Supervisor Robert Clement opened the Regular Town Board meeting at 7:30pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. In attendance were Councilman Donald Mullen, Ronald Panek, James Duyssen and Robert Pacer along with Highway Superintendent Steven Boldt and Town Clerk Barbara Radley.
Also, in attendance were Phyllis Darling, Terry Young, Linda Call, Harold Leanos, Dale and Cathy Worthington, Donald Hawkins, Andrew Darling, Bob and Michelle Wood, Dan Huntington, and Brooks Hawley.
Councilman Mullen made the motion to accept the Financial Report, second by Councilman Duyssen; the motion passed on a 5-0 vote.
Councilman Panek made a motion to approve the April 11, 2022 Town Board minutes second by Councilman Duyssen, the motion was approved on a 5-0 vote.
Councilman Pacer made a motion to accept Resolution 20 to Adopt Local Law No. 1 of 2022 to Prohibit Parking on roads within the Town of Stafford from November 15 through April 15 from the hours of 6pm to 6am. Second by Councilman Duyssen an approved on a Roll Call Vote as follows:
Councilman Duyssen aye
Councilman Pacer aye
Councilman Panek aye
Councilman Mullen aye
Supervisor Clement aye
Local Law #1 was approved and will be filed with the State this week.
BW Solar’s representative Dan Huntington was present and spoke to the Town Board about the Solar Project at the Wood residence on Batavia Stafford Townline Rd. Dan mentioned that he was present at the Zoning Board meeting last month and discussed the footprint of the array. Also, BW Solar will actively investigate the SEQR process to complete the project. An application will be sent with the $150,000.00 application fee in escrow. It was pointed out that the application is really for two projects, therefore, there needs to be two fees of $150,000.00, which in BW Solar’s opinion is excessive.
BW Solar will also ask that the Board reconsider the 2500-foot setback; they are willing to work with the Town on removing that requirement and make it much less; a set black that both parties can agree upon. Dan suggested that a phone call with the Supervisor an Town Attorney should be arranged to come to an agreement for the setbacks before the June 13th, 2022, Town Board meeting.
Dan Huntington has a sample agreement for the $150,000.00 escrow and how it is tracked and monitored. Councilman Panek stated that this escrow is the same as the PUD escrow we have with Tony Cole.
An engineering firm will need to be hired at the expense of BW Solar also; Steve Mountain was suggested because he is the engineer for the PUD project. BW Solar has used MRB Group in the past an has no objection to an engineering firm at their expense.
Before the applications are filed, the typing errors will be corrected.
The Hanson Grant was denied for our Flag Project; now we are back at the beginning an will revisit this. In the discussion it was suggested that Scofield may be willing to sponsor us for this project.
Resolution 25, Surplus Equipment was discussed. Councilman Mullen made a motion to accept Resolution 25, second by Councilman Pacer and approved on a Roll Call Vote as follows:
Councilman Mullen aye
Councilman Panek aye
Councilman Duyssen aye
Councilman Pacer aye
Supervisor Clement aye
Councilman Mullen reported that he spoke with Linda Call about the Town Historian position and one candidate was highly regarded. The candidate will need to be interviewed and then Councilman Mullen will report back to the Board with the results of that meeting.
Councilman Pacer made a motion to approve Resolution 26 to transfer funds from Tax Contractual to Deputy Clerk pay, second by Councilman Mullen and approved on a 5-0 vote.
The audit of the Uniform Justice Court Act by Freed Maxick was discussed; questioned about an audit because it was thought that no municipal audits would be done. Supervisor Clement will ask how this audit will be reported and include Justice Penepent in the inquiry and findings.
The Zoning Board of Review Committee was discussed. Supervisor Clement and Councilman Panek will represent the Town Board at this committee. There will also be two members of the Zoning and Planning Boards present, one being a chairman of each board and Zoning and Code Officer Gerry Wood. No public members will be on the committee gut will be allowed to attend the meeting.
Cathy Worthington spoke of her concerns regarding the cost of the Newsletter, the town Clerk informed her it cost $585.00 to mail them to the residents. This money came from Town Hall Contractual-Mailing. She also asked what days the Code Officer was working, his sign in the Bulletin Board says Wednesday and Friday; Cathy has observed him working on Mondays.
Councilman Panek reported on the Broadband Grant. It was reported that the County has Five (5) Million dollars for the broadband expansion in the county. Stafford scored a 32 out of 50 for the grant; and we are asking for 10% of the budget from the grant which is $500,000.00. That $500,000.00 will cover the costs of expansion for Stafford. We will need a Resolution for using the Franchise Fee to cover 20% of the cost which will be $100,000.00. June 3, 2022 is the next due date and it will be decided if we continue with the application of the grant.
Councilman Mullen made a motion to have a Resolution for anyone who wants to speak at a Town Board Meeting, they must ask to be on the agenda by the Thursday at noon preceding the meeting with a five-minute duration of speaking.
There was quite a discussion following the motion and Dale Worthington asked why some residents are allowed to ask questions, others are not. The motion did not pass. Councilman Mullen rescinded the motion and left the meeting at 8:30pm.
Terry Young commented on the wonderful job Steve Boldt and his crew has done at Emery Park, it is always maintained well, and the picnic tables and support columns are all cleaned and stained looking very well. The soccer program is fantastic with no problems.
Councilman Panek reported that the Town Clerk’s Office is painted, by Clerk Barb Radley and her husband Tom. Tom did a wonderful job moving the furniture as well as all the switch plates and shelving to accommodate a better paint job.
Councilman Panek made a motion to pay General Fund #5 in the amount of $15,158.72 second by Councilman Pacer and approved on a 5-0 vote.
Councilman Panek made a motion to pay Capital Fund #5 in the amount of $1,475.72 second by Councilman Duyssen and approved on a 5-0 vote.
Councilman Panek made a motion to pay Highway Fund #5 in the amount of $9,638.84 second by Councilman Duyssen and approved on a 5-0 vote.
The regular session of the Town Board Meeting was closed at 8:46pm for an Executive Session.
After the Executive Session, Councilman Duyssen made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:20pm second by Councilman Panek an approved on a 5-0 vote.
Respectfully Submitted
Barbara Radley, Town Clerk