Board of Trustees Special Meeting Minutes

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF SHOREHAM HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL, WOODVILLE ROAD, SHOREHAM, NY ON JULY 29, 2014 AT 7:30 O’CLOCK PM.

PRESENT:                 
Edward Weiss                         MAYOR
Brian Vail                                TRUSTEE
Leonard Emma                       TRUSTEE
Rosemary Connell                   TRUSTEE
Kathleen Baumann Schnoor   TRUSTEE
Cathy Donahue-Spier             CLERK/ TREASURER

Commissioners & Chairs and Chair Members present:  S.Walker, L.Kogel, various GIC and Roads Committee members and various residents.

OPEN MEETING
Mayor Weiss opened the Special Meeting at 7:30 PM.
Pledge of Allegiance

CLERK’S REPORT
Clerk Spier reported that a prior local law from 2001 was located which provided the authority to appoint Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) alternates.  Motion made to table the hearing on the proposed local law Authorizing Alternate Members on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Approved.
(Connell – Vail 5-0)

APPOINTMENT OF ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS ALTERNATES
Mayor Weiss proposed the appointment of Marc Alessi as alternate number 1 and Billie Phillips as alternate number 2 to the ZBA.  Their terms to expire 6/30/15 and 6/30/16 respectively.

Approved.
(Vail – Connell 5-0)

REPORT ON THE BOND
Trustee Schnoor indicated that, pursuant to the Mayor’s request, she has been looking into the procedures and various costs associated with obtaining a bond to finance Village roadwork. She stated a bond could be obtained for the life of the asset which it finances and, in the case of a road, this would be 15 years.  To obtain a bond, the Village would have to hire a financial advisor and bond counsel.  If the amount of the bond exceeded a million dollars, additional annual reporting would be required.  Obtaining the bond does not require a rating from  Moodys or Standard & Poor’s, however having one, while raising the overall associated cost, would lower the interest rate.  The costs associated with obtaining the bond would be in the neighborhood of $25-30,000 depending on the amount of the bond. 

Trustee Schnoor introduced Noah Nadelson, a financial advisor from Munistat located in Port Jefferson Station.  Mr. Nadelson gave an overview of the legal and financial procedures and associated costs for obtaining bonds for less than a million dollars and for obtaining bonds over a million dollars.

Resident Blumer of the GIC discussed the possibility of applying for an Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) loan where the EFC assumes responsibility for ½ of the interest payments on the loan.  Because the deadline for proposals is imminent, it is unlikely this can be achieved during the current loan cycle.

In summary, Trustee Schnoor stated that she needed know the amount of money needed to execute the Village road and drainage refurbishment plan before she could take any further steps in obtaining the bond. The Board indicated that it would like the Road Committee to develop a request for proposals (an RFP) for an engineer who would develop the road and drainage refurbishment plan by August 12, 2014.

BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION PROCESSING
Commissioner Walker briefly introduced the overall framework of the Building Department as a clearing-house for all permits.  He stated that persons and corporations building within the Village are required to provide proof of liability insurance and proof of worker’s compensation.  Alternatively, he mentioned that a homeowner has the option of filing an affidavit of exemption in certain circumstances and having the Village named as an additional insured on the homeowner’s own insurance policy.  Commissioner Walker is developing an inspection schedule and will be upgrading the existing paperwork associated with building projects.  He also stated that upon completion of any building project, the Building Department would require an “as built” survey before a certificate of occupancy would be issued.

Commissioner Walker updated the Board on the building project at 14 Prospect Rd. (also known as 14 Beatty Rd.).

DRAIN BASIN CLEANING
The Village is in the process of cleaning out the storm drain basins and deposited vegetative debris from the drains behind the dumpster at the Village Hall.  Commissioner Kogel to be contacted to find out what the plan is for this material.

CAPITAL BUDGET PLAN
Trustee Vail asked that the Building, Parks, Recreation, and Beach Commissioners develop a schedule for the costs of maintaining their current infrastructure for the next 3 years.

ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn 8:49 PM .

Approved.
(Schnoor – Connell 5-0)

Submitted,
Cathy Donahue Spier
Village Clerk