CLERMONT TOWN BOARD

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

The Clermont Town Board held its regular meeting on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall. Those in attendance were Supervisor Raymond Staats, Councilman Robert Desmond, Councilman Evan Hempel, Councilwoman Nancy Moore and Councilman Edward Kahle. There were three residents present and Joe Gentile of the Register Star. Supervisor Staats opened the meeting with a salute to the flag.

MINUTES:

A motion was made by Councilman Desmond to accept the minutes of the August 5, 2013 regular meeting, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made to accept the minutes of the August 15, 2013 special meeting by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Kahle. All in favor. So carried.

TOWN CLERKS REPORT: The Town Clerk read the report for August and gave the Supervisor a check for the General Fund in the amount of $1,860.68 and a check for $1000.00 for Trust & Agency. A motion was made to accept the Clerk’s report by Councilman Hempel, seconded by Councilman Desmond. All in favor. So carried.

CORRESPONDENCE:

• The Supervisor submitted budget and revenue reports for August to the board members.
• On Saturday, September 8^th there will be a Columbia-Greene Out of the Darkness Community Walk to benefit the Capital Region Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
• BASIC STAR PROGRAM: Letters will be sent out from the State notifying residents who currently have the Basic Star exemption that they will have to re-register online, www.tax.ny.gov or by telephone, 518-457-2036 M-F 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM & Saturday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM by December 31, 2013, in order to keep their Basic Star exemption. This does not affect those with the Enhanced (Senior) Star. This information has been added to the website. The Supervisor reported that County Real Property and the State Real Property would be attending next month’s meeting.
• There is Republican primary on Tuesday, September 10^th for County Sheriff.

• Web Committee: No comments or questions.

COMMITTEE REPORT:

• HOVER FUND GRANT: The Hover Foundation will be meeting next month to discuss our grant application from the Hover Fund for the Town park. The foundation has requested a letter from the town stating that we will be using the funds for the park and what we are going to use it for. The Town Clerk was asked to write the letter. Councilman Kahle and Mary Howard are looking into other grants, which are geared towards parks.
• COMMUNITY HOUSE: Councilman Kahle said that the Community House siding repairs and painting have been completed.

• VETERANS MEMORIAL: Councilman Desmond was asked by Dianne O’Neal, Town Historian, if he would mention a few things that she has found about getting names of those in Clermont who have served in wars or conflicts. Last month, it was suggested that she check at the County Clerks Office on the DD214 form filed by returning servicemen. It turns out that this is confidential information and cannot be released. She also checked on Ancestry.com and there are names of those who served through WWII, which are not on any of the plaques in the Community House. She will work further on this.
• TOWN PARK: Councilman Desmond reported that the Highway Superintendent would like to put down item #4 on the parking area before winter so it packs in and then oil and stone in the spring. He estimates the cost to be about $900.00 for the Item 4. The swings and fall surface would be a multi-step process. The first step is to put in a border, lay stone and stone dust for the tiles to sit on. The fall surface is expensive but there is no maintenance. It is possible to get donations and grants and he would like to put up a sign for soliciting for these. He has already had about $4000.00 in donations promised towards the approximate $15,000.00 cost for the surface. There is also a 9% to 10% discount from the manufacturer for the fall surface and possibly more if we can characterize it as a demonstration project. He would like to start the preliminary preparation with the border for $850.00 and gravel approximately $240.00. There is $4,655 in the Parks line (A7110.4) of the budget. A motion was made by Councilman Desmond to spend up to $2000.00 to surface the parking area and prepare the swing area from the Parks line in the budget, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. Councilman Kahle does not know if we should do this at this time or wait to see what the Hover Grant produces. Councilman Hempel does not see a real clear plan for the future and would like to see that this is not a burden for the taxpayers down the road. Councilman Kahle sees swings as a liability because they may have to be inspected periodically and believes we will have insurance issues. Supervisor Staats feels that we should have something there for the kids and having a good fall surface would limit our liability somewhat. Councilwoman Moore believes this also shows our purpose for asking for the donations and grants. Councilwoman Moore would like to see the swing set and then plan for the future. Councilman Desmond said that the swings, play areas for 2-5 and 5-12 year olds and planting a few trees is basically the entire plan for the ball field. Supervisor Staats suggests scheduling a workshop to discuss further plans for the park and funding. The vote was as follows: Supervisor Staats, aye; Councilwoman Moore, aye; Councilman Desmond, aye; Councilman Kahle, nay; Councilman Hempel, nay. Motion passed.

