VILLAGE OF AURORA BOARD OF TRUSTEE’S MEETING
September 21, 2011 
Held at the Aurora Firehouse Meeting Room

Present:   Mayor Bonnie Apgar Bennett 
	  Trustees - Elisabeth MacCormick, Janet Murphy, Marie Taylor 

Also Present:   
		Village Residents:  David Brooks, Peggy Dupee and Britt Van Buskirk
		Code Enforcement Officer Michael Piechuta
	             Deborah Brooks, Deputy Village Clerk/Treasurer

Absent:  Trustee George Farenthold  
	
	 Mayor Bennett called the Regular Monthly Meeting to order at 7:00 PM and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.  	
	
	 Mayor Bennett asked for approval of the August 17, 2011 Minutes.  Trustee MacCormick moved the approval of the August 117, 2011 Minutes with Trustee Taylor seconding the motion.  Discussion - none.  Trustee Murphy abstained from voting because she was absent.  Motion Carried 4:0:1.

	 Changes to the Agenda -   none

	Announcements -  1]  Mayor Bennett presented to the Board the resignation letter from Dee Nance received on 8/29/11 from the position of Village Clerk. 
	 Mayor Bennett explained to the Board that Ms. Nance had taken a part time summer job at Hancock Airport in Syracuse and that the position had been extended.  Mayor Bennett noted that Ms. Nance has offered to help train someone to do the village web site and records management computer program.  Mayor Bennett expressed her thanks to Dee for the time she spent preparing and submitting an application for a Records Management Grant and her time in the village office.
	Mayor Bennett informed the Board that the Village Office would continue to function with the gracious help of Deputy Clerk Brooks.

	Deputy Clerk Brooks reported that the September Cayuga County Association of Villages dinner will be September 27, 2011 at the Sunset Restaurant, hosted by Cato.  Social hour at 6:30 PM and dinner at 7:00 PM.  Ms. Brooks asked if anyone from the Board would be attending.  Mr. Wilmot will represent the Village.
	Deputy Clerk Brooks informed the Board that the office received a thank you note from the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network on September 3, 2011 for their donation of $50.00

	Visitor Recognition -  Mayor Bennett welcomed the public to the meeting.  
	
	Treasurer’s Reports -   Ms. Brooks reported that she had almost completed closing the books, when a virus took over the Internet system.  The computer crashed and the NYS Annual Report which was stored on the web was lost.  Ms. Brooks informed the Board that the computer was at Auburn Documents Centre to have an external hard drive created of the software and documents.  Williamson Law Book representative, Ted Jones, is working with them to recover their software.

	The Mayor presented the bills for payment on Abstract # 4:
  
	General Fund - voucher #s 123-128, 130, 132-140, 142, 143, 145-153, 157,  & 157 in the amount of $8,312.68.  Trustee MacCormick moved payment of General Fund bills, seconded by Trustee Taylor.  The Board unanimously approved payment of the General Fund bills.  Motion Carried 4:0:1.

	Water Fund - voucher #s 133, 137, 138, 143, 153, 154,  & 155 in the amount of 
$ 2,553.40.  Trustee Taylor moved payment of Water Fund bills seconded by Trustee Murphy. The Board unanimously approved payment of the Water Fund bills.  Motion Carried 4:0:1.

	Sewer Fund - voucher #s 122, 124, 125, 127, 129, 131, 133-135, 137-139, 141, 143, 144, 148 & 152 in the amount of $ 11,991.03.  Trustee MacCormick moved payment of Sewer Fund bills with a second by Trustee Taylor. The Board unanimously approved payment of the Sewer Fund bills.   Motion Carried 4:0:1
	Discussion ensued on voucher #135 for repairs to the Leaf Blower Unit totaling $1,209.00 and the Aeration System on Tank #2 at the WWTP totaling $5,200.00.  Mayor Bennett noted that Mr. Wilmot has saved the Village a great deal of money repairing equipment instead of buying new.  Mr. Brooks (WWTP Operator-retired) noted that this plant was scheduled to be replaced in 2006 after 36 years of service, so the repairs have been done very well to prolong its life.

