Video recording

captions Language: en tell me start good then let's bring the December 21st 2023 board meeting to order Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands indivisible andice doly can you take please here coun here well the first uh item tonight is uh is not on the agenda it was uh it was a planned surprise for councilman Abbott who is retiring at the end of this month and uh you got to give Bill credit he surprised us um yeah paty if you can take the podium uh and uh we were hoping that Bill's family was going to be here for this um I'll let Patty explain uh why he is not and so we were hoping to honor councilman Abbott on uh tonight his last board meeting as a councilman and as supervisor flare said it was going to be a surprise but he surprised us well I guess the real surprise is that his fourth grandchild is about to um make his or her entry at any moment which is a wonderful Christmas gift for the Abbot family and he felt that he needed to be there so unfortunately Bill isn't here for this present ation but we do have two members in the audience who I'd like to invite up first of all councilman Dean who will be accepting it in his honor I'd also like to invite up the former supervisor Ron nbet this is a proclamation for outstanding Public Service presented to William Abbott whereas William Abbott will be retiring in December of 2023 after more than 20 years of service to the town of Webster and whereas Bill began working for the town of Webster's Highway Department in 1987 as a part-time seasonal laborer dispatcher Bill worked at other locations such as mrb group and was the Deputy Commissioner for the public works department in rqu in addition bill was the superintendent of grounds at Easter rqu Central School District Bill worked as the superintendent of grounds for Easter rqu from 2006 to 2017 and this is when he first retired his knowledge and skills were versatile and advantageous in each job he obtained and whereas in March of 1996 bill was appointed to the planning board in Webster and remained a member of this board until January 2006 it was at this time that bill was appointed for a one-year term as a councilman on the town board bill was reelected many times as a town board councilman and served in this City from 2006 through his ultimate retirement in December 2023 and whereas during his years on the town board bill was thrilled to see many new projects begin and then completed he enjoyed sharing his wisdom and vision on the exciting Ventures the town was absorbed in and was especially pleased of the new highway facility that is presently being built and whereas Bill often spoke to his wife Dina about wanting to make a difference to the of Webster bill you have done just that your efforts will be appreciated for many years to come your countless hours and commitment to the town of Webster have not gone unnoticed thank you for your service and dedication but now it's time to relax and enjoy your family and all those beautiful grandchildren now therefore be it resolved that on the occasion of William Abbott's retirement as the supervisor and town board at the town of Webster on behalf of the Webster Town board and the entire Webster Community we extend our sincerest wishes to bill for a long happy and healthy retirement it is our honor to pronounce December 22nd 2023 as William Abbot day in the town of Webster signed supervisor flarity I must I must say I'm honored to accept this in Bill's absence uh originally I just showed up to congratulate him but I got called out of the bullpen to accept this for him and uh it's quite an honor uh Bill's a longtime friend we've known each other for decades long before he ever became involved with t Webster we played ball together we did all sorts of things together but it is an honor he's he has been steadfast source of information and guidance on the town board since he's been there so thank you I uh decided to attend tonight to honor bill on his last night and Bill didn't show up so um i' just like to give a shout out to Bill uh before his service on the town board bill was a member of the planing board for 12 years and also co-chair of the comprehensive plans in 2000 and 2004 no was the G Guru when it came to the New York State Environmental Quality review act advising Administration and the current Administration on the proper way to maneuver through the many state regulations I'd like to thank do for his help in hand on the new recreation building course Responders park playground and Spray Park The Rebirth of the new town hall board room and the remodeling of town hall currently bill has been working on the new highway building and I'm sure his presence in the coming months will be missed I wish Bill all the best in the coming months and years in retirement and I understand Bill was waiting patiently for his fourth grandchild coming any day now and I wish in while were changing those new dipers thank you for your service thanks I think Peter wanted to say a few words should we have him up to do that was about Bill it was oh I can wait jump right up let's it's all about right now well it's it's interesting this is supposed to be a celebration of Bill and hopefully he can see this on tape I'm sure he will so um I want to thank you all hope you have a Merry Christmas I I was attending tonight about Bill as well um I've had the honor of being the leader of the Republican party now was elected 30 years ago and all that time I you know worked with a variety of candidates um but I have to tell you Bill and Ron knows this because we were together in all these campaigns um when he first ran 2006 he ran aone so all of you guys who know what it's like to run in a team right bill was the single candidate that election in a gubernatorial year and we were running just bill EV he' never done that before and we were and other thing is he only had Republican line to work with um so we were all concerned about how this going to work we've never never seen it before never knew what kind of numbers he was going to get he was the hardest worker he walked to every house he did on his own he never flinched he um he was just an outstanding candidate and that was the pattern he set for the rest of his career um in politics and I say on the toal boorn as well um and I um I brought the not going to go through all the differences in the numbers but I can tell you now every single time he ran which was H five times he handily he handily showed the Webster residence handily showed what