Ellicottville Village Board Meeting
Ellicottville Village Board Meeting
Action on New Noise Ordinance Tabled; new DPW truck purchase approved; wastewater treatment facility inspection results received.
The October meeting of the Ellicottville Village Board of Trustees opened with a Public Hearing on Local Law No. 3 of the year 2020. This local law is a proposed update to the current Noise Ordinance Local Law. The major changes are as follows: the classification for noise level is now “humanly audible” where it used to be a decibel threshold; the addition of language regarding fireworks and time constraints on when they can be discharged; the weekend noise ordinance time, which would now be 10:00pm instead of the previous 11:00pm on Friday and Saturdays; and clearer language on fines has been added.
Linda Neuwirth spoke in favor of the new Local Law along with Dan Rifkin. There were two emails received by the Village that inquired about extending the noise ordinance time in the commercial district to 11:00pm in addition to language being added if in the event of a power outage generator noise does not apply. There were also questions brought up by Neuwirth regarding the fines and who was held responsible. The Village attorney advised the Board should consider adding language for both the property owner and/or persons involved.
There was discussion on setting a meeting time for the Mayor, John Burrell, Deputy Mayor, Greg Cappelli and the Town/Village Engineer and Mark Chudy of the DPW. They are to discuss protocol and processes that were learned in a NYCOM teleconference about COVID-19 and the ongoing matter.
Burrell advised that the Roswell Day was a success and well attended.
There was discussion on the purchase of a new truck for the DPW. The Board was presented with two truck options and they elected to go with the slightly more expensive truck. When newly appointed Trustee, Sean Lowes asked why this truck was necessary with extra features like a crew cab, the Village Engineer and newly elected Trustee Ed Imhoff advised that this truck would have a better resale value down the road and also the cab would provide more room to keep equipment safe and dry especially in the winter months. There was a motion to approve the purchase of the new DPW vehicle; a second and ayes carried.
A letter was received from the DEC with the results of a good inspection of Ellicottville’s wastewater treatment facility. There was a motion to investigate an Inter-Municipal Agreement (IMA) with the Town of Concord regarding the shared services of their Sewer System. This system encompasses Kissing Bridge and the community of Crane Ridge. Trustee, Greg Cappelli, stated it was a good use of shared services and is eager to see what is drafted.
There was discussion on sending two Village employees to Activated Sludge School which would increase their licensing to the level of 2a from NYS. There was a motion to approve.
Trick-or-Treating: The Village of Ellicottville traditionally celebrates Halloween on the 31st of October from 6:00-8:00pm. The Village expressed that if you choose to participate, they ask that participants please follow the guidelines provided by the Cattaraugus County Department of Health.
In closing: The decision on the Noise Ordinance was tabled to make changes to the following, adding the property owner be held liable if they are not the direct cause of the noise, expanding the time to 11:00pm on weekends for commercial property and language regarding the generator rules. There will be a Special Meeting and second Public Hearing on October 29th at 5:00pm via Zoom. The Board would like to coincide this new noise ordinance with the short-term rental regulations that go into effect November 1, 2020. To get the access information to participate, please contact the Village Clerk at 716-699-4636.
Lastly, the meeting went into executive session to discuss the contract of a future new employee.
The next regular meeting of the Ellicottville Village Board will be held Tuesday, November 17th at 6:00pm. For access information to participate please contact the Village Clerk at 716-699-4636.