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VILLAGE OF TIVOLI BOARD OF TRUSTEES
REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES
August 19, 2020
A meeting of the Village Board of Trustees was held on August 19, 2020 at the Historic Watts DePeyster Hall, Tivoli, NY. Mayor Griffith opened the regular meeting at 7:05 PM.
Present: Mayor Griffith, Deputy Mayor Majer, Trustee Ezrati, Trustee Cole, Trustee Schneider
Media: PANDA TV
The Mayor asked all present at the meeting to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Clerk’s report included:
- Sale of 546 trash tags
- Two payrolls were processed
- Deputy Clerk has begun holding Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeal meetings, however does continue to work remotely for the most part
- Clean-Up Day at this point is still on hold; if plans change with the private refuse hauler, it would possible be rescheduled, it has not yet, though, at this point
- Tuesday, September 15, 2020 is Village Elections; 12:00 PM – 9:00 PM at the Tivoli firehouse; absentee ballots are available from the Village Clerk; you can obtain one by mail if it reached the Clerk’s Office by September 8; it will be mailed out the same day; and up until Monday, September 14, 2020 a voter may come personally to the Clerk’s Office with a completed application for an absentee ballot, and one will be provided.
- The Village Clerk’s Office will be closed, Monday, September 7, 2020 in observance of Labor Day
On a motion by Trustee Schneider, seconded by Trustee Cole, the July 8 workshop Minutes,
July 15 regular meeting minutes were approved, all in favor.
On a motion by Deputy Mayor Majer, and seconded by Trustee Cole, the Treasurer’s Report for Abstract #3 totaling $384,167.04 was approved. Trustee Ezrati moved that the bills be paid for the abstract as presented and Deputy Mayor Majer seconded the motion, all in favor.
Zoning Report
A Zoning Report was not provided.
Mayor Griffith summarized the agenda and opened the meeting for public comments on agenda items only; there was no comment.
RESOLUTION #27 ; Budget Modifications, motion made by Trustee Cole, seconded by Deputy Mayor Majer; all in favor.
Trustee Reports:
Trustee Ezrati
Trustee Ezrati spoke about Penflex and the LOSAP program for the fire department. A resolution is upcoming for the firefighters which will allow for the accrual of points during the months that members were unable to attend meetings and trainings.
Trustee Ezrati along with John Corcoran, Phyllis Palmer and Peter Walsh have formed the Tivoli Solid Trash Committee. They are exploring issues related to solid waste pickup by the Department of Public Works compared to that of a private hauler. Phyllis Palmer mentioned she would miss rinsing empty containers as she feels as though there is a bit of nostalgia there. Once they complete their comparison, they will develop a recommendation for the Village Board.
Trustee Schneider
Court Report: Trustee Schneider read the contents of the report which was provided by Court Clerk McGarry; $368.00 was remitted to the Office of the State Comptroller.
Trustee Cole
Trustee Cole reminded folks to please clean up after their dogs while out walking throughout the Village. And, she gave kudos to the many Tivolians that she has seen wearing masks.
Deputy Mayor Majer
Deputy Mayor Majer spoke about the Tivoli Free Library; they are now open for a limited number of hours, programming is suspended, however, definitely check the website for open times and upcoming activities.
Deputy Mayor Majer mentioned the local historic sites, and spoke of the Empire State Trail which is in Tivoli Bays; it is lovely, but be careful of ticks.
Mayor Griffith
Mayor Griffith advised that the Tree Committee will reconvene soon and will be planting 3 trees along Pine Street. One Purple Robe Locust was lost due to a past storm.
You will see large pieces of steel at the McKnight Well Field which is where the new water tower will be set. Mayor Griffith is planning a children’s field trip to the site while the tower is being constructed; this will be interesting for the kids to watch.
On the west side of the Village there were a couple of issues resulting in water service being interrupted. At the corner of Lothrop and Memorial there is a valve cluster, 1 valve needed to be replaced, and water was turned off for a portion of one day; while unearthing this valve, it was discovered that within the cluster, another valve needed to be tended to, this resulted in water service being interrupted a second day. Upon the completion of these repairs, the tank is refilling and increased pressure is returning.
Bridget Barclay provided information to the Village Board regarding the distribution pipes; bids were received and there was conversation about the water lines going along Broadway to Woods Road.
The Village Board has had non-stop communications via emailing regarding the session which took place at the end of June. A Community Dialogue Session will be set up for the 2nd week of September where residents are encouraged to present ideas. This will be a virtual event, and look for the information which will be out by the end of next week.
The fire siren/whistle will be coming back due to the hard work and zeal of Marc Hildenbrand, Chief of Tivoli Fire. The electronics went on the siren about 10 years ago, and following the gathering of bids, the lowest bidder has been selected. The return of the siren will be charming for many as this will be nostalgic for many residents. This siren will also act as a public safety amenity as it will be set up to go off a specific number of times for a structure fire, a specified number of times for a severe weather event. The siren will also go off at 12:00 Noon daily.
Trustee Schneider brought up Anna Marcotte’s Girl Scout Gold Project and the monument on North Road which she cleaned, and made a path with plantings for a place for people to go and see the large marble monument from the James Starr Clarke School for Girls. A bit of history surrounding the monument was discussed including Watts de Peyster. The school was for girls who were orphans and they were taught to be maids. It was a lovely project, and Mayor Griffith thanked Anna and the Department of Public Works for their assistance with the big stones. Anna created a 4 1/2 minute video regarding the school and did spectacular work on the monument.
Mayor Griffith thanked PANDA for their continuous support and wished Congratulations to Anna Marcotte and a thank you for restoring a bit of Tivoli’s history.
Public Comment
On a motion by Deputy Mayor Majer and seconded by Trustee Schneider, the meeting was adjourned at 7:34 PM, all in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin L. Bruno
Village Clerk