MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 18,2004 PUBLIC HEARINGS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF POQUOTT HELD AT 7:00 P.M. AT VILLAGE HALL

Present Mayor Barbara Donovan, Trustees Carol Castillo, Stephen Matthews, Christine Vitkun, absent Trustee Sandra Nicoletti, also present Village Attorney Joseph Prokop and 13 residents.

PUBLIC HEARING – LOCAL LAW ENTITLED VILLAGE CODE OF ETHICS

The clerk read the proposed law.

Discussion; it was noted that page 4 , section 3-Recusal should read subdivision 2 not 1.

Comments:

• Resident- Page 3 officials conflicts with officers.
• Resident—what prompted this law? Answer- NYCOM has developed a model law that is better structured then the village’s existing Code of Ethics.

A motion to close this public hearing was made by C. Castillo, seconded by S. Mathews.

PUBLIC HEARING – LOCAL LAW ENTITLED INDEMNIFICATION OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

The clerk read the proposed law.

Discussion; this law is a recommendation of NYCOM to replace existing indemnification laws and bring the village in compliance with Section 18 of the Public Officers Law.

Comments;

• Resident- what is Section 18? Answer—a section of Municipal Law that protects public officials and employees from being sued in the performance of their duties.
• Resident—does this preclude gross negligence? Answer—only indemnifies for unintentional errors not intentional acts done in violation of public officials /employees normal duties.
• Resident— what would constitute gross negligence? Answer—exceeding duties intentionally, an officer exceeding the speed limit in a pursuit would be exercising poor judgment not gross negligence.
• Resident—can the employee be sued to recover costs of defense? Answer –yes.
• Resident—what if someone should have acted but didn’t? Answer—civil action not criminal action.
• Resident—an employee assaulted a resident and the village defended him. Answer—the insurance company was defending the village more than the employee.
• Resident—people should be held accountable if they are negligent, the village should not foot the bill. Answer—the insurance company will foot the bill.

The hearing was closed on a motion by S. Matthews, seconded by C. Castillo.

PUBLIC HEARING—LOCAL LAW ENTITLED ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS FOR ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES AND OTHER PERSONAL VEHICLES

The Clerk read the proposed law.

Discussion; the revised law now includes all the input derived from the prior hearings.

Comments;

• Resident—the village has a golf cart, is this illegal? Answer—the village has an electric vehicle registered and insured.
• Resident—what about motorized wheel chairs? Answer—covered under state regulations.
• Resident—what about little scooters used by kids? Answer—would not be allowed.
• Resident—some residents use golf carts for handicapped purposes it would be unfair to restrict them.
• Resident—handicapped not considered; they should be included as a separate paragraph.

The hearing was closed on a motion by C. Castillo, seconded by S. Matthews.

MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 18,2004 BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING OF THE VILLAGE OF POQUOTT HELD AT VILLAGE HALL AT 8:15 P.M.

Present Mayor Barbara Donovan, Trustees Carol Castillo, Stephen Matthews, Christine Vitkun, absent Trustee Sandra Nicoletti, also present Village Attorney Joseph Prokop and 13 residents.

Minutes of the October 14,2004 meeting where accepted as corrected on a motion by S. Matthews, seconded by C. Castillo, Aye C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan, Nay 0.

Minutes of the October 28,2004 meeting where accepted as corrected on a motion by C. Castillo, seconded by S. Matthews, Aye C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan, Nay 0.

TREASURERS REPORT (attached)

The Treasurers report was accepted as written on a motion by C. Vitkun, seconded by C. Castillo, Aye C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan, Nay 0.

After discussion the board on the recommendation of the Treasurer approved the transfer of the balance on line A1325.1 to line A1325.4 on a motion by C. Vitkun, seconded by C. Castillo, Aye C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan, Nay 0.

The Board determined that the auditors report was accurate and a motion to accept the Auditors Report was made by S. Matthews, seconded by C. Vitkun, Aye C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan, Nay 0.

After discussion the board determined that any transfers in the budget would be held off to see if the YTD numbers fall into line.

The Treasurer reported that after discussion with the insurance company the blanket policy was increased to 3 million and coverage for Village Hall had been increased.

REPORT OF OFFICERS, COMMISSIONERS AND COMMITTEES

Stephen Matthews—Trustee for Environment & Shore Lines

• PEAC—a new green space offer has been forwarded by LIPA. A meeting to discuss the terms will be held in mid December.
• Harbor & Moorings—the Harbormaster is back on duty. Pump out boats will be available in the summer of 2005. Intermunicipal Agreement is due to expire and will be renewed. Sketchy information is out regarding shellfish preserves within Poquott waters. When more info is obtained a report to the board will be made.
• Storm Water Phase II – status quo.
• Water Borne Transportation—the ferry company is proposing a new route to New Haven that will increase traffic in the harbor. A liquid gas terminal is being proposed for long Island Sound that may affect the village. We will have to wait and see what this brings.

COMMENTS

• Resident—drain cleaning should go out to bid.
• Resident—shellfish buoys are not intrusive.
• Resident—shellfish should be in a tidal area.

Drains—more cleanouts are scheduled for Osprey, White Pine and Singing Wood. The four drains on New Street will be cleaned again as will the drains on Cedar Street.

