VILLAGE OF COLONIE THOMAS TOBIN VILLAGE HALL DEPUTY MAYOR 2 THUNDER ROAD PATTY SCHWARZ COLONIE, NY 12205 LOCKART (518) 869-7562 FAX (518) 464-0389 TRUSTEE EDWARD F. SIM JACK MURPHY TRUSTEE MAYOR jblot@colonievillage.org JAMIE BLOT www.villageofcolonie.org CLERK MINUTES BOARD OF TRUSTEES MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 6:30 P.M. Deputy Mayor Sim opened the meeting of the Mayor and Board of Trustees at 6:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance, he also noted the exits. Roll Call: Trustee Lockart Present Trustee Murphy Present Deputy Mayor Sim Present Trustee Tobin Present Attorney DeCotis Present Deputy Mayor Sim turned the meeting over to Trustee Lockart. Trustee Lockart stated that tonight is certainly a difficult board meeting where Frank Leak is no longer Mayor. Trustee Lockart explained that Mayor Leak is the only Mayor she has known in her adult life. He is the mayor who asked Trustee Lockart to run for election for Village Trustee. Trustee Lockart emphasized that Mayor Leak will always be “The Mayor.” Trustee Lockart stated she spoke to Frank yesterday and he is in good spirits, he and his wife Mae are getting out of the house and he is listening to his doctors. He wishes he could attend tonight’s meeting; however, it is far too emotional and stressful. Trustee Lockart assured Mayor Leak that with Board will continue his legacy of fiscal responsibility, providing the very best services to residents. Trustee Lockart quoted Mayor Leak as he often said “above all we are here to help people. If we cannot do that then we might as well close the doors.” Trustee Lockart stated that Mayor Leak joked that if the Board ever got rid of the Santa or Easter parades that they would have to go through him first. Trustee Lockart expressed Mayor Leaks appreciation for all the love, prayers, cards and acts of kindness that has come his way. Trustee Lockart stated that by statue the board, The Board of Trustees duty is to appoint a person to fill the vacancy of the Office of Mayor of the Village of Colonie. Trustee Lockart explained that the Board has considered many options, and that it is most important to the Board that they continue Frank’s legacy and vision and the best way to do so is appoint one of the existing Trustees to be able to provide consistency during this transition time before the 2020 election. Trustee Lockart stated that Ed Sim was appointed in 2017 to fill a vacancy and he became Deputy Mayor in April 2019. Trustee Lockart stated that Ed and his wife are longtime residents of the Village of Colonie and have been married for 39 years. They have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren. Ed started working at 18 years old in Cook Park and has held various positions including Youth Director and DPW Superintendent. Ed was instrumental in the creation of the Family Recreation Center and building the new firehouse. Ed has served as chairman of the Village Traffic Advisory Committee and was Chief of the Colonie Fire Company for 10 years. Presently, Ed is he President of the South Colonie Board of Education. Ed is retired a retired Lieutenant of the Colonie Police Department here he dedicated 28 years of service. Trustee Lockart made a motion to appoint Ed Sim to the Office of Mayor of the Village of Colonie. Trustee Murphy seconded the motion. VOTE: Trustee Lockart – Yes Trustee Murphy – Yes Trustee Tobin – Yes Deputy Mayor Sim – Yes Motion passed. Trustee Lockart invited the Honorable Judge Sommers up to administer the oath of office of mayor of the Village of Colonie. Mayor Sim is sworn into office surrounded by his wife and grandchildren. Mayor Sim thanked everyone and stated that he saw Frank the other day, as he often visits him. Frank at this visit asked him why he was still visiting him as he is no longer mayor. Mayor Sim assured Frank that he will always, and forever be the mayor. Mayor Sim assured those in attendance that the Board will carry on Frank’s vision as he has done a tremendous job over his 24 years as Mayor and 40 years as a Village Board member. Mayor Sim explained that it is no mistake the Village of Colonie is a place to be proud of because of Mayor Leak. Mayor Sim asked that everyone keeps Frank in their thoughts and prayers. The minutes of the regularly scheduled board meeting that was held on October 21, 2019 were reviewed by the present members of the Board. A motion was made by Trustee Lockart to approve the minutes as presented. Trustee Murphy seconded the motion. VOTE: Trustee Lockart – Yes Trustee Murphy – Yes Trustee Tobin – Yes Mayor Sim – Yes Motion passes, minutes approved. Local Law #4 titled “Install Four Way Stop Intersection at Holland Ave and Harriet Street” was presented to the Board. No comments were made by the Board. Trustee Murphy made a motion to accept Local Law #4. Trustee Lockart seconded the motion. VOTE: Trustee Lockart – Yes Trustee Murphy – Yes Trustee Tobin – Yes Deputy Mayor Sim – Yes Motion passed. Resolution #32 of 2019 titled “Establish Offices for the March 2020 Village Election” was presented to the Board. There was no discussion. Trustee Lockart made a motion to accept Resolution 32 of 2019. Trustee Murphy seconded the motion. VOTE: Trustee Lockart – Yes Trustee