Wellsville Village Council Committees Have Busy Day

It was a busy day at Wellsville Village Hall Monday afternoon with Council members holding three different committee meetings.  Holding meetings yesterday was the Finance Committee, the Street Committee and the Claims, Rules & Ordinance Committee.

No action was taken at the Finance Committee meeting held to discuss late fees for the Village income tax.  Currently the penalty for failure to pay taxes or estimated taxes is 10% per year but not less than $25.  Failure to remit withheld taxes by employers is 10% per month and shall not be less $25.  Accumulated penalty on that will not exceed 50%. 

The ordinance spelling out these fees is dated in 2004.  Committee Chairwoman Diane Dinch is considering a proposal to increase that $25 amount to $100 for balances of $100 or more.  However all three committee members agreed to postpone making any recommendation to full Council until they have had a chance to more closely study the income tax levy. 

At the Street Committee meeting is was decided to recommend to the full Council vacating a part of 21^st Street and Crystal Alley.  Marathon Oil made the request when they asked to rezone five parcels of land they own from residential to industrial.  Those parcels are bordered by 21^st Street, Crystal Alley and Nevada St.  The Wellsville Zoning Committee approved the rezoning and legislation for that was ordered in at the last Council meeting. 

A 30 day notice and a public hearing are required for both the rezoning and the vacating of streets and alleyways according to Committee members.  That has to occur before anything can be finalized by Village Council.  It is hoped to combine both actions in one notification and public hearing. 

Other than fencing the parcels in Marathon have no immediate plans to develop them according to Zoning Administrator Rick Williams.  When expansion begins at the Intermodal Park those parcels may be used to park construction equipment. 

No action was taken on the request by Wellsville residents Art & Julie DuMoulin’s to convert the unused street around the Boy and the Boot into a mini park.  The street in question was blocked off when the floodwall was constructed following the 1936 flood.  It still has the original brick pavement and is only used as an occasional parking area.  The DuMoulins have voluntarily adopted the Wells Avenue Bridge & the Boy and the Boot area.  They keep the area clean and water the flowers in the hanging baskets on the bridge.   

At the final meeting of the day the Claims, Rules & Ordinance Committee discussed three items.  The first item was the control issue for cats.  Committee Chairman John Morrow advised he has been consulting with the Wellsville Animal Control officer and members of the Alley Cat Aide Brigade.  In Wellsville cats are now considered free roaming animals and there are no regulations pertaining to them.  There are some communities around the state that have regulations concerning control and the number of cats allowed per household.  Further discussion on the subject was postponed until another meeting could be arranged with the Animal Control Officer attending. 

It was agreed to ask the full Council to order in legislation at the next meeting making additions to the Village Fiscal Officer’s job description.  Presently there are no set hours for when the Fiscal Officer works nor is he required to use the time clock.  If approved by Council the Fiscal Officer hours will be set for 10 AM to 3 PM and he will be required to use the time clock.  The reasoning for setting the schedule for a particular time was so people would know when the administrator is available. 

The last item considered by the Claims, Rules & Ordinance Committee was the request by the Zoning Committee to raise the building demolition fee.  It is presently a $10 permit fee for demolition jobs costing up to $5,000 and 1% for every additional $1,000 over that.  The Zoning Committee requested the fee be changed to a flat 5% for the total cost.   There were no objections by the CRO Committee and Morrow will forward to Council after checking with the Village Legal Advisor.  Morrow stated he would like to add a clause that the permit fee be designated to be placed in the Demolition Fund in the annual Village budget. 

The next scheduled meeting for Wellsville Village Council is Tuesday, September 18 at 6 PM. 

 ole nib