Grafton Town Board Action – Disputes Arise

by Alex Brooks
The Grafton Town Board meeting was barely underway when the first dispute began among Town officials.
Town Councilperson Barbara Messenger said she thought Resolution 25 from the organizational meeting, giving the Town Bookkeeper Victoria Nellis emergency authority to sign checks, should be amended because it does not follow the most prudent financial procedures. [private]She feels the bookkeeper should not have check signing authority. This was not discussed because it came up as part of approving the minutes, and the Board felt it should be discussed as new business. The minutes were approved with amendments, and the meeting moved on. The matter did not come up later in the meeting, though. Messenger said she had already expressed her thoughts on it and she felt it was up to the Supervisor to bring it up, and Supervisor Darling said he hadn’t made up his mind about it.
New Computers
Board Member Rick Ungaro then asked Assessor Craig Surprise about the computer upgrade he had been authorized to undertake last month. Surprise said the networking had just been done and he didn’t have a bill yet, but he said he had to buy two new computers because the old ones were too out of date. Barbara Messenger and Marie Claus both objected to this because it was not authorized by the Town Board. The second computer, used mainly by the Town Secretary, was really an expenditure by a different department of the Town, and this is a decision that Surprise should not be making.
Surprise replied that the computers were antiquated and needed to be replaced. Messenger conceded that that may be true, but said Surprise was missing the point which is that purchases should be authorized by the Town Board in advance. Messenger said Surprise could even have just made a phone call to let someone know that there is a need.  Ungaro seemed to feel that a little more planning should go into upgrading the Town’s computers. “Everything seems to be an emergency, Craig,” said Ungaro. Surprise seemed miffed that he was being criticized for upgrading the Town’s old computers at what he believes are very good prices, but the matter was left there, and the Board moved on.
Ungaro then asked for an executive session to discuss “a personnel matter,” and the Board went into the back room for a half hour or so.
Town Finances
Barbara Messenger and Marie Claus both seemed to be concerned about the way the Town finances were being handled. Messenger said there are a number of accounts in negative numbers and that some expenditures appear to be in the wrong accounts. Claus said funds will have to be transferred into the overspent accounts, and she urged the Supervisor to present ideas on where the money should come from. There was some quiet discussion of these issues during the auditing of the bills, but what exactly the problems are was not articulated publicly.
FEMA
Councilperson Barbara Messenger started to make a motion to schedule a Public Hearing on the FEMA-supported Hazard Mitigation project, but Supervisor Darling informed her that he had received an email from County Planner Linda von der Heide saying that the County is going to be the lead agency now instead of the towns, so they don’t need to hold hearings.
Grafton Elementary School
Supervisor Darling said he had asked three people in town to serve on a committee to evaluate the feasibility of having the Town take title to the Grafton Elementary School building. These are Jim Goyer, Doug Sauer and Barbara Messenger. Darling said he received a letter from the Grafton Fire Department saying that they will be stepping back on this issue and letting the Town take the lead.  Darling said the Town will definitely not accept the property before going out to consult the people in a referendum.
Public Comment
Shelley Bedford said she had submitted a resume for the Town Secretary position and wondered what was the status of that position. Supervisor Darling said he has her resume on file. He said the Town has a temporary person working in that position and will be contacting applicants soon to schedule interviews and appoint someone permanently.
Donna Walker suggested that the Town put a bocce court or a horseshoe pit in the Town Park. She thought the seniors would be interested in playing, and she didn’t think it would be expensive. Barbara Messenger said she thought it was a good idea and said the Town could look into it.
Pat Ivory said there had been some talk during the campaign last fall of bringing back the elected board of assessors and wondered if there were any plans to hold a referendum on that issue. Supervisor Darling responded that the Town has a contract with its Assessor, Craig Surprise, through October of 2013, so nothing could be changed until then. He was non-committal on whether he was interested in holding a referendum on the issue.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck said he and other town highway superintendents participated in a “March on the Capital” on March 7. He said the superintendents are upset because CHIPS funding, which is State aid for Town road improvements, has stayed the same for six years. Hasbrouck said all of his costs are going up, but the State funding doesn’t. He said the Governor increased State highway funding by 52% without giving any more to the towns. “That’s our summer working money,” said Hasbrouck. He asked the members of the Town Board to contact State officials to ask for an increase in CHIPS funding. Barbara Messenger asked him to provide a sample letter to help them state the case, and Hasbrouck said he would.
Rescue Squad
The Squad responded to 11 calls this month – a stroke, a traumatic injury, an overdose, a sick person, a hemorrhage, three falls, a brush fire, a traffic accident and a call for back pain. Two hundred and twenty-five miles were traveled and 47.5 hours logged in the ambulance. The squad had one new membership application, which will be reviewed at the March meeting. Squad member Drew Dolan passed the NYS EMT exam. The Squad received a resignation letter from driver/EMT Beth Wagar.
Correspondence
Supervisor Darling said he had received a request from the Grafton Historical Society to use the Senior Center building on Wednesday, April 18, to show a movie about a Grafton native.  He also received a check from the Friends of the Dyken Pond Center for $350 as a payment in lieu of taxes on several tax-exempt properties they own adjacent to the Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center.[/private]