February 20, 2004
Agenda Items:
Newsletter:
5. Events –
9. Attachments:
1. Information provided with this message:
Potential Partners
1. What, Why, Who, When, and How
2. Letter Format
NYOB CONTACT PROTOCOL
LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN
FEBRUARY 9, 2004
ONTARIO TOWN BOARD MEETING
Department Head Reports -

February 20, 2004

“It's a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”

- - W. Somerset Maugham

Greetings from Wayne Central School District. Below are some items of interest.

Agenda Items:

1. Resolution on Graduation Requirements - At last month’s meeting we asked the Board to consider a safety net for those students who did not pass the 5 required regents with a 65. You will recall the safety net requires the student to take the class again or successfully complete AIS. If they did not pass the test on the second try then credit towards a local diploma could be given provided the student scored at least a 55 on the exam. The resolution is enclosed.

2. Sales Tax – I will give an update on the sales tax issue. It appears that the County is moving to take it back.

3. Academic Report - Mr. Spring will present the second quarter academic report. You will recall that this report analyzes our K-12 academic success on report cards.

4. Program portion of Budget Proposal - Greg will review the program portion of the 2004-5 working budget proposal. In order to cope with the increases in health care and retirement costs, I have kept all discretionary spending levels at this year’s amounts, allowing only salaries to rise based on contracts. As I said last month this still gives us more than a 12% tax increase. The assessment of Ginna should help us but until negotiations are complete it would be fiscally unsound to depend entirely on that money. Additionally, you will recall that we are counting on $300,000 of Ginna to pay for full day kindergarten once the 1 year grant is finished.

The final portion of the budget will be presented at the March Board meeting. At that time we will also be able to give you the revenue picture. At this point most area districts will be going to their taxpayers with increases of 2-8%. There are a couple districts in severe financial difficulties which are at 20+ tax increases. Those districts will be going through some difficult cuts in order to bring the rates in at acceptable levels.

Policy – There are two regulations and two exhibits (forms) presented for approval.

Newsletter:

1.	Superintendent Hearing Appeal – You may be receiving an appeal on a Superintendent’s hearing that occurred earlier this month. If it does come in, I will forward you the hearing file. We have a limited number of days to respond to the Board appeal.

2.	Wrestling - Congratulations to our wrestling team, crowned Section 5 Champions. This is their 3^rd crown in four years. This is an incredible feat. Scott and his assistants do a great job with his team. For the second year in a row one of our Alpine skiers qualified for States.

3. School Cited - I will talk more about this at our Board meeting, but two of our schools (OE, MS) were cited for the improvements we have made in our State test results. This is the second year in a row we have had schools cited for their improvements. We also received a nice email from former Board member Jeanne Durfee congratulating us on the citation and the strides we have made.

Campaign for an on time Budget - I have enclosed information about our attempts to pressure the legislature into adopting an on-time budget. I ask that each of you take time to read over the material and send a letter to our representatives asking them to push for the on-time budget. Thanks

5. Events –

	Feb. 23 – HS PTSA mtg – 7:00 p.m. @ DO
	Feb. 24 – MS PTA Mtg @ Media Center
	Feb. 25 – Board of Education Meeting @ DO – 7:30 p.m.
	March 1 – FE Parent Group Meetings @ FE
	March 3 – Senior Citizens HS Musical Performance/Dinner – 4:00 p.m.
	March 5 & 6 – HS Musical “The Music Man” – 8:00 p.m.

Athletics: (Home Games)

Sectionals dates/times will be announced soon

Attachments:

a.	Late State Budget Information
b.	Ontario Town Board Meeting Minutes – 2/9/04
c.	Walworth Town Board Meeting Minutes – 2/5/04

Att. a

Four County School Boards Association

Eisenhower Building, 131 Drumlin Court, Newark, NY 14513
(315) 332-7294

Genesee Valley School Boards Association
80 Munson Street, Le Roy, NY 14428
(585) 344-7595

Monroe County School Boards Association
1250 Scottsville Road, Suite 5A, Rochester, NY 14626
(585) 328-1972

TO: Four County Presidents and Legislative Committee Representatives
cc: Superintendents
FROM: Sharon Sweeney
DATE: February 13, 2004
RE: Late State Budget Initiative

You are aware that a group of members from Four County have been meeting with representatives from the Genesee Valley and Monroe County School Boards Associations. The purpose for this coalition has been to develop a strategy that would bring attention to the negative effects of a late state budget. The group began as the Sunrise Coalition but eventually adopted “New Yorkers for an On-time Budget” (NYOB) as their designation. They have completed their work and are now eager to put their plan into action.

