr. Same asked what meetings those were at – it wasn’t any meeting that he was at; was it a private meeting he had. Mr. Casamassima replied he wouldn’t call it private. Mr. Same stated the reason the Board is doing this is because starting January 1, 2012, the Department needs to have staffing levels needed to protect the Community and not leave them shorthanded. Mr. Casamassima said for the record, he wants to table this because he was not aware of any of it. Mr. Same stated it’s nothing different than what the Board has been discussing all along – not privately, but as a Board. Ms. Sauvageau added the Board agreed to take over eleven Officers and a Chief from the Village to form the Town Police Department. She said the Village could have filled some of these positions earlier, but they did not. She thinks it’s the Board’s responsibility to have a full Force in place; if the Board doesn’t fill these for a number of months of discussing it, then there is a problem of allowing the new Police Force to get an inadequate beginning as the Town Police Force. Ms. Sauvageau said she would support filling these positions when the time comes.

Mr. Same stated that this Evening, it is the intention of the Board to appoint all new employees coming to work for the Town effective January 1, 2012, so that there is no issue with liability. He indicated that there is a plan to swear in some of the people later this week. The Town Clerk noted that there will be a Swearing In Ceremony at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday, December 31st. Mr. Morrell stated while it is not mandatory for most of the Employees and Officers to be sworn in as there is a 30-day window, he is requesting that each and every person to be appointed as a Police Officer come on Saturday so that they are sworn prior to the changeover. He noted this has to do specifically with the definition of a Police Officer in the Criminal Procedure Law and the Penal Law. Mr. Morrell has discussed this with Chief Peenstra and they plan on everybody being in attendance.

New Business:

Appoint New Town Employees: Mr. Same noted the list includes the new part-time Police Officers that were recommended by the Chief.

A motion was made by Sue Sauvageau and seconded by Duane Moore to appoint the following new Employees to the Town effective January 1, 2012:

Highway Department – William Gladis, Timothy Pagano, Donovan Stilwell and Lisa VanFleet.

Sewer Administration – Pat Cafolla

Senior Account Clerk – Anne Havelin

Water Purification – Dominic Belle

Water/Sewer Maintenance – Luther Lotz, Aaron Passalaqua, Fred Peterman and Patrick Russo.

Wastewater Treatment – Michael Pickard, Mark Allen, Brian DeVay and John Nicandri

Police – Stuart Peenstra, Eric Calabrese, Michael Petrocci, Tim Snyder, James Chechak, Christopher Denny,

Susanne Hawker, Robert Mansell, Angie Mansell, Michael Poole, Craig Reynolds, Leland Tyler,

Alice Capacci and Linda Sherman.

Part-Time Police – Dean Zettlemoyer, Chuck Lafler, Josh Raymond, Rob Lichak, Scott Angotti, Luke Laskoski

and Robert Steele.

Crossing Guards – John Poretta, Gino Poretta and Armando Scialdone.

Cleaner – Benny Faiola

No questions. Motion carried 4 ayes, 0 nayes and 1 recusal; Councilman Snyder recused himself from voting.

Local Law – Supersede Residency Requirements for Town Police: Mr. Same stated what the Town has tried to do from the beginning is to do as much as possible as to what the Village has offered to their employees. The Village did have a residency waiver that allowed Members of the Police Department to live 30 miles from the Village limits. He said when the Town Force was established, Town Law requires that any Member of a Town Police Department live within the County in which the Town is part of. That would have affected Officers and the Town’s ability to hire new people to man our Force whether it was part-time or full time. Mr. Same stated it was discussed by the Town Board prior to presenting the local law, and it was also discussed with the new Town Board Members coming on. It was the intent of the Board not to jeopardize jobs of those people currently working in the Police Department – that is why it was done – it wasn’t done for the Police Chief.

A motion was made to adopt Local Law #5-2011, a local law superseding NYS Town Law Section 151 to provide for residency of Members of the Town of Seneca Falls Police Department within a radius of 30 miles from the Town boundary by Sue Sauvageau and seconded by Duane Moore. No questions. Motion carried

4 ayes, 0 nayes, 1 recusal; Councilman Snyder recused himself from voting.

