VILLAGE OF CHAMPLAIN
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
AUGUST 8, 2011
A regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Champlain was held on Monday, August 8, 2011, at the Village Office, 1104 Route 9, Champlain, New York. Present were Mayor Martin, Trustees Gehrig, Gurzenda, Kim Trombley, and Thomas Trombley, Clerk/Treasurer Munoz, Deputy Clerk Barcomb, Superintendent Sorrell, Codes Officer Tetreault, Kevin Triller, and Jeremiah Papineau.
Mayor Martin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. A motion was made by Trustee Gehrig and seconded by Trustee Kim Trombley to approve the minutes from the
July 11, 2011, Board Meeting as presented. All Board Members present voted aye, motion carried.
Public Comment
There was no one here to address the Board this evening.
Report From Codes Officer Tetreault
1. He said it has been a quiet month. There have been a few permits, some zoning issues, and a few complaints.
2. He received the certified mail receipt back from the property owner of 93 Church Street. The Village now has the right to hire an engineer who will make a determination what needs to be done with the building. After some discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Thomas Trombley and seconded by Trustee Kim Trombley to hire an engineer to examine and make a determination regarding safety issues of the property located at 93 Church Street, which is owned by Jason O’Connell. Trustee Gehrig asked if the cost for the engineer would be charged back to the property owner, and Mayor Martin said yes. All Board Members present voted aye, motion carried. Mr. Tetreault said he would contact Doug Ferris, and a first class letter would be sent to the property owner. Mayor Martin commented this is a neighborhood safety issue, and that the roof tiles are falling off too. Mr. Tetreault said one side of the building has become dangerous.
3. Trustee Thomas Trombley asked about the status of Ken Delafrange’s property located at 29 Cedar Street. Mr. Tetreault said that as long as it is boarded up, shut, and the grass is mowed, there is not much the Village can do. He said it appears someone has been maintaining the lawn mowing. He received plans from Mr. Delafrange some time ago, but nothing was ever done. After some discussion, Mr. Tetreault said he would send Mr. Delafrange an email to find out what his intentions are for the building.
Report From Mayor Martin
1. Mayor Martin congratulated and thanked Superintendent Larry Sorrell for his many years of service to the residents of the Village of Champlain, and presented him with a 25-year certificate from NYCOM.
2. He reminded everyone that the Village Fest will be held on Saturday, August 20th in conjunction with the Town-wide garage sale and the Champlain Telephone Company Open House. He said the phone company open house will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the ice cream social and exhibits will be from noon to 4 p.m. He said there will be a 5K run starting at 9 a.m. and to contact Conner McFetridge at 298-5548 for further information. The park re-dedication ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the ice cream social and exhibits to follow at noon. New benches and a grill are on order, and hopefully they will be in place for the park re-dedication.
3. He thanked Phil Payette and his family for allowing the Village to move the historic stone that was on his property to Paquette Park. The stone was originally dedicated in 1938 and had a time capsule placed in it to be opened in 2038. The time capsule was recovered and will be protected in the Village safe until 2038, when it will be opened per the Village forefathers’ wishes. He thanked the DPW crew for their hard work cleaning both plaques and the park area.
4. He said the Village Fest will include the free ice cream social, games, face painting, and exhibits. Some of the exhibits will be:
a. Safe Child ID by the Sheriff’s Department
b. Border Patrol helicopter
c. EMS blood pressure screening
d. Fire Department equipment
e. Samuel de Champlain Museum will be open
He hoped the weather cooperates, and it will be nice to see the Village filled with people enjoying the day.
5. He said harvesting in the Community Garden has been going on. It is good to see people working together to provide healthy food for people in need. We are hoping to make it bigger next year and keep it going to benefit the Village residents.
Report From Trustee Kim Trombley
1. She said she missed last month’s Zoning Board Meeting; however, there is a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, August 10, 2011, for one use variance.
Report From Trustee Gurzenda
1. He reported he attended the recent Fire District meeting to discuss the status of the backflow preventor. They are moving forward with the engineering study needed for Health Department approval. They plan to put the cost in next year’s budget.
2. The new road striping on Elm Street looks good, and hopefully law enforcement will patrol regularly to monitor the speed.
Report From Trustee Thomas Trombley
1. He congratulated Superintendent Sorrell on his years of service certificate.
Report From Trustee Gehrig
1. She thanked Mayor Martin for all his hard work on the Village Fest. There is a lot of coordination involved for this type of celebration, and she appreciates his time and effort.
2. She said we are looking for about 20-25 volunteers for the Village Fest to help with a variety of things. The Village will be glad to have any and all volunteers.
3. She thanked Janet McFetridge for coordinating the 5K run to be held during the morning of the Village Fest. She commented that she hoped we have a nice day for the festivities.
