The regular semi-monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Menands, held on Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 was called to order by Mayor Megan Grenier at 6:00 P.M.

PRESENT:

Megan Grenier, Mayor
Diane Foley, Trustee
Seth H. Harris, Trustee
Brian Marsh, Trustee
Donald Handerhan, Village Clerk
Stephen Rehfuss, Village Attorney

ABSENT:

Aileen Nicoll, Trustee

Also attending: Bill Garvey, David Ognan, Mike & Susan Mackay, Emma Conway, Susan Sweeney, Bob Dignum, Chris Flint, Brian Saboda.

The Mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Open Forum:

Resident Bill Garvey thanked DPW for their hard work during the last storm.

Resident Garvey thanked the Menands Police for assisting with a needle found on Broadway on January 16th.

Mr. Garvey is in favor of removing the trees next to 30 Wolfert Avenue.

Mr. Garvey is in support of the On-Call for the Court Clerk and had a question for Judge Flint regarding the process.

Judge Flint explained the process to Bill.

Resident Susan Sweeney thanked the Village for the recent updates to the website.

Resident Sweeney also stated she liked hearing the follow-up from past meetings, but would still like to hear Liaison Reports from Trustees and a possible six-month budget status.

Mrs. Sweeney likes the Comprehensive Plan on the website and would like to know how it is going to be implemented.

A motion was made by Trustee Harris to accept the minutes of the January 6th, 2020 Board Meeting, seconded by Trustee Foley.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

A motion was made by Trustee Marsh to approve payment for the following, seconded by Trustee Foley.

WARRANT # 16:

GENERAL totaling $112,316.87
WATER totaling $ 5,414.81
SEWER totaling $ 577.20
TOTALS $118,308.88

PARK IMPROVEMENT: $ 2,203.75

PAYROLL # 17: totaling $ 80,560.70
(01/03/20-01/16/20)

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

There was a discussion regarding an incorrect reading for the period May 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019. Trustee Marsh offered, seconded by Trustee Harris the following resolutions:

WHEREAS, Water and Sewer Acct. #510000194 for 575 Broadway in the amount of $49,095.28 was based on incorrect reading. Now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that a total of $16,645.13 be deducted from the original water roll total for the period May 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019, and be it further

RESOLVED, that a total of $7,490.49 be deducted from the original sewer roll total for the period May 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

There was a discussion regarding an incorrect water sewer billing for the period November 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019. Due to building being vacant and not reported to us. Trustee Harris offered, seconded by Trustee Foley the following resolutions:

WHEREAS, Water and Sewer Acct. #510000080 for 90 A Broadway in the amount of $2,641.03 was based on an average usage. Now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that a total of $1,437.69 be deducted from the original water roll total for the period May 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019, and be it further

RESOLVED, that a total of $646.96 be deducted from the original sewer roll total for the period May 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

The Mayor informed the Board that Geneva Emma Conway has resigned from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Mayor appointed Michael Steurer (Alternate Member) to Board Member to fill the seat vacated by Mrs. Conway. The Mayor also appointed Danielle Freeman as the Alternate Member to fill the seat vacated by Michael Steurer.
The Clerk advised the Board after checking with Eric Johnson the trees next to 30 Wolfert Avenue are on Village Property.

Trustee Foley made a motion to have D & L Tree Service remove the trees for $1,500.00, seconded by Trustee Marsh.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

Judge Flint gave the following response to the Comptroller’s Audit Report:
January 21, 2020

Menands Village Board
Village of Menands
280 Broadway
Menands, New York 12204

Re: Corrective Action Plan

Dear Board Members:

Please accept the following as the Court’s proposed Corrective Action Plan (“CAP”), in response to the New York State Comptrollers Audit Report released on November 27, 2019.

The auditors identified three (3) distinct improvement opportunities, as outlined in the attached Report Highlights. The proposed improvement with respect to each area identified is set forth below. Reconciliation of bail monies held by the Court was also discussed at the post-audit conference. That topic is also addressed below.

72 Hour Deposits

Each Judge is required to deposit all cash or money order funds received into his Key Bank account within 72 hours of receipt. The Court has been in compliance with this requirement since August 2019 when the audit was completed. The money must be deposited by Court staff. The Village has graciously volunteered to transport Court staff members to Key Bank in order to provide security to the deposit process. Additional security for the funds consists of: locked and camera-monitored lower door; camera-monitored upstairs lobby; locked Court office door; safe in Court office locked at all times.