The plan - to engage the members of school and community groups in a letter writing campaign to let legislators know that they have wide-spread constituent support for addressing the perennially late state budget.

We are sending this information to you so that you can encourage all of your board members to send their own letter and then to contact individuals and groups within your communities and school districts to do the same. Superintendents are receiving the same information from their colleagues.

Information provided with this message:
Ø A letter on NYOB letterhead that can be used in recruiting others to join the effort
Ø Letterhead that can be used to craft a modified message should you need to.
Ø A What, Who, etc. sheet that provides information for other groups.
Ø A protocol sheet for you as you write you own letters and encourage others to join you
Ø A list of potential partners that are being contacted at the regional or state level. We would encourage you to contact similar groups in your school district and community.

Legislators will have been contacted to give them a “heads-up” before the letter writing campaign begins. We are suggesting that this will hopefully provide them with the leverage they need to motivate their colleagues to complete the budget on time.

A news release is being sent to all local media contacts with information about the effort - so be prepared to tell them what you are doing should someone from your local paper or radio station contact you.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please call the Four County office.

Good Luck. Please let us know what success you have in getting others to join our effort.

NOYB

Potential Partners

PARTNER

Student Government Organizations - College & High School
National Honor Society
NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association)
Physical Education
Foreign Language
State Finance Officers/ASBO
NY State Staff Dev. Council
NYASCD
Libraries/Public & School
Senior Homes
Social Workers
Interagency Groups/Council
SAANYS
AAUW
Century Club
Rotary
Lions
Civic Org.
Vendors/Suppliers
Parents of Children w/handicaps
Construction Co.
School Attorneys’ Association
Food Service Association
Hillside
501C-3
Groups that utilize schools
Recreation Dept.
Museums, Art Gallery, Zoo
PTA
NYSSBA
Other local SBA’s
MCEC (Monroe County Education Coalition - includes superintendents, board members, PTA, NYSUT and NEA-NY)
United Way

Four County School Boards Association

Dear

We are a group joined together to help New York State’s government break its cycle of late State budgets. New York State leaders need to know that people across the state want a responsible on-time budget every year. Our effort is raising public awareness and understanding about the negative impact late budgets impose upon the quality of life in our state.

New York’s annual budget development is characterized by a demonstrated lack of timeliness. In fact, New York has not produced a budget on time in 19 years. The untimeliness raises the following four issues:
Ø School districts, local governments, health and social service agencies, and not-for profits depend upon the State for timely allocations.
Ø These groups cannot plan their budgets without reliable revenue information.
Ø Such groups often must borrow money to compensate for late or non-existent anticipated State support.
Ø The chronically late State budget undermines the ability of these organizations to prepare for the future and creates a non-competitive business environment.

Our coalition seeks to benefit the citizens and institutions of this state by accomplishing the following:
Ø An on-time budget
Ø A sustainable budget
Ø A responsibly prepared budget based on a nonpartisan forecast of revenues.

We want to help our state leaders accomplish the goal of a responsibly prepared on-time budget by inspiring them to solve this problem. Our state leaders need to hear a consistent message from numerous voices. We are writing letters to express our concern and we urge others to join us in our effort.

Please join (us) in this effort by doing the following:
Ø Communicate your concern to State-level elected officials
Ø Organize letter or postcard writing events among members of your group(s).

Sincerely,

W hat, Why, Who, When, and How
We want to help our state leaders accomplish the goal of a responsibly prepared on-time budget by giving them the motivation to solve this problem. As the state again begins the budget development process, our state leaders need to hear a consistent message from many voices.

Please keep your comments positive. Name calling and blame will not help our purpose; a negative tone only makes people defensive. In drafting a letter to your state officials consider using one or more of the following points.

Public schools-
Those school districts in greatest need of state support are the ones most hurt by late state budgets. School districts need to know how much state aid they will receive before finalizing their budgets for community approval.

