The Village of Champlain

VILLAGE OF CHAMPLAIN
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 11, 2010

A regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Champlain was held on Monday, January 11, 2010, at the Village Office, 1104 Route 9, Champlain, New York. Present were Trustees Gehrig, Martin, Kim Trombley, and Thomas Trombley, Clerk/Treasurer Munoz, Deputy Clerk Barcomb, Superintendent Sorrell, Codes Officer Tetreault, Legislator McManus, Dennis and April Slutter, and John Coffman. Mayor Moore was excused this evening.

Trustee Gehrig called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. A motion was made by Trustee Kim Trombley, seconded by Trustee Thomas Trombley and carried, to approve the minutes from the December 14, 2009, Board Meeting as presented.

Trustee Gehrig then presented the awards to the 2009 Holiday Decorating Contest winners as follows:

                                    Dan and Sue Belrose – Best overall display
                                    Dennis and April Slutter – Best evening display
                                    John and Jessica Coffman – Best daytime display

Trustee Gehrig and the Board thanked everyone who participated, and she stating many displays were creative and fun to look at.

Report From Codes Officer Tetreault

1. He said the Board had been copied with a letter of inspection from the engineers for the properties on Main Street that are owned by Ron Trombly. He said there will significant work to be done, as it appears they have listed this as a Level 3 alteration. Trustee Gehrig asked what the timeframe for this repair was, and Mr. Tetreault said he would send a letter to Mr. Trombly next week.

2. He said he has been checking on a few property maintenance issues.

3. He said he was quite impressed with Elegance Coating and the amount of work they have. He said they currently have 20-23 employees there.

General Discussion Period

Trustee Gehrig welcomed Legislator McManus to the meeting tonight. He reported on the following.

1. He attended a meeting in Rouses Point with Mayor Moore and Superintendent Sorrell regarding monies that may possibly be available for security through Homeland Security. Sheriff Favreau also attended the meeting. Superintendent Sorrell said he delivered a copy of the map for the water and sewer facilities, but he has not heard back from the Sheriff’s Department yet. He said he would stop and see Sheriff Favreau when he takes his next set of water samples to Plattsburgh.

2. He said the County tax rate was lowered by .8% but Champlain’s rate only dropped by one cent, but at least it went down.

3. He said Colgan Air Service will now provide air travel at the Plattsburgh International Airport instead of Cape Air. This airline will have planes that can hold 35-40 passengers, and co-share with US Air and Continental. They should be able to book flights anywhere in the U.S. They hope this will attract more people from Montreal and larger businesses to bring their employees into the area. The Chamber of Commerce will be marketing heavily in the Montreal area. Some discussion followed on the pros and cons of both airlines.

4. He said the shortfall in the State budget has effected many departments, including Probation, Real Property, and Social Services. He said if anyone has any ideas for shared services, they would be welcomed.

5. He said the County is not going to continue the tax program with the Allen Tunnell Corporation, as this company could not provide all of the services the County needed. Deputy Clerk Barcomb said the tax program with this company was working well for the Village.

6. He stated Pfizer will keep the Chem Pilot plant open for six more months. Garry Douglas is a great marketer, although it will be a long shot finding a buyer. He said lets hope for the best.

7. He informed the Board that the County saved $400,000 when they changed health insurance plans. He suggested the Village check with Burnham Financial for additional information. Some discussion followed.

8. He stated elected official have to keep a log over a six-month period of the time they spend conducting official business, and this has to be reported to the NYS Retirement System so they can more accurately calculate the amount of earned time. This will begin with the start of the next term.

The Board thanked Legislator McManus for attending tonight’s meeting.

Report From Trustee Gehrig

1. She reminded everyone Christmas Tree Pickup will be Wednesday, January 13th starting at 7 a.m., so be sure you put your trees by the curb before then.

2. She said Northeastern Clinton Central School will be giving flu shots on
January 20, 2010, and to call the school for more information.

Report From Trustee Kim Trombley

Trustee Trombley had nothing to report this evening.

Report From Trustee Martin

1. He congratulated all of the Holiday Decorating Contest winners.

2. He thanked the crew for the great job keeping the streets cleaned.

3. He thanked the residents for keeping the sidewalks in front of their homes cleaned.

4. He said the next Shared Services meeting will be held on January 20, 2010, at 5 p.m. at the Champlain Village Office, and the public is invited.

5. He reminded everyone the regular Board Meeting dates for February, March, April, and May have been changed to the second Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Report From Trustee Thomas Trombley

1. He congratulated all of the Holiday Decorating Contest winners. He said he knows how much work is involved from past experience.

2. He congratulated Superintendent Sorrell and the crew for their efforts keeping the streets and sidewalks cleaned, and for fixing the mirror on Butternut Street.

Report From Clerk/Treasurer Munoz

1. She said the Board had been copied with the Revenues/Expenditures report for December.

2. She said the January 1, 2010, water/sewer billing had been done, with water totaling $52,461.83 and sewer totaling $76,577.18.

