“When you throw dirt, you lose ground”  ~ Texan Proverb

This month’s meeting was attended by Trisha Grover (Acting Town Supervisor), Mike Scott, Shawn Dunmire, Dick Kozlowski, Michelle Dunbar, Curt & Sue Rung, Paul Sadler, Theresa Baldwin, Barb Hetzel, Mark & Gayle Dorrett, Jon Reitz, Larry Bedow, John Dunbar, Andy Fisher (George & Swede) and myself.

I have to say Bravo to Trisha Grover!  This was the most organized meeting that I have been to in 3 years.  I would also like to thank the town board for handing out a copy of the abstract to all who attended.  It was a nice change to know where the money is being spent.

Andy Fisher of George & Swede presented the board with a quote for a new 3 1/2 yard wheeled-loader (Hyundai).  The board is looking into leasing the machine at $14 an hour.  The town runs the current loader an average of  600 hours a year.  This would be a cost of $8,400.00 for the year.  This machine will have a full warranty.  This would actually end up being a savings to the town when you figure the costs of a new machine along with the repair costs once the warranty runs out.    This will be considered as the board works on the 2010 budget.

Mr. Rung reported the following:

• Sand/Salt hauling bids were opened

Jim Scott- $5.47
Maybee Enterprises-  $5.22
West Side Sales-  $3.95

• Repairs to Truck 3 & 4 were completed- new torsion bar installed
• All trucks and trailers are inspected
• Ditching was done on Hydetown Road
• Attended a FEMA meeting in Belmont
• Worked on getting bids for new loader

Mr. Rung requested a resolution transferring $3,000 from DA5142.1  to DA5130.4.  This transfer will cover the repair costs for the ‘85 Autocar that was just purchased.

Mr. Sadler reported 6 building permits for a total of $411.90.  He has two dogs in his kennel.  Mr. Sadler also met with the representative from Ag & Markets for his inspection and everything passed.

The board requested Jane check into getting the phones through Time Warner and to see if that would save on the phone bills.

The Code Enforcement Law was passed with the following change:  Page 3- Section 4- Paragraph A- Size of a shed changed to 144 square feet or 12′ x 12′.

Ms. Grover read a letter from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M Kolb asking people to please check out www.reformny.org and sign his petition supporting the Constitution Convention.

The bills paid this month were- General Account:  $2,866.46    Highway Account:  $13,894.74

The Fireman’s Budget Hearing is set for Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m.

The Town’s Budget Hearing is set for the following Tuesday, October 27 at 6:00 p.m.

Next board meeting is November 9 at 7:00 p.m.~ Hope to see you there!

In attendance at this months meeting were:  Supervisor Dick Howard, Trisha Grover, Mike Scott, Shawn Dunmire, Dick Kozlowski, Sue Rung, Paul Sadler, Theresa Baldwin, Jean Howard, Alice & John Dunbar, Michelle Dunbar, Legislator Bill Dibble, Larry Bedow, Jon Reitz and myself.

This months meeting went fairly quickly.  Jon Reitz inquired to when the town board will begin the 2010 budget process.  Mr. Howard stated that it will begin in September.

The following reports were approved:

Town Clerk

Building Code Enforcer- 2 building permits issued

Highway Superintendent (No Report)

Justice (Had report but never was talked about)

Alice Dunbar, Assessor gave the board a “6-Year Plan of Re inspection” to review and that needs to be signed by the board.  This was tabled until next months meeting for the members to have time to read it.

There will be a public hearing on Tuesday, July 21 at 6:00 p.m. on the windmill project.

Mike Scott stated we are back to square one on the property from the Mosher’s for the septic system.  It costs approximately $100/month to have the tank pumped at the Town Hall.

The board approved Jane to have a student from the “Summer Youth Program” work in her office this summer.  This student will spend 5 hours (a month, week, I don’t know) with Jane.  This is at no cost to the Town and is paid for through the County’s Employment & Training.

Next meeting is Monday, July 13.  Hope to see you there.  Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July!!