Not for Profits-
Many not for profit organizations rely on significant state grants each year. When the state budget is late, each organization must decide whether to take the chance that state funding will be renewed and keep staff working in their assigned areas or to lay off staff and limit services.

Local Government-
The late state budget and state mandates have left county governments with no choice but to enter the short-term borrowing market while awaiting promised state revenues.

Construction-
Late state budgets cause delays which increase construction costs, shorten or eliminate the construction season and damage New York’s reputation as a place to do business.

Employers-
The late New York State budget forces local governments and school districts to borrow money to meet operating costs until the state budget is approved, driving up costs to local government, making the administration of local programs less efficient, and costing taxpayers more. This discourages businesses from moving here.

Letter Format

The Honorable (name)
Address

Dear Governor, Assemblyman (or Assemblywoman), Senator:

I urge you to work to break New York’s 19 year cycle of late state budgets and to see that this year New York’s budget is completed on-time and responsibly using nonpartisan forecast of revenues.

(Insert key points that reflect your interests)

Sincerely,

Your name

Four County School Boards Association

NYOB CONTACT PROTOCOL

LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN

1. Send the attached letter to the groups identified and others as you may deem appropriate. (The NYOB letterhead is only for use in recruiting potential partners. Letters to legislators are to be sent on personal stationary or the letterhead of an organization.)

2. Include the What, Why, When, Who, and How Sheet

3. Include a sheet with the names and contact information for your area legislators

4. Tell them to use the US mail or fax for their contacts. We have learned that these are the most effective means of contact – it provides something that staff must handle. It is easy to ignore email messages.

5. Whenever possible, make the letter writing as painless as possible – perhaps with prepared letters and envelops. (An example – one group interested in saving the Canandaigua Veteran’s hospital held a spaghetti supper during which they provided several versions of a letter. Each person who attended signed a letter that the group then mailed for him or her.) Others have prepared letters and envelopes that only require signatures. However,

6. Avoid a large number of letters being sent on the same letterhead. We want the legislators to recognize that many of their constituents have become aware of the cycle of late state budgets and are concerned about the impact. Variety is important.

6. Ask groups to stagger the dates of the mailings to provide a steady stream of letters from varieties of constituents.

Att. b

FEBRUARY 9, 2004

ONTARIO TOWN BOARD MEETING

A regular meeting of the Ontario Town Board was called to order by Supervisor Molino at 7:30 PM in the Ontario Town Hall. Present were Supervisor Joseph Molino, Councilmen: Mark Brewer, Donald Camp, Ronald Fillmore, Donald Shears and Superintendent of Highway William Slocum, Superintendent of Water Utilities Robert Wykle, Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer Edward Collins, Director of Recreation & Parks William Riddell, Sole Assessor Eileen Perkins, Library Director Laura Viau, Dog Control Officer Mark Plyter, Chairman of the Watershed Management Advisory Council Allan Tyo, Town Attorney Patricia Crippen and Town Clerk Cathy Herzog.

Absent: Accounting Supervisor Lois Buckalew
Twenty-two residents and visitors were present at portions of the meeting.
Mr. Shears led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Comments From the Public – None

Approval of Minutes - Mr. Molino asked for approval of the minutes of the January 26, 2004, Town Board meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Camp, seconded by Mr. Shears, to approve the minutes as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Correspondence – The Town Clerk received the following correspondence:

Wayne County Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 36-04 Authorizing County Treasurer to Disburse Surplus Dog License Fees – Ontario’s portion $1,364.68

Letter from 19 residents on Park Ave. and First Ave. requesting a snow fence on the west side of Bear Creek Harbor to help with drifting snow prior to winter (annually)

Official notification from the Town Attorney that Local Law # 3 of 2003 has been filed with NYS Department of State for Speed Limits in the Orchard Grove Mobile Home Park

A motion was made by Mr. Camp, seconded by Mr. Brewer, to accept and file the correspondence.
5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Town Attorney Report – None

Department Head Reports -
Superintendent of Water Utilities – A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to accept the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Wykle stated he would like to thank the residents who kept their fire hydrants cleaned out during a very hard winter. He stated that was very helpful to his department.

