Village of Harrisville Dissolution Study Committee Meeting Meeting
Village of Harrisville Dissolution Study Committee Meeting Meeting #10 – September 27 @ 6:00 p.m. @ the Joint Municipal Building Minutes Attendees: Committee: Celia Bango, Marianne Dicob, Raymond Gregory, Julie Malbeuf, Donald Messer, John LaDuc, Dave Parow, Autumn Stearne, Gary Williams, (Jessica Jenack was absent but sent her recommendation vote via D. Parow) Public: W. Baker, Tom Best, Uta Parow, Kelly Ritz, Mark Ritz Consultants: Star Carter (DANC), Carrie Tuttle (DANC)
1. Review the new Draft Alternatives Report and Tax Impacts Worksheet with Committee. a. S. Carter led the committee in a discussion about the draft report and recommendations. i. G. Williams noted that when a Town Water District is formed, the outside customers (that currently pay more than Village customers) would pay the same as Village residents so there would be some loss of revenue from those customers. The number of outside customers is small and will not have a significant impact on water rates. This will be noted in the report. ii. A note will be added to the report and tables to clarify that the tax savings/impacts from dissolution only pertain to Town and Village taxes. iii. D. Parow noted that the Town presently provides a lot of shared services for the Village that are presently not documented nor paid for by Village taxpayers. He assured the Committee that the Town employees would continue to perform work within the Village, and the Town would continue to promote projects that improve the center of the Community. With dissolution, the work done presently would be more fairly shared by all those that benefit from these improvements. b. A summary of the committee’s questions follow: i. Who would respond to fix water line problems and what timeframe would the repairs take? D. Parow responded that the Town Highway department would respond to fix water repairs and that would be done in a timely manner, in the same manner that repairs are done presently by Village DPW staff. Page 1 of 3
ii. Can the upcoming public presentation include some information about potential grant funding that would be available if the Village proceeds with dissolution? Absolutely! DANC will incorporate some slides in the presentation to discuss potential funding opportunities for the Town/Village. One item G. Williams mentioned was water system tank improvements. C. Tuttle will reach out to K. Feuka (C2AE – Village’s Consulting firm) to request additional information. iii. What would happen to Harrisville addresses, the name Harrisville, etc.? Harrisville’s post office, resident’s addresses, the name of the area, etc. would not change as a result of dissolution. The geographic area that is known as Harrisville would continue to be called “Harrisville”. It would no longer be considered a Village; instead it would be a Hamlet, similar to the hamlets of Star Lake, Cranberry Lake. The recently dissolved villages of Hermon and Edwards are now considered hamlets. 2. Committee to vote on recommendation. Name Celia Bango Marianne Dicob Raymond Gregory Jessica Jenack John LaDuc Julie Malbeuf Donald Messer David Parow Autumn Stearne Gary Williams
Municipality Diana Harrisville Diana Diana Harrisville Harrisville Diana Diana Harrisville
Harrisville
Recommend Pursuing Dissolution? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Reluctantly Yes – Mayor Williams has real reservations whether the work currently done by the Village staff and be turned over to the Town and done with the people proposed. Concerned about long-term future of Village without Village board. Concerned about whether the Town will continue to support grant applications and future projects.
3. Preparation for 2nd Public Informational Meeting in October a. 2nd Press Release to go out to newspapers and the Bargain Hunter – S. Carter provided a draft press release that the Village could utilize to advertise for the upcoming meeting at the Fire Hall.
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4. Meeting Schedule: Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month Meeting
Month
#1 Kickoff and Demographics
January 17
#2 What Exists: Municipal Financials
February 21
#3 What Exists: Dept. of Public Works, Water Dept., & Highway Dept.
