Town Highway Employee Blames Residents For Some Road Problems
By Doug La Rocque
Once again, the Monday, April 8 meeting of the Grafton Town Board moved along quickly, until the public comment period. It was then that a Grafton Highway Department employee made comments, partially in response to a Freedom of Information Request (FOIL) for information from a Clickner Road resident, that Town Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum said she found very disturbing.
During the correspondence section of the meeting, Supervisor Gundrum read the FOIL from William Crandall, asking for budget information on many functions of the highway department. During the public comment period, Highway employee Carlos Quinones said he worked on Clickner Road four times in the last two weeks, and said that driveways there that are no longer in code (conditions and negative pitch) were the reason for so much water runoff, and that was causing the road problems. He said he has seen this on other roads as well. He also called upon Codes Enforcement Officer Tom Withcuskey to contact these property owners about this. Mr. Withcuskey responded that any problems caused by driveways are the responsibility of Highway Superintendent Herb Hasbrouck, not codes enforcement. Mr. Hasbrouck was out of town and was not at the meeting.
Mr. Quinones also commented he has been taking pictures of driveways and houses he feels are causing problems. He was then asked by Supervisor Gundrum, if he took these pictures while working as a member of the highway department? Mr. Quinones said yes, to show Herb the areas that are not up to code. Ms. Gundrum later told The Eastwick Press he has no authority to do so.
Mr. Quinones left the meeting before The Eastwick Press could speak to him, but was offered via Facebook the opportunity to respond. He said “I’m not taking pictures of people’s homes, just the road conditions and the potential reasons for their condition.” He also said, “I recommend that the Town Code Enforcement Officer and Highway Superintendent reach out to residents and inform them and work together for solutions.”
In other highway department business, the Board also voted to purchase a used grader, that they said was in excellent condition, from Pittstown for $75,000, to replace the problematic one the Town currently owns. In a report that Mr. Hasbrouck sent to the Board, he indicated the Highway Department has spread 300 tons of stone on roads around the town, to help with the mud situations.
Re-evaluation On Track
Supervisor Gundrum opened the meeting with a report from Town Assessor David Galarneau that only 20% of the people who are affected by the town wide re-evaluation, took the opportunity to meet with him to discuss the changes. He said in the report, he is still available but must be contacted via phone or email. Town residents who disagree with their new numbers, can still file the forms to be heard on Grievance Day in May.
Debating Recyclables
Since the beginning of the year, County Waste has been charging the town to remove recyclables such as paper and plastics. The reason being that China is no longer accepting the material, and the waste hauler has to pay to dispose of it. The town board has been debating whether to start charging town residents to dump that material, that until this point has always been free. The board made the decision Monday night, not to charge at this point, but to monitor more closely what is dumped in recyclables, ask people to flatten all cardboard boxes, and not to use plastic bags.
Ambulance Damage
Grafton Rescue Squad Captain Joe Allain reported that on a recent call, they had to follow a vehicle into the residence, and because of the road condition, caused some damage to the underside of the new ambulance. He said it was only out of service for one day. In March, they received 14 calls for assistance, and were only unable to respond once. They also provided mutual aid assistance to Petersburgh and Berlin.
Supervisor Gundrum responded to a question of whether the grant to pay for the new vehicle has been received from New York State yet, and her answer was no. She indicated all paper work has been filed, and the state has told them they should see it within 8 to 10 weeks. She did say the extra $10,000 plus dollars the town paid above the $150,000 dollar grant, has been reimbursed by the rescue squad.
Town Clerk Vicky Burdick turned over a check to the board for $3,242, representing monies collected by her office in March, and the meeting was adjourned in memory of Leonard Claus and Edward Maxfield.