kind of popularity Bill had as they reelected him each time so um and I think uh he did a great job job and I just want to recognize that here I did bring of course you know I would have some memorabilia so uh here we have the 2007 Webster map remember this round and um here is Bill it's hard to see on the camera but they look at that hair and U so a lot younger and then I got yours too and then and then the 2011 map as well and um then we can keep going but if you look at all these candidates you know bills was running with Ron a lot but then lot of other members changed but no matter what changed the one thing that was always steadfast was Bill his hard work his dedication and his ability to connect with the residents of Webster and I want to thank him for that it made our lives as a political party a lot better um because he we recognized that he appealed to the voters he knew what to say to them he knew what to represent and um it was a wonderful thing to be able to work with them for all those elections um so I'm sorry he wasn't here tonight as well um but I do hope he hears this and understands how much the um appreciates his efforts over the past 18 years so thank you thanks Peter thanks pet well I'm glad the people that had 20 304 year professional and personal relationships with Bill got up tonight and and spoke I think that's that's fantastic I will just say I I met Bill four years ago um and repeat really what Ron said he is he's the expert on Seeker that New York State Environmental thing that's a big loss yes it is town I've U and also I've made a lot of jokes with Bill on this D over the last couple years about how he's going to chair the next comprehensive uh plan committee and he just roll his eyes like I've done that twice I'm never going to do that again but U he has changed all of hisone yes he and and and the last thing I'll say is honestly um and I wish Pat Stevens was able to make it tonight beam again right Pat I know you and I have talked Bill's Guidance the last year or two on getting that Highway garage done I don't know how you quantify it I know you can quantify the fact that when first came in and said this is how much it's going to cost and he said no it's not you got to get it down to here and they were like okay we'll go back and sharp with the pencil but just the way he was fantastic and uh so sorry Pat I in um and I I think he's not going to be answering Tom's calls but I bet he'll answer yours yeah yeah so does anybody else before we move on this is not a bill roast so I don't want to have anybody heend um okay well I hope I hope the tap comes out good I really do thanks um all right well I think then the next uh well I know the next item is Ryan C from um from Miracle Fields is going to take the podium he has a presentation and I think's going introduce us to somebody I am believe it or not it's been almost 10 years since this idea to have a miracle field in this area um started and the the things that have happened in 10 years uh are quite unbelievable I mean obviously we have a physical place a nice field we had lights put up this year live streaming the games and whatever it started off as a baseball field um being said in 10 years we've expanded to operate year round with various activities next up after the first year is bowling not at the field Ms uh we had 75 Bowlers last year or the year before last year uh 125 this year I don't know probably 150 or so um so to keep things going we decided it's time to have somebody uh an employee a full-time employee to expand on programs expand our Outreach and uh we after a lengthy process of interviews and everything I want totr doce Beth Kuno who has a daughter who plays uh Challenger baseball over at nle field and Beth is involved with many other um organizations she was the best candidate and we want to continue toen Partnerships with the town and with uh other agencies that will be able to use the field we're going to increase the amount of people over at Miracle field there's there's a lot of time during the day the fields not used we've got ideas it just takes time and running out of time so i' would like to introduce Beth Kuno she can say a few words and get know with your meeting but I want to thank the town for all the support um we still have a great great relationship with Katie Cs and Rec and Chris and I think everything will just continue to grow big Improvement coming to the playground but that's we got to wait for the state grant money to come in it might be 5 years I thanks thank you thank you for having me I'll just say a couple things so I'm I've been a Wester resident for about 12 years prior to that uh we were a Navy down the East Coast but really I'm I'm from a very small town um in Illinois and I can tell you that that small town even to this day not when I was growing up or now do they have a space for families with special needs and so often times in those towns those families and those kids and and adults with special needs go overlooked and unseen and I think it is very fortunate we're very lucky in Webster to have Miracle field to have a space where those families can and and their kids can participate in sports and I see that from as wred out personal experience my daughter has Frey um she can't play competitively but she loves sports and if we didn't live here if we didn't have this field and have these programs she wouldn't be able to participate with her friends and feel that sense of community that everyone should feel so I think that we are extremely lucky to be a Webster and to have this space and I feel honored to be able to go from being a volunteer and a parent to now working for the program and it is spinning a lot of blat it's developing programming um trying to secure funding and grants and getting into social media and a lot of the challenges that go with running um a well-rounded program so I'm really looking forward to working with you all as things come come to us over the years and um just very very excited to to see the program grow and very thankful to the town for all the support that has gotten us to where we are now which is an incredible place for all of our thank you thank you congratulations so much now I I don't know Billy did you change your mind no because uh I don't think we have anybody signed in um that wanted to speak at the next uh item on the agenda the open of the floor for each speaker so just want to make sure before okay um then the next item up uh doly two board minutes up for consideration