March 21
#4 What Exists: Fire Department
April 18
#5 What Exists: Municipal Officials & Employees and Local Laws
May 16
#6 Draft Existing Conditions Report
June 20
#7 Public Meeting #1 - Existing Conditions
July 18
#8 Alternatives
August 15
#9 Draft Alternatives Report
September 19
#10 Draft Alternatives Report Second Meeting
September 27
#11 Public Meeting #2 – Alternatives:
October 17 at the Fire Hall
#12 Final Dissolution Report and Plan
November 21
#13 Public Hearing (if recommended by committee)
December 19
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1. Review the new Draft Alternatives Report and Tax Impacts Worksheet with Committee. a. S. Carter led the committee in a discussion about the draft report and recommendations. i. G. Williams noted that when a Town Water District is formed, the outside customers (that currently pay more than Village customers) would pay the same as Village residents so there would be some loss of revenue from those customers. The number of outside customers is small and will not have a significant impact on water rates. This will be noted in the report. ii. A note will be added to the report and tables to clarify that the tax savings/impacts from dissolution only pertain to Town and Village taxes. iii. D. Parow noted that the Town presently provides a lot of shared services for the Village that are presently not documented nor paid for by Village taxpayers. He assured the Committee that the Town employees would continue to perform work within the Village, and the Town would continue to promote projects that improve the center of the Community. With dissolution, the work done presently would be more fairly shared by all those that benefit from these improvements. b. A summary of the committee’s questions follow: i. Who would respond to fix water line problems and what timeframe would the repairs take? D. Parow responded that the Town Highway department would respond to fix water repairs and that would be done in a timely manner, in the same manner that repairs are done presently by Village DPW staff. Page 1 of 3
ii. Can the upcoming public presentation include some information about potential grant funding that would be available if the Village proceeds with dissolution? Absolutely! DANC will incorporate some slides in the presentation to discuss potential funding opportunities for the Town/Village. One item G. Williams mentioned was water system tank improvements. C. Tuttle will reach out to K. Feuka (C2AE – Village’s Consulting firm) to request additional information. iii. What would happen to Harrisville addresses, the name Harrisville, etc.? Harrisville’s post office, resident’s addresses, the name of the area, etc. would not change as a result of dissolution. The geographic area that is known as Harrisville would continue to be called “Harrisville”. It would no longer be considered a Village; instead it would be a Hamlet, similar to the hamlets of Star Lake, Cranberry Lake. The recently dissolved villages of Hermon and Edwards are now considered hamlets. 2. Committee to vote on recommendation. Name Celia Bango Marianne Dicob Raymond Gregory Jessica Jenack John LaDuc Julie Malbeuf Donald Messer David Parow Autumn Stearne Gary Williams
Municipality Diana Harrisville Diana Diana Harrisville Harrisville Diana Diana Harrisville
Harrisville
Recommend Pursuing Dissolution? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Reluctantly Yes – Mayor Williams has real reservations whether the work currently done by the Village staff and be turned over to the Town and done with the people proposed. Concerned about long-term future of Village without Village board. Concerned about whether the Town will continue to support grant applications and future projects.
3. Preparation for 2nd Public Informational Meeting in October a. 2nd Press Release to go out to newspapers and the Bargain Hunter – S. Carter provided a draft press release that the Village could utilize to advertise for the upcoming meeting at the Fire Hall.
Page 2 of 3
4. Meeting Schedule: Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month Meeting
Month
#1 Kickoff and Demographics
January 17
#2 What Exists: Municipal Financials
February 21
#3 What Exists: Dept. of Public Works, Water Dept., & Highway Dept.
March 21
#4 What Exists: Fire Department
April 18
#5 What Exists: Municipal Officials & Employees and Local Laws
May 16
#6 Draft Existing Conditions Report
June 20
#7 Public Meeting #1 - Existing Conditions
July 18
#8 Alternatives
August 15
#9 Draft Alternatives Report
September 19
#10 Draft Alternatives Report Second Meeting
September 27
#11 Public Meeting #2 – Alternatives:
October 17 at the Fire Hall
#12 Final Dissolution Report and Plan
November 21
#13 Public Hearing (if recommended by committee)
December 19
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