VILLAGE OF WEST CARTHAGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Regular Meeting & Public Hearing
September 26, 2011
A regular meeting and public hearing of the West
Carthage Village Board of Trustees was held September 26, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. at the West Carthage
Municipal Building.
Said building is declared smoke free and accessible to handicapped persons. The
press was informed of the meeting and notice was posted.
Present: Mayor Scott Burto, Trustee Dave Rounds, Deputy Mayor
Scott Sullivan, Trustee George Passage, Jr.
Trustee Rob Peluso
Guests: Ron Blinebry, Kathy Amyot, PIG Students, M. Spencer, Mike Bigness, D. Pustizzi, T. Granger, P.
Crump
Mayor Burto called the
meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
On a motion by D. Rounds,
seconded by R. Peluso, minutes from September 12th, 2011 were approved..
Mayor Burto opened the public
hearing for proposed Local La 4-2011 at 6:00 p.m. Mayor Burto reviewed the proposed law to
include adding two 3-way stops on Champion Street and one 4-way stop at the
intersection of High and North Jefferson Streets and a designated 20 mph speed
limit on interior streets. M. Spencer
does not approve of either the speed limit or the stop signs. R. Blinebry asked what prompted the 20 mph
speed limit recommendation. Mayor Burto
replied that he had been asked to consider it by some residents and also due to
the narrowness of some village streets and the number of children playing on
them. Ron felt that 25 mph might be a
better number. Mayor Burto also stated
that it came as a police recommendation.
Ron also asked what the stop signs were supposed to accomplish. Mayor Burto replied they are to slow
traffic. P. Crump would like to see a
4-way stop at Madison & Stone. D.
Pustizzi stated that a 4-way stop is definitely needed at Stone &
High. He also remarked that a car
traveling 30 mph may seem to be going too fast but is probably not and that
adding stop signs is a sure way of slowing cars. On a motion by S. Sullivan, seconded by R.
Peluso, the public hearing was adjourned and held over for the October 11th
meeting. D. Rounds stated that he has
talked to a number of people and they are against the 20 mph speed limit.
Mayor Burto opened the floor
for public comment. Tracy Granger,
Liberty Street, asked for a “children at play” sign near her home at the
intersection of Liberty and Rulison Streets due to the speed of traffic. M. Spencer asked what the generator contract
on the agenda was for.
P. Crump reported that he
sent out 3 lawn mowing letters. He had a
discussion with Scott Campbell regarding property maintenance at the former
church property on Main Street. Mr.
Campbell stated the cars out back are registered. He also spoke with Mr. Cox the renter at 71
Bridge Street regarding property maintenance.
Pete told Mr. Cox that if the property isn’t cleaned up and cars
removed, he will be issuing appearance tickets for court. Pete reported the fire department responded
to a possible large gas leak at Carthage Central High School. Nothing was found but the fire department
will be working with the school to come up a pre-plan for such
emergencies. He reported that the new
rescue truck is here and he and George enjoyed their trip to Ohio to pick it
up. He reported that with the upgraded
cascade system on the truck, the department needs to purchase three 4500-pound
bottles. New ones cost approximately
$1300 each but he can purchased three used ones from Northern Fire for
$1800. S. Sullivan asked about their
lifespan. Pete reported that they
generally don’t go bad and are tested periodically. The radios are installed and Jerome Fire
will be wiring for the camera, etc.
Stadium International will be here Wednesday to perform the dealer
recommended servicing. The department
will have to pay a $55 travel fee. There
are 2 minor recalls on the truck but they are covered under the warranty. Pete plans on putting the truck into service
by Sunday after driver training. R.
Blinebry reported that he and Tom Valentine attended a seminar at JCC
concerning land use management by planning boards. He will be meeting Wednesday and Thursday
with S. Sullivan and R. Peluso to review the RFP’s for the S. Main Street
Trailhead grant. Kathy Amyot will also
attend and provide a copy of the budget for them to use. T. Granger asked the
board to introduce themselves.