Committee Reports:

	Buildings and Grounds - Trustee Murphy reported that Ms. Brooks has informed her that Mr. Wilmot would like permission to seal the rear parking area for the cost of $1,800.00 with Bill McDermott doing the project.  After discussion, Trustee Murphy moved approval to seal the rear parking lot at the firehouse for the cost of $1,800.00. Trustee Taylor seconded the motion.  Motion Carried 4:0:1.
	Trustee Murphy reported that the History class at SCCS led by Barb Casper who put together the history brochure on Aurora has been canceled this year.  Trustee Murphy suggested that the Board take on the project of getting it printed then selling copies at Christmas in Aurora to earn money for printing and some for Patrick Tavern costs.  Mayor Bennett didn’t believe a municipality could earn money in that fashion, but would look into finding outside donors.  Trustee Murphy reminded the Board that we need to find out whether the Patrick Tavern account is still a non-profit and whether a committee outside the Village Board could undertake a project such as this.  She will look into it.

	Recreation, Parks & Public Safety - Trustee MacCormick read the report on the Summer Swim Program received from Director Carolyn Connors. (see attach)  
	Trustee MacCormick informed the Board that the Southern Cayuga Garden Club conducted a tour of Aurora’s gardens this summer and they group would like to donate a tree to the community. 	Discussion ensued as to where to place a tree.  Trustee Murphy suggested getting a Christmas tree and placing it at Patrick Tavern.  Mayor Bennett  noted that Mr. Wilmot has suggested placing a tree between the Post Office and the Aurora Place.  Mr. Brooks informed the Board that there is a water line running between the two buildings.	
	Mayor Bennett reported that the Haenlin’s are installing solar panels on their home which is supposed to save them a great deal for money.  She suggested that that maybe the way to get electric to Patrick Tavern, but for this year, maybe the Village could borrow electric from a neighbor to light the tree.
	Streets & Public Safety - Trustee Farenthold no report.  Discussion ensued about street lights that are not working properly.  Mrs. Dupee noted that the street light outside her home flickers on & off causing interference with her radio.  Ms. Brooks informed the Board that she has several lights to report to NYSEG and turn in a report.
	
	Water & Sewer - Trustee Taylor reported that all modifications needed at the Sewer Plant have been completed..  
	Trustee Taylor reported that Mr. Wilmot is still trying to generate more income for the water fund.  She noted that the water haulers were back running at the Village tank and the new rates would be reflected on the October billing..
	Trustee Taylor reported the replacement of water service at the home of Ken Kabelac located on Cherry Avenue this week.  Mr. Kabelac paid for materials and the Village did the installation.
	Trustee Taylor reported that Mr. Wilmot needs to gather hours for his water certification.  She asked for permission for him to attend the October 3 day NYCOM School in Saratoga Springs.  The Board unanimously approved his attendance to the school.
	Community Preservation Panel -  August 3, 2011 Minutes
	Planning Board - July 13, 2011 Minutes 
	Zoning Board of Appeals - no report
	Zoning Officer - Mr. Piechuta reviewed his September 2011 Report with the Board.  Discussion ensued on the use of Fireworks in the Village recently.  Mr. Piechuta told the Board that no permits have been issued so if you hear fireworks call the Sheriff to report location so they can come check it out and make an arrest.
	Village Historian -  no report

 Old Business :
	  
	Mayor Bennett  informed the Board that there were no comments from the public on the changes to the water rates, so they will go into effect with the October billing.
	Trustee Taylor asked for an update on the Sunset Beach issue.  Mayor Bennett reported that several minor rewording changes were asked for by the property owners and agreed to by the attorneys.  No news from Dave Brong on a meeting to sign the paperwork.
 
	New Business :

	Mayor Bennett presented  the Board with the job description for the Village Clerk position.  Discussion ensued as to the wording for the advertisement.  It was agreed upon that the Mayor would write the ad  that will include applications being submitted by October 10, 2011 so interviews can be done October 11th-through 18th then discussed at the October 19th Board meeting.  (Mr. Piechuta left 7:50 PM)

	The Board discussed with Ms. Brooks the need to purchase a new computer so that she could get the Village’s software back up and running.  

	Trustee Murphy  moved that the Board go into Executive Session to discuss several personnel issues at 8:015PM.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Taylor.  Motion Carried 4:0:1.
	Trustee MacCormick motioned to close the Executive Session at 8:20 PM and to return to the regular monthly meeting.  Trustee Murphy seconded the motion.  Motion Carried 4:0:1.

	Trustee Taylor motioned for adjournment at 8:21 PM.  Seconded by Trustee Murphy.  Motion Carried 4:0:1.  

Respectfully Submitted,

 Deborah M. Brooks
 Deputy Village Clerk