This Regular Meeting of the Brant Town Board was held on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at the Brant Town Hall, located at 1272 Brant North Collins Rd, Brant, New York at 7:30 PM.
 

Leonard Pero Supervisor

Chad Kaczmarek Councilman

Mark DeCarlo Councilman

Donald Clark Councilman

Michael Muffoletto Councilman

2147483647. Trask, Sr. Town Attorney

Barbara J. Daniel Town Clerk, Recording Secretary

ALSO PRESENT & LEGIBLY SIGNED IN WERE:

Janice Ross (Planning Board member)

Lynda Ostrowski (Secretary to the Boards)

Joseph Ostrowski (Planning Board chairman)

Mary Ann Fusgara

MaryAnn (Jackie) Tedesco

Debra Ritz

Brian Rott

Janet Bowman (Assessor’s clerk)

Joe DeCarlo (Assessor)

Ron Kobel

Patty Friend (Historian)

Adam Weitsman

Russell Cornwell

Doreen Simmons

Aaron Weiner

Ed Dinkuhn

Joyce Ellis

Joseph Wittenzellner

Brenda Emminger

Phyllis Mogavero

Don Hepkins (Police Chief)

The meeting opened at 7:30 PM with the pledge of allegiance.

ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION: Supervisor Pero motioned to go into executive session for personnel matters at 7:30 PM, and was seconded by Councilman Kaczmarek. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

CLOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION: Supervisor Pero motioned to close executive session at 8:03 PM, and was seconded by Councilman DeCarlo. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

MINUTE APPROVAL JULY 12 REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING: Councilman Clark motioned to accept the minutes the July 12^th 2016 meeting. Councilman DeCarlo seconded the motion. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.
 

19. FINANCIAL REPORT: Councilman Clark moved and was seconded by Councilman DeCarlo to accept the Supervisor’s May 2016 Financial Report as presented. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

BUDGET MODIFICATIONS: Supervisor Pero read from his Budget modification #3 of 2016:

Councilman DeCarlo motioned to approve the budget mod as presented and was seconded by Councilman Clark. A roll call vote was taken: Councilman DeCarlo-aye, Councilman Clark-aye, Councilman Kaczmarek-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Supervisor Pero-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

TOWN CLERK’S FINANCIAL REPORT: Councilman DeCarlo motioned to accept the Town Clerk’s May 2016 Regular Financial Report, seconded by Supervisor Pero. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

TAX COLLECTOR’S FINANCIAL REPORT Final Report will be presented at August meeting.

COURT CLERK’S MAY 2016 FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR JUSTICES BORNGRABER & GIER, REGULAR AND BAIL ACCOUNTS: Councilman Clark made the motion to approve both the bail and regular financial reports of both justices. Councilman Muffoletto seconded the motion. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

44699. ENFORCEMENT OFFICER’S REPORT: Code Officer Gary Brecker will present his June report at the August meeting. A new site plan was received by the Town Board. Paving is almost complete. He recommended the Town Board approve the Weitsman Special Use Permit. Discussion regarding the payment of Ed Dinkuhn for the hours he has to date. Gary Brecker will make out a voucher for his payment.

DOG CONTROL OFFICER’S JUNE 2016 REPORT: The June Dog Control officer’s report is tabled until the August meeting.

POLICE REPORT JUNE 2016: The June 2016 police report was read by Police Chief Donald Hepkins. Councilman Kaczmarek motioned to approve the report as read and was seconded by Supervisor Pero. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

343994. CLERK MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR JUNE 2016: The Town Clerk’s monthly activity report for June was read by Clerk Daniel. Within her report, the Clerk presented a request she had received from I.T. person Dave Sink to purchase additional RAM for the server (16Gb) at a cost of $218.38. He also requested the purchase of a 3 year subscription to Tech Sentry, virus protection for the Network, quoted at $671.84. Supervisor Pero motioned approve the purchase with a cap of $850.00 and was seconded by Councilman Muffoletto. A roll call vote was taken: Supervisor Pero-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Councilman Kaczmarek-aye, Councilman Clark-aye, Councilman DeCarlo-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

Councilman Clark questioned the Town Clerk’s office handling of the recreation fees. He asked if it affected the Town Clerk’s office. The Town Clerk responded that it did bog the office down. Supervisor Pero stated that next year, he will assign additional help during the recreation collection. Supervisor Pero then motioned to approve the Town Clerk’s report as read and was seconded by Councilman Clark. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

PLANNING BOARD REPORT: Board secretary Lynda Ostrowski advised that the July 5th Planning Board meeting was cancelled due to lack of quorum.

