By Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Town Board held a public hearing on a local law establishing the position of Constable. Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo summarized the law and asked those in attendance for comments or questions. [private]Tom Berry asked if there would be liability issues if the Constable were armed. Supervisor Krahforst said if the Constable carries a firearm, there would be an additional premium on the Town’s insurance, which he said would probably be about $1,000. He said the Town put into this year’s budget $1,000 to pay the salary of the Constable, but there is nothing in this year’s budget for paying additional insurance premiums.
Berry said he thought it had already been decided that the Constable would be armed, but Krahforst replied that it has not been determined yet.
At the “Emergency Meeting” held on March 2, Gerald Russell, who will be the new Constable, said that he will be armed, and Councilman Jack Barnhill confirmed that he will carry a weapon when court is in session and he is serving as the peace officer. The minutes of that meeting say, “Executive Session decided that he would be armed.” But Supervisor Krahforst was not present at that meeting, and he said he would rather not have the Constable carry a weapon.
The Town Attorney said the comments that were made at the last meeting do not bind the Board, and no formal resolution has been passed making a decision on the question of whether or not the Constable will be armed, so the matter is not really settled yet. He recommended that the Board make a formal decision on the matter to clear up the uncertainty. Mr. Russell was not present, and several of the Board members wanted to talk with him before making a decision, so the question of whether he will be armed was tabled pending further discussion.
The Board did formally establish the position, to commence April first, and appointed Gerald Russell to it.
Mobile Home Ordinance
Planning Board Chair Frank Sheldon and Vice-Chair Tim Church were present and they said they have drafted a new mobile home ordinance and will be holding a workshop on it at their March meeting. This will be Monday March 30 at 7 pm. Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo said the new law must get approval from the County Planning Department, and he urged the Planning Board members to send it to County Planning early in the process because their comments could be very helpful to those formulating the law. Codes Enforcement Officer Martin Conboy said he has had people coming to him to permit trailers immediately, before the new law goes into effect, because they believe the requirements will be less under the current law. But it is not that simple, said Conboy, because State law governs the requirements, and it is much more restrictive than Petersburgh’s old law. Conboy recommended that the old law be repealed immediately, because it is just confusing and misleading people about what the requirements are.
Town Attorney Ferlazzo confirmed that “our law does not excuse people from compliance with state law.” He said, “It wouldn’t hurt to repeal the existing law.”
In response to this, the Board asked Ferlazzo to draft a repeal of the existing law and a six month moratorium on mobile home installations for a public hearing next month. The public hearing will be at 6:30 pm on Monday April 20.
Executive Session
There was an executive session for a little over half an hour near the beginning of the meeting. Town Attorney Ferlazzo said they were going in for an attorney client conference to discuss “potential litigation,” and Supervisor Krahforst said they were going to meet with the Highway Department. When they returned, Krahforst said they talked about the “public outcry” over maintenance of the roads with Highway Superintendent Rob Cottrell. He said Cottrell asked for the Board’s support, and the Board “fully backed him.” It was at this point that Krahforst said he hoped the “winter of discontent” was over, and the Board donned some silly looking St Patrick’s Day hats for a picture (see front page).
Berlin Transfer Station Agreement
The Board had the agreement with Berlin ready to sign. Their only question for the Town Attorney was about the section where Petersburgh agreed to “cooperate” with Berlin in the event of a legal claim against Berlin pertaining to the Transfer Station. They wanted to clarify that this did not mean being responsible for the cost of litigation or judgements arising out of any litigation. Ferlazzo said it clearly did not mean that, but language could be added to make that explicit. With that proviso, the Board agreed to the contract and authorized the Supervisor to sign. Once the new agreement is signed, the monthly rent that Petersburgh pays to Berlin for use of the station will be reduced from $1,000 to $700.
New Planning Board Member.
Planning Board Chairman Frank Sheldon told the Board something about a resident who has agreed to serve on the Planning Board, filling a vacancy that has existed for most of a year. His name is Robert Petry. Sheldon said he is a 30 year naval commander who has retired to Petersburgh, and wants to get involved in community affairs. Sheldon recommended him highly, and the Board appointed him to the Planning Board.
Handicapped Accessibility
Supervisor Krahforst said the Town has received a formal legal complaint about lack of handicapped access to the Veterans Memorial Hall and the Library, and has requested that it go into mediation. “We are hoping to resolve this amicably,” said Krahforst.
Lawn Mowing Bids
Bids were opened for mowing the cemeteries, the Town Park, and the lawns around the Town Buildings. David Crowley of David’s Lawn Care bid on all three jobs. Darel Manchester of Above and Beyond Landscaping bid only on mowing the lawns around the Municipal buildings. His bid for that was $2,500, and Crowley’s was $1,900, so the Board hired Crowley for all three jobs. Crowley’s bid was $400 to mow the Town Park twice during the season, and $2,200 to mow the cemeteries once a month during the season.
Student Volunteers
Deidra Michaels thanked four student volunteers who helped her with managing Town records. They scanned documents, shredded documents, copied and filed papers and reorganized boxes of files. The students were Max Barnhill, Blake Barnhill, Megan MacRoberts, and Alex Gazelone. “They did a wonderful job,” said Michaels.
Water System Leak Found
Ben Krahforst’s Water District Report for the month said that he found the leak he has been searching for at Arnold Brock’s garage, and after some difficulty trying to dig through frozen ground, was able to shut it off. He thanked the Highway Department for their assitance digging down to the pipe. He also reported some pipes which froze under the ground because the frost went so deep.
In the front row , l-r, is Town Councilmen Jack Barnhill and Alan Webster, Supervisor Zeegie Krahforst, and Councilman NeilGeary. In the back row, l-r, are Town Attorney Sal Ferlazzo (in a rare appearance wearing Irish antennae), secretaries Brigitta Schmidt and Ann Crisp, Town Clerk Deidra Michaels, and Town Councilwoman Denise Church. Photo by Tom Berry.
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