Meeting Date: May 11, 2020 7:00 pm
Town of Olive
County of Ulster
State of New York
Monday, May 11, 2020
Minutes of the monthly audit meeting of the Town of Olive Town Board, held Monday, May 11, 2020 7 pm via Zoom link due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Members Present: Jim Sofranko, Supervisor
Drew Boggess, Deputy Supervisor
Scott Kelder, Board Member
David Edinger, Board Member
Victoria Read, Board Member
Recording Secretary: Dawn Giuditta, Town Clerk
Others Present: Brian Burns, Highway Superintendent; Simon Strauss, CAC & Cable Franchise Committee; Timothy Cox, Town Justice; Peggy Haug, Town Justice
Supervisor Sofranko called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and requested Board Member Edinger, facilitator of the meeting to begin the recording.
Justice Timothy Cox and Justice Peggy Haug gave an update on the effects of the COVID-19 on the court system. Justice Cox stated that on March 16th the courts were ordered closed by 5 pm by the Chief Administrative Judge. He stated they were able to get notices out advising of the changes and any essential business would be handled by the County. As of April 15th Justice Cox was asked to handle any bail offenses and order of protections for the other towns since the Town of Olive boarders 6 towns via skype. He will be available 5pm-9pm plus weekends. On May 6th a new order was issued allowing for one clerk at a time in the office to open mail, answer phone calls, accept payments and process any pleas but no contact with public. There is still no court but the office is open 9am-1pm and Justice Cox’s believes they will be able to get caught up on paperwork and reports.
Justice Peggy Haug stated she would like to thank the Board for treating the staff so well during this time.
Supervisor Sofranko advised that three Board Members were able to audit the bills. He explained some of the bills. The Town purchased a disinfectant sprayer, a salt chlorinator and water for the pool, a leaf blower and trimmer. Highway Superintendent Burns asked if the disinfectant sprayer could be used to disinfect highway vehicles.
Highway fund reimbursement comparison:
January-April 2019- $12,136.00
January-April 2020- $4,360.00
Supervisor Sofranko stated that he and Janice opened the FEMA portal to learn about what might be available in funding. What is reimbursable are items that you did not budget for and there is a minimum threshold of $3,500.00. Bruce did keep a log at the Transfer Station which we might be able to see about reimbursement.
Simon Strauss explained briefly the 100% Committed. He stated that the 100% Committed is a commitment by the Town to 100% renewable electricity by 2030. This is only for electricity, not for heating, cooling or transportation. He believes that the Town is already pretty close to this already. Supervisor Sofranko stated there is an annual letter to be sent advising where we are at in the process, and he would like the Conservation Advisory Council to take the lead on that.
Supervisor Sofranko commented on the Town of Olive website and how disappointed in it he is. A new website designer has been approached for an estimate called Civic Plus which is used by several other towns in Ulster County. The cost however for startup was quite high. Supervisor Sofranko stated there was a resident who has volunteered to design a new website for us and maintain it, however; there are other issues that come up with going that route.
The Supervisor reviewed several items on the agenda for the following night’s meeting:
1. Marty’s Mercantile- Request Waiver of 30 day waiting period for Liquor License
2. Maurice Lane- Extension of Court Order Stipulations
3. Termination of Highway Dept. Uniform contract with Unifirst
4. Accepting of new RFP for highway uniforms.
5. Resolution #12 of 2020 Introducing Local Law #1 of 2020 Ordinance Amendments of Chapter 150 of the Town of Olive Code.
Other topics discussed by the Town Board:
1. Copleton/Vankleeck- this issue has finally been satisfactorily settled between all parties involved.
2. Boiceville Storm Water Maintenance Contract- One RFP was received and accepted the contract signed with Hydro Vac from Wallkill. They have already done the cleanout for this year.
3. Insurance Agent suggested removing insurance from some of the highway vehicles not being used.
4. Flood buyout request for 4072 Route 28 which is the old Landmark building. Supervisor requested a letter from Aaron Bennett advising the property met the eligibility requirements and a letter from all the owners of the property signing off on the buyout.
5. Town of Olive Septic- the CWC has scheduled Rex Sanford to perform testing on the new septic for the town offices. It is moving slowly forward.
6. The Highway Superintendent announced that he will be back to full staff as of May 18th. Protocols will be set for work crews such as: Cleanliness of work area and vehicles, face masks, social distancing. This will be discussed with the Shop Steward.
Supervisor Sofranko gave an update on COVID-19 actions. He has had numerous calls about businesses not in compliance through the State hotline which goes directly to the Sheriff’s office. The Town Police went to every business in town to remind them of the protocol during the Pause. There have been no calls since.
The Town has received extra cloth masks for employees and a gallon of hand sanitizer. The Highway Dept. has also received from the County sanitizer and masks.
Project Resiliency will be ending as of May 16 residents will need to resign up and the County will try to forward them to other agencies for more assistance. There were approximately 1500 meals served in the Town of Olive since March. The County served over 100,000 meals.
The Town Board were sent reports from Janice Lanzarotta, Bookkeeper (Statement of Expenditures, Encumbrances & Appropriations #57-20) and Dianna Carchidi, Assessor (April Sales & Market Report #58-20)
On a Boggess/Edinger motion, the meeting was adjourned at 8:41pm.
Aye: Boggess, Kelder, Edinger, Read, and Sofranko Nay: Absent:
Dawn Giuditta, Town Clerk