It has been nearly two years since former Grafton Town Supervisor Frank Higgins announced that State Senator Kathy Marchione had secured a $150,000 grant for the Town to replace its aging ambulance.[private] Since then, it has been a struggle with the Dormitory Authority of New York State over paperwork and then waiting for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Budget Office to agree to release the funds. At the Town Board’s workshop meeting on Monday May 22, current Town Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum held up the final approval that arrived at the Town Hall that day. According to Gundrum, all that has to be done now is to sign the execution papers and return them and the grant monies should be on their way.
Gundrum expressed her thanks to former supervisor Higgins and Grafton Rescue Squad Captain Joe Allain for all the groundwork they did on the grant, and to the current Town Board for their follow through to make it happen.
According to Councilwoman Allison Kirchner, the bid paperwork for a new ambulance has been sent to Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo and is awaiting his approval. Once the bid request is sent out and one of the bids is accepted, it could be several months before a vehicle is delivered. Bids were sent out once last year, but withdrawn over discrepancies and concerns about the delayed grant. The majority of the Town Board was reluctant to commit to purchase of a new ambulance before the grant was in hand.
Local Volunteer Ambulance Squads Struggling
The state of emergency medical services in the Eastern portion of Rensselaer County has become a concern to Supervisor Gundrum. The monthly report from the Grafton Rescue Squad notes instances where they have not been able to form a crew to respond to a call and have had to rely on paid ambulance services to respond. Grafton is not the only town to have such problems. Extensive training requirements have raised the bar for volunteers seeking to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Last month, Gundrum penned a letter to the Supervisors of Petersburgh and Berlin, asking for a meeting to discuss the situation and for any suggestions. Berlin has indicated the ambulance is part of the Berlin Fire Department, and any such discussions would have to include that department. She is in the process of setting up a meeting with Petersburgh Supervisor Alan Webster. Rensselaer County has also had preliminary discussions about the problem, but as yet there have been no possible solutions placed on the table.
Addressing Grafton’s Infrastructure Problems
The Board gathered Monday night for an update on the list of issues they put together back in March. Of those they hired Jim Goyer to accomplish, he reported that repairs to the Town Hall roof have been completed, as well as fixing the soffits, the porch and the front door flashing. He said with the exception of the metal door leading to the Assessor’s office, the rest of the doors are in good shape. The Assessor’s door does need to be repainted yet, and a sweep installed on the bottom.
Goyer said he also inspected the Post Office roof, and that it too is fine. Painting the exterior of the Highway Garage and the Salt Shed still needs to be done.
Deputy Town Supervisor Tom Withcuskey told the Board he will have bids on a new diesel pump for the Highway Department, hopefully for the next meeting. He said he has made progress on getting one of the area’s construction companies to donate blacktop to resurface the basketball courts. Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck has indicated his department would do the prep work for that job.
The floors in the highway garage remain a concern. The drains in bays 1 and 2 are no longer functional and create a pooling effect inside the building. Bays 3 and 4 need to have concrete poured. Hasbrouck sent a message to the Board that he has talked to County Engineer Wayne Bonesteel to prepare specifications for the work so it could be bid out and he has several contractors interested in doing the job.
The Board is asking Hasbrouck to have bids for the work on the bays separately and as a whole ready for its June meeting. The Board decided that resurfacing the ambulance bay floor could be done in-house. Other projects that still need to be done include screwing down the roof on the salt shed and repainting the parking lines around the town park. The board also discussed modifications to the drainage pattern and the catch basin by the monument in the park.
Putting the lights in the park on timers and replacing the toilet in the highway garage bathroom remain on the to-do list. Some of the cleanup work around the outside of the garage has been accomplished, but organizational and clean-out work inside the facility remain.
It was decided that work on a breakroom would have to wait until the floor repairs are completed.
The Board was looking for bids to replace the 2009 Ford pickup truck that is in poor shape. Hasbrouck indicated he had some prices for a GMC gas model, but the Board, after some discussion, decided it would prefer to purchase a diesel model. The money for the purchase would come from the highway department’s fund balance.
The proposed purchase of a larger truck has been put on hold until some more work is accomplished, and the expenses tallied. A new utility trailer has been acquired. Work has begun on the cleanup of town land adjacent to the Grafton Community Library, particularly along a fence line to the cemetery. The Youth Program is looking at establishing some raised gardens. It was made clear at the meeting that the gardens would be used for an educational purpose, not as a community garden.
A Camping Variance Is Approved
The Board granted a variance to its ban on camping in the Town outside of an approved campground to David Buckley. The special meeting was held just prior to the workshop. Buckley requested the variance at the last Town Board meeting, and showed the Board Monday night, he had met all its requirements.
Codes Enforcement Officer Tom Withcuskey confirmed he had inspected the proposed site at 44 Benker School Way and that all was satisfactory. The Board approved the variance until October 31, with three yes votes. Councilman Buckley abstained as the applicant is his brother, and Councilwoman Dooley also abstained as she is a neighboring property holder. The Board has drafted a revision to the local law concerning camping trailers and has sent it to the Town Attorney for review. Councilwoman Kirchner said she has not yet heard back from Attorney Ferlazzo.
The Board set another workshop for June 26 at 6 pm to further review progress on the many projects now in process. [/private]