Village Board Meeting
Village Board Meeting
Village Board schedules public hearing on proposed 2022-2023 spending plan
The Ellicottville Village Board scheduled a public hearing for April 19, 2022 at 6:00pm to take comments on a proposed 2022-2023 spending plan. Mayor John Burrell said copies of the preliminary budget can be obtained from the Village Clerk, Mary Klahn. He told the Board members he is seeking a 5.9% salary and wage increase, in keeping with the federal cost-of-living rate, noting past increases have been under 2%.
The Board will review the budget and make adjustments in two Board work sessions April 6th and April 18th. Further adjustments can be made prior to a vote during the April 19th session.
In another matter, the Board took two steps toward filling an open municipal planner position, accepting recommendations from a search committee for a temporary consulting agreement and also offering an assistant planner position to an applicant who will seek certification and training. The position is shared by the town and village and the planner reports to Town and Village Engineer Ben Slotman.
The Mayor will sign a six-month hourly consulting agreement with Barton & Loguidice of Liverpool, NY to supply the services of Keith F. Ewald, a licensed landscape architect who is a community planner. The agreement must also receive approval of the Town Board, which was set to meet March 16th.
The Board also signaled support to offer the full-time position of Ellicottville Assistant Planner to applicant Greg Keyser of Springville from April 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023. Keyser would be expected to implement the community's 10-year strategic plan and set up revenue-producing shared services with other communities.
Slotman described the applicant as well-versed with a passion for land use planning, who serves on a local planning board and "has a drive to work with local municipalities" while bringing other skills useful to the Engineering Department.
The Board then discussed a recent report that suggests archaeologically sensitive areas in a large portion of property planned for a two-acre village parking lot on Mill Street.
Cattaraugus County legislators in December approached the village with an offer to assist the Village with $365,000 in funding for purchase of the landlocked property from Norm Leyh. A contract was signed and Village officials intended to borrow the money from the Sewer Fund which would then be replaced by the County, but an archaeologic study may prevent utilizing those funds near the fiscal year-end.
"If what we're talking about now delays it so that we can't get the money and get paid back by the County by May 31st, then we can't do it," said Burrell. Village Trustee Doug Bush said he will discuss the matter with the County.
As the meeting got underway, resident Lynda Neuwirth notified the Board about the ongoing noise violations at Edelweiss Ski Lodge. She said visitors often gather around a fire pit at the lodge at 29 Jefferson Street after 11:00pm, which is in violation of the village's noise ordinance.
In another matter, Slotman noted that some supplies and materials needed for the town water line replacement project may arrive a year late and he was set Wednesday to discuss some anticipated cost increases with the state Environmental Facilities Corporation that is supplying some of the funding.
Mayor Burrell noted the $5.3 million water project will instead reach about $6.6 million and expressed fear that a hoped-for Elizabeth Street reconstruction project will be scuttled without passage of a $2 million bond issue over a 15-year period. After some discussion about the need for funds to meet other personnel issues, the Board agreed to rescind a recent measure that would have shifted the Village's $40,000 in federal COVID-19 impact funds to the town's water project.
The Board unanimously approved three resolutions related to the $36,000 Infiltration and Influx (I & I) sewer line study project: authorizing Burrell to sign a grant agreement with the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) and related documents; authorizing a local match not to exceed $6,000; and a determination that studies and information collection is a Type II action not requiring further environmental review by EFC.
The Board then voted to support a $3,500 award to MDA Consulting Engineers to assist the Village in a study of the sludge depth in the Village's three lagoons which is needed due to an estimated doubling of the volume from 2018 to 2021.
Village Attorney Rich Stanton updated the Board on the abandonment of the Village's portion of Marshall Alley and received approval for his recommendation to abandon the property and transferral to Madigan's for $1,200 plus legal fees and closing costs.
Trustee Caitlin Croft, who leads a Refuse Committee looking into complaints about fines and requests from property owners seeking changes in the collection system, will work with Stanton on researching the village's policy and the contract with Town and Country ending in two years. Several officials said the system is working well but repeated complaints from a few people make it the single most time-consuming matter in the Village Clerk's office.
The Board also approved:
• a 2:00pm work session and 3:00pm site visit on March 22nd to review arrangements for the skatepark, to be followed with a public input session at 6:00pm to be held at Fattey Beer Co., 6696 Rt. 219, Ellicottville, hosted by the SK8EVL committee and skatepark design/build firm Grindline.
• permission for Public Works employees to assist the American Legion in hanging 25 Hometown Hero flags before Memorial Day on National Grid Poles, using a truck supplied by the American Legion.
• a public hearing at 6:00pm April 19th on a proposed local law and procedure requiring people to file a notice with the Village Clerk regarding dangerous conditions, such as potholes, that require repairs on village streets, highways, bridges, culverts, sidewalks or crosswalks. If the notice is not filed to provide the authorities enough time to make repairs, the Village can't be held liable for civil damages or injuries to people or property.
• appointment of Kevin Condon of Eden as the Village's prosecutor in the Justice Court, to begin March 17th.
• a motion stating the Village speed limits of 30 mph shall not be reduced, for the public good.
The Ellicottville Village Board holds their regular monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of each month. For more information, contact Mary Klahn, Village Clerk, at 716-699-4636.