Town of Franklin Board Meetings

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:

Supervisor Dorothy Brown, Council Member Gail Huston, Council Member Dick Jarvis, Council Member Leo Demong and Council Member Rich Brandt

OTHERS PRESENT:

Les Parker—Resident. Jacques DeMars—Highway Superintendent, Lauren LeFebvre—Town Clerk

CALL TO ORDER

Supervisor brown called the meeting to order at 5:30pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. The Town Clerk called the roll, noting a quorum present.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Les Parker — Mr. Parker is researching the history of Negro Hill located near his property on CR 55. Council Member Brandt will be the board representative in this initiative.

REVIEW/APPROVAL OF August, 2023 - Huston-Jarvis (m/s/p) all aye

APPROVAL OF CLAIMS

General Fund	Abstract 9	Claims 148-161	$11,297.82
Highway	Abstract 9	Claims 125-149	$61,844.55
Pre-Pay General	Abstract 9	Claims 29-36	$29,113.90
Pre-Pay Highway	Abstract 2	Claims 2-4	$2,059.17

(Demong-Brown m/s/p) all aye

SUPERVISOR'S REPORT: Balances on hand as of August 31, 2023

General Fund
Checking	$5,408.28
Savings	$93,279.17
Historian	$3,040.69
Kt. Mt SRF	$2,059.49
Cemetery RF	$$5,611.41
CLASS	$239,727.93
Highway Fund
Checking	$675,145.50
Savings	$181,008.80
Cap Proj. HW	$4,350.85
CLASS	$430,225.95
Landfill Clos. CR
Checking	$4,112.41
CLASS	$3,206.29
Fire Protection
Checking	$2,438.03
CLASS	$1,588.61
Capital Proj Bldg
CLASS	$157,953.20

(Brandt-Jarvis m/s/p) All Aye

HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT - Superintendent DeMars presented the following report:

• Thatcherville RD
• Plank RD
• Flushed out several culverts on Cold Brook Rd.
• Mowed landfill per Supervisor Brown’s request
• Started hauling winter sand
• Assisted Town of Tupper Lake with paving
• Assisted Town of Saranac with paving
• Cut several trees down blocking roadways
• On 9/8/23, $36,039.82 was deposited from BridgeNY, requesting that it be transferred into Highway Fund.
• Fuel and gas sheets were given to the Town Clerk

NEW BUSINESS

A. Town Hall Parking Lot - Supervisor Brown requested board approval to have the Town Hall front parking lot paved. The board agreed to obtain a quote from Brunell Paving and discuss this again at the Budget Workshop on 9/27 at 3pm.

RESOLUTION #31 APPROVING EXPENSE TO PAINT TOWN HALL DOORS
On a motion by Council Member Huston, second by Council Member Brandt, BE IT RESOLVED the Town of Franklin Town Board does hereby approve of the additional expenditure of $1,689.93 to Adirondack Visions Painting and Contracting to paint the doors on the Town Hall, painting project will include all new construction with the exception of pressure treated materials and all exterior surfaces of exterior doors.

Those Voting Aye:

Supervisor Brown
Council Member Jarvis
Council Member Demong
Council Member Brandt
Council Member Huston

Those Voting no: None

OLD BUSINESS

A. Town Hall Projects - Supervisor brown updated the board on the progress of the exterior work at the Town Hall.

B. Budget Workshops - 9/27–3pm and 10/4-5:30pm.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Youth Program -Co. Huston reported there will be a Bike Track Dedication on 10/14, noon-3. There will be riding exhibitions, a bike maintenance workshop and refreshments.

B. Newsletter - Co. Huston reported the October Newsletter is complete. The Town Clerk will forward it to the printer at the close of this meeting.

C. Broadband - Co. Demong reported Adk Techs has laid cable from Onchiota to Blue Spruce Drive in Loon Lake. Co. Demong also reported Adk Techs has redone previous work on Town of Franklin and Franklin County roads within the Town of Franklin to ensure cable is buried sufficiently.

D. Energy - Co. Jarvis submitted the following report:

FRANKLIN ENERGY COMMITTEE REPORT SEPTEMBER 2023:: -Town of Franklin’s energy advisors, Nancy Bernstein and Carlie Leary, have been helping to guide the next feasible actions for the town participation in Clean Energy Communities (NYSERDA) and Climate Smart Communities (DEC) programs. Recent program evaluations encourage the circuit riders to focus more on actions relevant to community needs and to work together when feasible, not primarily focus on accumulating credits for grants. -Carlie Leary and Dick Jarvis met with Jacques DeMars to discuss the potential task force actions to make the primary town service/infrastructure of road maintenance and improvements. Actions likely will involve upgrade/replacement of culverts, and adapt and be more resilient to increase storm intensities. There was discussions about the need to develop an overall town plan and priorities for this large task. Likely begin mapping existing streams that cross public roads, particularly primary or “collector” roads (i.e. Fletcher Farm, County Roads, Cold Brook, Swinyer, Oregon Plain), and those with sizable watersheds and/or containing beaver and man-made dams subject to flooding and breaching.

Carlie and Rich Brandt have been researching and evaluating resources available to study road drainage and culverts. Franklin County Soil and Water District around 2016 inventoried 276 culverts on public roads in the town, and were evaluated for condition and ability to pass fish and wildlife; this inventory could be used in part to study ability to handle intense storm and runoff events. Rich has begun review of weather records that could be used. Carlie found plans for dealing with beaver dams. Soon another meeting of the Franklin Energy task force is planned to organize and select resources to study "priority culverts" and discuss other actions including encouraging additional solar.

Nancy Bernstein is reviewing our solar array energy credits and electric billing by National Grid. Nancy has provide information on a NYSERDA program called “Community Campaigns” to promote Clean Heating and Cooling and Community Solar. The campaigns include project levels and grants for small communities like Franklin, where volunteers like the energy task force volunteers to educate residents and to partner with local certified installers of clean energy systems (heat pumps and solar panels). Recruiting participants qualifies them for financial incentives, and the town would be eligible for grants that could be applied to implementing the energy audit recommendations at the town hall like heat pump and insulation. There are requirements and process that must be followed. Our energy circuit riders can assist. The Village of Saranac Lake and Town of St. Armand are starting a similar program as reported in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

Energy audit this fall to be scheduled.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to discuss, Supervisor Brown adjourned the meeting at 6:37pm.

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