by Alex Brooks
Grafton Town Clerk Sue Putnam was not present at this month’s Town Board Meeting. Her place at the Board’s table was taken by Deputy Clerk Cathy Goyer, who took notes and polled the Board members during votes.
[private]The first matter on the agenda was approval of the minutes. Barbara Messenger said the minutes from the meetings of May and June contain bias, hypothesis and speculation on the intent of Board members, and therefore the Board will not entertain a motion to approve them.
Councilman Mike Crandall did not attend this meeting, and Councilwoman Marie Claus resigned in June for personal reasons, so without Messenger’s support, the minutes could not be approved. Neither Rick Ungaro nor Supervisor Frank Higgins commented on the minutes, and the meeting moved on.
Smooth Sailing
After this slightly rocky start, the Board moved forward smoothly with all of the business on its agenda. Messenger made a motion to form a committee to develop guidelines for credit card use. Rick Ungaro seconded it, and it was passed unanimously. Supervisor Frank Higgins requested that the Town Clerk’s office research whether the Town has ever adopted a policy regarding credit cards in the past. He said the Town has used credit cards for many years and he suspects that when they first started using a credit card, they probably passed some kind of policy guidelines for their use. Cathy Goyer said she would try to find such a policy.
Supervisor Higgins then made a motion to correct the Town’s 2013 Annual Financial Report to reflect actual receipts from FEMA, which will reduce reported revenues by $163,536.42. Councilman Rick Ungaro said that he thinks that Supervisor Higgins, as Chief Fiscal Officer of the Town, does not need a resolution of the Board to correct that report, but he said he would support the motion anyway, so it passed unanimously.
Anti-Fracking Ordinance
Supervisor Higgins said a “resolution about resolutions” was expected at this meeting, but the author had decided not to present it at this time. Higgins also said he had been approached by a citizen of the Town about having the Town pass an anti-fracking ordinance. He wanted to mention publicly that he is seeking feedback from the citizens of Grafton about whether they think the Town should pursue that or leave the issue alone. He said he had spoken to the Town’s attorney about it, who said if the Town wants to pursue it, he can find resolutions passed by other Towns to use as a model. Higgins invited people to weigh in on the issue by letter, by email or through the Town web site.
Time Warner Cable Progress
At public comment time, Mark Younger of Pond View Road urged the Town administration to actively assist Time Warner Cable to overcome any regulatory hurdles that might be slowing them down and to do whatever can be done to expedite the project so construction can begin this fall. Supervisor Higgins replied that Time Warner wanted to start construction in September and he had wanted to have the agreement with them ready for approval at this meeting but it wasn’t ready in time and he expects to approve it at the September meeting.
He assured Younger that he is moving the project forward as fast as he can.
Cindy Pulito said the Grafton Community Library is planning a Backyard Bounty celebration on Sunday, September 14, from 4 to 6 pm in the backyard of the Library.
Highway Report
Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck said there were five bids for the pickup truck and he accepted the highest one, for $2,856. There was only one bid for the dump truck, for $3,656, which he refused, but he thought he had it sold for $5,000. Hasbrouck said his Department had been working on some CHIPs projects, rebuilding the entrance to Babcock Lake and part of Owen Road near the entrance to the Catholic church. He said the procedure with the CHIPS money had changed. Now instead of just sending the Town a check, the State reimburses the Town for CHIPS projects after the Town documents its expenditures. Hasbrouck said his last CHIPS project for this year will be the turnaround at the end of Old Siek Road.
Code Enforcement Officer Tom Withcuskey was not present, but his report said there were 48 permits taken out so far this year, and two of his enforcement actions were resolved in Town Court this month.
The Rescue Squad reported 18 calls this month – four sick persons, two seizures, two fire, two motor vehicle accidents, one overdose, one heat stroke, two falls, one chest pain and two medical alarm activations. The ambulance traveled 451 miles, and the Squad put in 99.5 volunteer hours.
Towards the end of the meeting, Supervisor Higgins mentioned that Jim Goyer will be retiring from the Town Highway crew soon and offered his congratulations on Goyer’s career. Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck thanked Goyer for all his service to the Town, and this brought a round of applause from all present for Mr. Goyer.
The meeting was adjourned in memory of Sharon Coultry and John Derouville.[/private]