ZONING BOARD REPORT: No Zoning Board meeting was held

2147483647. DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Discussion regarding the request from Vince Fininzio regarding the driving of his personal car to designated field trips. The Board stated that the other recreation staff must ride on the bus. Councilman Kaczmarek motioned to approve Rec Director Vince Fininzio to drive his personal vehicle to certain designated field trips, with all other staff riding the bus. Councilman DeCarlo seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Councilman Kaczmarek-aye, Councilman DeCarlo-aye, Councilman Clark-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Supervisor Pero-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

PARKS COMMISSIONER’S REPORT: Parks Commissioner was not present. No report was given.

343994. HISTORIAN REPORT: The Town Historian report for the June 15 meeting was presented by Historian Patty Friend. The report noted that over 200 people visited the display at Brantfest. The winner of the commemorative “Flossie Field” baseball bat was Jen Hill. The Flossie Field commemorative postmark will be available until July 20^th. Councilman Muffoletto motioned to accept the report as read, and was seconded by Councilman Kaczmarek. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTS: No reports were presented.

19. REPORT: Secretary to the Seniors Lynda Ostrowski presented the Senior’s monthly report for their July 6^th meeting. Councilman Kaczmarek motioned to accept the report as read, and was seconded by Councilman Muffoletto. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

OLD BUSINESS:

WEISTMAN’S SPECIAL USE PERMIT: Supervisor Pero acknowledged a new procedure that will allow residents to contact Councilman Muffoletto and Councilman Clark if they have any problems with the facility. They will act as community liaison/contacts. Supervisor Pero then read the Special Conditions to be met by Weitsman of Brant, LLC in order to maintain their special use permit:

Conditions for Special Use Permit being issued on July 12, 2016, effective July 1, 2016, to the following applicant/operator: Ben Weitsman of Brant, LLC. This Special Use Permit allows the applicant/operator to operate a junk and salvage yard located at 1132 Brant Farnham Rd, in the Town of Brant, Erie County, New York, subject to the conditions stated herein.

By signing below, the applicant/operator understands that the site is not zoned for the permitted use with this special use permit and further understands that the proximity of this site to residential uses requires constant vigilance and consideration of the impact of the junk and salvage yard operations on those neighboring residential properties. Accordingly, the applicants/operator understands and agrees that the following conditions must be strictly followed as a condition of this Special Use Permit which expires June 30, 2017, unless terminated or modified earlier as a result of enforcement proceedings:

1. The hours of operation are limited to the following:

• 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday thru Friday. On these days equipment will operate no earlier than 8 a.m. and no later than 5 p.m.
• Saturday operation will be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and equipment will operate no earlier than 8 a.m. and no later than 4 p.m. Operator will use its best efforts to minimize noise and equipment operations on Saturdays.
• Sunday operation is 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. with no equipment operations on Sunday.

2. No Weitsman Tractor Trailers will be inbound after 4 p.m.; but trucks already at the facility being loaded may be loaded and allowed to exit the facility before closing. Hardpan Road will not be used by Weitsman trucks and all trucks coming to or leaving facility will be directed to use Route 249 when routing to or from Route 20.

3. The yard lights will be operated and directed in such a manner as to cause no impact on neighboring residential properties.

4. All operations are to be conducted within the area enclosed by the block wall, fence and gate, as shown on the “as built” site plan dated “July 2016” with no operations conducted in the area running along Hardpan Road and Brant Farnham Road shown on the site plan as “Topsoil and Seeded Areas”.

