Mike LaFlair – 2nd Ward Councilor

If anyone is interested in serving on the Camillus Housing Authority please let me know as we have a vacancy.

The Town of Camillus Housing Authority was created, at the request of the Camillus Town Board, with a mandate to provide, or assist in providing, quality housing for low to moderate income seniors, families and the disabled in the Town of Camillus. The Housing Authority has the legal authority to purchase and sell real estate, issue bonds, develop housing projects, and assist and support other entities to accomplish the same. To date, the Town of Camillus Housing Authority has been instrumental in the acquisition of the land for, and the development of, two public housing projects in the Town of Camillus, to wit, Applewood Manor, the 24 unit senior housing facility next to St. Joseph’s Church on West Genesee Street, and Connelly Acres, the 2 building complex for seniors and families on Maple Drive in the Village of Camillus. The Housing Authority is run by seven unpaid but dedicated volunteer members, all of whom must be residents of the Town of Camillus. Members are appointed by the Town Board of the Town of Camillus for five year staggered terms. The Housing Authority meets at the Camillus Town Hall at 5:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. The Town of Camillus Housing Authority is a Public Authority of the State of New York created by the State Legislature as Chapter 615 Section 1 of the Laws of 1982. It was codified as Title 159 Section 564 of the Public Housing Law of the State of New York.

Public Hearing:

None

New Business:

99 Yorkshire Boulevard / Edelman Real Estate TM # 041.-01-55.0
Site Plan Review for Special Use Permit

99 Yorkshire Boulevard / Edelman Real Estate TM # 041.-01-55.0
Amended Site Plan

Old Business

2986 Warners Road / Anthony Komuda TM # 007.-05-06.1
Preliminary Plat / Final Plat

100 Mansfield Drive / Thomas Kehoskie TM # 041.-01-62.0
Site Plan

Discussion

Minutes

Correspondence

Comments of Town Officials

Comments of the Attorney

Comments of the Engineer

Comments of the Board Members

CALL TO ORDER

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PUBLIC HEARING (S) None

PUBLIC COMMENT

SUPERVISOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

COUNCILOR’S COMMENTS \ COMMITTEE REPORTS

ACCEPT THE MINUTES

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

1. Approve the removal of the Lyons Road Extension from the Onondaga County Road System and the reverter to the Town of Camillus.

2. Certify to the State of New York as March 9, 2018 the Town of Camillus Justice Courts are in compliance with §2019-a of the Uniform Justice Act.

Recently the 100% volunteer Fairmount Fire Department underwent a review from the Insurance Services Office (ISO). This is part of a recurrent evaluation of fire departments throughout the nation utilizing a standardized set of questions and statistics. After this evaluation ISO gives each department a Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating that ranges from 1 (the best) to 10. This PPC rating plays an important role in the underwriting process which directly impacts costs.

Previously, the Fairmount Fire Department held a respectable Level 4 Classification, which is only held by 6,915 fire departments nation wide. After the most recent review, the Fairmount Fire Department was given an ISO Level 2 PPC. This distinction is held by only 1,324 fire departments. This classification would not be possible without the strong dedication and pride that is displayed by the members of Fairmount Fire Department each and every day.

I attended the Camillus Canal Society Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on March 10. This annual event is a great way to celebrate all the fantastic work that the volunteers do to enhance and maintain this local treasure. Our local canal society has 166 active volunteers. They logged in a total of 22,251 hours of service. This number is probably low as sometimes the volunteers forget to sign in. This is the rough equivalent of 11.25 full-time employees, contributing an in kind savings of well over $500,000.00 last year.

A new drive-thru coffee stand is about to open in Camillus’ Township 5 shopping center, in the parking lot between Red Robin and Buffalo Wild Wings. The new coffee stand – Cafe A’roma – may open as soon as next week, said Andrew Valenti, who will operate the business. The drive-thru-only business will start out serving Paul de Lima coffee, espresso drinks, tea, hot chocolate, biscotti, cookies and blueberry crumble pastries, he said. It will operate out of a mobile trailer.

“This is a pilot program to help us see what people want in a coffee shop,” Valenti said. “We will start out small and fine-tune what we offer.” In the next year or so, the business will move into a permanent spot in Township 5, Valenti said. The exact location hasn’t been determined yet. The cafe may expand into more premium coffee choices, and also more treats.

PUBLIC HEARING (S)

1. Commence Eminent Domain proceedings on 104 Wickson Road, TM#: 054.-02-12.0. (Per Councilor Steve James)

2. Consider the 2018 contracts for WAVES, Fairmount Fire Department and Lakeside Fire Department.

PUBLIC COMMENT

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

1. Approve the budget transfer of $2,000 from A.1355.0210 (Assessor Equipment) to the new account A.1355.0435 (Assessor Software).

PUBLIC COMMENT

2018 Budget Recap – The Town Board voted on the 2018 budget this past October. Some of the highlights of this budget are: An increase of 0.01 %; New mowing equipment for the Erie Canal Park (taken from Parkland Development fees); Safety upgrades to Town Hall such as a new gym floor and a new fire alarm system; A change in employee health insurance was made from Excellus to the Onondaga County Employee Benefits Association (OCEBA). OCEBA is a self-funded program with 14 other public entities. This change his in health insurance carriers will save us $116,000 for this fiscal year; Fairmount Fire Department will be buying new airbags and is also planning to construct their new training facility;
Camillus Landfill revenue is up by over $300,000 and our sewer fees went down by $25,000; A full time director of the Camillus Senior Center was added due to the rise in programs and registrants. Some of the challenges we faced in this budget are: Mandatory contributions to both the Police and Fire Retirement System (NYPFRS) and the Employee Retirement System (NYSERS) went up; Trash/Recycling Pickup went up $10 per household; all due to OCRRA’s increase in tipping fees; Minimum Wage increases to $10.40 an hour this year; WAVES continues to struggle collecting fees that insurance companies have paid to users. The Entire budget can be found here at BUDGET

Public Hearing:

None

New Business:

100 Mansfield Drive / Tommy Kehoskie TM # 041.-01-62.0
Site Plan

Old Business

None

Discussion

Town Board Referral for Zone Change:
2476 West Genesee Turnpike, TM # 023.-02-38.1

At a recent Town Board meeting, the Town moved to amend Chapter 82-Veteran’s Exemptions, §82.4-Cold War Veterans Exemption paragraph (C)-Amount of Exemption, subsection (i) to substitute $45,000 for $36,000 and subsection (ii) to substitute $150,000 for $120,000, and paragraph (D) by repealing existing language and replacing it with the following language: “This exemption provided by subdivision C of this section shall apply to qualifying owners of qualifying real property for as long as they remain qualifying owners.” This basically increases the amount of the exemption for a Cold War Veteran Property Owner.