by Alex Brooks
Petersburgh Supervisor Peter Schaaphok said the Town has a cash flow problem because of the extraordinary expenses of repairing roads damaged by Hurricane Irene. He said highway bills to be approved for payment at this month’s Board meeting totaled $128,000 but there are only $111,000 of highway funds on hand.
Schaaphok said the Town needs to take out a Revenue Anticipation Note based on money it expects to receive from FEMA in road repair and reconstruction aid. Schaaphok guessed that this might be approximately $300,000, but more detailed estimates needed to be done to arrive at a more precise figure to present to FEMA and the lender. Schaaphok said he hopes to complete the process of securing the loan within a month, as he feels the shortfall is manageable right now but will become a problem with next month’s bills. The Board was agreeable to pursuing the loan.
A Budget With Less Than A 2% Levy Increase
The Board adopted a Preliminary Budget for 2012. The tax levy in this budget will go up by just under 2%, from about $623,000 last year to about $635,000 next year. The budget is available at the Town Clerk’s office for anyone to look at. A public hearing on the budget was scheduled for Friday, November 4, at 7 pm.
Four Roads To Be Abandoned
The Board received a letter from Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison and Planning Board Chairman Dave Miller recommending four roads in Town for abandonment. These roads are Reynolds Road, Spencer Hollow Road, Tifft Road and White’s Road. These roads have not been maintained by the Town for ten years or more. A public hearing is required to abandon a road, and a hearing was scheduled for November 21 at 7 pm, to be followed by the regular November meeting of the Town Board.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said the new culvert for Stillman Village road
has been bolted together and is awaiting a crane to set it in place. The old aluminum box culvert has been removed and sold for scrap.
Harrison said Broken Wheel has been “shaped up” and he has “two more big ones” to do. The Board received a letter from Ruth Seel offering thanks to the Town for all their work restoring the river crossing that gives access to her business at Broken Wheel Campground.
Fire Alarms
The Board gave approval for a repairman to spend some time diagnosing problems with the fire alarm systems at all of the Town buildings. Parts of the fire alarm system at the Town Garage were fried by lightning, and the Board felt that while the repairman was here working, he should make sure the fire alarm systems are working properly in all the Town buildings. He is not willing to give a price for the whole job until he has a chance to do some inspection and testing. He will work for $75 per hour for the initial work until he has done enough to know how much work needs to be done overall.