minutes from the December 7th regular Town board meeting reviewed make a motion that we approve them second ioun ioun ioun hi and I I also look reviewed the minutes of last week Workshop motion second hi hi John it was you right yes I did review the bills found them in order and we pay the bills submitted by the director Finance second coun I Council I supervisor I and I also went over the pre is submitted by Paul Adams our Director of Finance make a motion that we approve them IC M hi Council hi Council hi and I also reviewed the purchase orders submitted by all dire forance make a motion that we approve that second I hi counc okay the next item um Paul I know that this got in somewhat late just in the last couple days but we've done this the last few years just to paper up um annual contracts produces to yes yeah our contract with uh FL entertainment uh basically works with uh another gentleman to put the uh weer today together and they uh they sell advertising and that advertising is split with the town 65% for the town 35% to them uh so it serves to reduce the town's cost for each publication so the budget for 2024 is 45,000 so we think we can do all four issues for slightly less than that pretty close to that number and I think the came in under yeah I believe it came in just under um I will say this uh Bridget Harvey is sitting in the back helping us do the production of this live telecast tonight she's our new director of communications I think we're going to see some differences in the Webster today in 2024 um I think the community is really going to like it um but it's going to be all within that $45,000 budget that was approved that's the planin this contract so any other questions I would move that we authorize the town supervisor to sign a one-year agreement ending December 31st 2024 with Pato entertainment marketing and media LLC for publication of the Town magazine Webster today for an amount not to exceed $45,000 incl of postage coun I counc ioun I supervisor I um the next one is uh I don't know if I've ever had something like this during my time as supervisor and not having unfortunately Town attorney Jessie is coming we tonight so he's at here um their the town um has been involved in the lawsuit for probably three or four years now um kie Watkins Town name is a defendant Police Department I think the school district was also and some individuals too um basically from the town's perspective we have settled this lawsuit and I because Charlie's not here um I will say that I'm G we can't get into the terms um of the settlement um but the board is well aware of what they are and Charlie will have to counsel us how much of that is be disclosed or is foilable government but one of the terms that the plaintiff and their legal counsel uh requested within this is that at of town board meeting the following statement Proclamation if you want to call it would be read uh by one of the Town board members or town supervisor so without further Ado I'm going to read that statement the town of Webster and the town of Webster Police Department unconditionally respect and accept the decision of the Monroe County jury in finding kie Watkins not guilty of the charge of rape in clearing his name in The Case of the people of the state of New York against Kali wakins and that is the statement the next item up um I guess Jen this is your department so we always tie the department to so move to declare the following item for transfer from the cable Department to the Community Development Department latitude 764 laptop as that tag number I I the next one is two items that are being recycled from the sewer department Kennedy Toolbox asset tag 1994 and Adell Precision computer no asset tag but service number 8 nlr r52 Council hi hi um the next item I think has been Ted at the previous two meetings or no it taken off the agenda November 16 T December 7 I believe that that's correct but it's ready to be heard tonight yes that's correct okay okay um and is somebody here from 941 gravel road so Billy I you are G to get up there okay see knew we get you there um is it is okay is too long um just explain what are you looking to do uh basically weer department is it really to tell you the truth board I think this letter is Lessing and it looks all good so any questions J no then make a motion to approve an excavation pill permit at 9:41 Gravel Road tax ID number 07816 D1 d1.1 sorry hi coun hi I hi it's a lot of popping circumstances congratul Merry Christmas and then next item this one has I know this one has been tabled the last two meetings and I guess we're going to make it a try fact um we're going to table this I'll make a motion to table but I want to I want to say that I feel as though this past week we made some movement on uh being able to actually take the title of 600 Bridge Road um that sound like a broken record from the last couple of board meetings but the County Legislature on November 14th uh they they did the final approval to sell the property from the county Monroe after they had taken it referee's deed in a real estate tax forclosure the county uh legislature approved the sale of 600 rids to the town of Webster for $1 now sounds great right we wanted to make sure three things one there's a DEC agreement that the attorneys that we have hired to help the town KF Shaw is working out I think there's eight different parties that have to sign that agreement in layman terms it really protects Town against future uh lawsuits and the dec coming and uh putting the cleanup of whatever is on that site uh on the town um there is one agency that has not signed that agreement yet the oil spill fund of I guess New York state from what we've heard it's not that they they have a problem with the agreement it's a bureaucratic thing we're chasing around the G or the guy who would sign it so they have said they will sign it the second issue that we've had is that the title company that we're working with to get an owner's insurance policy on it is the same one we worked with when we bought 8 Acres uh at the highway facility a couple years ago we bought that 8 Acres off the county after their tax foreclosure auction and we just wanted to make sure we had a title insurance policy so that we didn't have to worry in a year or two somebody out of the woodwork with a priority claim of a million dollars and now the town had to pay that million dollars the best way I can put it Frontier abstract the title company needed to make sure that they got uh the Deeds from