5. All material on site is to be stacked or piled below the height of the block wall.

6. Applicant/operator will not modify existing site and/or improvements located thereon without first submitting proposed changes to the Town of Brant for approval once the impact of the proposed changes and modifications upon the neighboring residential properties has been assessed and considered. All such changes or modification shall be presumed to be changes to the allowable use under this special use permit.

After reading the above conditions, Supervisor Pero motioned to approve the Special Use Permit which would begin July 1, 2016 and expire on June 30, 2017. Councilman Clark seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Supervisor Pero-aye, Councilman Clark-aye, Councilman Kaczmarek-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Councilman DeCarlo-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

2016 SUMMERFEST: Councilman DeCarlo noted that the preliminary figures show the Summer festival expense to the Town is approximately $2,900. He will present a spreadsheet at the August meeting that will reflect the final cost to the Town. Supervisor Pero commended the Board for a job well done with the Brantfest.

Councilman DeCarlo then announced that two proclamations were issued by NYS Assemblyman DiPietro’s office during the Brant Summer Festival. Councilman Donald Clark then read the first of two proclamations. The following was awarded to Leah Mirusso:

Proclamation Honoring Ms. Leah ‘Flossie’ Mirusso for her commitment to the Town of Brant

WHEREAS, the state of New York takes great pride in recognizing and paying tribute to individuals who have displayed a deep commitment to our state and our communities; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Mirusso served the Town of Brant for over three decades in numerous public offices and the community is forever grateful for her selfless service; and

WHEREAS, Leah’s whole life was dedicated to service and helping those in Brant, she was a registered nurse, she was the first Vice President of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Brant Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, she was a member of the original Recreation Committee, and served the town as a Tax Collector, Town Clerk, and later as a Councilwoman; and

WHEREAS, Ever committed to her community, she enjoyed the fire company’s Brant Bombers games for over forty years, watching her grandson Joe Hill pitch, and even became an umpire; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Mirusso also served as Deputy Supervisor during the time of the Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1989; and

WHEREAS, her lifetime commitment to the Town of Brant will forever be immortalized as Flossie Field gets set to host games; now, therefore, be it

PROCLAIMED, that as a duly-elected Member of the Assembly of the State of New York, and on behalf of the citizens of the 147^th Assembly District, I do hereby offer our thanks and appreciation to Ms. Leah ‘Flossie’ Mirusso for her commitment to the Town of Brant

Dated: June 18, 2016

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto

Set my Hand and Signature

David DiPietro

Member of the Assembly

147^th District

Councilman DeCarlo then reminded those present that along with the following proclamation, Clark Borngraber was also inducted into the “Wall of Fame” by the Brant Town Board, and a plaque honoring his commitment will be displayed on the Town’s Wall of Fame. Councilman DeCarlo then read the second of the two proclamations from Assemblyman DiPietro’s office. The following was awarded to Justice Clark Borngraber:

Proclamation Honoring Mr. Clark H. Borngraber for his commitment to the Town of Brant

WHEREAS, the state of New York takes great pride in recognizing and paying tribute to individuals who have displayed a deep commitment to our state and our communities; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Borngraber has dedicated much of his life to serving the Town of Brant in numerous roles; and

WHEREAS, he began serving our community in 1958 as a Constable in our police force, eventually rising to the role of Police Chief, a capacity in which he served for five years; and

WHEREAS, following his time at the police department, Clark served as Town Assessor and then as a Town Councilman; and

WHEREAS, his service to the Town of Brant did not end there, and now Mr. Borngraber is serving his first term as a Town Justice; and

WHEREAS, he has served as a mentor throughout the years through his work at DM&K Enterprises; and

WHEREAS, his lifetime of service to our community will forever be part of our history as he is inducted into the Town of Brant Hall of Fame; now, therefore, be it

PROCLAIMED, that as a duly-elected Member of the Assembly of the State of New York, and on behalf of the citizens of the 147^th Assembly District, I do hereby offer our thanks and appreciation to Mr. Clark H. Borngraber for his leadership and dedication to the Town of Brant.

