Grafton Town Board Action – Grafton Will Not Acquire Elementary School Property

by Alex Brooks
At its September meeting on Monday, the Grafton Town Board decided not to purchase the former Grafton Elementary School Building. Early in the meeting Supervisor Ray Darling read the letter from the Berlin School board offering the building for a dollar. The offer specified that the building is offered “as is” with no warranties expressed or implied and is for public use only. The offer was good only until September 30.
[private]Councilman Rick Ungaro offered a resolution declining to accept the offer. It was seconded by Councilwoman Barbara Messenger and passed unanimously by all present. Councilwoman Marie Claus did not attend the meeting.
There was no discussion at the time the motion was passed, but all the Board members had similar things to say about it when asked after the meeting. Supervisor Ray Darling said they had estimates of $8,000 to $10,000 to insure the building, $20,000 or more to heat it, and, in addition to that, the Town would have significant expenses for maintenance and repairs. He felt it was too much for the Town to take on right now. Barbara Messenger said she is convinced that it would require a “substantial” increase in the tax levy if the Town were to take on the expense of an additional building. Councilman Mike Crandall said he counted seven buildings in Town that are maintained with taxpayer dollars already, and he felt that adding another one was neither necessary nor practical. Rick Ungaro said the bottom line is that a 2% increase in the tax levy generates about $13,400 and that would not be enough even to heat the building.
Earlier in the meeting a letter from Fire Department Secretary Jeffrey Paine was read which expressed a different view. It said, “The Fire Commissioners feel the Town is losing an opportunity” by not pursuing the building purchase. He requested a written report including full data about costs and information about those interested in renting space on the property.
Messenger said a written report was submitted to the Town Board on May 6 which included some cost data. This was put together by a committee which included Messenger and Fire Chief Jim Goyer and which was chaired by former Berlin Central School Board Member Doug Sauer.
Sauer said his committee did not meet during the summer after the School Board made its offer in June because the School Board’s offer of the building required an almost immediate reply, and after the Town did not accept it by the School Board’s deadline, there was no offer on the table. Sauer said to develop a realistic plan for the building, the committee would need to have two things in place – first, an offer from the School District which allowed several months to study the building, to consult with the citizens of the Town about their thoughts for and against and to line up commitments from potential tenants, and second, a clearer picture of the state of the Town’s finances. He had hoped that this latter question would be cleared up by the Comptroller’s audit and that the School District might make an offer with a more reasonable time frame for the Town’s reply, but neither of these things have happened yet.
Dunham Road Project
Superintendent of Highways Herb Hasbrouck said he and others have been working many hours to get the last FEMA project launched, which is replacing the bridge on Dunham Road. There were seven bids from contractors seeking the job. Hasbrouck and Town Engineer Russ Reeves interviewed the top four bidders. A letter from Russ Reeves explained how they evaluated the bids. They ended up accepting the third lowest bidder because they felt the company had more experience and expertise with this type of bridge installation.  The Town Board accepted the recommendation of Reeves and Hasbrouck and awarded the contract to J & A Bailey Construction Inc. for $234,035.
Hasbrouck said they will start this week and hope to finish the project by November 1. He remarked that because of FEMA deadlines and the coming of cold weather in November, it’s important to keep the project on schedule.
Hasbrouck also said the Town had received $484,000 in FEMA reimbursements this month and FEMA came to inspect two more finished projects this week, so it appears that the long process of rebuilding from the ravages of Hurricane Irene is coming to a conclusion.
Trail Riders Camping Permit
The Board passed a revised version of the permit for trailer and RV camping for the Grafton Trail Riders. The terms of the permit were similar to the motion previously passed but more detailed. The resolution allows camping there during the weekend of the Over the Mountain Ride, September 21-23, for a maximum of 60 hours. In addition, members of the Club may camp on the grounds at other times if they give notice to the Code Enforcement Officer and they have no more than four campers at a time. Trail Riders President Mike Buttino thanked the Board for granting the permit.
Rescue Squad Report
The Rescue Squad responded to 18 calls in August – three falls, one car accident, two propane investigations, one sick person, two structure fires, one allergic reaction, two difficulty breathing, one abdominal pain and one auto pedestrian accident. The Squad travelled 368 miles, and 123 volunteer hours were logged in the ambulance responding to calls. Five members are enrolled in EMT class running from September to March. The ambulance is experiencing a radio transmission problem and is awaiting repairs by Wells Communications.
Other Business
• The Board authorized repairs on the Town Garage roof. What the cost of these repairs will be was not mentioned publicly.
• Supervisor Darling said he has not heard anything from the Comptroller’s Office about when they will come to do an audit.
• The Board approved use of the Senior Center by the Grafton Library on two Saturday mornings, October 13 and 20.
•  The Board approved reimbursing Craig Surprise $750 for an Assessor’s Conference. The vote was 3-1. Councilman Rick Ungaro voted against because he felt Surprise is an independent contractor working for several towns, and Ungaro felt in that situation it is more appropriate for him to cover his own professional education expenses.[/private]