OLD BUSINESS:

• MILL ROAD BRIDGE UPDATE: The County committee has not yet received the estimate on the bridge repair or replacement. He will then meet with the DPW Commissioner.

• DATA COLLECTION: There are approximately 200 - 300 parcels still to be collected in order to keep the assessments up-to-date.

• AUDIT UPDATE: The auditor will meet with the Supervisor and Town Clerk to finalize the audit. He had been waiting for some paperwork to be received before completion.
• CLERK AND ASSESSOR COMPUTER: The Town Clerk has a new computer installed and the Assessor a new laptop with programs installed by the State is also working well.

NEW BUSINESS:

• BUDGET WORKSHOP: There will be a budget workshop held on Monday, September 23rd at 7:00 P.M. and to discuss any other business which may come before the board.

• COMMUNITY HOUSE: The west side of the Community House was painted but does need a second coat of paint. Staats & Sons Enterprises, who just did the painting, will apply a second coat for $650.00. The Board will be discussing painting the rest of the exterior during the budget workshop. A motion was made by Councilman Desmond to approve having the second coat of paint applied for $650.00 by Staats & Sons Enterprises, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. Supervisor Staats abstained from voting on this motion because of a possible conflict. Councilman Desmond, aye; Councilman Kahle, aye; Councilman Hempel, aye; Councilwoman Moore, aye. Motion passed.
• ASSESSOR: Cheryl Kaszluga was appointed Sole Assessor at last months meeting to complete the term of Henry Greenhouse through 9/30/2013. A motion was made to appoint Cheryl Kaszluga for a six-year term 10/1/2013 through 9/30/2019 by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Kahle. All in favor. So carried.

• STAR EXEMPTIONS: The Columbia County Real Property Tax Service and NYS Real Property will be at our next meeting to explain the new legislation on the STAR Exemptions and Data Collection.

• ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COUNCIL: Supervisor Staats told the board that we have not had a representative on the County Environmental Management Council committee but Ralph Arlyck has volunteered to be on the committee. If there is no objection, he will advise the County.

SUPERVISORS REPORT:

• Supervisor Staats thanked all who were involved with Village Green BBQ. He thanked G-tel for hanging the banner, which they do every year for this event. He also thanked Tami Connolly, Chairwoman, and Larry Saulpaugh who brought a number of tractors and emceed the tractor pull. He also wished Larry a speedy recovery.

• The Clermont Fire Company is holding their Steak BBQ at the Route 9G firehouse on September 14^th at 6:30 P.M.

• COURTHOUSE: The completion of the Courthouse work is on target for mid January. The committee has authorized putting the window replacement out for bid, which is estimated at a cost of $300,000 to $350,000.00, which will still keep it under budget, but it is something that should be done.

• PINE HAVEN HOME: Soil borings have been done on one site and will be done to locate another area where a new building could be located.

• COUNTY BOND RESOLUTION: The County is putting out a bond resolution for 13 million dollars for Emergency Communications Systems, highway equipment, road item funding and some other items.
• BACK TAXES: The County has collected approximately 4 million dollars so far this year in back taxes.
• BUDGET: The County has not started their budget process as of yet.

ABSTRACTS:

A motion was made by Councilman Desmond to approve Highway abstract #9, vouchers #84-#95, in the amount of $30,599.54, seconded by Councilman Hempel. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made by Councilman Hempel to approve General Abstract #9, vouchers #219 -# 245, in the amount of $10,932.23, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Ray Tousey stressed to the Board that the windows should be addressed when the building gets painted. He also suggested that they have the cupola inspected on a rainy day for leaks, and the attic rafters. Councilwoman Moore asked how old the furnace is in the Community House, as that might be something to think about at budget time. It is believed to be about 15 years old. Councilman Kahle will check these areas when the weather is cooler and rainy.

A motion was made to adjourn at 8:00 P.M. by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Kahle. All in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Helen Shannon, RMC

Town Clerk