Village Board Minutes

October 9, 2013 (25)

A joint meeting of the Village, Town and School Boards was held October 9, 2013 at 6:30 PM in the firehouse, 16 Saratoga Avenue.

Mayor Morreale called the meeting to order and Dr. Dan Starr acted as facilitator for the Boards.

Roll Call:  Trustee Denno, Trustee Halliday, and Trustee Saunders were present.  Trustee Enekes was excused.
Also Present: Supt Lozier, Chief Kelley and Clerk/Treas Colson. 
Present on behalf of Corinth Central Schools: Dr. Dan Starr, Lori Baker, Staci Boni-O’Neil, Meredith Jenkins, John Hales, Helen Bardin, Lisa Meade and Jennifer Ross.
Present on behalf of Town of Corinth: Supervisor Dick Lucia, Charles Brown, Jeff Collura, Ed Byrnes, Rose Farr, and Shawn Eggleston.

The Boards discussed issues the Village and School are having with geese on their properties and shared ideas such as allowing trained dogs to chase the geese, installing fountains in water pools, and using cannons and loud noise makers to frighten the geese away.

The Boards discussed plans for a memorial event for September 11, 2014.  Chief Kelley offered to head a committee of representatives from the Fire Department, Ambulance service, and Boards to plan a community wide event for all to be involved.

Jim Martin, the LA Group, gave an overview of the updating of the Village Comprehensive Master Plan.  The LA Group drafted the original plan for the Village and is currently working with a committee to update the plan by exploring new economic opportunities, recreational opportunities, the need for senior housing, zoning adjustments, and a way to re-energize the community.  The committee is actively seeking community input and asked Dr. Starr to encourage student participation.  The first of two public input meeting will be held Wednesday, October 30, 2013.

The Boards discussed the Village reservoir property and the improvements made through the dam remediation project.  Board members discussed multiple recreational uses for the property, which is located in the Town, including trails for mountain biking, horses, snowshoes and cross country skiing, as well as connecting to local snowmobile trails.  The school could take advantage of the area for earth science and forestry class studies.  The reservoir is also stocked with fish each year.

The Boards discussed creating a manpower pool for local organizations.  Groups like the Image Committee have very few members and have difficulty with the downtown festivals each year.  It was suggested that organizations such as the Rotary, Image Committee, Fire Department, and church organizations could assist one another with their respective events.  Enlisting the help of local Scouting organizations was also considered.

The Boards discussed having a more organized training system for the crossing guards and educating the school bus drivers on the responsibilities and duties of the crossing guards to ensure both the guards and drivers are following the same procedures.  Chief Kelley suggested the Village contact the Sheriff’s Department about a training class.

The Boards discussed a community events calendar that would enable organizations to schedule their events on dates that avoid conflicts with other organization’s events.  Dr. Starr stated he would explore options available.

Dr. Starr invited the Boards to a School Finance seminar on October 22 at Queensbury High School.  The seminar will discuss the difficulties facing schools and discuss State aid inequities.  Legislative Representatives will be attending the meeting.

John Hales, CCS business administrator, described several capital projects at the schools including an energy project to install solar panels at the high school gym, new lighting fixtures at the Oak St School and new boilers in the Oak St School as part of an energy grant.  Dr. Starr stated the next large capital project will be the construction of a new bus garage.  The District owns land on Route 9N originally intended to house the new bus garage, but due to the location of water lines and the line of sight on Rte 9N they are unable to use the location.  The District has had discussions with Hadley-Luzerne School District about a possible joint project.

Chief Kelley brought a safety issue to the attention of the School Board.  Vehicles parked near the woodshop and the gymnasium renders the area inaccessible to fire trucks.  The School Board stated they will explore the issue.

Trustee Denno updated all Boards on the status of a proposed senior housing project in the Village.  A development company, Corinth Senior Housing, LLC, is interested in purchasing the former fireman’s field and Village parking lot in order to build a 40 unit low income senior housing development.  The Village is in negotiations to sell the property as well as considering a deferred loan agreement of CDBG funds to assist the developers with preliminary costs.  The project would then need to go before the Planning Board for approval.  Planning Board Chair Matt Rogers stated the Planning Board is willing to conduct a special meeting to accommodate review of the developer’s application.

Board members expressed their appreciation for the willingness of all Boards to work together toward common goals and expressed interest in scheduling another joint meeting for the end of February.

Motion by Trustee Saunders, seconded by Trustee Denno, that Board adjourn, 8:17 PM.
Carried – 3 – 0

Nicole M. Colson
Clerk-Treasurer