Grafton Town Board Action – Amnesty Program Extended

by Alex Brooks
The Grafton Town Board extended the deadline for its amnesty program because they felt that it is working well and it needs more time to accomplish more. Supervisor Tyler Sawyer said there is a lot of follow-up still to be done. Buildings that are retroactively permitted still must be inspected for safety and building code compliance, and assessments have to be updated. The Board all seemed to be in agreement that the amnesty program is going well and it should be continued for a while longer, and they unanimously approved an extension until September 15.
Route 2 Closure Imminent
Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck said his crew is replacing culverts on Firetower Road and hauling winter sand on rainy days. He mentioned that he has a shared services agreement with the County to borrow their flail mower for mowing the sides of the roads in exchange for mowing some of the County roads.
Hasbrouck said the work on Route 2 in Grafton began this week. They are replacing culverts this week.  Route 2 will be closed starting July 19 for about three weeks from one end of Old Road to the other, and traffic will be diverted onto Old Road.
Old Road has a 40 mph speed limit, and Hasbrouck has asked for additional patrols to enforce that limit while the detour is in place.  During the time of the closure, large through trucks will be diverted up onto Route 7 between Tamarack and Route 22.
Building Inspector
Building Inspector Tom Withcuskey said he has issued 90 permits this year to date including the retroactive ones related to the amnesty program. He said he turned the matter of the foreclosed house on Palitsch Road over to the Town Attorney, asking him to send a “strong letter” saying the site needs to be cleaned up and secured immediately for health and safety reasons.
The Board passed a resolution making the Eastwick Press an official newspaper of the Town of Grafton, in addition to the Troy Record. Sawyer said when the meeting was on Thursday, it was often over a week before anything could be advertised because it was too late to make the same week’s paper. But now that the meeting is on Monday, legal notices can be put into the weekly paper that will appear only a few days after the meeting.
The Board appointed Town Clerk Suzanne Putnam as the Town’s Marriage Officer, to serve in the post from now through the end of December 2015. There is no pay associated with the position.
The Board restored funding for Cemetery Mowing in Grafton. The funds had been cut out of the budget last fall to keep the tax levy down, but since the Town now has a fund balance that can easily cover the $600 expense, and Board members felt it was important to keep the cemeteries from becoming overgrown, they restored the funding. The work will be done by Wayne Crandall, as it has been for many years.
The Board approved a resolution allowing the Grafton Trail Riders to have overnight camping on their property by club members from now through the end of October 2011.  Supervisor Tyler Sawyer said the Board might want to consider loosening restrictions on campers more generally. He said since most of the campers and trailers now have self-contained toilets some of the reasons for the prohibition are no longer valid.
The Board received a letter from the NYS Dept. of Transportation responding to their request for a speed limit on Owen Road. They declined to set a speed limit there because the NYSDOT does not set speed limits on unpaved roads, because the road conditions themselves limit speed. Sawyer said the lowest speed they can post is 30 mph, which would be too high for Owen Road.
Rescue Squad
The Rescue Squad responded to seven calls this month and was unable to confirm a crew for two other calls. One of those was handled by the Petersburgh Ambulance and one by Mohawk Ambulance. The crew logged 207 miles and put in 53.5 volunteer hours. Three new EMTs finished their training this month – Beth Wagar, Leta Wagar and Tyler Baldwin.  The Squad also held a coin drop over the July 4 weekend, the proceeds of which will pay for new shirts and sweatshirts for Squad members.
Councilwoman Barbara Messenger said she was pleased to see that the Town is now getting paid for the scrap metal in its metal recycling bin. Herb Hasbrouck said the bin fills up in a month to 6 weeks, and he estimated they get about $400 each time it is pulled.
Supervisor Sawyer noted that the Youth Program starts Monday July 18 and it will be at the former Grafton Elementary School. They will be able to use the facilities for flushing and washing hands, but for drinking water a bubbler will be brought in. Sawyer thanked Cyril Grant and the Berlin School District for making the building available for the Youth Program.
Public Comment
There were a number of people concerned about the expense of re-siding the Post Office Building.  Lisa Bly said she thought the Post Office will probably be closed soon and was concerned about spending a lot of money on a building that may not have a big future.  Rick Bly followed up with some similar comments, saying “If this Post Office was a stock, none of us would be buying it.” He objected to the Town putting siding on it which he called “a high-end product” with taxpayer money when most people in town couldn’t afford to put that siding on their own houses.
Supervisor Sawyer said the Post Office has signed a lease to rent the building, and there is about 5 years left on the lease. They pay about $690 a month, and no one has said anything about discontinuing their tenancy. Theron O’Dell said that the Town has an obligation under its lease to maintain the building, so they need to do something about the siding.  Sawyer said he will be getting multiple quotes for the siding to make sure the Town gets the best deal available. He was also asked whom he had in mind to install it, and he said Bob Goyer, who he said is a local resident and a skilled workman.