In attendance of this months meeting was Supervisor Dick Howard, Board Members- Trisha Grover, Mike Scott, Shawn Dunmire, and Dick Kozlowski.  Also in attendance was Curt & Sue Rung, Alice Dunbar, Paul Sadler, Theresa Baldwin, Larry Bedow, Jon Reitz and myself.

All reports were accepted with no opposition or questions from any of the board members.

Curt, Highway Superintendent had this to offer on his crews work:

• The Town has $86,800 for 2009 CHIPS ($29,886.60 has already been spent)
• They are working on the Dimmick and Zimmer Road
• They will finish the gravel between County Road 8 and the Dimmick Road
• They patched pot holes on Pleasant Valley and will grade the shoulders

Mike Scott questioned if Pleasant Valley would be chipped this year and Curt said he would have to see how much money is left over with the projects he already has planned for the year.

Curt requested the board consider purchasing a new loader.  The town’s loader is  a ‘96 and in bad shape.  Curt priced a new one of from State Bid at $110,576 (3 1/2 yard bucket and a Cummins Engine).  Mike Scott asked Curt to look into getting the loader’s transmission rebuilt that he could not in good conscious vote for a new one at this time.

Alice Dunbar stated the tentative assessment roll is completed.  Just a note for all of you that like to check on the County’s website for updates, their website will not be updated you will have to check with the assessors office for any information.

Paul Sadler issued one building permit and attended a court hearing for a local resident for her dog.

The Village has abolished their judge’s position as of June 1.   What does this mean for the town?  All future fines collected (except for ones that were from previous court hearings) will go to the town.  This will help increase revenue for the town.  The town needs to increase the Judge’s pay though.  Her work load has not gone down, she is losing her Village portion of pay and the town’s revenues are about to increase it only makes sense.  ( I know your going to say oh that’s your sister-in-law but it’s only right.)

There were no bidders on the garage doors.  The Board accepted an offer of $300 from Curt Rung for the doors.

On a final note the positions of Town Supervisor, Town Clerk,  Justice and Highway Superintendent are up for reelection this year.

Once again there is a Board Meeting tonight that was not advertised. Well I guess Jane will argue that is was even though she just through up a piece of paper on the board a couple of hours ago. I’m still waiting to see the minutes from the May 29 meeting. There was also a meeting on July 12 and not minutes have been posted. Why isn’t the Town Board asking to see these minutes? They are just as much to blame on this matter as she is. This is really getting to be a game for Jane to see just how much she can get away with. Let me reiterate the Open Meeting Law from my May 29th post for you.

In brief, the law gives the public the right to attend meetings of public bodies, listen to debates and watch the decision-making process in action.

What is a meeting?  “Meeting” is defined to mean “the official convening of a public body for the purpose of conducting public business.”  As such, any time a quorum of a public body gathers for the purpose of discussing public business, the meeting must be convened open to the public, whether or not there is an intent to take action, and regardless of the manner in which the gathering may be characterized.

Notice of Meetings- The law requires that notice of the time and place of all meetings be given prior to every meeting.

If a meeting is scheduled at least a week in advance, notice must be given to the public and news media not less than 72 hours prior to the meeting.  Notice to the public must be accomplished by posting in one or more designated public locations.

When a meeting is scheduled less than a week in advance, notice must be given to the public and news media “to the extent practicable” at a reasonable time prior to the meeting.  Again, notice to the public must be given by means of posting.

The bulletin board maintained by the town clerk, as well as the entrance to the town offices would be considered as public locations.

When Can a Meeting be Closed?  The Open Meetings Law provides for closed or “executive” sessions under circumstances prescribed in the law.  It is important to emphasize that an executive session is not seperate from an open meeting, but rather is defined as a portion of an open meeting during which the public may be excluded.