On a motion by D. Rounds,
seconded by R. Peluso, the request to hold the annual CROP Walk on Sunday,
October 2nd was unanimously approved.
On a motion by R. Peluso,
seconded by D. Rounds, the request for water service by the Carthage Mennonite
Church at 20295 County Route 45 was approved pending Joint Water Board
approval. The church has also asked for
a flow test. The board set a charge of
$100 for such tests.
On a motion by R. Peluso,
seconded by S. Sullivan, the generator contract with Emergency Power Systems,
LLC in the amount of $975 was unanimously approved.
On a motion by S. Sullivan,
seconded by R. Peluso, WIC was approved to use the Community Room for their
children’s clinic for the year.
On a motion by D. Rounds,
seconded by R. Peluso, a request by David Haywood, 27 Lathrop Street, for a
reduction in the sewer portion of his bill due to a leaking water hose outside
was approved in the amount of $57.47.
A discussion regarding a
water bill at 20 Vincent Street was tabled as it concerns an employee.
On a motion by R. Peluso,
seconded by D. Rounds, the following abstracts were approved:
Dated 9/16/2011
– General $23,937.00
Dated 9/26/2011 – General $11,513.62, water-$69.25,
sewer-$69.25
Dated:09/15/2011-payroll $18,441.63
Mayor Burto gave everyone a
copy of a proposed shared services agreement with Jefferson County and stated
that all municipalities who wish to use services from the county or their town
must sign the agreement. The agreement will
need to be approved in October and has been sent to our attorney for review.
On a motion by D. Rounds,
seconded by S. Sullivan, the mayor’s request to attend a local government
conference in Potsdam was approved for the $35 registration fee and
mileage. He asked for an executive
session to discuss a possible litigation situation and the employment of a
particular person.
S. Sullivan thanked G.
Passage and P. Crump for traveling to get the rescue truck on their own
time. G. Passage stated he gave a set of
keys and the maintenance disks to the clerk.
He thanked the board for working with him as chief and also with Pete as
current chief to purchase this truck.
On a motion by R. Peluso,
seconded by S. Sullivan, executive session was entered into at 6:43 to discuss
a possible litigation situation and the employment of a particular person. The regular meeting resumed at 7:15 p.m.
On a motion by R. Peluso,
seconded by G. Passage, the clerk was authorized to pay the following Northern
Fire Equipment invoices:
#714102L - $1098.88
#714101L - $628.76
#620113L - $313.98 balance of
invoice is $1202.50 – ask for accounting of labor as it is much higher than
verbal quote.
Invoices 621114 and 621115
are not to be paid as they were included in bid price on Engine #2.
Due to a possible error by a
village employee, a one-time estimation of a water/sewer bill for 20 Vincent
Street in the amount of 2102.5 cubic
feet was unanimously approved.
A request by D. Pustizzi to
enter into a warranty agreement with ELSAG for the license plate reader was
tabled until the next meeting.
On a motion by D. Rounds,
seconded by R. Peluso, P. Crump was authorized to purchase three 4500# cascade
tanks from Northern Fire Equipment at a cost of $1,800.00
D. Pustizzi asked that the
DPW mark a handicap parking space at the village lot on Bridge Street and
stripe the village owned parking spaces.
The board continued the
discussion of the proposed Local Law 4-2011.
It was decided to remove the 20 mph speed limit section and add a 4-way
stop at High and Stone. On a motion by
D. Rounds, seconded by G. Passage, the clerk will advertise for an additional
public hearing on October 11th.
On a motion by R. Peluso,
seconded by S. Sullivan, executive session was entered into at 7:26 p.m. to
discuss a public safety issue.
Regular session resumed at
7:28 p.m.
No further business was
requested or necessary. A motion by R. Peluso, seconded by G. Passage to adjourn the meeting at 7:28 p.m. was carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Village Clerk/Treasurer
