Regular Meeting – November 7, 2012
The regular meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Homer held on Wednesday, November 7, 2012, in the board room of the Town Hall Building was called to order by Supervisor Frederick J. Forbes at 7:30 p.m.
PRESENT
Frederick J. Forbes, Supervisor
Barry E. Warren, Councilman
Dan A. Weddle, Councilman
Kevin M. Williams, Councilman
Brian D. Young, Councilman
Patrick M. Snyder, Attorney for the Town
Anita W. Jebbett, Town Clerk
ABSENT
John R. Phelps, Highway Superintendent
OTHERS PRESENT
Gary Smith, Executive Director, MICAH
Craig & Michelle Brooks, residents, NYS Route 41
Linda Fumarola, resident, Alfred Lane
Linda Wiley, resident, Elm Street
Christopher Sammond, resident, Kinney Gulf Road
Martin Sweeney, Town Historian
Supervisor Forbes led those present in the pledge of allegiance.
MINUTES
The minutes of the October 3rd regular meeting and the October 24th budget workshop were approved as presented, on motion by Councilman Weddle, seconded by Councilman Young and carried unanimously.
MONTHLY REPORTS
Presented for audit by the Board:
- The Town Clerk’s report of all receipts and disbursements for October.
- The Supervisor’s report of all cash receipts and disbursements for September and October.
- The Code Officer’s report of all building permits issued in October.
- The Dog Control Officer’s report of all activities for September and October.
ANNUAL REPORTS
Presented for audit by the Board:
1. Town Historian’s annual report of all activities for 2012.
BILLS TO BE PAID
General bills were approved as audited on motion by Councilman Williams, seconded by Councilman Young and carried unanimously: RESOLVED: that General vouchers #250 through #277 totaling $19,191.15 be approved for payment.
Highway bills were approved as audited on motion by Councilman Warren, seconded by Councilman Weddle and carried unanimously: RESOLVED: that Highway vouchers #163 through #186 totaling $39,389.69 be approved for payment.
OLD BUSINESS
Preliminary budget for 2013 – Councilman Williams asked questions regarding the franchise fees imposed upon Time-Warner and paid by cable television users. He said that those residents with satellite television do not have to pay those fees. Supervisor Forbes asked Williams to look into the matter and said that it could be addressed at budget time next year.
On motion by Councilman Warren, seconded by Councilman Young and carried unanimously: RESOLVED: that the preliminary budget as amended at the budget workshop hereby is adopted as the Town of Homer final budget for 2013.
State audit – A letter from the New York State Comptroller’s Office acknowledging receipt of the Town’s Corrective Action Plan has been received.
NEW BUSINESS
Seasonal roads – On motion by Councilman Young, seconded by Councilman Weddle and carried unanimously: RESOLVED: that the resolution authorizing the temporary discontinuance of maintenance of seasonal limited use highways from December 1st, 2012, until April 1st, 2013, is hereby adopted (see attached).
Dog license fee increase – Town Clerk Jebbett requested approval for an increase in the Town’s dog license fees of $2.50 a year per dog in order to cover the rising costs of dog control.
On motion by Councilman Warren, seconded by Councilman Weddle and carried unanimously: RESOLVED: that the Town of Homer’s fees for licensing dogs be increased as of the January 2013 renewals as follows: from $7.50 to $10.00 per dog for spayed/neutered dogs; from $15.50 to $18.00 per dog for unspayed/unneutered dogs.
ATTORNEY FOR THE TOWN
Attorney Snyder suggested that the Town may need to amend its zoning to address the possibility of wind tower construction and create set-backs. He suggested that the Zoning Board of Appeals be asked to consider this issue.
Snyder also discussed the revised contract with the County for the new Interoperable Communications System.
HYDRO-FRACKING ISSUE
Gary Smith of MICAH presented the Board with a copy of the State Supreme Court decision regarding the City of Binghamton moratorium.
There were no other comments.
NEW BUSINESS, CONTINUED
Court audit – Supervisor Forbes asked Councilmen Williams and Young to conduct an audit of the Town Court at their earliest convenience as per request of the Office of Court Administration.
Zoning issue – Councilman Warren discussed a complaint by David and Colleen Thomas of Health Camp Road regarding a neighbor with commercial vehicles. The matter may be referred to the Town Zoning Board of Appeals.
TOWN HISTORIAN
Town Historian Martin Sweeney gave a brief summary of his written report on all his numerous activities on behalf of local history during the past year.
Sweeney had brought in several items that had been donated to the Town to show the Town Board. These included a baseball bat made by the Comet Bat Company, formerly located on Route 11 in the Town, and donated by Harley Albro; a poem on Women’s Rights written by Alvin Bennett and printed in Homer, donated by John Gustafson; and an original edition of David Harum donated by Charles Yaple. Very large and detailed photos of the Homer Academy taken shortly after it was gutted by fire in the 1940’s were also shown. These had been recently donated by former Homer teacher Bill Lindbergh. It was the consensus of the Town Board that those photos be given to the Homer School District, with the details to be worked out at a later date.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Anita W. Jebbett
Town Clerk