the county the referee's deeds and how they were going to then deed it to us because believe it or not Devil's in the details on that and we were having some problems getting the exact structure of it I think we it now I think that will give Frontier abstract the ability to now give us a quote on what it's going to cost for the title work and the title insurance policy and U I'll hopefully by the next meeting we'll know if it's $1,000 or $1500 or 2,000 whatever and uh if everything goes well and Josh I know you and Matt and everybody with this almost a good segue into your presentation um I'd like to think that the town will have the title to that property uh by mid January and once we have title to that property we will start to do some things with 600 Bridge Road so um sorry if that's TMI but I'd rather overe explain that than under explain it since 600 rids the old furniture strippers is a pretty Lynch pin issue in the town Webster and has been for 20 years so uh any questions before I make a motion to table this I make a motion to table uh a resolution on the title work and Abstract work the FR exract 600 Bridge clity ioun ioun hi hi so I guess that's my segue or handing Theon off to kind of a since we're not going to have a workshop uh the 28th next week um we're going to put a little workshop in tonight and so I'll hand it over to Josh and uh and Matt Jack for a little presentation thank you supervisor so the topic of tonight's uh presentation is the 2024 Transportation Alternatives program also commonly known as the tap Grant um so we're going to just be presenting an opportunity uh that would help further our vision for this part of our town so we're going to be covering a few things in the presentation um we're going to go over a review of the recent revitalization efforts to date and uh refresh your memories on some of the priority plan recommendations um Matt Chatfield from the Webster Economic Development Alliance is going to speak a little bit about the tap Brant program uh the intent and eligibility um then we're going to take a look at our proposed streetcape Improvement scope of work and some preliminary cost estimates we'll talk about some next steps and then we'll open it up for question and answer and discussion with the board um but just to refresh everyone's memory uh the map on the screen uh is illustrating the limits of the study area um it included Empire Boulevard from the Webster Penfield line all the way to Hatch Road uh and it also included gravel from Empire to Old Ridge and then old Ridge from Empire West to Bay Road uh so I'm briefly going to go through this timeline of some Milestone events just to refresh everyone's memory um this effort really did get its uh start back in June of 20121 uh when Matt was uh successfully uh able to secure Grant a $90,000 Grant to create a revitalization plan for this area um so then the town then spent uh four to six months uh developing the scope of work uh developing a request for proposals for consultants and by January of 22 uh we did select Eng Les planning and design uh to help us conduct the study so we then went and uh formed some technical committees we also formed a action committee uh that was comprised of uh residents business owners and other uh interested uh parties so we officially kicked off the project in March of 2022 um within the first four months we went live with a online uh what's called a social pinpoint uh online public participation uh website uh we had over 800 unique participants uh they were able to submit comments um ideas there was a a physical map of the study area and they were able to place um different symbols on different areas and come up with suggestions for um the needed improvements from their perspective um we Then followed up with an open house a public open house back in October of 22 uh we had over 70 attendees which was pretty impressive um the following month in November we engaged with the County's engineering firm uh day engineering and they began phase two environmental testing at 600 Ridge Road we also had a structural assessment of that building performed in November uh followed by an income survey of the area uh the results of which indicated that uh this area does meet the threshold hold for low to moderate income which opens up um potential additional CBG funding Grant sources um so in January of 23 we received the 400 page report of the environmental U site assessment from phase two uh Town staff and others spent the next a few months trying to digest the contents of that report uh culminated in a Public Presentation in April of this year um to this board uh at the spry cafetorium uh by June of this year uh we were able to wrap up and finalize the uh revitalization plan and in September um 600 Ridge Road was once again on the Foreclosure uh option list uh there were no biders uh as we've experienced uh each time it's gone up for auction so then we U began discussions with our partners at Monro County um exploring the uh concept of the Town potentially acquiring the property um to complete some environmental investigations and um really Prime the property for uh private Redevelopment so um we are here tonight to present um our roach to this potential Grant opportunity um so I'm just going to basically go over some of the PRI priority transportation and streetcape improvements that came out of that um planning effort so the intersection of oldridge Road and gravel was identified as the highest priority area based on community feedback uh the graphic in the upper leftand corner is what we call a heat map and it essentially uh the darker the areas uh that means that's where the majority of comments ideas and concerns were noted uh from that social pinpoint site so as you could see um the intersection the four corners of the Hamlet uh appeared to Garner the most amount of um feedback and need for improvement um sidewalks and Associated pedestrian amenities uh safety improvements are strongly desired in this area uh the second image on the left is what we call a word cloud um the words that you see uh based on the size that's how prevalent uh the common themes from the comment from the public were um Gravel Ridge um sidewalks pedestrian uh traffic those were all uh noted as the utmost important from the perspective of the community uh and then the plan also uh recommends gateways uh branding with banners and other public realm enhancements uh to really celebrate the area's history and create a stronger sense of place um so