Adirondack Town Of Franklin
Adirondack Town Of Franklin

Town of Franklin Board Meetings

MONTHLY TOWN BOARD MEETING
June 11, 2014 - 7:00 PM

Board members present:

Supervisor Arthur P. Willman, Jr.
Councilman Donald Hamm
Councilman Clifford Smalley
Councilman Tom Bartiss
Councilman Allen Berg

Others Present:

Doris Hamm, Franklin County Legislator Barbara Rice, Ed Martin, Father Paul Beyette, Dave Wolfe and Diane Litinski (Broadband Project), Becky Preve (Director, Franklin County C.A.R.E.S.), Jacques DeMars (Highway Superintendent), and Town Clerk Lauren LeFebvre

1. CALL TO ORDER.

Supervisor Willman called the meeting to order at 7pm and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. The Town Clerk called the roll and noted the full board was present.

2. PUBLIC COMMENT

Father Paul Beyette, Loon Lake- Father Beyette acknowledged the work that has been done recently on County Route 26 and urged those with influence to keep the work going. Father Beyette also presented the board with copies of a Time magazine article on alternative energy. He stated that Vermont is leading the nation in alternative energy and thinks it would be beneficial to connect with Vermont on this matter, as part of the Town of Franklin is "Vermontville". The board thanked Father Beyette for his input.

Ed Martin, Vermontville- Mr. Martin requested an increase in cell service throughout the Town of Franklin particularly in regard to emergency services. He also thanked the board for not increasing Town taxes last year and acknowledged the nice work being done by the Highway Department.

3. PRESENTATIONS None

BROADBAND PROJECT-Diane Litinski presented the complied data obtained through the town wide survey conducted in April. The next step will be to submit a grant application to the USDA to fund this project. The deadline to submit the application is June 16, 2014. Dave Wolfe stated that a likely scenario would be to lay fiber optic cable (which currently begins in Saranac Lake) to Loon Lake. Once that is in place, service could branch out from there.

FRANKLIN COUNTY C.A.R.E.S.-Becky Preve explained the role of the C.A.R.E.S Unit is to act as a single point of entry for long term care options as well as coordinating extended services. Long Term Care refers to supportive services, both medical and non-medical, needed by people who are unable to care for themselves because of a prolonged illness or disability. Ms. Preve advised that the best way to have supports in place is to have a plan in place before services are needed. The C.A.R.E.S Unit can assist people in creating a long term care plan.

4. BUDGET AMENDMENTS. None

5. REVIEW/APPROVAL OF MAY 14 MINUTES- Minutes approved as presented. (C. Smalley-A.Berg m/s/p) ALL AYE

6. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS The board audited and approved payment of the following:

General FundClaims 111-139$5443.34
Highway FundClaims 86-110$35,221.23
Pre-Pay General Claims 14-16$1661.34
LandfillClaim 1$1346.54

Motion to pay claims (A.Berg-C.Smalley m/s/p) ALL AYE

Councilman Berg questioned the expense of transporting trash and recyclables to the landfill in Lake Clear vs. hiring a trash pick-up service. Supervisor Willman will meet with Councilman Berg to discuss this.


7. SUPERVISOR'S REPORT.

Balances on hand as of May 31, 2014

General FundChecking$81,593.21
Savings$150,462.28
Historian$3037.88
Kate MT. SRF$5492.10
Cemetery RF$2200.15
CLASS$87,350.15
Highway FundChecking$66,832.96
 Savings$212,073.16
 Cap. Proj. Hwy.$46,529.59
 CLASS$538,406.80
LANDFILL CLOSURE CRChecking$2082.47
 CLASS$34,070.56
FIRE PROTECTIONChecking$11,068.89
 CLASS$685.30
CAPITAL PROJ BLDGCLASS$25,445.82

(Smalley-Berg m/s/p) ALL AYE.

8. HIGHWAY REPORT

A. Superintendent's Report-Superintendent DeMars submitted the following written report:
  • Broomed all paved roads.
  • Cut trees/ branches as needed.
  • Raked most roads
  • Garden Rd.- cut trees, raked, fixed pot holes
  • Franklin Falls Hill- culvert replacement. Rock removal. Weeps.
  • Filled dirt road pot holes with crusher run.
  • Temporarily repaired small section of Paye Rd. edge.
  • Mowing contract to be executed (Resolution)
  • Gas, fuel and maintenance sheets given to Highway Committee.