Accountability Reports

Prior to the audit the Court was completing a bank reconciliation on a monthly basis. It was discovered that overpayments were made to the State on each judges’ account in October and November 2018, based on a computer glitch. The auditors provided instruction to Court staff as to how to complete accountability reports. The Court has been preparing these reports on a monthly basis since August 2019. We are confident that between the bank reconciliation report and the accountability report, any computer glitches that may occur in the future will now be easily detected.

10-Day Money Transfer to Village

The Court has two monthly responsibilities with respect to fees and surcharges collected, each of which must be performed on or before the 10th of the month. The first is an electronic report to the Comptroller. This report has always been submitted in a timely fashion. Each Judge is required to review and approve the Comptroller’s report. Once the report is approved and signed by the judge, the Court staff is required to transmit the signed check to the Village. Prior to the audit, the Court was unaware that the check also had to be delivered to the Village in that same timeframe. Consequently, the Court was not in strict compliance with this second requirement. Upon being made aware of this requirement, the Court revised its procedures to ensure strict compliance. The Court staff are now hand-delivering the monthly check to the Village office staff and obtaining a receipt in order to document the process.

Bail Reconciliation

As part of the new bail reform legislation, the Court is required to account for all bail monies in its possession and return them where appropriate. The Court staff is currently retrieving and reviewing every single case file in which bail was set. (Some cases date back more than 10 years, prior to when the Court began electronic record-keeping.) In the files where bail was set, the first order of business is to determine whether bail continues to be justified as measured by the recently passed legislation. In the very few cases where bail continues to be justified, the bail money will be retained. However, in the vast majority of cases where bail no longer continues to be justified under current standards, the Court will return the bail money. In order to do this, the Court must first identify the individual who posted bail, which in many cases was not the defendant. In cases where the posting individual can be identified, the Court is sending letters to those individuals. The Court has received several positive responses and has already mailed bail refund checks. Where the individual cannot be identified, the Court will send the unclaimed bail money to New York State as unclaimed funds. Where the individual can be identified but not located, the unclaimed bail money will be sent to the Village, which will hold it for six (6) years. If no one claims the bail within six (6) years, then the unclaimed bail money becomes the property of the Village.

Kindly review this Corrective Action Plan (“CAP”). If everything is in order, please resolve to approve the CAP, in order that we may submit it to the Comptroller’s office, in formal response to the Audit Report. We will be happy to answer any questions the Board may have.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

Christopher P. Flint
Menands Village Justice
After hearing Judge Flint’s response to the Comptrollers Audit Report. Trustee Foley made a motion to accept Judge Flint’s response to the Comptrollers Audit Report, seconded by Trustee Marsh.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

Mayor Grenier continued the discussion regarding Court Clerks On-Call. After speaking to the Treasurer, the On-Call will come out of the Over Time Budget and should not create a problem.

Trustee Marsh made a motion to make the Court On-Call permanent due to the Jail Reform Act, seconded by Trustee Foley.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

The Clerk advised the Board that the Community Block Grant Applications are available in the office and must be turned into the Town of Colonie by February 21, 2020.

The Clerk advised the Board of the need to make an emergency repair to the boiler chimney at the Main Pump Station.

Dwight Plumbing and Heating made a temporary repair to fix a hole in the chimney which was allowing CO into the building and the outside pipe is falling apart. Dwight Plumbing & Heating quote to replace the chimney is $3,990.00.

Trustee Harris made a motion for Dwight Plumbing and Heating to make the emergency replacement of the chimney in the amount of $3,990.00, seconded by Trustee Marsh.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

The Clerk read a letter from the Menands Fire Department requesting approval of a new member Ahmed Mohammed of 587 Broadway, Apt 615. He has passed all background checks and was approved by the members.

Trustee Marsh made a motion to approve Ahmed Mohammed as an active member, seconded by Trustee Harris.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

The Clerk read a follow-up report:

Website Update:

a. Building Department new forms are on the Website and some are fillable and printable
b. Updated Fire Department Officers
c. Business Directory added to Economic Development Section
d. Working on adding a new tab for Trail System

2. 30 Wolfert Eric believes that the trees are on Village Property

A Budget Workshop is scheduled for Thursday, February 27th, 2020 at 5:00 P.M.

At 6:30 P.M. Trustee Marsh made a motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss a personnel and legal matter, seconded by Trustee Harris.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

The regular meeting reconvened at 7:58 P.M.

A motion was made by Trustee Harris to adjourn, seconded by Trustee Marsh.

ADOPTED:

Trustee Foley voting AYE
Trustee Harris voting AYE
Trustee Marsh voting AYE
Mayor Grenier voting AYE

The meeting was duly adjourned at 7:58 P.M.

________________
Donald Handerhan
Village Clerk

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