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Town Board – March 2018

CLERMONT TOWN BOARD

MARCH 5, 2018

The Clermont Town Board held its regular meeting on Monday, March 5, 2018 at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall.  Those in attendance were Supervisor Raymond Staats, Councilman Robert Desmond, Councilwoman Dawn Brownson, Councilman Evan Hempel and Councilman Kris Gildersleeve.  There were six others present.

Supervisor Staats opened the meeting with a salute to the flag.

MINUTES: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the February meeting by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Brownson.  All in favor.  So carried.

TOWN CLERK’S REPORT: The Town Clerk read the February Town Clerk’s report and gave the Supervisor a check for the General fund in the amount of $164.00.

CORRESPONDENCE:

  • Keeping the Identities of Seniors Safe Program (K.I.S.S.) Starting March 19 through March 30 Seniors can bring in their personal papers and drop off to be shredded to the Town Hall during the Town Clerk’s regular hours – Thursday nights 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. and Saturday mornings 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
  • Budget and Revenue reports for February 28, 2018

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

  • Councilman Desmond reported that the Highway department has been very busy with snow removal with the recent storm. 
  • The noise control law should be completed very soon.
  • Web Committee:  Councilman Hempel and Councilman Gildersleeve met on the last Monday of the month with members of the committee to work on the website.  They are looking to modernize and organize the website and investigating areas which can be improved.  What the committee has discussed so far will be able to be done in house.  The committee is meeting on the fourth Monday of the month.
  • Councilman Gildersleeve reminded everyone that the open burn restrictions go into effect on March 16th.  A link to the DEC website will be put on the website.
  • Councilwoman Brownson said that the Village Green Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday March 24 from 2:00 – 3:00 P.M. The next Iroquois Community Grant is due at the end of April for up to $10,000.00.

OLD BUSINESS:

  • Website Committee is working on the website.
  • The Park Committee has a few people interested but if anyone is interested contact the Supervisor or Town Clerk.  Appointments to the committee will be made next month.
  • Noise Control Law: The draft of the Noise Control Ordinance was reviewed by the Board and suggestions for changes were discussed with the public. The changes will be made and reviewed by our Engineer and Town Attorney.  A public hearing will possibly be scheduled for May.

NEW BUSINESS:

  • The Supervisor has rescheduled the April Town Board meeting for Monday, April 9th at 7:00 P.M. due to a scheduling conflict.
  • Mower Purchase: The Highway Superintendent has asked for a larger mower to maintain the additional land of the park off Route 9. The total cost is $9931.00 less the trade in would be a cost of $8651.00.

A motion was made by Councilman Gildersleeve to purchase a new mower, seconded by Councilwoman Brownson.  This will be paid out of the Parks line in the budget, 7110.41.

  • Sales Tax Revenue: Received for 4th Quarter $95,406.00. Total received for last year was $371,000.00 which is $50,000 more than what we budgeted for. We did not use anything out of the fund balance for revenues because there was also an increase in Mortgage tax.

SUPERVISORS REPORT:

  • The Village Green Committee is holding the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 24th from 2 PM to 3 PM.
  • County Business: Greene County voted against using the Columbia County Jail to house their prisoners and are now reconsidering that decision.  The Counties are still trying to work out the details. It would be beneficial for Columbia County if they were to use our jail.
  • County Waste: The county has been having issues with recycling costs which is getting very expensive.  They are discussing what to do because of increased costs.
  • There have been new trucks purchased.  The County has not decided on whether to repair the Greenport garage or build new.

ABSTRACTS:

  • A motion was made to approve General abstract #3A, vouchers #55 – #88 in the amount of $5,564.08 by Councilman Gildersleeve, seconded by Councilman Hempel.  All in favor.  So carried.
  • A motion was made to approve General abstract #3 Prepaid, vouchers #52-#54 in the amount of $403.02 by Councilwoman Brownson, seconded by Councilman Desmond.  All in favor.  So carried.
  • A motion was made to approve Highway abstract #3, vouchers #13 – #24 in the amount of $14,791.84 by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Hempel.  All in favor.  So carried.
  • A motion was made to approve Trust & Agency abstract #2, vouchers #3-#5 in the amount of $369.50 by Councilman Hempel, seconded by Councilwoman Brownson.  All in favor.  So carried.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

  • Chris Nolan: The discussion on noise levels was interesting. The decible levels and distance can be affected by directional, atmospherically. We did have our engineer present and the level of 65 was used from the property line.

Also, he thanked the Highway department for clearing a tree which came down in front of his property in the recent storm.  He is an advocate of solar panels and is always looking for new ways to use solar and he saw some that were done differently and he thinks that they were on County Route 10.

  • Phyllis Heiko: She stated that she met with Sgt. Finn of Hudson Police Department regarding what they allow and prohibit in the City of Hudson parks.  She submitted suggestions in writing to the Town Board for the town park.

She asked if the town has done any work on the habitat of the park and getting some expertise on this.  Councilman Desmond said we have received information from Scenic Hudson. A committee will be formed and we are looking for members.

  • Sarah Takacs: Commended Councilman Hempel and Councilman Gildersleeve on the changes discussed for the website at the first meeting. She asked if DEC sent a final accounting on the Browns fields project. Supervisor Staats said that they did and also answered our questions.

A motion was made to adjourn by Councilman Gildersleeve, seconded by Councilman Desmond at 8:40 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Helen Shannon, RMC

Town Clerk