STATE OF NEW YORK November 5, 2008

COUNTY OF DELAWARE

TOWN OF MASONVILLE



The Public hearing of the Town Board of the Town of Masonville was called to order at 7:25 P.M. Regular meeting to follow.

Purpose of said Public Hearing is to here comments on the proposed 2009 Town Budget.



PRESENT:

Supervisor: Craig DuMond

Councilmen: George Denys, Doug McKown, Stewart Wilcox, Kathy Ryan

Town Clerk: Pamela Walker

Deputy Hwy.Supt.: Chuck Smith


PUBLIC:

Meg Hungerford, Steve Tiska, Bob & Judy Jackson, Rea Ann Lakin, Neita VanValkenburgh, Ernst Keidel, Jeri Brayman, Elaine Bradish, Lou Girvilo, Rose Crampton, Harry Meade, Bob Basile, Tom Cardi, Mike Spaccaforno, Kathy Klopchin


Craig made announced a change to the Hwy. Part of Budget, adding $1000.00 to line A5010.1 Hwy. Personal Services and and $1000.00 to line D2302 Services to other Governments. The change had no impact on the tentative budget.

The Public hearing was closed with no comments. The Regular meeting was opened.


MINUTES:

Motion by George Denys to accept minutes as presented, seconded by Kathy Ryan, all in favor carried.


FLOORTIME:

Ernst Keidel said that he has spent some time with local Town Justices and expressed his desire to fill the soon to be vacated position of Town Justice. He requested the Board to consider him. Ernst is aware that Judy Jackson has been selected to fill the unexpired term of Judge VanPelt and feels she will do a fine job but will be short her outstanding services as court clerk.

Mr Meade spoke on the clean up of Foster Road and said that they have been working on this. Mr Meade asked if the Board if there was any thing else he needs to do. Craig said at this point things are moving along and that the CEO and Dog Warden have been working with him in a timely fashion. Craig would like to see the completing of the clean-up before winter.


HIGHWAY REPORT:

  1. Ditched and shouldered Lake Cecil Rd

  2. Raised the Big Dip on Lake Cecil with free material from the Finch quarry on Gallop Hill Rd. Also set stone guard rails from quarry.

  3. Butts Road Bridge deck was set on 10/13/08

  4. Received an oil donation of 55 gallons

  5. Lancaster didn’t forget the Town…they will patch Cole Road while working in the Sidney area.

  6. October 16th Chuck attended the National Incident Management System School put on by Delaware County. This was required to receive certain grants.

  7. The Crew was caught of guard by the recent unexpected snow storm. They did, however, manage to get all the equipment on the trucks and plow in time for school without any delays.

  8. Cleaned up trees that were down from the snow storm

  9. Chuck has explored proper billing and clarified revenues regarding the contract with Delaware County snow plowing.

  10. Ordered recapped tires for truck #2 with a savings of $600.00


George and Craig thanked Chuck for the job he has been doing and the cost savings he has realized for the Town.

Craig said with the increased cost of salt, grit and diesel fuel, the State, County and Town will be tightening belts and may not be able to provide services as expected in the past. Roads will always be clear for school traffic but other times may be more sporadic.

Jeri Brayman expressed her concerns with the fence in back of the salt shed in preparation for planned excavation work. Chuck will work with Jeri to ensure the safety of her animals.


OLD BUSINESS:

  1. Craig reported that the Parker Hollow Road problem has made some progress but it appears work has recently stopped. Craig said another 10 day letter will be sent out and if not completed the Town will finsh the job and bill the owners.


NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Craig received a letter on the cold war exemption property tax exemption the County is offering, which would allow a tax reduction for Cold War Veterans. Craig asked the Board if they are interested pursuing the local law. The Board responded affirmatively.

  2. Craig spoke on the 2009 Town Budget and what impact it would have on the taxpayers. The Towns budget increase is 4.2%. The Fire district submitted a budget with a 11.9% increase. This makes the overall budget increase 5.33%. For a typical 100,000 property a taxpayer can expect to see an approximate $23.00 increase over last year. Craig stated he was happy with the hard work the Board put into the budget. The Board started with a 13% increase and was able to work hard toward bringing the budget to an acceptable level without compromising essential services.