• Resident-- all for drains; however, questions expenditure of funds as well as suggested easement. Answer—funds expended for engineering work were from grant. Easement requested is a dead issue. The village will look at the alternatives instead.
• Resident—why are we changing the way drains are installed, put them in the middle of the roads.
• Resident—what about storm water and drains in the parks? Answer-- there are no drains in the parks.
• Resident—when an engineer is hired you assume you are getting the best plans.

Carol Castillo—Trustee for Roads, Roadsides and Parks

• Roadsides—fall cleanup scheduled for late November.
• Trustees Park—slide repaired.
• Roads—a meeting was held with D. Spence of Hawkins & Spence re; Walnut Street repairs.
• Signs—Steve’s Path sign ordered, Tinker Bluff Court sign to be reinstalled.
• California Park—rocks have been put down to prevent erosion. Dinghies should be removed from the dinghy rack.

COMMENTS

• Resident—the non-boating area floats are loose at Walnut Park.
• Resident—it was great to see the new posts installed on the Van Brunt Manor Road curve.

Sandra Nicoletti—Trustee for Public Safety & Van Brunt Manor Beach (report by B. Donovan)

• Emergency Preparedness—radios being sought.

COMMENTS—none

Christine Vitkun—Trustee for Finance, Village Hall & Waste Management

• Grants—a federal grant program for archiving funds is being reviewed.
• Waste Management—the carter is leaving the garbage cans in the middle of the road.

COMMENTS

• Resident—the property owner at 11 Silver Beech Court has bags of cement set out for garbage pickup and the carter will not take them. Answer—The property owner will be advised as to disposal of cement.

PLANNING BOARD—no meeting scheduled for November. December meeting will be cancelled. The review of fees is still ongoing and it has been determined that fees are more easily collected even if increased.

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS—a variance hearing was held on November 17. Both variances were granted.

OTHER BUSINESS

• LOCAL LAWS
• Code of Ethics law—A motion to approve the enactment of the Local Law entitled Village of Poquott Code of Ethics was made by C. Castillo, seconded by S. Matthews, Aye, C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan, Nay 0.
• Indemnification law—A motion to approve the enactment of the Local Law entitled Indemnification of Officers and Employees was made by S. Matthews, seconded by C. Castillo, Aye C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan, Nay 0.
• ATV law – A motion to approve the enactment of the Local Law entitled Establishing Regulations regarding All Terrain Vehicles and Personal Vehicles was made by S. Matthews, seconded by C. Castillo, Aye, C. Castillo, S. Matthews, C. Vitkun, B. Donovan Nay 0.
• Discussion on Incident reports as related to injuries to employees. It was determined that a sample report would be obtained re: OSHA form or similar.

NEW BUSINESS

• The Treasurer reported that the bookkeeper has requested that the village obtain an additional zip drive for the office equipment. The Treasurer stated that the bookkeeper has made several recommendations such as; a) that in place of vouchers for itemized bills the village utilize a stamp on the bill indicating form of payment b) the tax revenue should be deposited directly into the money market account instead of the checking account c) bills be filed by vendor rather then by check number.
• Arbitrage—the question of the ability of a municipality to borrow funds and utilize those funds for income has been reviewed and the village can borrow for a specific purpose and invest the funds to earn income before the funds are expended.
• The Village Attorney submitted a letter terminating the relationship of his firm with the village.

CORRESPONDENCE

• A letter from resident re: injuries suffered in a fall on village property—Information was forwarded to the village insurer.
• A letter from a resident re: curbing encroachments, illegal sheds has been received and will be addressed by the village.

COMMENTS

• Resident—regarding the ATV Law, page three needs a correction. The word “the” should be replaced by “an”.
• Resident—a Tinker Bluff homeowner has removed trees from their property. Answer—a stop work order was issued.
• Resident—when things are noticed by residents who should get involved re; bluff stripping, illegal structures, right of way encroachments etc. Answer—the village has a complaint form for those problems. The bluff stripping should be covered under the Covenants and Restrictions placed on the property; the owners should be forced to replace the vegetation that was removed.
• Resident—ex mayor Otto Seeburg was supposed to be honored with the naming of Village Hall after him when will this be done? Answer—administration was unaware of this honor and will research and correct.
• Resident—where is the contingency category listed on the budget handout? Answer—Page 2 A1980.0.
• Resident—vouchers may be a requirement of the state comptroller.
• Resident—the letter from the resident was signed and should be read. Answer—letter doesn’t have to be read in open meeting.
• Resident—Attorney has represented the village well for years and should not be removed.
• Resident—one resident has been singled out unfairly by the village.
• Resident—Article 78 has been postponed 4 times, why? Answer—both attorneys have been busy in court. Several requests for postponement have been granted to attorneys from both sides.
• Resident—at the intersection of Indian Valley and Singing Wood Lane someone has placed two large boulders that may be a hazard for motorists. Answer—Public Safety will be asked to look at the situation.
• Resident—Attorney’s presence at meetings is needed. Answer—replacement attorney will also attend meetings.
• Resident—what is being done on Washington Street? Answer—LIPA is burying the high voltage line in PVC for protection.
• Resident—what are the marks on VanBrunt Manor Road? Answer—markings for gas main for 63 VanBrunt Manor Road connection.
• Resident—in the comments section you refer to Resident, why not use name of resident? Answer—some people have objected to their name being used in the minutes.

The meeting adjourned at 9:50 P.M. on a motion by S. Matthews

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JOSEPH NEWFIELD, VILLAGE CLERK

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DRAFT