Well, THIS Town Board meeting seems to have been pretty lively. It sounds like "Issues" are being disguised as business in some places. And the politicking continues. In any case a lot of interesting stuff happened this month! In case you couldn’t be there, here is what happened to at the July 8 Hamlin Town Board meeting. All members were present at roll call and the Chairman of the Conservation Board started the evening off with his scheduled yearly report on what the Conservation Board has been doing over the past year. Each month, a different support board or town government department will follow his lead with yearly reports of their own. Then Public Forum was announced. A Planning Board member addressed the Town Board with an essay on the horrors of being diagnosed with cancer and the changes in daily routine that follow. He painted an accurate and moving word picture based on family and personal history and mentioned that some employers close to such situations sometimes become callous and unfeeling. He concluded his essay with compliments and praise for Craig Goodrich’s and his willingness to continue his duties as a Town Board member in the face of such adversity. The meeting minutes of last month’s meeting and the minutes of a Public Hearing were approved and the Supervisor authorized the payment of bills from their respective funds. Treatment of the agenda items followed. First up was a resolution to assign the Town benefit administration to Titan Insurance and Employee Benefits Agency, Inc. A resolution to okay online training courses for Planning Board and Zoning Board members (no mention of Conservation Board members) was next. A total of $36,197.63 was then released from a Letter of Credit for Hamlin Meadows Phase #1 and a couple of Town Budget accounts were adjusted to make up for higher than normal expenses during the start up of the new Hamlin Dog Kennel. After some minor clarification, pre-payment of NY Life Insurance dues was authorized via payroll deductions and the Supervisor was cleared to waive some fees for use of the Charlie Maier Lodge. The final agenda item generated a little discussion before authorizing the Supervisor to execute the License Agreement for the use of the Town of Hamlin Recreational Fields by the Pop Warner Football Association, Inc. The Superintendent of Parks was concerned that more and more liberties were being granted to the Football Association and he was worried about wear and tear on the fields that exceeded what the Hamlin Recreation programs produced. There was even mention of the use of Town paid-for electricity. A Board member acknowledged that the entire operation had to be watched closely. [Note: Town recreation programs are open to ALL Hamlin kids with no regard to their individual abilities. The football program is different because kids can be cut from that program. That is one of the reasons there has to be a special contract for this outside use of Town Property.] Under “Discussion,” there was talk about updates that have to be made to Hamlin’s Code Books. Throughout the year, changes are made in various Town laws and there are about 10 hard copies of the Code Book that have to be taken apart and modified. The job is usually given to an outside company and the cost of making this year’s changes is estimated between $1870 and $2000. Various suggestions were made to get the cost down (e.g. update two books only and use the web site in place of the other books). Nothing definite was decided at this time. The other Discussion item was the up and coming Dog Census. Soon, someone will come knocking at your door as part of the process. The State Ag and Markets Administration suggests that the door knocking job be given to some local organization as a fundraiser. They further suggest that a fee of $25 be charged for each dog registered with $20 going to the Town and $5 to the organization taking the census. Discussion will continue after all of the Town’s service organizations are contacted. The first “Report” to follow the business part of the meeting was made by Mr. Goodrich. He started off mentioning that two new accounts had to be set up because of the new dog kennel that had been set up and Supervisor Brezlawski assured him a couple of times that it was being taken care of. After touching on notes regarding his other liaison responsibilities Mr. Goodrich elaborated on the past achievements of Tom Jensen, a Planning Board member who had resigned several months ago. He then made a motion to have the Town Board draft a Resolution of Appreciation for Mr. Jensen as is customary for Town employees who retire. The motion was seconded and Supervisor Brezlawski began an exchange of information with Mr. Goodrich. The Supervisor mentioned an incident where Mr. Jensen, shortly after resigning from the Planning Board, burst into an executive session following interviews of applicants for an opening on the Conservation Board. The intrusion was accompanied with insults directed towards the Supervisor and other comments that the Supervisor interpreted as threats against his person. Mr. Goodrich said that he “heard” that the door was open. Mr. Goodrich added that “he,” the Supervisor, “had presented a Resolution of Appreciation to a Nazi and so Mr. Jensen deserves one too.” [He was referring to the recent visit here of the grandson of a WWII German POW who is assisting us in our research of the former POW camp on Moscow Road.] Mr. Goodrich said that “there was more good than bad” in his proposed resolution and it was brought to a vote. The motion carried. But not all of the yes votes were spontaneous. And Supervisor Breslawski voted “No” but stated that he would draft the resolution. Councilman Maier’s report was mostly about his fire department liaison duties (e.g. the Morton will be soon raising the roof of their quarters) and Councilman Baxter reported that there will soon be a Friends of Hamlin Recreation to help get grants for our recreation programs. Councilman Rose reported on the last Planning Board meeting and was appointed an alternate for the Hamlin’s workman’s compensation administration. The Highway Superintendent commented on being part of the Hilton Central School’s summer maintenance projects and said that he hopes to make an impression that would get Hamlin more work there. He mentioned the on going repaving of some of Hamlin’s roads and that more money will be spent on Drake Road repairs than on some back roads because Drake Road gets more traffic. His department is still very busy with ditching work because of the rain and he hopes to get some work in North Hampton Park when the County Fair issue is fully resolved. He also mentioned that he was looking into ways his department might be able to assist the Library in cutting the costs of preparing the building site for construction. The Highway Superintendent was reluctant to bring up a complaint regarding one of our parks but Supervisor Brezlawski encouraged him to “go ahead and present it here.” A homeowner had put a trampoline on Town property and he needed to be advised as to how to proceed. The Town Attorney immediately outlined the Town’s liability in the event of an injury and the Code Enforcement Officer agreed to “take care of the matter.” The Conservation Board report was even shorter that the Library and Recreation Department report this month (Library summer programs have record breaking attendance and the Recreation Youth Group is having car wash July 13 in the Morton Building parking lot - they buy big stuff for the Charlie Maier Lodge) and the Town Historian says he will have a new boiler in the schoolhouse before winter. The Building Inspector reported handling 23 new building permits and 31 complaints. He also commented on new software that was now in use to make his department more efficient. Last but not least, the Supervisor pointed out the new carpeting in the meeting room that came in slightly under budget and mentioned recent communications with the state DOT that outlined plans to touch up and add new markings to the State roads within our Town. Supervisor Brezlawski also mentioned that plans for a Lake Shore Sewer District are still alive. State level changes in the accounting process that determines who qualifies for what in terms of grants are in the works. Our standing just might improve! With all Town business (and political posturing) having been concluded, the meeting was adjourned shortly before 9:00 p.m.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 18:34:07 +0000
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