Aurora Village Board
Aurora, New York 13026

Minutes
Regular Monthly Meeting 
January 20, 2010

Present – Mayor Tom Gunderson, Trustees Janet Murphy, George Farenthold, Jim Chase and Lili MacCormick.
Also Present – Village Clerk Dee Nance, Treasurer Deborah Brooks, Village Attorney Andrew Fusco and Code Enforcement Officer Mick Piechuta.
Members of the Public – David Brooks.

Regular Monthly Meeting
Mayor Gunderson called the regular monthly meeting to order at 7:00 PM and led the room in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Trustee Farenthold reminded those present that he is married to Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President of Wells College.

Mayor Gunderson asked for approval of the December 16, 2009 regular meeting minutes.  A motion of acceptance was made by Trustee Chase; seconded by Trustee MacCormick.  Motion carried 5:0.

Changes to the Agenda – Mayor Gunderson said he would like to discuss the budget under New Business.

Announcements – Mayor Gunderson announced that he would be away next month and the Board of Trustees meeting will be chaired by Deputy Mayor, Jim Chase.

Clerk Nance reported that the NYCOM Winter Legislative meeting would be held February 21st-23rd, in Albany.

Clerk Nance reported that she has called in five reservations for the January 26th Village Association Dinner in Auburn.

Clerk Nance reported on her attendance at the NYCOM Village Election Workshop in Buffalo, which she found quite helpful.

Clerk Nance reported that jobs are available in our community for 2010 Census Takers.  Tests for potential census workers are being held at the firehouse this month.

Treasurer’s Report – Ms. Brooks presented a report for the month of December.  

Mayor Gunderson presented the budget modification to the board.  

General Fund 
$19.90		FROM		A1990.4 – Contingency Account
		TO		A9050.8 – Unemployment Insurance

Trustee Farenthold moved approval of the General Fund Budget Modification; seconded by Trustee Murphy.  Motion carried 5:0.

Mayor Gunderson presented the bills for payment on Abstract #8.

General Fund – voucher #’s 251-252, 255-256, 258-260, 262-267, 270-273, 275-276, 278-281, and 283 in the amount of $10,592.30.   Trustee MacCormick moved payment of the General Fund bills; seconded by Trustee Murphy.  Motion carried 5:0.
Water Fund – voucher #’s 254-255, 267 and 269 in the amount of $1,301.49.  Trustee Farenthold moved payment of the Water Fund bills; seconded by Trustee MacCormick.  Motion carried 5:0.

Sewer Fund – voucher #’s 253, 255, 257, 261, 266-268, 274, 277 and 282 in the amount of $5,885.48.  Trustee Farenthold moved payment of the Sewer Fund bills; seconded by Trustee Chase.  Motion carried 5:0.

Committee Reports
Buildings and Grounds – Trustee Farenthold reported that the public comment period on the trash truck legislation has come to a close.  He will be unable to attend the next Upstate Safety Task Force meeting.  The Motor Truck Association is meeting on February 11, 2010.

On January 26, Trustee Farenthold will be attending a marketing and public relations meeting for the Finger Lakes Cultural and Natural History Museum.  The meeting is to be held in Geneva, NY. 

Trustee Farenthold reported that he had heard concerns from Bill Mullarney regarding the cleaning of the fire house.  Trustee Farenthold said he had not been aware that cleaner, Laurie Nolan had been out sick since before Christmas.  Trustee Farenthold relayed this information to Bill Mullarney, along with the news that Billy Hosford is ready to finish repairs on the firehouse men’s room.

Trustee Farenthold reported on some data he received from Jacci Farlow regarding usage of the village website.  In just over a year’s time the website has received nearly 12,000 hits.  He thought the board might want to consider upgrading this website reporting service to receive even more detailed information.

Trustee Farenthold reported that a fiber optic cable has been run up the west side of Cayuga Lake from Cornell to the Experimental Station in Geneva.  Another cable is going to come very close to Aurora in the near future.  This may open up the possibility of another hi-speed broad band service for the village.  This service is being supplied to Cornell by a small family-owned phone company near Canandaigua.  The company owner is Paul Griswold.

