Grafton Town Board Action – New Bookkeeper Appointed

by Alex Brooks
Grafton Town Supervisor Frank Higgins appointed Maureen Seel as the Bookkeeper for the Town of Grafton, and the Board approved the appointment. Seel is the Bookkeeper for Berlin, Pittstown and Stephentown. Higgins said he is very impressed with her command of the accounting software and her knowledge of Town finance.
[private]In a conversation with former Bookkeeper Carrie Minkler at public comment time, Higgins said he had decided to keep the bookkeeping operations “in-house,” meaning the bills and vouchers would stay at the Town Hall and the work would be done in the Town Hall. He also mentioned that there were about a hundred journal entries that should have been made in 2012 that were not made. Minkler asked if the books had been reconciled for 2012 and the report for 2012 readied to send to the Comptroller. Higgins said no, not yet, but Seel is working on it. A report on the Town’s finances for 2012 required by the Comptroller is overdue. Higgins thanked Minkler for her service to the Town during her time as bookkeeper.
The Comptroller’s Office did an audit of the Town’s books in December and January, but they have not produced their report yet.
Trail Riders Variance
A resolution was presented to give the Grafton Trail Riders a variance to allow overnight camping on their property at 29 Trail Riders Way for a total of 60 hours this year. The resolution was similar to last year’s variance, but instead of being confined only to the Over the Mountain event in late September, it allowed one night of camping in late July also, as long as the total number of hours when there are five or more trailers or RVs on the site does not exceed 60 hours.
Marie Claus saw this as an expansion of the permit despite the 60 hour limit being the same because it allowed two weekends rather than one. Rick Ungaro agreed, and when a vote was taken, Michael Crandall joined them in voting against it so the variance was not approved.
The Trail Riders Club had suggested that they split their hours into 16 hours for the Members Weekend, from 8 pm July 27 to noon on July 28, leaving 44 hours for the Over the Mountain Weekend, from 8 pm Friday September 27 to 4 pm on Sunday September 29.
The dispute seemed to center around whether campers arrived before 8 pm and whether that counts as part of their 60 hours. Neighbor Linda Laveway said trailers normally arrive for these events in the morning so the 8 pm start time for camping is misleading. The Club seemed to believe that what they do during the daytime is not camping, so it should not be included in the time allotted for camping. Code Enforcement Officer Tom Withcuskey tried to finesse this dispute by making the resolution say that the 60 hour clock starts running as soon as the fifth camping rig arrives, whenever that might be, but the Board wouldn’t accept that.
Jean Gaudet, an attorney who has been helping the Trail Riders with this matter, said she and the Club have been working closely with Code Enforcement Officer Tom Withcuskey to formulate a resolution that addressed everyone’s concerns, and the resolution had been vetted by the Town Attorney and even some State officials since the law governing campgrounds is a state law. She said she was very surprised that the Board would reject an agreement that had been worked out with so much consultation and preparation. “I’m surprised that you would not support Tom and the Town attorney after they put quite a bit of work into crafting this resolution,” She said there is no basis for denying this variance since it complies with the guidelines set out in the State law. She concluded by saying the Trail Riders are a group that has been in Grafton for 65 years and has been a good citizen and a part of the community all that time. She asked the Board to reconsider its action.
Payroll Improvement
The Board approved a change in the way it handles health insurance on the Town payroll. This is an option offered by the IRS which allows the Town to pay health insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars. Supervisor Higgins called it a “win-win” for the Town and its employees since it saves the Town a little money and also reduces payroll taxes for the employees.
Security Cameras
In response to ongoing concerns about security in the Town Hall, Higgins solicited three proposals for having security cameras installed in the Town Hall. The lowest bid was from ECB Business Communications for $2,380. The Board accepted the bid to have the cameras installed.
Departments
Code Enforcement Officer Tom Withcuskey said 11 building permits have been issued this year, and there are 30 outstanding permits from previous years.
The Rescue Squad responded to 16 calls in April, logged 69 volunteer hours in the ambulance and traveled 374 miles. Captain Donna Baldwin reminded the public to display house numbers prominently so the ambulance can find the house in an emergency and to check expiration dates on epi-pens and inhalers as it is the time of year when allergic reactions are more common. She said there are currently 13 members, and new members are encouraged to apply, as the busiest time of year is approaching with the opening of the State Park.
Assessor Craig Surprise noted that the Pictometry fly-over has been completed which will soon give him access to data needed for a revaluation. He also reminded the public that Grievance Day will be June 4, from 4 to 8 pm.
The Youth Commission Easter Egg hunt was attended by 75 children. Its Earth Day event was attended by 12 children. An indoor rock climbing event is planned for later in May.
The Dog Control Officer reported receiving nine calls in April. One lost dog is still missing, a black lab named Pearl. Four dogs were reported to be at large, two of which were impounded. There were three nuisance barking complaints and one complaint of “a rooster infringing on the rights of a dog.” The rooster was apparently harassing the dog so that the dog was scared to go outside in its own yard. Dog Officer Rick Bly said that although the rooster was trespassing on the dog’s property, “I have no statutory authority over chickens,” so he asked the neighbors to get together to discuss the problem.
Supervisor Higgins started to read out loud a document submitted by Grafton resident Michael Rootes, but stopped after a paragraph or so when he realized it was ten pages of dense scientific prose primarily about the government spraying toxic materials into the air. Although most of these allegations were poorly documented, the essay did point to one report prepared by the GAO for Senator Harry Reid about the military spraying aluminum particles known as “chaff.” This was invented in World War II to blind enemy radar and is still used today in combat situations. Air Force training flights sometimes spray “chaff.” This may be a problem near some of the Air Force practice ranges, but it is not clear why the Grafton Town Board needs to take up this matter.[/private]