4. She reminded everyone there will be a Movie Night sponsored by the owner of Dunkin’ Donuts/Papa John’s to be held at the St. Mary’s School starting at approximately 8:15 p.m. (dusk). Events that evening will start at 6:30 p.m. and will include food and games. The movie that will be playing on the 30’ outdoor screen will be Rango. This is the kick-off event for other planned community events hosted by St. Mary’s. This is their way of saying thank you to the community. Mayor Martin asked if it will be outside, and she said yes and to bring your lawn chairs or blankets to sit on. If it rains, it will be moved inside.
Report From Clerk/Treasurer Munoz
1. She said the Board had been copied with the Revenue/Expenditure Report for July.
2. Trustee Gehrig asked if $1575 from the property maintenance account was spent on mowing lawns, and if the Village would be reimbursed for that. Clerk/Treasurer Munoz said yes and that we would be reimbursed.
Presentation Of Warrant And Payment
Clerk/Treasurer Munoz said the following invoices need to be added to the warrant:
Judy Boulerice A1620.1 $ 60.00
Champlain Memorial Library A7410.4 $3,900.00
Clear Edge G8130.2 $1,234.00
Clinton Community College F9089.8 $ 450.00
NYS Society of Municipal Finance A1920.4 $ 35.00
NYSEG A5182.4 $ 25.88
NYSEG A5182.4 $1,002.11
NYSEG G8120.4 $ 16.00
NYSEG Solutions A5182.4 $ 22.51
NYSEG Solutions A5182.4 $ 195.36
NYSEG Solutions G8120.4 $ 144.55
Petty Cash F8310.4 $ 1.08
Petty Cash G8110.4 $ 2.97
Thomas G. Proulx A1320.1 $ 200.00
TOTAL $7,289.46
A motion was made by Trustee Gehrig and seconded by Trustee Kim Trombley to approve Warrant #3 for Voucher #57 through #86 from the General, Water, and Sewer accounts in the amount of $15,422.25, including the additional invoices. Roll call vote as follows:
Trustee Kim Trombley Aye
Trustee Gurzenda Aye
Trustee Thomas Trombley Aye
Trustee Gehrig Aye
Mayor Martin Aye
Motion carried.
Report From Superintendent Sorrell
1. He said the Board has been copied with his report.
2. He said the crew has been getting the park ready for the Village Fest. They have also been patching pot holes and mowing lawns. Mayor Martin thanked him and the crew for the good job moving the historic stone to the park, and for cleaning the plaques that are on the stones. He said they look really good.
3. Trustee Thomas Trombley asked if the storm drain on Pine Street near Jeff Moore’s house could be cleaned, as it seems plugged and the water has been running down the
St. Mary’s parking lot. He also mentioned the broken sidewalks in that area. Superintendent Sorrell said the storm drain is probably plugged, and the sidewalks get broke from the buses.
4. Mayor Martin said the Village is looking at applying for grants to replace the compressors at the sewer plant with more efficient turbines. Some discussion followed. Clerk/Treasurer Munoz mentioned NYSERDA will have the wastewater plant energy audit finished by the end of the month.
Correspondence
1. Correspondence from Computel Consultants regarding utility over charges.
Old Business
1. GSA meter—Mayor Martin said there was nothing new to report on this issue.
New Business
1. Computel Consultants—Mayor Martin said the Board had been copied with the information from NYCOM regarding this program. The Village would give permission to this company to review our energy bills, including cable, phone, and electricity, to finds ways to save money. They will charge us a one-time fee of 45% of the savings they find. A motion was made by Trustee Thomas Trombley and seconded by Trustee Gehrig to permit Computel Consultants to review the Village energy bills to discover any possible savings to the Village. Computel Consultants will be paid a one-time fee of 45% of whatever savings they find for the Village. All Board Members present voted
aye—motion carried.
2. Mayor Martin said he would like the Village to purchase a new bench, table, and grill for Paquette Park. Superintendent Sorrell has received a quote from Jamestown Advanced Products for these items at state contract pricing, and there will be no shipping charges. He said the benches and table were broke and in poor shape, and the crew used them to fill in the hole that was made when the historic stone was moved from the corner of Church and Main Streets. He said he would also like the lighting and flag upgraded. He said the contoured bench will replace the stone that was removed as a way of thanking the Payette family for allowing the Village to remove the stone. Trustee Kim Trombley asked if a thank you letter would be sent to the Payette family, and Mayor Martin said one would be sent when the other thank you letters are done. A motion was made by Trustee Kim Trombley and seconded by Trustee Thomas Trombley to purchase a new table, bench, and grill at state contract price in the amount of $855.70, to come from A7110.4. Roll call vote as follows:
Trustee Kim Trombley Aye
Trustee Gurzenda Aye
Trustee Thomas Trombley Aye
Trustee Gehrig Aye
Mayor Martin Aye
Motion carried.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Board this evening, a motion was made by Trustee Gehrig and seconded by Trustee Kim Trombley to adjourn the meeting at 7:04 p.m. All Board Members present voted aye—motion carried.
Donna Barcomb
Deputy Clerk