by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Town Board meeting began with a statement from Tom Berry. He said his intention has always been to help the Town manage its affairs more effectively, and to save the Town money. He said the Town has overspent its budget for years now and is “effectively broke.”
[private]He said he had tried to address his concerns with Supervisor Siegfried Krahforst first, but the response was defensiveness and negativity so he has had to speak publicly to the citizens about his concerns.
He said the State Auditor has been examining the Town’s books and operations for five weeks and said the length of the audit suggested to him that his concerns will be validated when the Auditor’s report is released.
Public Comment
Pearl Babcock said she would like to thank Cecelia Guntner for all the work she does planting and caring for the flowers in front of the Town buildings, making it look beautiful. She said she thought the Monolith sign currently posted on the front lawn of the Town Hall has the opposite effect and requested that it be removed.
Transfer Station
At the Special Meeting about the transfer station held last month, Supervisor Krahforst said the Board would make a decision about the transfer station at the August Board meeting, but when a resident asked why it was not on the agenda, Krahforst said he was not ready to make that decision yet. He said the Town had received a lot of votes on the three options presented at last month’s meeting and they had not been tabulated yet. He also said he is still in negotiations with Berlin.
Dog Officer’s Report
The Dog Officer’s report for June and July was read. It appeared to be a busy time for the Dog Officer, Lynne Torello-Burns. She had numerous complaints about “the Brock dogs,” and an ongoing court case about that. The Dog Officer attended court and spoke at length with the Judge about that matter.
Her entry for July 8 said, “Mr. Bulson complaint regarding dogs and his chickens. One dog shot and Troopers handled the case from there.”
Youth Program
The Summer Youth Program has finished for the season. Sherry Kluck said it was a successful program. Thirty-seven children attended the recreation program and 25 attended the swim program. It was five weeks altogether, three weeks of the “rec” program and two weeks of the swim program. The Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Community Center was involved in raising money for the program this year because the amount budgeted by the Town this year was not adequate to run the program, but Kluck said the PVMCC does not want to do this every year, and requested that the Town restore adequate funding for the Youth program. This year the County made a grant to the Youth Program, and one of the requirements for acceptance of that grant money is to maintain adequate liability insurance for the program. There was some question about whether Petersburgh’s insurance coverage was adequate. Supervisor Krahforst said he would look into it.
Councilman Neil Geary said he thought the Youth Program this year was a very nice program and thanked all those who contributed to it.
Procurement Policy
A proposed Town procurement policy drafted by Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo was presented for the Board’s approval. It raised the limits of purchases that require a formal bidding process but also spelled out purchasing procedures for contracts and purchases below the limit. The current limits are $10,000 for Town purchases and $20,000 for Public Works Contracts, and the proposed policy would make those $20,000 and $35,000 respectively. Councilman Jack Barnhill said he thought these limits were too high. Supervisor Krahforst said he liked Ferlazzo’s recommendations.
Some Board members pointed out that even for purchases below these limits, there are standards for how the Supervisor will make purchases. For items from $250 to $2,999, two verbal quotations are adequate. For purchases from $3,000 to $19,999, the Supervisor must get three written quotations before accepting one of them. Barnhill said he was not comfortable with this policy, and it was tabled pending further consultation with the attorney for the Town. The Board also tabled the Town Handbook, about personnel policies, until they could speak with Ferlazzo about it.
Supervisor’s Comments
Supervisor Krahforst said he and Councilman Neil Geary and Terry Neaton from the Fire Department had burned a large amount of brush that had been cut down on the Water District property next to the water tank. They are clearing the hillside to make room for solar panels that are to be installed there soon. He thanked Terry and Neil and the Fire Department for helping.
He then thanked Cecelia Guntner for all the work she does on the flowers at the Town Hall.
Krahforst said the solar panels at the Town Hall are just about ready to be hooked up but when NYSEG came to change the meter for that, they said the meter case was cracked and needed to be replaced. NYSEG then found that the panel is overloaded and there were other problems with the service so it needed to be replaced. Electrician Ben Krahforst agreed to do the job for just the cost of materials, and the Board agreed to that offer so the electrical service at the Town Hall will soon be replaced. Once that happens, the new meter can be put in, and the solar panels will be connected to the system.
Planning Board Member Needed
Krahforst reminded the public that the Planning Board is still looking for one new member. If anyone is interested in serving on that Board, they are asked to contact the Town Clerk.
Budget Workshop Scheduled
Krahforst said the Town Board needed to schedule its first budget workshop to start discussing the 2015 budget. They set that workshop for Saturday, September 20, at 6 pm.[/private]