Town of Franklin Board Newsletter

New Town of Franklin Newsletter

News You Can Use

This newsletter is intended to be a source of information regarding events and/or matters that affect you, your property, and quality of life in the Town of Franklin. Initially, it will be published quarterly and be conveyed via e-mail and by making it available at the Town Hall for you to pick up and distribute to your neighbors if you wish. In this connection, please send your e-mail address to www.townoffranklin.com .

TOPICS

More specifically, it will include important highlights of Town Board meeting minutes, announcements of upcoming events and meetings, recreational activities, fundraisers, etc..

First Town Board Meeting 2010 L to R: Councilman Don Hamm, Councilman Al Berg, Town Clerk/Tax Collector Sandy Oliver, Town Suprv. Art Willman, Hwy Superintendent Jacques DeMars, Councilman Cliff Smalley, Councilman Brad Merrill

Supervisor's Message By Art Willman

Getting Feet Wet

The March regular meeting is now history. The first couple of months have gone fairly smoothly and we have put in place the mechanisms and procedures necessary to keep the town running on an even keel and to follow through on the promises we made as candidates. It is truly mind-boggling how fast time has passed since the start of the year. I am amazed at the number and variety of items that come through this office. I am tremendously grateful to Sandy Oliver, Missy Begor, and Dick Meagher for their help and patience without which things would certainly have been much more hectic and confusing. I am also grateful to Glenn Swinyer who keeps the facilities running.

Board, Budget, Goals

I would like to thank all of you who supported Don Hamm, Brad Merrill, and me in the November election. It is a distinct honor and privilege to serve the people of the Town of Franklin. My main goal as Supervisor is to work with the rest of the Town Board and the Highway Department to ensure that we get the most we can out of your tax dollars. As always, funding is an issue. We started off the year on a barer than bare bones, cut into the marrow budget. Some lines were woefully under funded, but the belts are tightened and, with some luck, we should be pretty solid this year. As candidates we promised to keep taxes down and we intend to keep that promise. This year we are faced with significant reductions in state and county revenue, so it could be tricky. We'll keep you posted

Summer Youth Program

Proud Town of Franklin Citizens

The Summer Youth Program is on track toward another successful year. I met with Kathy Drake to get an idea of the inner workings of the program and to identify needs and potential problems that need to be addressed. One of those needs was for lunches for the kids. I am pleased to report that I received word from Mike Kilroy, the Assistant Superintendent for business at Saranac Lake CSD that the Board of Education has authorized the continuance of the summer food program for the children of the Town of Franklin. Hats off to Mr. Kilroy, Mr. Dan Bowa, his successor, and the Saranac Lake Board of Education their generous support.

Bill Demong Makes History

Bill Demong, Winter Olympics

As most of you know, Vermontville's own Bill Demong and his teammates put an end to our 68 year medal drought in the Nordic Combined events at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Teammate Johnny Spillane won a silver medal in the small hill event, the entire team scored silver medals in the team event, and Bill capped off the Olympics with a tremendous gold medal performance in the large hill event. Congratulations to these guys and all our Olympic athletes for a job well done.

Get Involved

Finally, I would ask all of you, if you haven't already, to get involved in your town. Attend board meetings, watch for articles in the newspapers, ask questions, and, in general be supportive. A town can be whatever its people make it. There will be many opportunities to get involved. Please don't hesitate to do so. Until next time, be well

Property Assessment Update

2010 Assessment Roll delayed Until 2011

Doug Tichenor, Town of Franklin Tax Assessor stated that new assessments, based on current market values, will be sent out to property owners town wide in MARCH 2011. not March 2010 as originally planned.

Unless there has been new construction or demolition completed on individual parcels, assessments will remain the same for 2010 as they were in 2009

The new assessments will be reflected in subsequent tax bills starting with the September 1, 2011 School Tax Bill and Town and County tax bill of January 2012.

Mr. Tichenor explained his reason for the delay; he said he is waiting to get more property sales data and also wants to give the new Town Board members some time to become more familiar with the assessment process. People with questions can contact him (518-891-0436) or dmt@northeast.org

Planning Board and Subdivision Laws Update

Planning Board Law Repealed

A major item in the new Town board members' election campaign platform was their promise to review, revise or rescind the contentious subdivision law the town enacted last fall.

