May 03, 2006: Meeting

At the Regular Meeting of the Executive Board of the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages held at the North Creek Community Center at 3:00 p.m., there were

PRESENT:       J. R. (John) Risley, President

Executive Board Members:  Jean Raymond, Brian Towers, Fred Monroe, William Thomas, Cathy Moses, Zandy Gabriel, Bill Farber, George Canon, Robert Banks

The meeting was opened by President Risley at 3:00 p.m.  The minutes were reviewed and submitted for approval.

On motion of Cathy Moses, seconded by Brian Towers, the minutes of March 24, 2006 were accepted.  (CARRIED 10 AYES  O NAYS)

Financial / Executive Director Report

Membership Updates – An updated list of the current members was distributed for review.  It was noted that surveys for updated member information has been mailed and responses being received. 

Phone – A discussion was held on the call forwarding currently in place for the previous phone numbers of the association.  The Executive Director recommended removing the service at this time. 

On motion of Brian Towers, seconded by George Canon, the Board agreed to discontinue the phone forwarding service to the previous phone and fax lines.  (CARRIED 10 AYES  O NAYS)

Vouchers - The Vouchers were presented for payment.

On motion of Bill Farber, seconded by Bob Banks, the April abstract for $8126.84 was approved for payment.  (CARRIED 10 AYES  O NAYS)

Village Memberships – A discussion was held on the status of membership for the Villages.  It was noted that vouchers were not sent with the Towns due to the different fiscal year for villages.  It was agreed that dues for the Villages would be $100 per municipality.

On motion of Jean Raymond, seconded by Bob Banks, the Board agreed to set membership dues for the Villages at $100.00 per municipality.  (CARRIED 10 AYES  O NAYS)

Correspondence/ Updates

The following correspondence was received and discussed:

            Shared Communication Services – An update on the request for the association to share the expense of a clipping service with the Adirondack Government Local Review Board was submitted.  A discussion was held with the Board agreeing to a six month trial with expenses being shared with the Adirondack Government Local Review Board at a cost not to exceed $1375.

On motion of Jean Raymond, seconded by Brian Towers, the Board agreed to a six month participation in a clipping service with shared expenses with the Adirondack Government Local Review Board at a cost not to exceed $1375.00.  (CARRIED 10 AYES  O NAYS)

It was agreed that a review of the newspapers that would be used would be performed. 

            Jeff Haber Thank You – A letter was received from Jeff Haber, ATV, thanking the association for their card and donation in regard to his mother’s passing.. 

            Adirondack Research Consortium – Fred Monroe and JR Risley were asked to participate in the Adirondack Research Consortium in Lake Placid on June 26, 2006.  The Board suggested some of the following ideas for them to bring to the meeting:  affordable housing, restricted state land totals and their impacts toward total state lands available, selective logging on state lands with proceeds toward ethanol usage/study, GIS inventory of state owned lands and non-developable lands within the Adirondack Park.

            Forest Advisory Committee – It was noted that JR Risley has been elected chairman of the Forest Advisory Committee.  Mr. Risley reported that there had been no chairman recently and one of the issues currently is the forest rangers being required to pay rent or claim as an income.  There is concern that rangers would no longer reside in the headquarter/housing and a lack of their presence would have an impact on the Adirondacks.

            Adirondack Park Agency – It was noted that Frank Mezzano’s term on the Park Agency Board would be at the end of June and was not seeking a reappointment.  The Board discussed the possible upcoming vacancy.

Annual Meeting                    

A review of the quotes from hotels in Lake Placid was submitted for review by the Board.  It was noted that the Hilton of Lake Placid would be the most affordable.  A sponsor would be obtained for the Sunday night reception and the Monday morning breakfast.  A casual barbecue reception was planned for Sunday night.  It was suggested that the reception honor Mr. Frank Mezzano for his years of dedication to the residents of the Adirondacks both as Town Supervisor and Adirondack Park Agency board member.  The Board agreed to the concept and to also continue that tradition in the future.

On motion of Jean Raymond, seconded by Zandy Gabriels, the Board agreed to host the annual meeting at the Hilton of Lake Placid at a cost to members of $62.00/per room and cost for reception and breakfast to be negotiated upon selection of menu.  (CARRIED 10 AYES  O NAYS)

Cathy Moses exited the meeting at 4:10 p.m.

It was further discussed to request Mr. Bill Osbourne to speak at the annual meeting and also to have Digital Towpath conduct a presentation on websites for municipalities.  The resolutions to be presented for the meeting were discussed and the following were forwarded to the resolution committee for final draft and submission:

            North Elba – tax reform.  It was noted that input from the Assembly and Senator’s office would be sought when preparing the resolution.

            Town of Wilmington – Energy Smart Park Initiative.  There was discussion about the resolution and the Board agreed to contact Supervisor Ashworth in regard to some of the wording.  The Board suggested including the needs of other communities in the Adirondack Park in regard to the resolution.

            Repeal Highway Law 212 – A discussion was held in regard to the Commissioner having the authority to close a road and the impact to communities such as

            Land Banks – A discussion was held in regard to the concept of land banking and the impact to the Adirondacks. It was noted that a constitutional amendment would be necessary and work to commence such an effort should be started.  The Board agreed to submit a resolution in favor of a constitutional amendment to provide a Land Bank .

            Affordable Housing – It was noted that the Association should have a resolution in support of affordable housing for continued support and education of the problem.

On motion of Jean Raymond, seconded by Bill Farber, the Board approved the resolutions of tax reform, energy smart park initiative, repeal highway law 121, land banks and affordable housing to be forwarded to the resolution committee for review and submission at the annual meeting.  (CARRIED 9 AYES  O NAYS)

President Report

JR Risley noted the following:

Update on Bill 191 – It was noted that Fred Monroe and JR Risley met with Senator Little to discuss the comments presented by the Board in regard to Bill 191.  Senator Little was very apprised of the issues and concerns of the association and would be in contact.

Monthly Meetings – A discussion was held on holding meetings on a set date and location to encourage attendance.  The Board agreed to the first Wednesday of the month at North Creek Community Center.  It was noted that a meeting would not be held in July.

The next meeting will be held at the North Creek Community Center on August 2, 2006 at 3:00 pm.

On motion of Brian Towers, seconded by George Canon, the meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.  CARRIED 9 AYES  0 NAYS

Respectfully Submitted,

Carol Hart, Executive Director