Grafton Town Board Action – Ambulance Under Fire

by Alex Brooks
The Grafton Town Board meeting for November was a rather routine meeting until Frank Sbrega started talking about his objections to the leadership of the Grafton Ambulance during the public comment time and set off a number of other people who had concerns about it. Sbrega tried to attend a meeting this month because he “just wanted to see how they operate,” and he reported that he was asked to leave and told that the meeting was private. He felt that there are three people who seem to control everything, and he thought it should be opened up.
This triggered an impassioned speech from Beth Wagar, who said with much emotion, “There is a coup, and you guys [the Town Board] don’t know anything about it.” She said she was close to resigning. “We can’t get new members in – they vote ’em down.”
Donna Baldwin said the Ambulance did get a new member last month.
Town Board Member Marie Claus said she and a number of other people tried to go to a meeting of the ambulance squad last Spring and they were also turned away.
Supervisor Tyler Sawyer said he offered to be a driver for the ambulance and he was turned down. He said he thought a service funded by taxpayer dollars and in need of volunteers should not be turning people away unless there is a clearly documented reason why the person is unsuitable or unreliable.
It was painful to hear strong criticism of the leaders of the Ambulance, who clearly are very hard working dedicated volunteers. The Squad collectively put in 106.5 volunteer hours and traveled 325 miles in the ambulance last month responding to 12 calls. The Captain and Training Officer met in October with a representative of the NYS Dept. of Health for an audit of the station, the vehicle, the policies and procedures and the continuing education records, and no deficiencies were identified. Captain Baldwin was able to find an alternative supplier of oxygen which she estimated would save approximately $1,000 per year.
But the comments offered at the meeting revealed that there is significant discord within the ambulance squad which may be affecting the squad’s ability to recruit volunteers. None of this could be resolved in a public meeting, so Supervisor Sawyer said it was time to move on, and no more was heard on this topic.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck said all roads are now open. His crew has completed several major projects, although he said there is plenty of cleanup work still to be done and some other washouts to fix. He commended his highway crew for rising to the occasion, working hard and mastering some unfamiliar tasks.
Hasbrouck said a FEMA representative is coming this week to start evaluation and paperwork toward making application for FEMA assistance.
Supervisor Sawyer asked Hasbrouck how he was doing with stockpiling winter sand. Hasbrouck said he has about a third of what he will need this winter.
Code Enforcement
Building Inspector Tom Withcuskey could not attend this meeting, but Supervisor Sawyer announced for him that 153 building permits have been issued this year to date and the Palitsch Road house has been cleaned up. Sawyer said the Town has incurred about $3,000 of attorney’s fees pursuing that situation, as well as the actual cost of the cleanup itself, and these costs will be re-levied on the property in a special assessment.
Other Business
There was a budget hearing prior to the regular meeting, but Sawyer said nothing was heard for or against the budget at this hearing. The budget remains pretty much as originally presented. A special meeting will be held Thursday, November 17, at 7 pm to adopt the budget.
The Board resolved to advertise the appointed positions which will be named in January by the new Board and Supervisor. It also authorized use of the Senior Center by the Grafton Baptist Church on Sunday mornings and authorized the Supervisor to put out a Request for Proposals for a financial audit of the Town’s funds during the 2011 calendar year.
The new Superintendent of the Berlin School District, Stephen Young, is holding a series of “town meetings” to introduce himself, talk about the School District and the proposed Capital Project. One of these meetings will be held at the Grafton Library at 7 pm on November 22.
The Grafton Lakes State Park will offer a presentation on their proposed Master Plan and solicit public comment on the plan at a meeting at the Senior Center in Grafton on Tuesday, November 29. Copies of the draft Master Plan are available at the Library and the Town Hall and are available for the public to read.