Opponents of the subdivision law maintain that the law is unnecessary because it would be a duplication of Adirondack Park Agency (APA) regulations and would be costly for the Town to implement. Whereas, proponents point out that it would benefit the Town to have input into the process and that the APA does not have jurisdiction over hamlets regarding subdivisions

At its first meeting in January the new board followed through on that promise by voting (3 to 2) to authorize Town attorney James Martine to draft a law that would abolish the Town's planning board as a first step.

Public Hearing Held, Vote for Dissolution

A public hearing on the Planning Board local law was held on February 8 at a which time verbal and written comments for and against were about even ( See Public Hearing Minutes of February 8 at www.townoffranklin.com. )

At the regular Town Board Meeting on Wednesday, February 10, the town board voted 3-2 to repeal the one months-old planning board law, with Supervisor Art Willman and councilmen Don Hamm and Brad Merrill voting in favor of repeal, while councilmen Al Berg and Cliff Smalley voted against it.

Subdivision Law to be Repealed

The town board voted 4-1 Wednesday, March 10 to authorize the drafting a law that would repeal Local Law 1 of 2009, which requires town approval of any subdivision of five lots or more within a 10-year-period. Supervisor Art Willman, Councilmen Al Berg Don Hamm Brad Merrill, voted in favor, whereas Councilman Cliff Smalley voted against.

A special meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday March 24, at which time a draft of the repeal law is expected to be presented and a public hearing to be scheduled.

In the interim Supervisor Willman is creating a land-use inventory of the town, to determine how much of the Town land is available for development..; and he submitted a declaration to the proper authorities that the Town be the lead agency under the State Environmental Quality Assurance Review Act with no objections.

Restricted Parking on Part of Goldsmith Road

A parking ban has been in effect for several years for three-quarters of a mile from the entrance of Goldsmith Road at Route 3. However, of late, it has not been adhered to by some snowmobilers, making it difficult for snowplow crews to do their job. Such obstructions make for hazardous access to homes and camps on the road. In addition, it hinders the passage of fire and emergency vehicles in the event of such occurrences. Warning notices will be issued to first offenders with State Police ticketing for continued violations.

Name the Newsletter

Our Town Newsletter needs a name. So, lets see what you can come up with. Good taste please. Send your suggestions to Town of Franklin Newsletter Editor, PO Box 209, Vermontville, NY 12989 or vincepagano@hughes.net

Deadline for submission 4/15/2010. Chosen name will be used in subsequent newsletters. with credit to author

Editor's Note: Many thanks and appreciation to Karl B. Smith III of Loon Lake and Charleston, SC for donating his talent by creating the beautiful Town logo that you see illustrated in this newsletter.

Also, many thanks to Rick Gonyea for providing photos that captured the proud moments.

Meetings & Events

TOWN BOARD MEETINGS

DAY: 2nd Wednesday of the Month
TIME: 7 pm
PLACE: Franklin Town Hall, Vermontville
WHY? Open government is beneficial to both Town officials and the Town's citizens.

SPAGHETTI DINNER FUNDRAISER

In Support of Hugh Tyler Family
5-7 pm Sunday, March 27 at the Franklin Town Hall

Editorial

St. Paul's Pantry, A Valued Community Asset

St. Paul lives!

With food and gas prices escalating and unemployment on the rise, more working families and those on fixed incomes have looked to the pantries to help supplement their budgets. Fortunately, the Towns of Franklin and St. Armand residents have such a resource in the St. Paul's Food pantry, conveniently located behind the Franklin Town Hall.

Mary Ellen Keith and her devoted volunteers have been distributing food and some other essential items to local residents in need for over 30 years, usually on a day in the third week of the month and any time for emergency needs.. On average it serves 90 households -approximately 225 to 250 people per month; however, there are times when this figure is exceeded; for example, this past January it provided for 115 households amounting to 359 individuals, that is, 66 seniors, 165 adults and 128 children.

The work involved in running a pantry goes beyond just distribution. For example, volunteers pick up food with their own vehicles from distant drop off points and procurement sites. In addition, there is the constant attention and work involved in insuring that funding from government and private grants, donations, fundraisers, etc. are sufficient for paying for purchases from the Regional Food Bank, ,Salvage and other sources and for paying other expenses., not to mention meticulous record keeping and reporting.

Also, it is interesting to note that some coincidental extracurricular community services have evolved over the years; that is, the recycling of used clothing, furniture, appliances, etc. from those who no longer have use for them to those who can use them. In addition, it has referred people to others sources of help.