April 2, 2024
The regular meeting was called to order by Supervisor Robert Hayssen at 7:00 p.m. Present at this meeting were Councilmen Richard McCulloch, James Velie, and Eric Riegel, Town Clerk, Donna Karlsen, Bookkeeper, Angela Testa, Attorney for the Town, Emil Bove, Highway Superintendent, Ben Freier, and Planning Board member, Cindy Lont. Also in attendance were Romulus seniors Joseph Scherra and Bailey Sabin. Absent: Councilman, Tom Fox.
Petitioners to Address the Board: Romulus Central School seniors Joseph Scherra and Bailey Sabin reported they were attending the meeting to full fill a requirement for their history class.
Abstract: A motion by Richard McCulloch, seconded Jim Velie and so carried unanimously to approve Abstract No. 4, Vouchers 78 to 108 in the amount of $151,242.20.
Highway: Highway Superintendent Ben Freier sought authorization to accept or deny bids submitted by Auction International for equipment being submitted to be auctioned off.
A motion by Richard McCulloch, seconded by Jim Velie and so carried unanimously to authorize Highway Superintendent Ben Freier to accept or deny auction bid amounts for equipment submitted to Auction International.
Mr. Freier reported that he has not had a response from Hill Top Construction as to when they will be completing the repair of the town’s roofs. He will try to contact them again to obtain a start date.
Household Clean-Up: Mr. Freier would like to hold household clean-up days June 20th, 21st & 22nd and will confirm availability of dumpsters and dumping fees at Seneca Meadows. He would like to be authorized to hire two part-time people, who will be paid through a 1099, to assist this year, as he is unsure of his availability.
A motion by Eric Riegel, seconded by Jim Velie and so carried unanimously to hire two part time people as needed to be paid through 1099’s to assist during the 2024 Household Clean-Up days to be held in June 2024.
Supervisor: A motion by Richard McCulloch, seconded by Eric Riegel and so carried unanimously to approve the February 2024 Supervisor’s Monthly Report.
Code Enforcement Officer: No report.
Judge: A motion by Eric Riegel, seconded by Richard McCulloch and so carried unanimously acknowledging that the 2023 records of the Varick Town Court have been duly examined and that the fines therein collected have been turned over to the proper officials of the Town as required by law based on information provided by Court Clerk Courtney Andrews and Judge Jeffrey Hogue and the Appendix 10-Annual Checklist for Review of Justice Court Records was completed.
Roll Call:
Robert Hayssen Yes
Richard McCulloch Yes
Eric Riegel: Yes
James Velie Yes
Tom Fox Absent
Yes-4 No-0 Absent-1
So Carried unanimously
Water & Sewer Operator’s Report: March 2024
· Marked Out Dig Tickets as requested
· Called in Dig tickets for upcoming jobs
· Changed meters as needed
· Read each master meter and did calculations of daily usage
· Answered customers question in each sewer and water district
· Did final reads as needed
· Changed out grinder pumps as needed
· Took Bac T samples in each water district
· Filled out and submitted monthly report to health department
· Ordered parts for upcoming projects
· Did water turn-ons as needed
· Serviced and exercised hydrants on Seneca lake
· Pressured check hydrants for psi in each district
· Read water meters in all 4 districts
· Dealt with power outage in sewer district #2
· Talked with contractors about upcoming water service installs
· Helped Seneca Lake camp pressure their water system and flushed dead end
· Counted houses and calculated water usage in Varick #3 for future sewer
· Received quotes for upcoming water service installs
· Took Valve turning machine over to martins to get running
· Worked with Romulus in Varick 1 looking for possible water leak
Varick Sewer District No. 1: Nothing further to report.
Varick Sewer District No 2: Nothing further to report.
Varick Water District No. 1: As indicated in a letter from the Seneca County Finance Department dated February 13, 2024, The Town of Romulus is to bill Varick Water District No. 1 for all water consumed and a portion of water loss beginning with the 2023 fourth quarter water billing. As of this meeting date, Romulus has not submitted to Varick Water 1 a bill to be paid. The town of Romulus at this point agrees with the Town of Varick board that further review needs to be done regarding installation of the master meter and if it was installed correctly and what dates the meter was read that the water loss amount is based on. Varick Water District has made no payment towards water used for the 2023 fourth quarter as of this meeting.
Seneca Lake Water District: Nothing further to report. Note: The board reopened this board meeting to discuss a letter received from the Village of Waterloo pertaining to a proposed water increase for this district. (refer to the end of the minutes)
Varick Water District No. 3: An agreement for services was provided to the Fayette Town Board for the benefit of Fayette 5 Water District detailing the scope of service by the Town of Varick pertaining to reading the meters to be presented at Fayette’s May meeting for approval.
Varick Water District No. 3 also was informed in a letter from the Seneca County Finance Department dated February 13, 2024, The Town of Varick is to bill Fayette Water District 5 for all water consumed and a portion of water loss beginning with the 2023 fourth quarter water billing. Varick Water District No. 3 has not, as of this date, billed Fayette 5 for 2023 fourth quarter water usage and water loss. Varick Water District No. 3 did pay a portion of the bill sent based on this district’s consumer consumption.
Varick Water District No. 4: Nothing further to report.
Town Clerk’s Report: A motion by Richard McCulloch, seconded by Jim Velie and so carried unanimously to approve March 2024 Town Clerk’s Report: Supervisor: $347.50, NYS Ag & Markets: $2.00, NYS Health Department: $22.50, Total Disbursements: $372.00.
Minutes: A motion by Eric Riegel, seconded by Richard McCulloch and so carried unanimously to approve the minutes of March 5, 2024.
Personnel: Mr. McCulloch reported that Summer Recreation Director, Mrs. Chambers, reported to him that Romulus Central School will be doing some renovation this summer, but the program will be able to use the gym and have access to the free lunch program.
Assessor: No report.
Zoning/Planning Board: Peacock Villas submitted a new plan for their property requiring approval for a major subdivision. Mrs. Lont reported that the Planning Board is working on developing separate forms for minor and major subdivisions.
STR Applications: Mrs. Lont reported that the Planning Board approved one more owner/occupied STR application on East Lake Road, bringing their count of STR’s to 56.
Varick Website: Mrs. Lont reported that the web designer is working on developing a “frequently asked questions” (FAQ) page on the website and asked if the board wanted final approval as to what questions and the response is posted. The board approved having Cindy Lont work with the web designer to develop a FAQ page and post them.
Old Business, New Business, Correspondence:
A sample of the town’s adopted Code of Ethics was given to the town attorney for review and comment.
A motion by Eric Riegel, seconded by Richard McCulloch and so carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m.
A motion by Eric Riegel, seconded by Richard McCulloch and so carried unanimously to reopen the regular meeting of the Varick Town Board at 7:42 p.m.
Seneca Lake Water District: Supervisor Hayssen received a letter from the Village of Waterloo dated February 14, 2024, giving reasons as to why their water rates will need to be increased over the next four years and provided proposed water rates for each year. It was noted that the Village of Waterloo’s fiscal year begins June 1st but any water rate increase would need to be effective with the third quarter water billing. Supervisor Hayssen noted that Seneca Lake Water District has in the past only increased water rates to reflect the same amount that was raised by the Village. The board discussed the increase in cost for operation and maintenance of this district and noted that this water rate increase needs to take into consideration this increase in cost along with the increase from the Village of Waterloo. Supervisor Hayssen will contact the Village to Waterloo to secure the rate of water increase for further discussion at the May board meeting.
A motion by Eric Reigel, seconded by Richard McCulloch and so carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Karlsen
Varick Town Clerk