Grafton Town Board Action – August 2009

by Erin Hogan
The Grafton Town Board meeting started off with the report from Highway Superintendent Sandy Hasbrouck and the only thing to report was the vandalism of the Mountain Chapel sign on Route 22 and other signs and  other items that have indeed been “tagged.” The vandalism is now in the hands of the law and will now be taken care of by the District Attorney’s Office.
The Rescue Squad reported 13 total calls for the month of July – three chest pains, two fire related, one injury, 3 difficultly breathing, one overdose, one hemorrhage, one seizure and one sick person. This totaled to 70 volunteer hours and 442 miles traveled.
Regarding the Lake Elizabeth junkyard issue, with the clean up of property going slowly, tickets have been issued for the mess.
Correspondence Received
A letter was received from the State Board of Real Property Services about the State equalization rate, which has to do with property taxes. The State equalization rate for Grafton is 8.03.
Two letters with payments from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) were received. For the winter storm in December of 2008, $8,475 as of July 17, 2009 was the payment. The Federal share of this money was $7,264.64 and the State share was $1,210.77. In a letter dated July 28, 2009, a processed amount of $69,896.94 was the payment for the winter storm of December 2008. The Federal share of this money was $59,911.49 and the State share was $9,985.25.
Next was a letter from Penny Jones at the Rensselaer County Everett Wagar Senior Center in Grafton. She requested to hang a television on the east side wall. This way seniors could watch movies and even play Wii. Jones just wants to keep the seniors healthy and entertained. The seniors have been saving up money and also have received a donation to help pay for the television. This idea was approved, and a request will be made to the County’s buildings department to install it.
The last correspondence received was from the Rescue Squad asking for some new equipment in the form of four Motorola minitors. A minitor is a portable, analog, receive only, voice pager. This way members can communicate easier. This request was also approved.
Old Business
The grant check for all the renovations made on the Town Hall have been received, and the renovations are complete.
The proposed wind energy law was modified by Rensselaer County and was passed at this meeting as Resolution #64 of 2009.
New Business
Resolution #66 of 2009 passed, authorizing the Town Supervisor to sign a grant application for a Town Justice grant authorizing the purchase of equipment. This equipment includes 30 audience chairs, two tables, Justice Software, a shredder and other such items.
Next, Resolution #67 of 2009 passed, authorizing the change of the lot that the Town of Grafton holds as a bond on the Sylvan Way project from Lot 4 to Lot 8 until the project is complete.