Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Johnson City, New York, held at 7:30PM in the Municipal Building on January 16, 2007

PRESENT: Harry G. Lewis Mayor

Donald Adams

Ron Jones

Bruce King Trustees

Beth Westfall Village Attorney

ABSENT: Richard Balles

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The meeting was opened with the pledge of allegiance led by Mayor Lewis.

FIRE EXITS

The Mayor noted directions to the fire exits.

MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mayor Lewis made the following announcements.

The Mayor welcomed Erin Passatti from the law firm of Coughlin & Gerhart who is attending tonight’s meeting as part of the Broome Leadership Institute

The Broome County Association of Towns and Villages will meet on January 25, 2007 at 6:30PM at McGirks Irish Pub with Senator Libous, Assemblywoman Lupardo and Assemblyman Crouch as Guest Speakers.

The New York State Department of Transportation will hold an Open House to discuss and hear comments on the Harry L. Drive road reconstruction project which will improve Harry L. Drive from the Giant Market to Oakdale Road. This Open House will be January 18, 2007 from 4:00PM to 7:00PM in the Village Board Room.

BOARD MINUTES

Motion by Trustee King - seconded by Trustee Jones to accept and place on file the Village Board Minutes for the Work Session and Regular meeting of January 2, 2007.

Motion Carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

BID OPENINGS None

PUBLIC HEARINGS

Mayor Lewis opened the Public Hearing to consider the Village deeding over a section of land located on the property of 235 Harry L. Drive (the old Harry L. Johnson Elementary School) in order for the Johnson City School District to sell the property to SEPP which desires to convert the school into a Senior Living Complex.

Bill Klish – 260 Zoa Avenue – Asked if the School District is still prepared to sell the school to SEPP.

Attorney Westfall stated that in preparing the abstract for the sale, it was discovered that the Village owned a roughly 16 foot area of land that ran through the entire property with the original intent to place water lines through that portion of the property. At some point the Village decided to run the water lines through the two adjoining streets (North Arch and Academy) but the property was never deeded back to the School District.

There being no one else wishing to speak, Mayor Lewis closed the public comment portion of the Public Hearing.

Motion by Trustee Jones – seconded by Trustee King to declare the 16 foot area of land located at 235 Harry L. Drive as unnecessary for Village needs and authorize the Mayor to sign a quit claim deed to the Johnson City School District.

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

PETITIONS RECEIVED None

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR – VISITORS

Leo Meaney – 35 Greenridge Street – Asked about the plan to merge operations and maintenance of the parks with the Town of Union.

Mayor Lewis stated that the proposal was forwarded to the Town of Union and he has not received a response.

Leo Meaney – 35 Greenridge Street – He feels language in the agreement should address a no tax increase related to the operations and maintenance of the parks.

Mayor Lewis stated that language regarding taxes in the agreement has not yet been addressed.

Mayor Lewis invited Naima Kradjian from the Goodwill Theatre, Inc. to provide an update on this project.

Naima Kradjian provided details on the properties that the Goodwill Theatre, Inc. has acquired as part of the project. She also provided details on the timeline of implementing tours of the theatre so that the public can see firsthand what is taking shape and that the project is real and moving forward. She also stated that a delay did exist with the project because the state believed that there was some historical value to the old police building. That problem does not exist anymore because the state visited the site and determined that the building carried no historical value. Ms. Kradjian stated she would answer any questions.

Leo Meaney – 35 Greenridge Street – Stated that he is very familiar with the Goodwill Theatre as he worked there when he was younger. He asked Ms. Kradjian about specific renovations that would occur with this project.

Ms. Kradjian provided details on the new configurations of the theatre once completed.

Mike McCann – 36 Margaret Street – Asked when the Goodwill Theatre property was acquired.

Ms. Kradjian stated that the property was acquired in 2002.

Mike McCann – 36 Margaret Street – Asked about the rest of the properties.

Ms. Kradjian stated that all the properties combined form an L-shape and that the building will be combined into one.

Mike McCann – 36 Margaret Street – Asked about parking.

Ms. Kradjian stated that she is currently studying the parking issue.

Ms. Kradjian stated that if all the properties become tax-exempt, that the Goodwill Theatre, Inc. will enter into a Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the Village.

Mike McCann- 36 Margaret Street – Asked if the possibility of the Village dissolving changes her plans.

Ms. Kradjian stated that the Village has charm, beauty and energy and her plans and everybody’s investment in this project does not change.

