SENECA FALLS TOWN BOARD PUBLIC HEARING & MEETING JULY 13, 2012

The Seneca Falls Town Board held a Public Hearing and Special Meeting on Friday, July 13, 2012 in the Town Hall Meeting Room, 81 W. Bayard Street.

Present were Supervisor Donald Earle; Councilpersons Emil Bove and T.J. Casamassima. Also present was Patrick Morrell, Attorney for the Town.

Public Hearing – CDBG Funding: Supervisor Earle opened the Public Hearing at 12:00 Noon relative to the submission of an application for CDBG funding. He noted that the Public Hearing Notice was published in the Finger Lakes Times on July 6, 2012. Mr. Earle asked if there were any public comments or questions.

Robert Aronson, Executive Director of the Seneca County IDA, stated the project has started to fall together in the last couple of weeks which has caused us to pursue this application. The Company, known as MBI – Mr. Bult’s, Inc., is a trucking company based in Illinois with 35 terminals in 22 States. They are proposing to invest $4 million to build a truck terminal in Seneca Falls on Route 414 which would include a maintenance facility that will service all of their terminals that they build in the northeast. Mr. Aronson stated between drivers, mechanics, clerks and management people, there will be approximately 100 jobs located in Seneca Falls upon completion of the project, hopefully in the early Spring of 2013.

Being there were no further comments, a motion was made to close the Public Hearing at 12:05 P.M. by T.J. Casamassima and seconded by Emil Bove. No questions. Motion carried 3 ayes, 0 nayes.

Supervisor Same opened the Special Meeting at 12:05 P.M. Board Members Susan Sauvageau and Duane Moore were absent from the Meeting; the Pledge of Allegiance followed.

Authorize Police Chief to Assign Officer when not Available: Mr. Casamassima asked if this will be consistently one person; Mr. Earle replied not necessarily. Mr. Bove stated when the Committee discussed this with the Chief, they asked him to set it up this way as to who he felt is appropriate – it could be one Sergeant one time and another Sergeant another time. They also discussed that they would prefer that it would be Officers that had taken the Police Chief test and passed. Mr. Bove said they thought this would give an opportunity for the Chief to assess the capabilities of the Sergeants and their performance as Acting Chief. Mr. Casamassima asked if it was a preference that it will be those that passed the test or is it on a rotational basis with the others. Mr. Bove replied that he will make the motion with the additional language that the person designated as the Acting Chief would have passed the Chief exam. Mr. Morrell stated it would have to be as a preference because typically, it’s going to be the people that are on the schedule working. He added there may be times when one of those people will not be available, and leaving the Chief with some discretion would probably be a good thing. Mr. Earle noted that when this was discussed with the Chief, he was leaning toward those that passed the test. He added the reason it was set up this way is by authorizing the Chief to make that designation, it would not have to come before the Board each time. Brief discussion followed.

A motion was made by Emil Bove authorizing the Town Chief of Police to have authority to designate an Acting Chief to be in charge of command decisions for the Seneca Falls Police Department while the permanent Chief is on vacation or extended sick leave. The Acting Chief would be a current shift Supervisor, one of the two Sergeants who have passed the Civil Service exam for Police Chief. The Acting Chief would maintain the rank of Sergeant and remain in his/her rotational scheduled shift, and would receive a daily stipend of $50.00 for each day the Chief has delegated the authority. It is the Board’s preference that the Acting Chief would be one of the Sergeants that had passed the Civil Service exam for Police Chief. The Acting Chief would need to be available while the Chief is out of service for scheduling purposes. This motion was seconded by T.J. Casamassima. No questions. Motion carried 3 ayes, 0 nayes.

Modify Budget for Rent: Mr. Earle stated the previous Board budgeted only part of the year for rent for this Building. The Citizens voted to not go ahead with the Town Hall Building as designed and located. Therefore, the Budget needs to be modified for the remainder of the year.