To close a meeting for an executive session, the law requires that a public body take several procedural steps.  FIRST, a motion must be made during an open meeting to enter into executive session; SECOND; the motion must identify “the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered; and THIRD, the motion must be carried by a majority vote of the total membership of a public body.  Futher a public body cannot close its doors to the public to discuss the subject of its choice, for the law specifies and limits the subject matter that may appropriately be discussed in excessive session.  The eight subjects that mey be discussed behind closed doors include:

1. matter which will imperil the public safety if disclosed;
2. any matter which may disclose the identity of a law enforcement agency or informer;
3. information relating to current or future invesigation or prosecution of a criminal offense which would imperil effective law enforcement if disclosed;
4. discussions regarding proposed, pending or current litigation;
5. collective negotiations pursuant to Article 14 of the Civil Service Law (The Taylor Law);
6. the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular person or corporation;
7. the preparation, grading or administration examinations; and
8. the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real propery or the proposed acquisition of securities, or sales or exchange of securities held by such public body, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof.

These are the only subjects that my be discussed behind closed doors; all other deliberations must be conducted during open meetings.

A public body can never vote to appropriate moneys during a closed session.  Although most public bodies may vote during a properly convened executive session, any vote to expend public monies must be takin in public.

AFTER MEETING MINUTES:  The Open Meetings Law requires that minutes of both open meetings and executive sessions must be compiled and made available.

 In short, this meeting should have been advertised but of course it wasn’t.  We have a pretty good Town Board now, too bad they have a bad support staff to do the day to day work.

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Howard at 7:32 p.m. by Mr. Howard with the Pledge of Allegiance. The minutes from last month were approved after a couple of corrections were made. The minutes should read: “Mr. Robert Dunbar complained that he could not get the minutes within 2 weeks of the board meeting. The board replied Jane is doing what we told her to do. After some discussion it was decided that Jane WILL make the minutes public WITHIN two weeks with the word “Draft” on top of the paper”. The other change was that $200.00 will be paid to Kevin Hamilton not the Utopia Cemetery Association.

Public Comments:

Larry Thompson addressed the Board about the property located beside his property on the Watson Road that is owned by Jack Dell of North Tonawanda. Mr. Thompson stated that this is the 3^rd or 4^th time that he has addressed the board concerning the abandoned junk camper trailers on the property. Mr. Thompson spoke to Paul Sadler, Code Enforcement Officer, prior to building his new home and was informed that the trailers were in violation of the Junk Law that was adopted in 1965 and they would be taken care of. This is now 2 years later and they are still there. Mr. Sadler stated that he has sent Mr. Dell a certified letter but it came back unsigned. Mr. Dunbar stated that under the law that is enough proof to prove than an effort was made to contact a person and that he should proceed with the next step. Want to take bets on whether or not Mr. Thompson will have to go back to the board? My bet is that he will.

Theresa Baldwin requested that a cigarette butt container be placed outside the town hall so that everyone doesn’t have to look at the mess. Mr. Scott asked Curt if he would get a bucket with some sand and place out there.

Fred Tompkins, Mayor of Richburg, made a request that some of the town’s gravel be moved back by the town barn on Mill Street. The village plans on milling the street and paving it this summer. They would like it below street level. Curt stated he would get that done.

Fiscal Report: The fiscal report was approved once changes were made.

Town Clerk Report: Jane reported that the taxes balance this year. (What she failed to do was to give a big “Thank You” to the Town of Bolivar and Alma Clerks for all their help in making this happen) and that she collected 83% of the taxes for the Town “The Most in the County per Terry Ross”. Funny I thought the big “atta boy” should go to the town of Independence for collecting 93%.

Curt Rung presented his highway report and stated that the Clair Carrier Road had been ditched from one end to the other. Mike Scott thanked Curt for doing actually finishing a road that was started.

Assessors Report: Alice handed out her assessor’s report.

The General Bills were approved to be paid with the total amount of $4,032.07. They were all approved with the exception of the National Fuel bill which is still not correct.

The Highway Bills were approved to be paid with the total amount of $32,483.92.

At the close of the meeting, the Board passed a resolution to proceed with the NY CLASS program.

Town Budget as of May 12, 2008

Highway Superintendent Report May 12, 2008

Assessor Report May 12, 2008