Superintendent of Highways – A motion was made by Mr. Shears, seconded by Mr. Camp, to accept the January 2004 report and the snow removal summary report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Slocum gave a verbal snow removal summary report. He estimated the cost for the month of January to be approximately $129,144.00. He stated the worst problem the Highway Department has is that people push their snow across the street. He explained how that has caused serious repairs to some of his snow removal equipment. He talked about the number of man hours spent and he announced he is short a man. He stated Mr. Harold O’Connor, a long time employee, has a health problem that may keep him away from work for some time. Mr. Slocum stated he’d like to thank those who expressed appreciation for the snow removal work done by his department.

Mr. Shears stated the Town Board does appreciate all that Mr. Slocum and his department has done this winter.

Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer – A motion was made by Mr. Camp, seconded by Mr. Shears, to accept the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Collins reported on the number of collapsed buildings around town because of snow.

Mr. Camp thanked Mr. Collins and Charlie DeMinck for their work getting the ice and snow off of the town hall roof.

Director of Recreation & Parks – A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to accept the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Riddell stated the spring program flyer has been mailed to residents. He noted there is a new section that highlights senior programs.

Mr. Brewer thanked Mr. Riddell and the members from the “Friends of the Park” for their joint efforts on a grant application.

Sole Assessor – A motion was made by Mr. Shears, seconded by Mr. Camp, to accept the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Ontario Public Library - A motion was made by Mr. Shears, seconded by Mr. Camp, to
accept the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mrs. Viau reported Library use is up now that the weather is better. She stated she is offering computer courses on Wednesday mornings and she stated she hopes to have a better turnout for her monthly book discussion group that will meet on February 26^th at 7:00 PM. She added the Library has been painted and new shelving will be installed in the near future.

Ontario Town Court – A motion was made by Mr. Fillmore, seconded by Mr. Brewer, to receive the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Dog Control Officer – A motion was made by Mr. Camp, seconded by Mr. Brewer, to accept the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Watershed Management Advisory Council – A motion was made by Mr. Fillmore, seconded by Mr. Brewer, to accept the January 2004 report as presented. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Tyo welcomed Mr. Molino as the new liaison to the Watershed Management Advisory Board. He stated they have planned an aggressive 2004 schedule that includes Mill Creek and Wayne Central School drainage projects.

Economic Development – Economic Development Coordinator, Donna Burolla, was present to give a verbal report. She presented information on the following Economic Development proposals and projects:

2002 Ridge Road - Mr. and Mrs. Neil Schmidt’s proposal to rebuild their Pizzeria – applicant before the Zoning Board

Salatino Industrial Park - proposal by Mr. Scott Riedel for a new industrial park to be located on lands owned by the Burkwit family (530 NYS Route 104) – she stated a meeting has been scheduled on February 23^rd to discuss the extension of water/sewer and an industrial road

Factory Outlet Consultant – Mrs. Burolla asked if the Town Board would consider paying a consultant to market property in Ontario (on Route 104). Mrs. Burolla and Mr. Molino have had a conference call with a prospective consultant who quoted $14,000.00 plus travel expenses for his services. He has provided a contract and references. Mrs. Burolla asked the board members if they are willing to pay a fee to hire a marketing consultant, are they in favor of the concept?

There was a lengthy discussion on the concept, choosing a consultant, the fees involved, references, the proposal offered from Mr. Carleton Meyers as a Factory Outlet Store consultant, and what property would be marketed. There are still a lot of questions but each board member expressed an interest in the concept.

Old Business - None

New Business – A motion was made by Mr. Shears, seconded by Mr. Camp, to authorize the Superintendent of Highways and Crew Chief Robert Fenn to attend the Annual Highway School on June 7–9, 2004, in Ithaca, NY, with all actual and necessary expenses to be a town charge at a cost not to exceed $650.00, as requested by the Superintendent of Highways in memo
# 04-02. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

A motion was made by Mr. Shears, seconded by Mr. Camp, to authorize the Superintendent of Highways to seek bids and to schedule the Annual Spring Cleanup on Friday, May 7^th from 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM and Saturday, May 8^th from 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM, and to further authorize the Town Clerk to post and publish the legal notice to bidders, as requested by the Superintendent of Highways in memo # 04-01. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to approve the purchase of three (3) 2004 Ford F250 4 x 4 pickup trucks on state bid contract # PC60928, from Van Bortel Ford, Inc., for a total price not to exceed $18,278.00 each, as budgeted, to come from the water and sewer funds, as requested by the Superintendent of Water Utilities in memo # 02-2004. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Wykle stated the trucks he is replacing will be taken to auction. He noted the state bid price is $300.00 less than the state bid price paid for a ¾ ton truck purchased in 2000.