what you're looking at is the preferred uh Ridge Road crosssection that came out of the revitalization plan um as you can see we have 66 feet roughly of right of way uh we maintain a uh single Lane for each direction of traffic um but the plan really recommended um the addition of sidewalks um the addition of a tree lawn between the street and the sidewalk uh that contains uh Street trees um Street lighting pedestrian scal street lighting is also something that was uh highly desired and you have a just a concept of what some of that branding uh and signage could potentially look like on the lower left hand side uh is a graphic really showing the preferred improvements for the entire study area including along Empire Boulevard and gravel um the study does call for some uh realignments of intersection gravel and Empire as well as oldridge and Empire um we are not uh pursuing those aspects at this point and we'll get into that a little further into the presentation um so with that I'm going to turn it over to Matt who's going to tell us a little bit about U tap Grant and um what it's all about great thank you Josh so Transportation Alternatives program tap is a um um it's Federal Transportation funds that are then passed through to New York State and then passed through down to the town uh for uh the construction of pedestrian and bicycle improvements within public rights of way so it's all non-vehicular uh improvements and right now the state has about $103 million allocated for this particular uh grant program uh Grant request is $5 million um which is can be no more than 80% of a project cost so local match would have to be a minimum of 20% of the project cost um and it does cover everything from the the planning aspects um which we've already conducted a lot of those planning aspects all the way through to design engineering potential RightWay Acquisitions as needed uh construction and then construction inspection so it's a it's a very flexible source of funds that basically can get you from largely through from projects Inception to construction and completion and it's a it's a pro it's a program that the town has used in the past uh the town was successfully awarded about $1.45 million in these funds to for those sidewalks from um let's see Five Mile Line East to Rachel on Ridge Road so that was a tap program uh and the Village um another local municipality The Village was awarded about $811,000 in those same funds for improvements to North Avenue which is Route 250 and it was a similar type of project where it was sidewalks uh street lights and you know and Street trees um that project is actually a lot more similar in scale to what we're contemplating here in the hamlet of West Webster and that's why I bring it up uh today next slide please so the there's largely a takes about three or four years from the time of Grant application to the time you're actually under construction and uh we have a sketched out a simple schedule with a program launch in September of this year to a grant uh application which would be due in January the town's grant writing team of gonell Associates they're actively working on that um in addition we've also been working with the town's uh engineer consultant mrb Associates on devising an appropriate uh scope of work and of course coming up with a cost estimate for the project um so once if we are successful approximately in June is when the word would be announced contracts with New York state do and of course getting under contract with an engineering consultant You' have to hire an engineering consultant enter into a contract with them hopefully by the end of 2024 and then moving through the design process which would be approximately an 18 month to 24mth process typically um and then getting your final approvals and in construction in 2027 so next slide and it talks to this slide previous slide was talking about how long it takes for this to um kind of come from where we are today through completion so why now why would we want to go after this gr application now why not wait well this particular funding source is only available every three years so the way Federal Transportation dollars are allocated it's a three-year cycle so in 2014 uh there was a funding cycle and the village was successful in getting their funding that year in 2017 there was a funding cycle and the town was very successful and getting funding that year for sidewalks on Ridge Road Community held off in 2020 now it's 2023 and we're kind of we're back to the well with a great project that we want to put in front of the state for for contemplation and we've been working to build momentum in this area in the haml out of West Webster for several years now and we feel now is the time that would be most appropriate to seek funding to make some substantial physical Capital Improvements that would um show that the public is truly committed to the revitalization of the Hamlet um and you know it's that key aspect has been something that the private sector has often discussed with me as I have had private discussions with uh investors or developers about the property surrounding that particular intersection um we have attempted to get State funding for modelization of those buildings surrounding that intersection on multiple occasions we've been unsuccessful in obtaining funding to support the private sector buildings but I think we're going to be more successful hopefully and obtaining funding for the public sector infrastructure improvements along the roadway and we feel that that will be you a great step in in the right direction of writing the ship there in mosic now I'm going to hand it over to Josh and he's going to talk about the process that we've been undertaking I would say the past four to five weeks now with mrb to rightsize this project for presentation to the board yeah so this slide that you're looking now uh indicates our proposed phase one uh Street skate Improvement project um it runs uh along Old rdge Road uh between Bay Road and Empire Boulevard um the area indicated in red is Gravel Road um we would ultimately like to extend similar improvements to gravel road but that is not uh being contemplated as a part of this particular phase um the Hamlet really is split into two areas um distinct character areas if you will um really primarily uh the section between along Old Ridge between Empire and can patch uh is what the plan refers to is the Hamlet core and then from can patch West to Bay Road it transitions more into a residential