Establish District for Existing Debt & Retiree Obligations of Village: A motion was made to establish a District for existing Debt and Retiree Obligations of the Village by Tim Snyder and seconded by T.J. Casamassima. No questions. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nayes.

Establish District for Existing Debt & Retiree Obligations of Town: A motion was made to establish a District for existing Debt and Retiree Obligations of the Town by Tim Snyder and seconded by Sue Sauvageau. No questions. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nayes.

Extension of West Seneca Falls Water & Sewer District: Mr. Morrell read the following Resolution:

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls proposes to create a Water and Sewer District to encompass the entire Village of Seneca Falls as it exists today, pursuant to New York State Village Law Section 19-1914; and

WHEREAS, there is an official map depicting the Town and Village of Seneca Falls on file in the Office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Seneca Falls at 81 W. Bayard Street, Seneca Falls, New York; and

WHEREAS, the boundaries of the proposed water and sewer district are the entire current Village of Seneca Falls, which will dissolve by operation of law on December 31, 2011; and

WHEREAS, the improvements proposed consist of providing water and sewer services for the residents of the proposed district, using existing facilities and expanding those facilities within the district as deemed appropriate by the Town Board; and

WHEREAS, the proposed method to be employed for financing such improvement is as follows: water usage rates and sewer rents as determined by the Town Board; and

WHEREAS, the official map of the Town of Seneca Falls and report describing such improvement are available for inspection at the Office of the Town Clerk at 81 W. Bayard Street, Seneca Falls, New York.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls hereby creates the Seneca Falls Village Water and Sewer District, to encompass the entire Village of Seneca Falls as it exists today, December 29, 2011, with the purposes, improvements and financing as set forth herein, to take effect on January 1, 2012.

A motion was made to adopt the above Resolution creating a District for the existing Village of Seneca Falls by Sue Sauvageau and seconded by T.J. Casamassima. No questions. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nayes.

Security Contract – StateStreetBuilding: Mr. Same stated the contracts for security and fire monitoring need to be extended so that they will continue under the Town of Seneca Falls.

A motion was made to extend the security and fire monitoring contracts with Covert Security for 60 State Street by Duane Moore and seconded by Sue Sauvageau. No questions. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nayes.

Reconstruction of 10 Fall Street & Removal of Funds from Reserve: Mr. Morrell stated when money is put away for a certain type of improvement, and at the time you are putting it away you don’t know exactly what

the improvement is going to be, the New York State Law requires you to put it into a reserve fund so that it can be carried over from year to year without otherwise affecting the rest of the Budget and the financial obligations that all municipalities have. He said a few years ago, the Town started to put funds away for the purpose of making Capital improvements, but at the time, they did not have what they thought to be the right project. They do have a specific project now, and they are seeking to pull the money out of the reserve fund. Mr. Morrell said this type of reserve fund requires that the motion to take the money out be put to a permissive referendum process. He explained the process: if the Board adopts the resolution, this Board would advertise; if a petition comes forward within thirty days of the advertisement that meets all the requirements under State Law, then the matter will be put to a referendum vote for the residents of the Town and the result of that vote will be binding (whether the money can come out or not). If there is no petition that comes forward and the matter is past 30 days from the day of the first advertisement, the money can be taken out of the reserve fund for this project. It is also possible for the Town Board to move the matter straight to a referendum vote if they see fit.

Mr. Same stated the Town has been over seven years without a facility because of the fire that occurred some time ago; the Town has been renting space. He said the reason the Board undertook this project was because it took the Board to the point where it had stopped looking for a new home because of the Village situation. Once the Village decided to dissolve, the Board had the facility looked at again; the building is structurally sound, and there is adequate space there for the Court and Administrative Offices. A design was done, and the Town has outlaid approximately $170,000.00 to get to this point. Mr. Same hopes the Residents understand that the building is in a great location, and it has served the Town well in the past and will serve us well in the future.