Presentation Of Warrant And Payment

Clerk/Treasurer Munoz said there was one additional invoice to add to the warrant as follows:
1. Robert Jewell—G8130.1--$197.00

A motion was made by Trustee Thomas Trombley and seconded by Trustee Martin to approve Warrant #8 for Voucher #260 through #294 from the General, Water, and Sewer accounts, including the additional invoice, in the amount of $39,235.23. Some discussion followed. Roll call vote as follows:

                                    Trustee Kim Trombley            Aye
                                    Trustee Martin                                  Aye
                                    Trustee Thomas Trombley            Aye
                                    Trustee Gehrig                       Aye
Motion carried.

Report From Superintendent Sorrell

1. He said the 1989 plow truck was sold and delivered today.

2. He said there was a water main break on Meadow Lane that was repaired.

3. Trustee Martin asked if he had a grease trap update, and Superintendent Sorrell said he has not gone back to the businesses yet. Trustee Gehrig asked if Maplefield’s had the right grease trap, and Superintendent Sorrell said they did. Trustee Gehrig asked if he had talked to someone at St. Mary’s regarding their grease trap, and Superintendent Sorrell said Debbie Meseck knows. Trustee Martin asked if the high school had the proper equipment, and Superintendent Sorrell said they have four outside grease traps.

4. He said the Christmas decorations have been taken down. Trustee Gehrig commented there are some that are in bad shape, and Superintendent Sorrell said they plan to go through them.

5. Trustee Gehrig asked about the status of the ice rink. Superintendent Sorrell said the crew has not had time to set it up yet. Trustee Gehrig asked that this be made a priority, as February school break is coming up and it would be nice to have it ready for the kids.

6. Trustee Gehrig asked if vacation times have been scheduled for the employees, especially Woody Kissel who has an excessive amount accumulated. Superintendent Sorrell said Woody plans to take a week in May, and he would talk to about taking more time off.

7. He said the new plow truck has been in Canton for about a week. They will have to schedule a day to swap the sander when they are ready to complete the configurations.

8. Trustee Gehrig thanked Superintendent Sorrell and the crew for keeping up with the streets and sidewalk cleaning. Superintendent Sorrell said the salt shed makes a big difference.

Correspondence

Letter to Greg Guillily from Codes Officer Tetreault regarding his property at 1191 Route 9.

Correspondence from O’Connell & Aronowitz regarding Notice of Claim for Chad Poirier’s property damage at 1141 Route 9.

Invitations to Holiday Contest winners.

Sewer credit request on behalf of Douglas Stearns and backup information from Deputy Clerk Barcomb.

Correspondence from Customs & Border Protection with executed lease agreement for repeater tower at water tank.

Correspondence from Clinton County Highway Department regarding 2010 Highway Utility Work Permit.

Correspondence from Ronald Trombly regarding engineering report for his property at 1163/1165 Route 9.

Old Business

1. GSA meter—REPLACING GSA METER—Superintendent Sorrell said the government only allocates money for projects at certain times of the year, but we have been told it is on their agenda.

New Business

Trustee Gehrig reminded everyone there are two trustee seats up for election in March, and if anyone is interested in running for office, they can pick up a petition at the Village Office.

Clerk/Treasurer Munoz read the following resolution:

RESOLUTION
POLLING PLACE AND TIME
2010 ELECTIONS
VILLAGE OF CHAMPLAIN

WHEREAS, the next Village Election for offices of the Village of Champlain, New York, will be held on March 16, 2010.

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of said Village must designate, by resolution, the polling place and hours which the polls shall be open, per Section 15-104-3b of the State of New York Election Law; then be it therefore

RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Champlain has determined the polling place shall be at the Village of Champlain Office, 1104 Route 9, Champlain, New York, with the polls being open from 12 noon to 9 p.m., and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as required by Section 15-104-3b of the State Election Law, notice of said Village polling place and time the poles will be open be given at least sixty (60) days prior to said Election date.

THIS RESOLUTION shall take effect immediately. The foregoing question was duly put to a roll call vote which resulted as follows:

Mayor Jeffrey Moore             Excused
Trustee Kim Trombley            Aye
Trustee Greg Martin             Aye
Trustee Thomas Trombley            Aye
Trustee Amy Gehrig             Aye

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Trustee Kim Trombley, seconded by Trustee Thomas Trombley and carried, approving the one-time sewer credit request from Darinda Stearns Hoffman on behalf of her mother Clara Stearns in the amount of $84.36 for Account A1280.

The Board then discussed scheduling budget workshops and decided on the following dates, with all workshops beginning at 6 p.m.

                                                Monday, January 18, 2010
                                                Tuesday, January 26, 2010
                                                Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the Board this evening, a motion was made by Trustee Martin, seconded by Trustee Thomas Trombley and carried, to adjourn the meeting at 7:10 p.m.

Donna Barcomb
Deputy Clerk