character and feel um so that's important because as we went through this process um we realized that um you know we might have to scale back some things um while still trying to have you know a meaningful impactful project um so what I'm going to be showing you on this next slide again this is the preferred alternative that was identified in the revitalization plan it called for sidewalks on both sides of the street um installation of granite curbing for the entire length of the corridor uh in addition to adding the tree Lawns uh Street trees and uh New Street lighting approximately every 50 ft on both sides of the street so we evaluated this uh from a potential cost standpoint um and the number was pretty substantial so um you know the team quickly realized that that that would not be palatable at this time so we really wanted to uh go back to the drawing board and sharpen our pencils so you know we were faced with the question how are we going to still have a profound impact on the area while still being um cost effective so we through a series of three to four design iterations um and what you're about to see are what we are proposing to be included in Phase One okay so this is a Google Street View image um of the intersection of old Ridge and gravel uh looking West um this particular section uh at the intersection um is important to really dress up um so it does include uh decorative concrete uh Treon area for vertical separation I'm sorry separation between the vehicular traffic and pedestrians um we have included Granite curbs um for you know in close proximity to the intersection eventually it would transition uh into how it exists today with uh gutters and no curving um so this treatment is really proposed uh for the segment that is old Ridge between Empire and Cane Patch and then it would really transition to a sidewalk um on the Northern side of Bridge Road uh from came patch to Bay which is what this next slide is showing um so you may Wonder uh why we had selected the north side um actually the right of way the road is not centered within the rative way it's actually skewed a little to the South so there's actually more room on the North side and there's also less uh potential conflicts with existing uh light poles and and things of that nature so um we feel that the treatment uh near the intersection will be a little bit more enhanced it'll it'll be more in character with what most people uh Envision a hamlet to be um and then it would transition uh to one side of the street when it gets into the more residential area just a just a a point to worth noting this is a it is a very simplistic graphic so it was not intended to be a very a realistic representation so you see that Green Tree Lawn going in front of someone's driveway that's that was not that is not the intent um the intent is that all the driveways would be maintained uh with driveway aprons U but the sidewalk would be inside of a green area between the The Gutter and the sidewalk just to make sure that there's clar just make sure there's Clarity that that that graphic isn't misconstrued that we would be proposing to remove driveway access that not the case so with that I'm going to turn it back over to Matt who's going to talk a little bit about the cost estimate work that our team has been do great I get the I get the fun the fun slide so as we had mentioned there's been many iterations of this project um even in the the planning document that was conducted by Eng Les uh was there was a very very simple uh rubric that was put together about how much was anticipated first phase of improvements but cost and it was actually relatively accurate but we've broken it down into several project components um we've looked at this from a general cross-section perspective based on the types of materials that would be used and of course the quantities of those materials over the length of these uh the length of the corridor um and right now construction total is coming in right around 3.1 to$ 3.2 million uh of construction activities because that project isn't going to construction for at least a minimum of two years we're required by New York State as part of the application to consider what's called an escalation Factor so we all know prices tend to increase over time right it's just inflation so the escalator that we put in for the project was 8% and then on top since it is a very preliminary estimate there's another 12% for contingency these are things that unfortunately although we've given quite a bit of thought to a lot going to take place uh in during this project we still clearly don't have enough information nor do we believe we've likely identified all potential scenarios or variables that could come into to play so another 12% so we're adding 20% right off the bat to bring total construction to just under 3.8 million um and then there are State mandated and federal guideline mandated requirements for all these soft costs that come into play um and those um percentages that we're required to use uh it's part of the application process they actually hand us a spreadsheet with all the with all the percentages already plugged in we can't deviate from it um in the end that number comes up to 1.3 million but that takes you through all of the engineering the environmental review the bidding the construction inspection all of those soft costs which on average is typically roughly in that 30 to 33% range uh so that brings us to a total project cost for improvements from Empire Boulevard on Old rdge all the way to Bay Road providing continuous pedestrian connectivity throughout that Corridor in addition to you know focal point improvements at the intersection of gravel and old Ridge of about $5 million that's what we're projecting today the cost would be in about two to three years from now so as a result that is the project cost so the town would be eligible to ask for 80% of that funding or um 80% time is about $4 million so the remaining $116,000 plus or minus would be required to be matched with funding other than Federal Transportation dollars and where we come up with those uh funds is a slide that I think Josh was going to talk about that's kind of where we are as far as this project and the opportunity before us so that's um the estimated cost oh and this is me again perfect so in addition to understanding the cost of the project we're trying to identify what these potential benefits could be and other communities have done have conducted numerous actual