July 12, 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; Supervisor Harmych explained to all present that if a Deputy Clerk was appointed then after Clerk Vincent-Olmstead’s resignation was effective, the Deputy would take over the Clerk/Tax Collector position. Furthermore, if that individual was then elected this fall, they would immediately become the permanent Town Clerk/Tax Collector. On the other hand, if a temporary Clerk was appointed after Clerk Vincent-Olmstead’s resignation becomes effective, after the election should the same individual be elected, he/she would be required to wait until after December 31^st, 2016 to obtain the official title.

Clerk Vincent-Olmstead, Supervisor Harmych, and all Board members made the decision to appoint Mrs. Dorthea Pearson as Deputy Clerk: Resolution # 70-2016 (Please see attached). Bob Amidon motioned to accept the resolution, Sandi Dunn seconded the motion, all councilmen present were in favor; thus, the resolution passed. Councilman Amidon then excused himself from the meeting.

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 Don Vincent. Clerk Vincent-Olmstead pointed out to the board that there are extra monies left over in the Tax Account. Supervisor Harmych stated she would check and see what should be done with it. The Financial Report for June 2016 was also reviewed by the Board members and Don Vincent moved to accept the report, Sandi Dunn seconded the motion. The Justice report from June was available for the Councilmen to review. Sandi Dunn motioned to accept both reports and Don Vincent seconded the motion. There was no Planning Board meeting this month; however, there are subdivisions coming up shortly and Iberdola has another informational meeting approaching which will be held at the Pinckney Town Hall. Resolution #71-2016 (Please see attached) was passed by the board which appointed Michael Harmych as a planning board member to fill the vacancy. Don Vincent motioned to accept the resolution, Dan Pearson seconded the motion, and all councilmen present responded “yea” when polled, thus the resolution passed.

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; Sandi Dunn seconded Don’s motion.

Kay Chapman from the Tug Hill Commission gave the board a short report. There is a One Time Trail Funding opportunity approaching to obtain funding for trail and bicycle/pedestrian projects. Applications for the funding must be received by August 29^th, 2016. Also, Ms. Chapman relayed information on the proper use of Executive Sessions; the law in its entirety can be found at http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/openmeetlaw.html#103 . Finally, there were New York State Clean Energy Standard Public Hearings held and the state’s Energy Plan can be found at: http://energyplan.ny.gov/.

Next on the agenda was Superintendent Don Cook’s Highway Report. The Town has received DEC permits in order to begin work on the Parish Road and Champion Peak Road. The ditches will be widened. On the River Road a double surface treatment has been applied. Superintendent Cook has been having issues with vendors in regards to payments. Vendors are not mailing out bills in a timely manner and thus, Mr. Cook is unable to submit the vouchers to the councilmen at the Board Meeting until the following month, creating “late” payments. He has spoken with these vendors and explained this to them so he is hoping for less issues. Mike and Jim are on vacation next week. The Pave New York Money has been received; the Town of Pinckney was given $20, 350 which has to be utilized on paving materials or projects. The McGowan Road to the Grant Road has been grated.

Superintendent Cook explained to the board members that Lewis County has two trucks that they are looking to get rid of and he believes the Town of Pinckney should be interested in purchasing: A 1997 Ford Dump truck which has a cracked frame and a 1995 L9000 with a plow attached which has old motor mounts. Don Cook states that the highway employees would be capable of repairing these trucks and it would only take about $790 in parts. He has looked at the trucks and believes they are in good working condition; the County is looking to trade or barter with Pinckney. Mr. Cook offered Lewis County $7000 for the ’97 Ford and $13,000 for the ’95 L9000. There is talk that the County will extend more mileage in the plowing contract, which would be used as cash to offset the price of the trucks. Since the County cannot promise extending Pinckney’s plowing to the Murrock and Grant Roads, Don Cook has a plan to supplement with CHIPS monies. Superintendent Cook seriously wants to pursue this and so Supervisor Harmych wrote up Resolution #72-2016 (Please see Attached): Trading Trucks for Plowing. Don Vincent motioned to accept the resolution, Dan Pearson seconded the motion and all councilmen present were in favor.

The Town received a bill from the Town of Montague for half of the insurance money for the shared tractor. Supervisor Harmych stated she is going to return the bill with a receipt from when the Town of Pinckney paid for new tires. There was a discussion amongst the board that something needs to be done with the shard tractor and the agreement that none of the three towns are following.

Finally, the Insurance Investigator contacted Superintendent Cook again in regards to the fatal snowmobile accident in January 2015; he restated the same information that he gave them the last time they spoke.

            In regards to new business the Old Home Day at the Barnes Corners Playground on August 6^th, 2016. Brandy Lucas, the head of the Playground Committee, has asked the board for a Resolution in support of the grant application she is pursuing: Resolution #73-2016 (Please see attached). Sandi Dunn motioned to accept the resolution, Don Vincent seconded the motion and all councilmen present were in favor. Supervisor Harmych also wrote a letter of support for Snowbelt Housing’s effort to receive grant funding for low income housing repairs. Sandi Dunn motioned to approve the writing of the letter and Dan Pearson seconded the motion. As previous mentioned, there will be an informational meeting with Iberdola at the Pinckney Town Hall tentatively on September 20^th, 2016 from 2-4pm and from 6-8pm. Finally, Supervisor Harmych asked the board members for their consent in order to meet with the town’s attorney regarding Article 10. She felt it would be beneficial if she were more educated on Article 10 and being that the town would need to reimburse the attorney for his time, Mrs. Harmych wanted the board’s approval prior.

            Old business was next on the agenda; the Structure, Clutter and Debris Notices and Laws were sent out to Ms. Giglia and Mr. Barbarito. Clerk Vincent-Olmstead will be following up via USPS tracking information as to whether the notices are received by the individuals.

            Vouchers were passed around the table and all were signed by the Councilmen. Sandi Dunn motioned to accept the vouchers, Don Vincent seconded the motion. Sandi Dunn then motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:43pm and her motion was seconded by Don Vincent.

THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING WILL BE HELD AUGUST 9, 2016 AT 6:30PM.