COMMUNICATIONS

Motion by Trustee King - seconded by Trustee Adams that the following communications be accepted and placed on file:

JCCSD – Reg. Mtg: December 12, 2006; Special Mtg: December 19, 2006

Town of Union – Reg. Mtg: January 3, 2007; Reorganizational Mtg: January 3, 2007

Binghamton/JC JSTB – Reg. Mtg: December 12, 2006

BC Association of Towns & Villages – Reg. Mtg: December 28, 2006

COMMITTEE REPORTS None

DEPARTMENTS REPORTS

Motion by Trustee Adams - seconded by Trustee King that the following Department Reports be accepted and placed on file:

Code Enforcement	2006 Annual Report
DPW	December 2006

Motion Carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

PAYROLL AND BILLS PRESENTED

Motion by Trustee King - seconded by Trustee Jones that Abstract #12 for the Fiscal Year 2006-07, having been audited by the board and approved, be ordered paid as follows:

GENERAL	$93,506.06
WATER	$15,214.08
SEWER	$17,764.01
REFUSE	$22,357.06
LIBRARY	$9,758.08
JSTP-PHASE III	$2,200,000.71

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

UNFINISHED BUSINESS None

NEW BUSINESS

RESOLUTION #19

Motion by Trustee Adams - seconded by Trustee King to appoint Patrick Scott to the position of Laborer within the Water Department at an hourly rate of $12.39, effective February 1, 2007.

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

RESOLUTION #20

Motion by Trustee King - seconded by Trustee Adams to appoint Jeffrey Clark to the position of Laborer within the Public Works Department at an hourly rate of $12.39, effective February 5, 2007.

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

RESOLUTION #21

Motion by Trustee Jones – seconded by Trustee Adams to Declare an Emergency Situation due to

the damage sustained on the Fire Department’s Ladder Tower and waive the Village’s

procurement policy applicable to this scenario and approve the repair to be done

by Penn Detroit Diesel at a cost not to exceed $16,500.00

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

RESOLUTION #22

Motion by Trustee Adams – seconded by Trustee King to approve Request-for-Modification,

RFM 3A-0041 – Contact 3A – General with C.O. Falter Construction for the installation of

Delineators related to the Phase III Improvements at the Binghamton/Johnson City Joint Sewage

Treatment Plant at an additional cost of $2,032.80.

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

RESOLUTION #23

Motion by Trustee King – seconded by Trustee Adams to authorize the Mayor to sign an

agreement with Broome County for a Buckle-Up New York (BUNY) Grant for the Johnson City

Police Department in the amount of $3,840.00 from October 1, 2006 through September 30,

2007.

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

RESOLUTION #24

Motion by Trustee King – seconded by Trustee Jones to declare the 1994 Chevy Stake Body in

the Water Department surplus equipment and authorize the advertisement in order to receive

sealed bids on the sale of the vehicle.

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 4 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles)

RESOLUTION #25

Motion by Trustee King – seconded by Trustee Adams to authorize the Mayor to sign an

agreement with the law firm of Pope, Shrader and Sacco for the purpose of negotiating a renewal

Cable Franchise Agreement with Time Warner Cable.

Board members polled

Motion carried Ayes 3 Nayes 0 Absent 1 (Balles) Abstain 1 (Lewis)

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR

Mike McCann – 36 Margaret Street – Asked if a hiring freeze is in effect and why the vacancies in the Fire Department are not being filled.

Mayor Lewis stated that there is no hiring freeze and the Village continues to look for the right people to fill those positions.

Bill Klish – 260 Zoa Avenue – Asked about the library expenses.

Mayor Lewis stated that the funds to pay for the library expenses are levied on the Town of Union’s tax bill through the special library tax. The Village just acts as the paying agent of the library’s expenses.

P.J. Corry – 46 Rose Lane – Asked about the improvements to CFJ Park.

Mayor Lewis and Trustee King provided details on the improvements made and how those improvements are being paid.

P.J. Corry – 46 Rose Lane – Asked about upcoming improvements to the parks.

Mayor Lewis provided details on what improvements are being planned in the near future.

Leo Meaney – 35 Greenridge Street – Asked why a merger of parks is still being considered if improvements are being made.

Mayor Lewis stated that the Village is obligated to study the merger in the hopes of producing an even better arrangement.

Tom Brown – 211 Cyndy Street – Thanked the Village Board for their hard work. He stated that CFJ Park looks good with the new fencing. He asked about any possible improvements to Floral Avenue.

Mayor Lewis stated that improvements are being planned for Floral Avenue Park such as new equipment and getting the pools operational again. The Mayor explained that the pools were closed for most of the 2006 summer.

Mike McCann – 36 Margaret Street – Asked if the Village is looking into freezing any parks for ice-skating areas.

Mayor Lewis stated that it was not successful in past years due to unseasonable temperatures but the Village will continue to look into whether or not it will work.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 8:46P.M.

_____________________________________

Thomas R. Augostini, Village Clerk/Treasurer