statistical anal were're able to kind of glom on to what other municipalities have been able to achieve uh New York City has done a study of economic benefits of its sustainable streets or streetscape Improvement projects that have focused on prioritizing pedestrians and bicyclist over vehicles um they did this study back in 2014 looking back to any projects that were conducted in 2006 2007 and 2008 right so they looked back uh numerous many years later and then understood what was the change in assessed value taxes that were generated uh from a um sales tax perspective in these neighborhoods clearly we don't anticipate sales taxes uh to be of a substantial change within our neighborhood here but assessed values and property values we do anticipate would change and would increase um over a period of time and a lot of the studies that have been conducted today both in New York City and in Minnesota indicate 10 15 20% potentially even up to 32% increases over a three-year period post construction are not out of the real possibility um and although no one likes to think as a resident about while your your assessed values go up which means my taxes go up well that's maybe that that's considered Revenue to the town but that's also potential equity and properties along for those homeowners right so they hopefully will be able to benefit from that equity in their property maybe hopefully reinvest in their properties and continue the cycle of improving the ne so we're hoping to be able to Kickstart that process with this project so in terms of uh potential funding sources for that 20% local match uh We've identified several potential sources um it could be proactively budgeted budgeted for as part of as part of the town's annual budget process between 20 and 2027 um the use of the American Rescue plan act also known as arpa funds could be another potential uh funding source for that 20% match uh as I mentioned earlier um the income survey that was conducted did identify this area as being low to moderate income which opens us up for additional what's referred to dbg funds um obviously there are a plethora of other Grant Awards and we would just obviously seek ones that apply to this sort of project um there is even the potential for private contributions um potentially utilizing some of the town's uh general townwide fund balance or potentially uh a capital project Bond so the next steps for our revitalization effort you know it's a multi-pronged approach so in terms of the planning study implementation um I intend to come back to this board and fully present the plan uh for formal adoption uh which will then pave the way for us to pursue the recommended zoning changes for the area and we're going to continue our uh increased effort in this area in terms of property maintenance and code enforcement um in regards to 600 Ridge Road former furniture strippers uh facility uh we are going to continue to work with uh the county on the ownership transfer to the town of Webster uh once that takes place we will uh make some efforts to empty out the contents of the building make sure it's secure and weathertight and then we would look to complete the necessary environmental uh investigations to better position that property for private Redevelopment and then uh in terms of this uh the pursuit of this grant uh as we mentioned um the deadline to submit is uh January 9th so we don't have all that much time but we have completed a good deal of work that would need to go into that application um so one of the requirements of the application is a commitment from the board uh stating that if we were to be awarded this grant um that the town board is committed uh to that 20% local match um it's not appropriating funds at this point uh but the state I believe and the FEDS just like to uh confirm that the decision decision making body is actually on board with uh pursuing this so with that um I will open it up to any comments or questions or dialogue um as you can see on the screen on the left hand side is what it presently looks like today and uh the right hand side is uh the vision that's been spelled out in the revitalization plan and we strongly believe that this uh Grant opportunity uh would really go a long way in helping us achieve that Vision that's a great plan for sure so I first I want to thank you and thank Matt for really spearheading this effort and for all of uh everyone who has really taking part in the study and and creating a vision for what this could be um I think it's tremendous my question is the tap Grant application is due by January 9th so I assum assume that you're looking for us to adopt that revitalization plan on our meeting on the 4th no no it I don't believe it requires adoption of the plan um it it just requires a resolution um stating that the board would be willing to commit the 20% if awarded so we'll do that on the fourth actually well at any time between now and the fourth Sher right we we have on the is it on here we have potential resolution yeah okay it's either going to happen tonight around fourth uh it's interesting because obviously with the N right talk through that uh there was Merit to looking at doing this tonight of course I thought bill was going to be here um catching up a new board member before um asking a lot can be done um so I'm glad at the end of the day this comes down to the fact that if we want to apply for this grant comes around every three years um one of the checking of the boxes that is in the grand applications the town board at the time uh committed that they were in for the 20% match that the grand was awarded now in June of next year if we apply for this brand and we do a resolution to commit to the fund this would be I guess a good problem to have if we get awarded the $4 million that is the presentation show there's a multitude of options for how we come up with the million doll match and this area will be kind of a there'll be a lot of things going on in parallel um other brands that we can apply for so I I you know I just wanted to make sure you know is is since I was involved in these iterations that they described that this thing started out way more than5 million s there's no way we can we can go for something that's going to cost5 million and say wow we're going for a $5 million Grant and the town's going to do a commitment to the other 10 million start so that's where all the iterations kind of came down to you know it's not as simple as just coming down to a dollar amount that's palatable