A motion was made by Emil Bove and seconded by Don Earle to modify the Budget as follows: From: Line Item A1990.400 – Contingency $50,500.00 To: Line Item A1620.407 – Buildings – Rent $50,500.00 No questions. Motion carried 3 ayes, 0 nayes.

Mr. Bove stated the Town has proposed to the Church that the current lease which expires September 30th be extended for a one year term with the same conditions of the current lease, with an option to renew for an additional one year. He noted the Church has agreed to this, and it has been referred to the Church’s Attorney to prepare a lease to be forwarded to Mr. Morrell. Mr. Bove said it was also requested that the Church install an additional electric panel in the portion of the Building rented by the Town to allow the Town to install air conditioning units in various Offices; the Church has agreed to that. Discussion followed.

Mr. Casamassima stated it creates another problem – we have the electric power to do it, but the air conditioners SENECA FALLS TOWN BOARD PUBLIC HEARING & MEETING JULY 13, 2012 will not fit in these windows. Mr. Earle indicated that at the next Board Meeting, the Board will have what is required as far as window units. Mr. Bove noted that the Town will buy suitable air conditioners. He assumes Mr. Marquart, and perhaps Caratozzolo Electric, will have a recommendation for the Board. Mr. Morrell stated there are State bid numbers for air conditioners. Further discussion followed.

Resolution Approving CDBG Application: Mr. Morrell read the following Resolution:

WHEREAS, Mr. Bult’s, Inc. (“MBI”) plans to construct a regional trucking terminal in the Town of Seneca Falls that will include repair and rebuilding operations; and WHEREAS, MBI has requested that the Town apply for funding on its behalf from the New York State Office of Community Renewal (the “OCR”) to finance a portion of the cost of equipment and/or working capital required to establish operations; and WHEREAS, MBI is evaluating alternative sites for the project in the State of Vermont and Ontario, Canada; and WHEREAS, the Empire State Development Corporation is coordinating financial incentive offers to MBI, including OCR funding, to induce the company to locate its project in the Town of Seneca Falls; and WHEREAS, the Seneca Falls Development Corporation (the “SFDC”) is assisting in the facilitation of the project and has requested that the Town provide the OCR funding to the SFDC as a grant for the purpose of making a term loan and deferred loan to MBI; and WHEREAS, the MBI project will result in substantial benefit to the Town of Seneca Falls and Seneca County in the form of an estimated 70 new employment positions in the first two years of operations and increased property tax revenues; and WHEREAS, the Town has held a Public Hearing to obtain Citizens’ views regarding the CDBG Program as administered by OCR and the MBI project. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Supervisor is hereby authorized to submit a grant application in the approximate amount of $750,000.00 to the OCR to support the establishment of the MBI facility in the Town of Seneca Falls; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Supervisor is hereby authorized to execute the grant agreement and all related documents associated with the OCR grant, subject to review by the Attorney for the Town.

Mr. Casamassima asked if the paragraph which says MBI is investigating alternative sites – should that be included or excluded. Mr. Aronson replied the Resolution has been written by a Consultant that specializes in representing communities for these kind of grants; therefore, he will leave it to his expertise that this was an important detail to include in this Resolution. Mr. Bove asked if there was a deadline for applying for these grants; Mr. Aronson replied this particular grant has been captured by the State Consolidated Funding application deadline that is Monday, July 16th.

A motion was made by Emil Bove and seconded by T.J. Casamassima to adopt the above Resolution authorizing the Town Supervisor to submit a grant application to OCR to support the establishment of the MBI facility in the Town of Seneca Falls. No questions. Motion carried 3 ayes, 0 nayes.

Being there was no further business, a motion was made to adjourn the Meeting by T.J. Casamassima and seconded by Emil Bove. No questions. Motion carried 3 ayes, 0 nayes.

Meeting adjourned at 12:25 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

NICALETTA J. GREER Town Clerk SENECA FALLS TOWN BOARD PUBLIC HEARING & MEETING JULY 13, 2012