Grafton Town Board Action – Weird Confrontations And A Sander Accident

by Alex Brooks
At the Grafton Town Board meeting on Monday, after the Board’s normal correspondence had been read, Board Member Barbara Messenger said she wanted to read a letter she received in her Town Board box. It said, “If I have annoyed you last year, suck it up buttercup, because it ain’t gonna be any different this year.” The letter was unsigned.
At public comment time, David Buckley rose to speak, as he usually does, but this time before he could get out two words, Pete Gundrum stood up and interrupted him, saying that Buckley does not live in Grafton and he should quit bothering everybody at Town meetings. He concluded with an insulting comment about Buckley’s family life.
[private]Not surprisingly, Buckley took great umbrage at this outburst. But he went ahead and said what he had started out to say, which was that he commended the Town Board on getting the budget under control, and he commended Rick Ungaro on the development of the new Town web site.
Kevin Buckley then stood up to say that he was very upset about the way his brother was treated, and he urged the Board to reconsider its appointment of Pete Gundrum (two weeks ago) to the Planning Board.
Cathy Goyer then talked about the shortcomings of some of the Town buildings. She said the Ambulance space off the side of the Town Hall is very leaky and heating it is a big waste of oil. She said similar things about the Town Highway Garage, and she said the space right under the meeting room in the Town Hall is very wet.
Sander Accident
The Board learned at this week’s meeting that there was an accident with one of the Town’s sanders. A mechanical malfunction caused it to be dumped out of the truck, and the impact wrecked it. Insurance will pay to replace it, and a new one is being fabricated at Zwack’s. Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck said he expects it will be “ready next week.”
The sander in the accident was, unfortunately, the newest of the Town’s sanders – it was just about a year old. Two others are very old and corroded. Hasbrouck said at one point his crew was “down three sanders,” which would mean that only one was operational.
Hasbrouck noted that the life expectancy of a sander is about 8 years, and these two are about twelve years old and fourteen years old. He said one can’t be repaired and the other one needed $3,000 worth of parts to repair and it may not be worth spending that much on such an old piece of machinery. A new sander, said Hasbrouck, costs $9,000.
The Board seemed to agree that it is time to buy a new sander, but that is a matter to be discussed by the Highway Committee, consisting of Herb Hasbrouck and Board Members Rick Ungaro and Marie Claus. A Special Town Board meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 23, at 6 pm to discuss buying a new sander. In the meantime, the Town has been using a sander that is on loan from Rensselaer County.
Rick Ungaro said the Highway Committee will be meeting on a regular basis to consider longer term solutions to the Highway Department’s equipment needs. He asked Hasbrouck for an inventory of the Town’s trucks and equipment and said he would like to set up a replacement schedule.
Marie Claus suggested having the County send a “LowBoy” to take some of the junk in the Highway Department yard to the Port of Albany to sell for scrap. Hasbrouck said they had cashed in 90% of it last year, but Ungaro said he thought there was still some marketable scrap in the yard.
Ungaro also asked Hasbrouck about the status of the roof repair at the Town Garage. Hasbrouck said the roofer had some problems getting a crew there before the cold weather arrived so he just caulked it up and plans to do the repairs in the spring.
Rescue Squad
The Ambulance responded to 8 calls in December – 2 MVA rollovers, 1 unconscious, 1 possible gunshot, 1 stroke related, 1 chest pain, 1 illness and 1 possible structure fire. The ambulance traveled 178 miles and 54.25 volunteer hours were logged on calls (not including training  or meetings).
There were a total of 176 calls in 2012, and the Squad responded to 166 of them, so there were just 10 missed calls during the year.
The Grafton Volunteer Ambulance held its annual election of officers on December 13. The officers for 2013 are:
President – Jordan Baldwin
Vice President – Bill Kennan
Secretary – Joe Allain
Treasurer – Joe Allain
Sergeant of Arms – Tyler Baldwin
Captain – Donna Baldwin
1st Lieutenant – Sharon Lecce
2nd Lieutenant – Tyler Baldwin.
The Board of Directors are Sharon Lecce, Chairman, and Marge Littlejohn, Tom Sullivan, Donna Baldwin and Jon Hasbrouck.
The Ambulance requested a meeting with Town Board representatives to discuss billing concerns and budget. Donna Baldwin said they have for the past year had a new vendor supplying them with oxygen who offers a much better deal than their previous supplier, and she is worried that the Town paying the invoices very slowly might jeopardize the relationship. Ray Darling said the Town will work to streamline its bill paying procedures.
Barn Coming Down
Code Enforcement Officer Tom Withcuskey said the big barn on Route 2 near Gundrum Lumber has been condemned because it is collapsing. He has been in contact with the owner, and the plan is to take the building down, probably in the next two weeks. Withcuskey said it will probably be done on a Sunday when the traffic on Route 2 is lighter. It may involve stopping traffic on Route 2 briefly.
Tom Withcuskey said there are currently 55 active building permits in the Town. He also said he has a few letters going out for unregistered vehicles and unpermitted construction.
Fire Advisory Board
At the request of the Rensselaer County Legislature, Mike Crandall was appointed as the Town’s representative on the Rensselaer County Fire Advisory Board.[/private]