within the framework of this grant but where the project still as Mt J described still has some meaningful uh how did you describe it m i mean it needs to resonate it needs to be a competitive and compelling application um so it's interesting I mean I think the grant was opened uh the opportunity opened September 29th so they really give you October November and December to get your stuff together and then the deadline is January 9th uh I was hoping we wouldn't be coming this late but the iterations really made us head sharp in that pencil and do a lot of things um we were supposed to present this last Thursday anybody that pays attention to these board meetings I said to M Josh did not think they should follow up with this presentation last Thursday based on what we were presenting last Thursday in the topic it wouldn't have been fair I don't think the board maybe would have been headed to and listen to everything about this T so well I think that we've certainly shown that we're committed to this we've been talking about for quite a while and my goodness we already bought a building for a dollar so I guess we need to move forward right we have what money we save there we have not yet yeah but but to that point we haven't yet but if you look at how long that building has been in purgatory and how long the community has been concerned about that um I think it's wonderful that we're finally starting to see some movement and some positive progress yes you know want to make sure that J and jny any comments questions they have but um like I said because I've been involved in this I knew what mat and Josh were present but some things that I just wanted to make sure maybe are in between the lines of this they referenced the income survey we did last year that showed that this area is lower income and the town last that that survey will expire in a couple of years that's a real feather in our to get money over there so we said let's wait until the 27 we would have to get a new survey done and whatever it's minor I shouldn't say it's minor but you know the other thing is that at some point and I don't I don't want this to hold up a commitment resolution on this but I think we all looked uh when we were putting these iterations together the soft cost seemed kind of High um this is a million3 of5 million project it's 26% of the project but as Matt and Josh described it's state and ferally mandated how you do certain things and you have be interesting to know the actual soft cost dollars and as a percentage of the total project Paul on the Ridge Road sidewalks because just because they ask us to quote them this way when we go for the grant I think we've done a very good job at this town to manage projects to keep them under budget and I wouldn't be surprised if if the actual soft costs that were spent on that rid Road sidewalk project less I can put that together you know so that's really all I had um I don't have any questions I think the board is committed to this project and have been for quite some time the only thing that um I would suggest you know is at some point when we do look at that uh that Building 600 because it has been for so long when I did my walk through with uh some of the Personnel I questioned the structure structural aspect of that building and the longer the building sits vacant and goes through the three seasons right it deteriorates more and more and more so that's the only thing I'm really concerned about before we go in there we should uh you know have a structural engineer do an inspection again but as far as the guys done a great job and I think we're in very good position to get additional Grant monies and I'm fully committed to it myself I think it's a great projects in our community been looking forward to this so I commended you know all the people that are involved in it I'm just hoping that you know we would have the fund set aside and that we will get the GR you know to fulfill um the dreams you know of our community for this project well um day 37 um this is the last board meeting of 2023 so uh I'm going this I think the last action 23 let it rip and let's see what happens here I'm going to make a motion for the town of Webster to commit to the 20% match on the tap Grant being app applied for by January 9th 2024 on the West Webster Hamlet project if said rant is awarded I hi hi hi well that concludes our agenda for the evening um and interesting night considering you know Bill a last board meeting and you will be missed you will be missed uh we'll do our Round Table Paul uh everything's a good time I'd like to wish everyone a happy holiday season Merry Christmas and happy New Year yes at the table great well thank you for the opportunity to present today and as always uh it's a pleasure to serve uh the community Webster Merry Christmas you I just want to thank the board for their support of this and uh wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy New Year okay I want to thank Sher wood for um spearheading the wreaths across America am it was a wonderful turnout on Saturday and um last year she did Webster Union Cemetery we covered all of the veterans graves in the one Cemetery this year she was able to grow it to uh three cemeteries in Webster Webster Union uh Webster Rural and Union Hill cemeteries and I know she's hoping to get all five covered next year but it was a tremendous turnout the community got behind it and it was uh really a wonderful event so I want to thank Sher for all her efforts in that um and I want to wish everyone happy and healthy holidays Merry Christmas and happy New Year Jenny well like always I'm honored to be up here and to have been elected to serve our community I'm wishing everyone from my family to yours a wonderful and a happy merry Christmas and happy New Year please come out and support your community support your library and also your Museum they need your support you know so we can keep the tradition going for this wonderful community that we live in and thanks everyone to make that happen have a wonderful holidays I just want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and um safe travels as you go to see relatives and um you know may the time of your families um this holiday season be be enjoyable I know what cons the taxpayers the collection of count taxes begins Friday December well uh we will see everybody back here uh on January 4th for swearing in the organizational meeting in our first town board meeting of 2024 but for 2023 this board meeting we areed