A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to authorize the Supervisor to execute the contract with MRB Group for engineering services for the NYS Department of Health mandatory hydraulic model of existing water system and revised TTHM and HAA5 monitoring plan for an amount not to exceed $7,800.00, as recommended by the Superintendent of Water Utilities in memo # 01-2004. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to close Capital Project H-62-01, Raw Water Intake Improvement Project, as the project has paid all expenses relative to construction and to authorize the Accounting Supervisor to apply the remaining balance of approximately $183,124.04 (including interest earned) to be applied to debt service commencing in funding year 2004, as recommended by the Superintendent of Water Utilities in memo # 03-2004. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Wykle noted, by law, any remaining balances must be applied to debt service. He stated the project had excellent contractors; over the course of the project interest has been earned and the project came in under budget.

A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to authorize the Supervisor to execute the agreement with The Newport Alliance for the year 2004. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to approve the purchase of a 2004 Cushman four wheel turf utility vehicle on State Bid Contract # PC60233, from S.V. Moffett Co, Inc. for a total price not to exceed $20,272.00, with the first payment of $10,136.00 in 2004 and the second payment of $10,136.00 due in January 2005, as requested by the Director of Parks and Recreation in memo # 03-2004. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Policy Items - A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Shears, to amend the fee schedule 4030.5AR Section 6 (Registration of Vital Statistics Fees) “Marriage License State Fee $22.50 Town Fee $ 17.50 Total Fee $40.00 effective 8/1/03” and to add to 4030.4 AR Section 2 (Unclassified Fees) “Checks returned for insufficient funds Basic Fee $20.00 9/11/89 revised 2/9/04”, as requested by the Town Clerk in a memo dated 1/30/04. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Budget Transfers/Adjustments - A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to approve a Water Fund budget transfer of $7,800.00 from F 9950.9 to F 1440.4. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Appointments/Resignations –A motion was made by Mr. Camp, seconded by Mr. Shears, to appoint Maurice Luke to fill the position of part-time Assistant Building Inspector, at a wage grade 7, at $10.00 per hour for 20 hours per week, with a start date of February 10, 2004, to begin a 26 week probationary period, as recommended by Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer Edward Collins in memo # 01-2004. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

A motion was made Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to accept the resignation of Jason Kulik as Recreation Supervisor for the Park and Recreation Department with regret, effective 2/27/04 and direct the Town Clerk to send him a letter thanking him for his service to the Town of Ontario. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Reports By Town Board Members – Mr. Shears stated he is happy to report that Mr. Collins will be installing an alarm code panel on the back door of the Library so that media can be delivered into the back area of the Library on nights and weekends instead of out in the shed. He also reported on a meeting held with the Mrs. Viau and the Library Board of Trustees relative to the Libraries need for more space.

Mr. Brewer stated an executive session is needed after tonight’s meeting.

Approval of Claims - A motion was made by Mr. Camp, seconded by Mr. Brewer, to approve the abstract of claims for the month of February 2004, including vouchers # 232 through # 363 with a grand total of $536,993.75 and to authorize the supervisor to issue payments for same. 5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Comments from the Public – Mr. John Urbanik, a Wayne Central School Government Class student, reported on another building he saw that has collapsed due to snow on the roof.

Executive Session - A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to adjourn for an executive session at 8:20 PM for the proposed acquisition of real property and pending litigation.
5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Mr. Riddell and Mrs. Perkins were asked to stay for the executive session.

Reconvene – 10:00 PM

Adjourn - A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to adjourn at 10:00 PM.
5 Ayes 0 Nays MOTION CARRIED

Respectfully submitted,

Cathy Herzog
Ontario Town Clerk

The above minutes will become official upon approval of the town board.