Superintendent DeMars submitted the following letter to the board:

To: Town of Franklin Town Board (Art, Cliff, Al, Don and Tom)
I believe that there has been an oversight by The Town Board on funding of the Capital Improvement line of the Highway budget, DA5112.2
In 2013 the amount of money that was funded by CHIPS rose from $128,370.18 to $164.004.75 an increase of $35,634.57.
The budget line DA5112.2 does not reflect the increase that "CHIPS" has provided.
I am respectfully requesting that the Board take the correct action to remedy this situation. Also be advised that we rolled over an additional $10,623.05 which should also be placed in Line DA5112.2 If my calculations are correct:
$237,639.00 currently
$35,634.57 CHIPS increase
$10,623.05 Addition
For a total of: $283,896.62

Respectfully Submitted,
Jacques J. DeMars

B. Highway Committee-Councilman Hamm discussed the cost of construction of a Pole Barn for highway equipment storage. Councilman Hamm estimated the cost to be approximately $30,000. Supervisor Willman explained that the construction of a building is a General Fund expenditure and, in his opinion, is not feasible for the 2014 budget. His recommendation would be to budget for this in 2015 but he will discuss it with the Budget Officer as a possibility for this year.

C. Questions and Comments-None

9. NEW BUSINESS

A. 284 AGREEMENT

RESOLUTION #22 AGREEMENT FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF HIGHWAY MONIES On a motion by Councilman Berg, second by Councilman Hamm BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Franklin Town Board does hereby approve of the Agreement between the Town Highway Superintendent and the Town of Franklin, Franklin County, New York. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 284 of the Highway Law, we agree that moneys levied and collected Town and received from the State for the repair and improvement of highways, shall be expended as follows:

On the road commencing at County Route 48 and leading to the intersection with Rock St. a distance of 0.8 miles, there shall be expended $140,930.40.

Those voting aye:
Sup. Willman
Co. Hamm
Co. Bartiss
Co. Smalley
Co. Berg
Those voting no: none

B. YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD APPOINTMENT- Councilman Smalley is working with a resident who is interested in serving on this board.

C. KMCRA LIAISON APPOINTMENT-Councilman Smalley will act as the Town liaison between KMCRA and the Town Board.

D. HUD

RESOLUTION #23 Adopting the Policies and Procedures Manual for the Office for Community Renewal Community Development Block Grant project #416HR34-13 Housing Rehabilitation Program

At a regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Franklin, a Municipality with offices at 7 Cold Brook Road, Vermontville, New York 12989, duly called (a quorum being present) and held at the Town Hall, located in the Town of Franklin, County of Franklin, State of New York, on June 11, 2014, the following Resolution was duly adopted and is now in full force and effect:

A Motion was made by Councilman Smalley and Seconded by Councilman Bartiss, adopting the Policies and Procedures Manual for the Office for Community Renewal Community Development Block Grant project #416HR34-13 Housing Rehabilitation Program.

Those voting aye:
Sup. Willman
Co. Hamm
Co. Bartiss
Co. Smalley
Co. Berg
Those voting no: none

E. RESOLUTION #24 CONTRACT WITH FRANKLIN COUNTY TO MOW COUNTY ROADS IN THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN

On a motion by Councilman Hamm, second by Councilman Smalley, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Franklin Town Board does hereby approve entering into a contract with Franklin County for the mowing of 20 miles of Franklin County roads located in the Town of Franklin in the amount of $4000.

Those voting aye:
Sup. Willman
Co. Hamm
Co. Bartiss
Co. Smalley
Co. Berg
Those voting no: none

10. OLD BUSINESS

A. Alcohol Sales at Town Sponsored Events- Application to the NYS Liquor Authority is in process.

B. 3-Bay Sink- Sink will be purchased locally from Hulbert's Supply.

C. Union Cemetery Drainage- Councilman Hamm will discuss this with Groundskeeper Glenn Swinyer

D. Dodge Pick-up- The Town Clerk has placed a For Sale classified ad in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise (100 days for $25)

E. Newsletter-Will be ready by June 30.

11. COMMITTEE REPORTS.

A. AUDIT. Met in May to review the Tax Collector's financial records. There were no concerns and the records were found to be in good order.

B. Ethics- Met on 5/23 to for the annual review of the Assessor's Financial Statement. The committee determined there was no conflict.

C. Celebration- Founder's Day planning is ongoing. Volunteers are needed

C. CEMETERY. Merrillsville Cemetery needs fencing replaced. Storage sheds need new paint.

12. OTHER COMMENTS

A. Councilman Hamm- Reported local surveyors were working near/at a Town of Franklin cemetery and continued to work while a funeral service was in process. He also inquired as to what progress has been made with regard to the Town of Franklin Highway Department having permission/access to haul sand from the former landfill in Onchiota. Supervisor Willman informed him that the permit process is extensive and may be futile as there is no guarantee this would be cost effective. Supervisor Willman agreed to do further investigation.

B. Superintendent DeMars- Reported it may be possible to use CHIPS funds for the construction of a Pole Barn for the Highway Department. He will research this and report back to the board.

12. ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Supervisor Willman adjourned the meeting at 9:40pm.

Respectfully submitted, Lauren LeFebvre, Town Clerk

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Town of Franklin
P.O. Box 209, Route 3, Vermontville, NY 12989  ·  Tel: 518-891-2189  ·  Fax: 518-891-6389  ·  info@townoffranklin.com
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