  3. Kathy thanked Craig and Meg for doing a great job on the Budget but voiced her disappointment with the public’s lack of interest in the budget process.


COMMITTEE REPORT:

  1. Kathy reported that Stewart assisted her with mapping the property next to the highway building to better inform her of the location of the well, septic etc. This parcel may be used to site a new Town Hall sometime in the future.

  2. George read the CEO report for the Month of October. All public building inspections have been completed except for the Church. Craig will meet with Joe to get this done.

  3. George said the Town will have to have a public hearing in December if the wishes to adopt the Master Plan in January. George will work on this with Shepstone Associates as well as the County Planning Department.


SUPERVISORS REPORT:

  1. Craig said that the County budget started at an 18% increase, and after the Board went to work, the budget was reduced to 9% then 6.3% and now appears to be settled at 4.97%. Craig said that most of the budget is State mandated and feels that Counties and Towns need to start challenging the State regarding unfunded mandates and just say “NO”.

  2. Craig spoke on the 300 million dollar New York City Land acquisition Program and how NYC is targeting the purchase of 250 thousand acres in Delaware County. This would allow for NYC to control over ½ of the property in the County and Craig feels this possibility is very scary for the current taxpayers. Delaware County has commissioned an Economic Impact Study regarding the land acquisition program and there are many upcoming public hearings. The public needs to attend these hearings and voice their concerns. Craig reported that the preliminary findings on the EIS are alarming. If this land acquisition program is allowed to go through NYC can challenge their property assessments 10 years after the purchase. The study is estimating the impact will result in a 300% increase in property taxes. This could essentially force most people out of the County, which Craig feels is the ultimate goal of NYC.

  3. Craig announced a new prescription drug program for uninsured individuals in Delaware County. Citizens should be receiving information in the mail or from their current pharmacy shortly. This can result in a 30-50% savings for uninsured individuals


RECOMMENDED MOTIONS:

  1. Upon the recommendation of the Town Supervisor; the Town Board adopt the 2009 Town Budget as presented at the November 5, 2008 Public Hearing. So moved by George Denys, seconded by Kathy Ryan, all in favor carried.

  2. Upon recommendation of the Town Supervisor; the Town Board appoint Judy Jackson as Masonville Town Justice, effective November 15, 2008 with duties to be assumed January 1, 2009. The apponitment being made to fill the unexpired term of retiring Town Justice, Edward VanPelt.so moved by George Denys, seconded by Stewart Wilcox, all in favor carried.


Motion by Doug McKown to pay all audited bills, seconded by George Denya, all in favor carried.


GENERAL:

202. Joe Reynolds 316.13

203. Milt Curtis 60.00

204. Teddy Tripp 60.00

205. Rea Ann Lakin 241.36

206. Dorthy Esposito 241.36

207. Savalla Howland 281.36

208. Mary Mascaive 61.36

209. Anne Scott 61.36

210. Grace Fisher 281.36

211. Robert Stanton 100.00

212. The Walton Report 3.16

213. The Walton Reporter 3.56

214. Tri Town News 6.94

215. Heart of the Catskills 80.00

216. Frontier 69.14

217. Shepstone Management 2558.65

218. Kortright Creek Fincial Services 708.00

219. Frontier 139.69

220. Frontier 25.73

221. The Water Bottle 36.00

222. Hillside Signs 450.00

223. Del. Co. Assoc. of Town Hwy. Supt. 35.00

224. Judy Jackson 250.00

____________

6,070.16


HIGHWAY:

169. Tractor Supply 227.95

170. Haun Welding Supply 16.76

171. Warrens Excavating 957.60

172. Warrens Excavating 1021.20

173. Beerston Stone Products Inc 273.60

174. E & R Popes Excavating 1622.00

175. Brian Backus 79.99

176. Tallmadge Tire 376.22

177. Catskill Tractor 186.26

178. Dages Auto Parts 3.96

179. G & L Auto 69.55

180. R.L. Armstrong 67.11

181. Sears Commericial one 288.90

182. Fleetpride 132.74

183. Five Star Equipment 37.30

184. New Centry Construction 154,943.53

_______________

160,304.67



The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 P.M.





___________________________________

Pamela Walker, Town Clerk