Dated: June 18, 2016

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto

Set my Hand and Signature

David DiPietro

Member of the Assembly

147^th District

Supervisor Pero then explained the Wall of Fame is awarded to recipients who are still alive to show appreciation for their hard work and dedication to the Town. He then read the Wall of Fame proclamation which was awarded to Clark Borngraber and adopted by the Town Board at the June meeting:

WALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

CLARK BORNGRABER

The 13th Annual Brant Summer Fest presents the 5th inductee to our wall of fame as we honor Clark Borngraber for his leadership & dedication to the residents of the Town of Brant.

For over 50 years, Clark has served the Town of Brant as a constable, our Town Police Chief, our Town Assessor, Councilman, and now as Town Justice. The town residents recognize his leadership, loyalty and dedicated service to our Community by honoring him on our Wall of Fame.

Thank You Clark for your dedicated service to the residents of the Town of Brant! God Bless you & your family.

SPEED REDUCTION REQUEST FOR MILESTRIP ROAD:

Supervisor Pero noted that he spoke with Legislator John Mills who told him the Town Board will be required to adopt a resolution requesting a speed reduction. A survey of the residents may need to be conducted. The resolution would be sent to the County of Erie and the State of New York Dept of Transportation. The resolution proposed is as follows:

The Brant Town Board requests that the State of New York, through the County of Erie, approve a reduction of speed on the entire length of Milestrip Road to 45 miles per hour.

Councilman Clark motioned to approve the resolution to request a speed reduction on Milestrip Rd, and was seconded by Councilman Muffoletto. A roll call vote was taken: Councilman Clark-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Councilman Kaczmarek-aye, Councilman DeCarlo-aye, Supervisor Pero-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

POLICE DESKTOP COMPUTER: Police Chief Hepkins stated he is still accumulating data on the desktop to ensure it meets Central Police Services requirements.

NEW BUSINESS:

PERSONAL USE OF TOWN EQUIPMENT: This item was tabled.

13065. CLARK SPECIAL USE PERMIT (this item was not on agenda): Attorney Trask noted that he sent an email to the Board members regarding Tim Clark’s Special Use Permit renewal. Supervisor Pero responded that he did not see the email yet. The Attorney advised the Board that upon his review of the Special Use Permit approved by the Board on July 29^th of 2015, no mention was made specifying that the Permit does not require renewal which means it defaults to being necessary to be renewed, even though the structure has not been built yet. The renewal will be put on the Agenda for August since it was not clear if the renewal fee had been paid yet.

$65,000 BAN: The one year BAN for $65,000 has a payment due by the 22^nd in the amount of $13,000 plus $1,300 interest. It is currently at a 2% rate. The balance of $52,000 will be renewed on a BAN at a lower rate of 1.75%.

2147483647. FOR JUSTICE GIER AND BORNGRABER TO ATTEND MAGISTRATES CONFERENCE: Supervisor Pero addressed a request he received from Justice Gier who requested he and Justice Borngraber attend a Magistrate Conference in Lake Placid. The conference was expected to cost approximately $1,200 for both but Justice Gier was uncertain the exact amount. Supervisor Pero then motioned to approve their attendance with a cap of $1,500 for both justices. Councilman DeCarlo seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Supervisor Pero-aye, Councilman DeCarlo-aye, Councilman Kaczmarek-aye, Councilman Clark-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES: No reports presented.

TOWN BOARD REPORTS:

COUNCILMAN KACZMAREK:

• Working on the sign for the park entrance.

COUNCILMAN CLARK: Nothing to report

COUNCILMAN DeCARLO: Nothing to report.

COUNCILMAN MUFFOLETTO: The first free concert went well with good attendance.

