Penn Yan village board 3/20/12

    Meeting: The Penn Yan village board met for approximately 50 minutes on Tuesday, March 20. 

    Attendance: All board members except Michael Christensen were present. Two members of the public were in the audience. 

    Action: The board approved a resolution raising the cost to rent out the pavilion at Red Jacket Park. For village taxpayers, the daily rental cost will increase from $50 to $100. The cost for those who do not pay taxes to the village will rise from $100 to $200. Prior to voting on the resolution, Mayor Bob Church said he thought the rent increase might be too high. However, Dan Doyle, the recreation director, said improvements including the construction of two new bathrooms and changing rooms in the park justify raising the price. “This summer season, they (people who rent the space) will be getting a heck of a lot more than they paid for,” Doyle said. Trustee Richard Stewart added that raising the cost is “warranted.” 

    • A local law was adopted to change the deadline for filing paperwork to repair village sidewalks from March 15 to Feb. 15. Attorney Edward Brockman said the purpose of this law is for any sidewalk maintenance decisions to be set earlier on in the village budget process. Before the legislation was approved, a public hearing was held on the matter. However, no comments were made during that period. 

    • A resolution was passed for the village to acquire 25 square feet of land on Pleasant Street currently owned by Warren Lloyd.

    • The board approved to hold the annual firefighters parade on Aug. 25.   

    Discussion without action: Church announced the village organizational meeting will take place Monday, April 2 at 5 p.m. 

    • Packets regarding the 2012-13 budget were distributed to board members. Church said the village does not yet have projections regarding how much the upcoming budget will be. Stewart mentioned the tax levy last year was raised by $55,000 and the total surplus in the village increased to $1,620,000. He said for 2012-13, “we need to bite the bullet and keep the tax levy as low as possible.” 

    • Trustee Bart Winslow Jr. said he was approached by a resident about proposing a resolution to request support from state and federal representative regarding rising gas prices. Winslow said he would do more research to determine if putting forth a resolution on the matter would be possible. 

    • Church said construction of the bridge on Liberty Street is still expected to be completed by Memorial Day this year. 

    Bids/purchases over $1,000: The board approved the purchase of 38 telephone poles for $10,843. 

    • The purchase of 10 telephone poll-top transformers at a cost of $11,880 was approved. 

    • A resolution was passed to allocate a maximum of $4,000 in the upcoming budget towards getting new signs for entrances to the village. 

    Appointments/resignations: Ron Keech was appointed water and sewer supervisor. 

    • The board approved the removal of Robert Miller from active duty in the fire department. 

    Upcoming meetings: The organizational meeting for the village will be held on Monday, April 2 at 5 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, April 17 at 6 p.m. Both meetings will be held at the village hall.