June 14, 2016: Town of Pinckney Minutes

                        The regular board meeting commenced at 6:30pm; all parties present rose to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The first order of business was the Open Forum and the main topic of conversation was the upcoming vacancy for Town Clerk/Tax Collector. The board discussed the vacancy and the qualifications of the two candidates: Dotty Pearson and Jacqueline Kloster. Current Town Clerk, Mrs. Vincent-Olmstead was unprepared to make a decision as to whom to appoint as temporary Deputy Clerk, thus, the decision was tabled until next meeting. Being that Mrs. Pearson’s husband is Dan Pearson, councilman; Mr. Pearson had a few concerns in regards to tabling the decision. His concerns were addressed and he was assured that the board and Clerk were simply not ready to come to a decision. It was noted that regardless of which candidate was chosen as Deputy Clerk and ultimately appointed as Town Clerk once the vacancy occurs as of August 1^st, 2016, the selected individual would still have to run for election this fall.

Supervisor Harmych moved the meeting along to the second order of business, which was the acceptance of the Clerk’s report. It was made available for all to review and Sandi Dunn made a motion to accept, with a second by Dan Pearson. The Financial Report for May 2016 was also reviewed by the Board members and Bob Amidon moved to accept the report, Sandi Dunn seconded the motion. A Budgetary Transfer was necessary and the Board passed Resolution #68-2016 (Please see attached); Don Vincent motioned to accept the resolution, Sandi Dunn seconded, and all Councilmen present responded with “yea”, thus the Resolution passed.

Both Justice reports from April and May were available for Councilmen to review. Bob Amidon motioned to accept both reports and Dan Pearson seconded the motion. There was no Planning Board activity to discuss. The minutes of the prior meeting were copied and passed around to all Board members, who were given a chance to review the minutes. Don Vincent motioned to dispense of the reading of the minutes and to accept them; Bob Amidon seconded Don’s motion.

Kay Chapman from the Tug Hill Commission gave the board a short report. Throughout June, on the dates of the 1^st, 15^th, and 29^th, Twilight Technology Tours are being held at local Dairy Farms. “Learn about the latest in on-farm technology that our farmers use for manure management.” These tours are being held at Sheland Farms in Ellisburg, North Harbor Dairy in Sackets Harbor and Porterdale Farms in Adams.

Next on the agenda was Superintendent Don Cook’s Highway Report. Drainage has been installed at the playground. The Highway Department is still waiting on New York State to issue monies allotted by Governor Cuomo to assist with projects. It was estimated that Lewis County will receive about $400,000.00, which will then be broken up amongst townships. The department has been working on two trucks: Mike’s P-12 and Jim’s Mac. Mowing the sides of the roads will be begin next week, as will dust control. Mine Safety, Chainsaw Safety, and CPR Courses are now being charged for by the County. Dan Pearson wants it known that he wants to bond for paving roads.

            In regards to new business, there will be an informational meeting with Iberedola this month at the Harrisburg town hall. A necessary Lease agreement with the Lewis County Humane Society was signed via Resolution #69-2016 (See attached). Bob Amidon motioned to accept the resolution, Sandi Dunn seconded the motion; all councilmen responded with “yea”, thus the resolution passed. More discussion in regards to the Town Clerk position ensued next. Ultimately, Don Vincent motioned to table the decision until July’s meeting; Bob Amidon seconded the motion; Dan Pearson made it known he was not in favor of tabling the appointment. Another announcement made as new business is that the Barnes Corners Playground Committee will be once again hosting an Old Home Days this year. It will be earlier in August than usual; it will be held on August 6^th.

            Old business was next on the agenda; the Waterman Road property which has been is such disrepair and that letter’s have been sent out to the owner is finally being demolished. Supervisor Harmych spoke with Real Property in Lowville and they were going to talk with the Building and Codes department about having the structure condemned. Then Supervisor Harmych received photographs from Don Mallette of the building being demolished. Clerk Vincent-Olmstead made a statement that she would like in the future for the board to consider passing a law requiring the need for a Peddler’s permit within the town. Bob Amidon questioned the Local Law passed last fall which required board approval prior to grooming activity on Town Roads. He is in favor of having a standard form which must be filled out by the agency wishing to groom, rather than just a verbal agreement or simple letter with signatures. His concern is that the new Groomer Barn being built by Sno-Pals on the Seven By Nine Road will lead to excess noise that will be dealt with by neighbors.

            Mary Lou Knapp, a Town resident addressed the Board with a complaint about a property neighboring hers. After describing the location, Clerk Vincent-Olmstead was able to locate the property and owner via the BAS iTax program. The property is owned by a Ms. Brenda Giglia and is located on State Route 177, the complaint is that on the property, there is a small structure which is being inhabited by porcupines and they are killing the surrounding trees, even on Mrs. Knapp’s property. Due to this, Mrs. Knapp has had to have several trees removed from her property because they became a safety concern. She would like a letter sent out to Ms. Giglia, as well as, a copy of the Town’s Structure, Clutter and Debris Laws, in hopes that the structure that the porcupines inhabit will be tore down or at least cleaned up. After hearing Mrs. Knapp’s complaint, Councilwoman Sandi Dunn voiced concerns about the same issue on the property neighboring hers on the Pinckney Road. Mrs. Dunn’s complaint was against Mr. Michael Barbarito’s property. Clerk Vincent-Olmstead stated she would send notices and copies of the laws to both parties.

            Vouchers were passed around the table and all were signed by the Councilmen. Bob Amidon motioned to accept the vouchers, Sandi Dunn seconded the motion. Sandi Dunn then motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:26pm and her motion was seconded by Bob Amidon.

THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING WILL BE HELD July 12, 2016 AT 6:30PM.