by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Town Board voted to accept Berlin’s offer and continue using the Berlin Transfer Station, pending approval of contract language for a new agreement between the towns. The monthly rental fee would be reduced from the current $1,000 per month to $700 per month, and the existing revenue-sharing arrangements would remain in place.
[private]Peter Schaaphok, who was Petersburgh’s Supervisor when the arrangements between the two towns about sharing of the transfer station were made originally, said the agreement was always that Berlin would pay capital costs and that Petersburgh would pay for its share of those costs through the monthly rental payment and that he hoped that the new contract would continue to treat capital costs that way. He said the original rental fee of $500 a month was based on the initial cost of setting up the station, and it was increased to $1,000 when the station bought a lot of expensive new equipment.
Petersburgh Town Supervisor Siegfried Krahforst said he had tallied up the votes of Petersburgh citizens who had expressed a preference among the three options that he had presented two months ago, and the votes were “overwhelmingly” in favor of staying with the Berlin transfer station. The other two options were having Petersburgh build its own transfer station or hiring a hauler to do curbside pickup throughout the Town and billing the cost of this to everyone on the tax bills.
Town Secretary Resigns
The Board accepted the resignation of Town Secretary Brigitta Schmidt. Krahforst thanked her for her service to the Town, helping it through the difficult time after Callie Crisp resigned as Town Clerk. He said the Town plans to eliminate the position and have the Town Clerk and the Town Clerk’s assistant take up this work. In the Preliminary 2015 Budget presented by the Supervisor earlier in the evening, the Town Clerk salary was raised from $12,130 to $15,000; the budget for the Town Clerk’s assistant was raised from $1,500 to $4,500, and the Town Secretary’s salary of $8,710 was eliminated.
Solar Electricity Turned On
After a series of difficulties, the solar panels have been connected and are generating electricity for the Town Hall. Town Bookkeeper Charles Guntner said he expects the solar panels will save the Town about $1,000 a year.
The first difficulty was that the meter case at the Town Hall was cracked, and the new meter could not be put in until that was repaired. Repairing that involved replacing the whole electrical service, which was done by Ben Krahforst, with assistance from Supervisor Ziggy Krahforst and Town Bookkeeper Charles Guntner, for only the cost of materials.
Then it was discovered that water pipes were too close to the electric service to comply with code and had to be moved, but the main valve where the water service comes in was leaking and could not be shut off. When they tried to shut if off at the curb stop outside the building, that didn’t work either, and it had to be dug up. It turned out that the piping there was not properly installed, with the result that the pipe was broken in the process of digging it up so there was an uncontrolled leak in the front yard of the Town Hall. It took two days and a lot of trouble to get all that repaired, but the pipes are now in good repair, the new electrical service is in place and the solar panels are generating electricity. Water District Superintendent Ben Krahforst thanked the Town Highway crew, the Fire Department and Jim Winn of Berlin for their assistance during the water emergency.
Broken Wheel Bridge
Supervisor Krahforst said he spent several hours with State and County officials on the day of the Town Board meeting discussing the Broken Wheel Bridge replacement project. He said the overall cost of the bridge has increased by $138,000. The exact reason for the increase was unclear, since the bidding for construction of the bridge has not occurred yet. The original cost estimate of $1.2 million was done several years ago, and since construction costs tend to go up from year to year, a higher estimated cost is not too surprising. Krahforst said he was asked to sign off right away on paperwork concerning the bridge which included this cost increase, which he did. Petersburgh is only paying 5% of the cost of this bridge, so the increased cost to Petersburgh of this increase would be $6,900. Krahforst also learned that the schedule for building the bridge has been pushed back; it is now scheduled to be completed by 2017. Krahforst clearly felt that the Town has no control over such delays and cost overruns and was frustrated by the bureaucratic process involved.
Krahforst and Town Councilman Neil Geary also had a meeting with Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo and Code Enforcement Officer Martin Conboy concerning revisions to the Subdivision Regulations and Conboy’s role in enforcing them. Geary said they had come to an “agreement that satisfies everyone involved,” but there seemed to be more details yet to be worked out.
Emergency Contractor Bids
The Board opened one bid from a contractor who wished to be on the Town’s emergency contractor list. It was from Sean O’Donovan, who offered hourly prices on various types of equipment, including several sizes of excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks. O’Donovan is the second contractor to make his company available for the Town’s emergency work. Duane Goodermote had responded to an earlier call for emergency contractors. Supervisor Krahforst said he will continue to advertise for emergency contractors, as he would like to have more than two on the list.
Historical Display
At the budget workshop that preceded the Town Board meeting, Town Historian Peter Schaaphok asked the Board to include $1,000 in the 2015 budget to buy a display case for historical artifacts relating to the history of the Town of Petersburgh. He said these artifacts are stored where no one can see them. He had hoped that some day a museum might be established, but since that is not in prospect, he would like to put a display case in the hall of the Town Hall where these items can be displayed.
At the Town Board meeting, Sean O’Donovan raised his hand, and said he would like to donate $1,000 to buy that display case for the Town. Both Krahforst and Schaaphok were astonished and said “thank you.”
Assistant Code Enforcement Officer
Krahforst made a motion to create the position of Assistant Code Enforcement Officer because sometimes the CEO is needed on an emergency basis, and, if he is out of town for some reason, it would be prudent to have an assistant who could stand in. This person would be under the supervision of the Code Enforcement Officer and would be paid by the hour on an as needed basis, up to a maximum of $1,000 per year. The assistant would have to have training as a Code Enforcement Officer. The Board approved creation of the position and a job description for the position.
Highway Report
Steven Harrison, the Deputy Highway Superintendent, has resigned his position and taken another job. Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison was not present at the Town Board meeting, but his report stated his desire that Jim Morgan be moved into Steve Harrison’s spot as Deputy Highway Superintendent and Michael Harrison be moved into Morgan’s spot.
No action on this was taken. Krahforst said this could be done at the 2015 organizational meeting.
The Town has been advertising for a highway worker and, so far, has one applicant. Krahforst said he is going to keep the ad in the paper for another two weeks to see if any more applicants will come forward.
The Town is also looking for one more Planning Board member.
Emergency Generator
Library Director Sharon Hodges said the Library has received a grant to put in an emergency generator to make sure that the sump pump in the Library basement will continue to operate in the event of a storm that takes out the electricity, to ensure that the basement stays dry. She said they are seeking bids for a contractor to supply and install the generator. They have asked bidders to also supply an alternate bid in case the generator were set up to serve the Veterans Memorial Hall as well as the Library. This might involve a bigger generator and more wiring. Whatever additional cost that would be involved in setting up the generator to serve both buildings could be paid by the Town, and would give the Town a way to supply backup electricity to the Veterans Hall for less than it would cost if they did it just for that building.
Supervisor Krahforst said the Veterans Hall has been designated as Petersburgh’s emergency shelter, so having backup power for an emergency would be a high priority. No dollar figures will be available for this option until the Library receives generator bids, due at the end of the month.[/private]