Parks and Recreation – Trustee MacCormick had nothing new to report.  Trustee Murphy gave Trustee MacCormick the phone number of a local resident who has an idea for a new recreation program in the village.

Streets and Public Safety – Trustee Chase had nothing new to report.

Water and Sewer – Trustee Murphy reported that day to day operations at the Water and Sewer plant are going well.  Superintendent of Public Works, Kurt Wilmot is addressing a problem at the Fargo of too much grease getting into the sewer lines.  

Community Preservation Panel – no minutes.
Planning Board – no minutes.
Zoning Board of Appeals – no minutes.

Code Enforcement Officer – monthly report for December 16, 2009 through January 20, 2010.  Mr. Piechuta reported that he has received verification that the new railings at the Aurora Library meet code requirements.  

Mr. Piechuta stated that he has been reviewing the 2009 inspections and sees that no follow-up was done to any of them.  He will inspect again in March and April of 2010 and provide the necessary follow-up to insure compliance.

Mayor Gunderson reported that he met with Village Attorney Andrew Fusco and Mr. Piechuta prior to tonight’s meeting to discuss procedures for resolving long-standing code enforcement issues in the village.

Old Business – Trustee Murphy reported on her efforts to negotiate a new cable vision contract with Time Warner.  Trustee Murphy has set up a meeting with Pat Johnson of the NY State Public Service Commission for February 18, 2010.  Ms. Johnson says that rates are not negotiable, in fact, there isn’t much that is negotiable in these agreements but she will look at our agreement to ensure that we are getting all that we are entitled to.  Trustee Murphy has invited representatives from Aurelius, Springport, Cayuga, Union Springs, and Ledyard along with Cayuga County Legislator, George Fearon to the Feb. 18th meeting.  One benefit of working with the state through Pat Johnson is the fact that this automatically qualifies us for a six-month extension on negotiations.  In preparation for this meeting, Trustee Murphy asked Clerk Nance to locate the current franchise agreement, and to see if Time Warner contacted as three years ago regarding contract negotiations as they are required to do.

Trustee Murphy reported that she had received a notice from the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network asking for funds.  Ms. Brooks confirmed that we are already dues paying members, and we are current in our dues.

New Business – Clerk Nance asked that Pat Bianconi, Marie Fenner, Ann Tobey and Deborah Carlisle be appointed as election inspectors for the March 16, 2010 Village Election.  After some discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Farenthold to appoint these four individuals as election inspectors at a pay rate of $8.50 per hour, with the chair to be chosen by Clerk Nance; seconded by Trustee MacCormick.  Motion carried 5:0. 
Mayor Gunderson asked that the board appoint Betty Seyerle as a part-time cleaner to assist Laurie Nolan.  Trustee Chase moved approval of Betty Seyerle as a part-time cleaner; seconded by Trustee Farenthold.  Motion carried 5:0.
Mayor Gunderson read Resolution #10-1, Cayuga County Fire Aid Annex, to the board.  There was some discussion.  David Brooks explained that this is our mutual aid agreement.  Mayor Gunderson said he did not recall ever being asked to pass this resolution before.  Mayor Gunderson asked to table the matter until the next meeting.  In the meantime Attorney Fusco will research it for us and render his opinion.
Mayor Gunderson reminded the board that we have to have a budget ready for the March meeting.  He asked each board member to prepare their portion in advance.
Trustee Farenthold remarked that we never had a follow-up to the SEQR informational meeting Attorney Fusco had conducted for the board.  It was intended that Doug Staley would do a session addressing code questions.  Attorney Fusco said that he would be happy to continue these sessions and that Mondays and Wednesdays are best for him.  Trustee Chase suggested that it might be better to wait until April when the new mayor and trustees take office.
Mayor Gunderson asked for a motion of adjournment.  Trustee Farenthold moved adjournment; seconded by Trustee Murphy.  Motion carried 5:0.  The meeting adjourned at 8:04 PM.
Respectfully submitted, 

Dee Nance                                                                                                                   Village Clerk