Petersburgh Town Board Action – Closing Town Park Temporarily

by Alex Brooks
The Town’s insurer visited the Town Park recently and asked the Town to immediately fix several things there. The circular plastic slide is  broken and needs to be removed; S links on the swings are worn and need to be replaced; sawdust needs to be put down under the swings, and the seats are missing from some of the benches, so the remaining posts need to be removed.
Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said he and his crew could take care of these things. The Town Board decided to close the Park until the problems are corrected. Supervisor Peter Schaaphok said, “We’ll get this resolved as quick as possible and get it open again.”
Court Clerk
The Board accepted the resignation of Barbara Snyder as Court Clerk and appointed the choice of the Town justices for her successor, who will be Town Clerk Callie Crisp.
Water District Billing
After the passing of Fred Humphrey last month, the Town is looking for someone to handle the Water District billing, and they decided to have Town Clerk Callie Crisp handle it for the time being. Supervisor Schaaphok said some of the billing names and addresses are not up to date, and Callie is in a good position to bring them up to date, with all the Town Hall records at hand. Schaaphok said her time while doing that will be billed to the Water District.
Dog Law Revisions
After a Public Hearing prior to the meeting, the Board approved during its regular meeting revisions to the dog law which institutes a $50 fine for failure to license a dog within 30 days of a notice of violation, with higher fines for subsequent violations.
Gradall
Towards the end of the meeting Councilman Bill Seel asked about the condition of the Town’s Gradall. Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said it is not currently usable and it needs some diagnostic work to determine what’s wrong with it. Seel said it seems like the highway crew spends more time working on it than they do using it and the town should consider getting rid of it.
Other Actions
Because the Town’s copier is not working, they decided to buy a new one. The board accepted a proposal from Berkshire Graphics to buy a copier for $3,450.
The Board appointed Barbara Snyder to the Board of Assessment Review.
Public Address
Joe Dunlop said the County’s road sweeper was filling up with water at the hydrant in front of his house and he thought the County should pay for the water it used. Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said the County agreed to sweep the municipal parking lot in exchange for the water.  Dunlop replied that in that case the Town should pay the Water District for the value of the water used.
Schaaphok did some research the next day and determined that the County had used about 2,000 gallons of water, which at the usual rate ($2 per thousand) paid by users who are connected, would be worth $4. Schaaphok also commented that the Town plows the road to the water tank without charge and does other things for the Water District without asking for payment.