Murphy – Yes Trustee Tobin – Yes Deputy Mayor Sim – Yes Motion passed. Resolution #33 of 2019 titled “October 2019 Water Bill Refund Request – 4A Terry Court” was presented to the Board. The Deputy Clerk explained that a new meter base was installed at 4A Terry Court in the spring, when the meters were read for the October billing cycling the meter read from 0 not the 92940 gallons it should have. The October water bill was originally $408.94 and should only have been a minimum bill of $110.00 and therefore a refund of $298.94 should be issued. Trustee Murphy made a motion to accept the resolution. Motion seconded by Trustee Tobin. VOTE: Trustee Lockart – Yes Trustee Murphy – Yes Trustee Tobin – Yes Deputy Mayor Sim – Yes Motion passed. The Deputy Clerk read aloud a letter from the Colonie Fire Company requesting that they use the Family Recreation Center on Saturday November 23, 2019 for their annual Turkey Raffle. Trustee Tobin made a motion to approve the facility request. Motion seconded by Trustee Murphy. VOTE: Trustee Lockart – Yes Trustee Murphy – Yes Trustee Tobin – Yes Deputy Mayor Sim – Yes Motion passed. The Deputy Clerk stated that the following reports were submitted: Building Department, Fire Inspection Report, Outreach Center, Senior Center, Colonie Fire Company and Halloween. Mayor Sim stated that he is appointing Trustee Tobin to Deputy Mayor effective immediately. Trustee Lockart reported that the Senior Center had a great Halloween event. The Outreach Center has been busy heling 30 families over the past month and are gearing up for their holiday season. Attorney DeCotis stated that Code Enforcement will be going to court on two different cases and hopes that they will get resolved. Chief Kayser reported on the October fire calls. He reported that there were 43 calls and 328 man hours recorded. There were 27 calls between 6 am and 6 pm and 16 calls between 6 pm and 6 am. Mutual aid was given 26 times and received 4 times. Year to date calls are 404. Chief Kayser expressed thanks to the Village DPW as they assisted in the CFC trench recertification drills. There were a few calls during the training including a fire underneath Sand Creek Road. Chief Kayser thanked Trustee Lockart for being attentive and bringing coffee and donuts to the fire scene. Chief joked that Trustee Lockart was the most important person on scene that day. Chief Kayser also stated that CFC averages around 500 calls a year and in 2018 they were unable to make 94 of those calls. Since beginning the paid day staff 4 months ago, the CFC response time has gone down from 15.81 minutes in 2018 to 3.41 minutes currently. Mayor Sim asked the Chief to pass on a job well done to the firemen. DPW Superintendent reported that the leaf vacuum started today and there are 2 crews out working diligently to clean up all the leaves. Mr. Decker explained that this is a very labor- intensive job and they guys are working overtime to ensure a timely pick up. Mr. Decker emphasized that with the pending winter weather that leaf bags will be guaranteed pick up, however he cannot guarantee the same for the leaf vac. Village Resident Mr. Dan McCarthy from 12 Lapham Drive presented some concerns he has over a code violation and issued building permit for his neighbor at 14 Lapham Drive. Mr. McCarthy stated that there is a newly constructed and permitted garage at 14 Lapham that in in front of the front line of the house; this violates Village Code section 242-5 i4(c). Mr. McCarthy stated that he is presently representing many neighbors on the street who believe that the permit was issued against Village Code. Mr. McCarthy stated that he has been in touch with Code Enforcement Office Mike Cerone and Attorney DeCotis since April who originally told him that this project was going to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals but never did and a new building permit was issued. Mr. McCarthy stated that he requested to see the new permit but has not received it. Mr. McCarthy stated that Mr. Cerone explained that a breeze way was to be constructed connecting the garage and the existing house, and that is yet to be done. Mr. McCarthy asked what the status of this project is. Mayor Sim stated that he is unfamiliar with this specific issue and asked for a few days to understand the learn the facts of this and asked Mr. McCarthy if he is interested in a sit down meeting to discuss this further. Mr. McCarthy stated that he would be happy to meet but he would like the Board to understand that this structure violates multiple code sections and the metal structure is decreasing the property values of the surrounding homes. Mayor Sim asked Mr. McCarthy to give the Deputy Clerk his contact information and he will be in touch to set up a meeting and further neighborhood meeting if necessary. Trustee Lockart made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Tobin. VOTE: Trustee Lockart – Yes Trustee Murphy – Yes Trustee Tobin – Yes Deputy Mayor Sim – Yes Abstract # 10 Breakdown: General: $54,369.32 Water: $3,090.94 Sewer: $12,000.19 Total: $69,460.45 Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:52 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Alexandra M. Hart Deputy Village Clerk Village of Colonie