SUPERVISOR PERO:

• Highway Time Clock was messed up. Vendor instructed Town to ship it back to them for replacement.
• Pool opened on July 2^nd. Recreation program started in July 5^th
• Visiting Nurses are coming on October 24^th from 10 am to 2 pm at community bldg for flu shots
• Reminder that the Bookmobile comes every 1^st and 3^rd Fridays from 5 pm to 8 pm
• Reminder that the moratorium on Commercial Solar array permits expires December 14^th 2016

RECOGNIZED PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR:

Police chief noted that the old police car is off the road now, and the new one is on the road. The old one will be sold on Auctions International.

Joseph Wittenzellner and Brenda Emminger requested a copy of the Special Use permit and a copy of the Conditions be forwarded to them. They also requested the phone numbers of the Board members who will be their liaison

Ed Dinkuhn of Brant Farnham Rd, addressing himself as “Code Enforcement Officer in Training”, notified the Town Board that the Code Officer training that was scheduled for June has been put off until August. He still wishes to be Code Enforcer, but he wants the Board aware that it has been a rough road.

No further discussion.

CORRESPONDENCE:

• Sales Tax, 2.16% lower than last year’s corresponding payment in 2015, and .29% higher Year to date
• Time Warner has completed its merger with Charter and will soon be known as Spectrum Communications. Mark Meyerhoffer will remain in charge of Internal Affairs.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION:

• Supervisor Pero read a resolution he received from Legislator John Mills & Legislator Morton. The resolution fulfilled the re-certification of the Brant Evans 9 district with Agriculture and Markets, pursuant to Section 303A. Therefore, the Town of Brant has received its eight year recertification as required by Section 303A of the Ag & Markets law.
• A survey was received from Erie County Sanitary Sewer. Ellsworth Nolan was the first to receive a copy of the completed survey which showed that all was fine with the Town’s system
• Senator Patrick Gallivan sent correspondence regarding the farming economics for the 59^th district which the Town of Brant borders. The correspondence discussed funding which is provided to Apple Growers Association, pro dairy programs, Christmas tree growers, Cornell Diagnostic Lab, Soybean growers association, etc. Along with financial assistance to the Future Farmers of America program and to support family run farms.

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Supervisor Pero read the following Abstract 7:

Abstract 7 of 2016

*Prepaid and unpaid as of 7/12/16 Total Claims $271,183.34

Gen Fund Town wide Vouchers Totaling: $56,483.24

Gen Fund – Part Town Voucher Totaling: $35.29

Highway T.W. Vouchers Totaling: $5,414.68

Highway P.T. Vouchers, Totaling: $56,418.06

Fire Protection: Vouchers: Totaling: (SF) $125,714.00

Street Lighting: Voucher Totaling: $2,185.80

H Capital Projects: Vouchers none, Totaling:

Lotus Bay Sewer Dist. 1: Vouchers: $

Brant Farnham Sewer Dist: Vouchers: none, Totaling: $

SW Brant Water Dist 1: Voucher: none – Totaling $16,949.50

CD Special Grant Fund: unpd: None, Totaling: $7,982.77

PAYROLL (2 payrolls):

General Town Wide Payroll 5/29/16 TO 06/25/16 – Totaling $41,974.19

General Part Town Payroll 5/29/16 TO 06/25/16 Totaling: $755.43

Highway Payroll TW 5/29/16 TO 06/25/16 Totaling: $0

Highway Payroll PT 5/29/16 TO 06/25/16 Totaling: $7,933.36

Councilman Kaczmarek motioned to approve Abstract 7, seconded by Councilman Muffoletto. A roll call vote was taken: Councilman Kaczmarek-aye, Councilman Muffoletto-aye, Councilman Clark-aye, Councilman DeCarlo-aye, Supervisor Pero-aye. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MOTION CARRIED.

NEXT TOWN BOARD MTG AUGUST 9, 2016 AT 7:30 PM (7:30 pm June thru Sept)

At 9:07 PM Supervisor Pero motioned to adjourn the meeting in memory of Steve Twarozek who recently passed away. The entire Board seconded motion. 5 ayes, 0 nays. MEETING ADJOURNED.

Respectfully submitted by,

Barbara Daniel
Brant Town Clerk