Adirondack Town Of Franklin
Adirondack Town Of Franklin

Town of Franklin Board Meetings

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC HEARING ON 2014 PRELIMINARY BUDGET And MONTHLY TOWN BOARD MEETING
November 13, 2013 - 6:30 PM
PUBLIC HEARING ON 2013 PRELIMINARY BUDGET

Board members present:

Supervisor Arthur P. Willman, Jr.
Councilman Donald Hamm
Councilman Clifford Smalley
Councilman Bradley Merrill
Councilman Allen Berg

Others Present:

Budget Officer Dick Meagher, Town Clerk Lauren LeFebvre, Deputy Town Clerk Sandra Oliver, Tom Bartiss, Doris Hamm, Ed Martin, John Peckham and, Glenn Swinyer

1. CALL TO ORDER

Supervisor Willman called the hearing to order at 6:30pm, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the Town Clerk called the roll noting the full board was present.

2. 2014 PRELIMINARY BUDGET OVERVIEW: Supervisor Willman turned the floor over to Budget Officer Dick Meagher. Mr. Meagher explained that this budget has no increase from 2013 for the amount to be raised in taxes. The Town of Franklin had the option to increase the amount to be raised by taxes by 1.66%. The board has decided to forego that option.

3. PUBLIC COMMENTS:Ed Martin-Mr. Martin thanked the board for its diligent work on the 2014 budget and requested clarification on the salary for the General Fund Custodian/Groundskeeper.

Glenn Swinyer-Mr. Swinyer was not in favor of the salary increases for the Highway Superintendent and Deputy Highway Superintendent.

4. ADJOURNMENT: There being no more public comments, Supervisor Willman adjourned the hearing at 6:55pm. (A. Berg-C.Smalley m/s/p) ALL AYE

MONTHLY TOWN BOARD MEETING

Board members present:

Supervisor Arthur P. Willman, Jr.
Councilman Donald Hamm
Councilman Clifford Smalley
Councilman Bradley Merrill
Councilman Allen Berg

Others Present:

Budget Officer Dick Meagher, Town Clerk Lauren LeFebvre, Deputy Town Clerk Sandra Oliver, Tom Bartiss, Doris Hamm, Ed Martin, John Peckham and, Glenn Swinyer, Derek Romeo, Ed Martin and, Andre LaBarge

1. CALL TO ORDER.

Supervisor Willman called the meeting to order at 6:55pm and dispensed with roll call as it was done as part of the Public Hearing.

2. BUDGET AMENDMENTS. None

3. APPROVAL OF 10/11 (reg mtg), 10/15 (spec. mtg/budget workshop) MINUTES. Minutes approved as presented. (C. Smalley-A.Berg m/s/p) ALL AYE

4. AUDIT OF CLAIMS. The board audited and approved payment of the following:

Pre-Pay GeneralVouchers 28 - 33$8,477.64
Highway FundVouchers 136 - 155$40,540.53
GeneralVouchers 215 - 234$9,559.36
Kate Mt. SRFVouchers 1$8,000.00

Motion to pay claims (A.Berg-C.Smalley m/s/p) ALL AYE


5. SUPERVISOR'S REPORT.

Balances as of October 31, 2013

General FundChecking$44,105.66
Savings$ 70,456.07
CLASS$87,332.81
Historian $3,037.71
Kate MT. SRF $12,956.56
Highway FundChecking$66,832.96
 Savings$212,073.16
 CLASS$538,406.80
Cap. Proj. Hwy. $46,529.59
Cemetery Res. $200.00
Landfill Clo. CRChecking$4,014.62
CLASS$34,063.87
Fire ProtectionChecking$2933.46
CLASS$685.30
Capital Project Building$25,441.20

(B. Merrill-A.Berg m/s/p) ALL AYE.

6. TOWN CLERK'S REPORT

for the month of October 2013

1 Marriage License$40.00
Permet Fees$655.00
--------
Total Collected$695.00

AMOUNT REMITTED TO SUP $672.50
AMOUNT REMITTED TO DOH$22.50

Motion accept Clerk's report (C.Smalley-A.Berg m/s/p) ALL AYE

7. HIGHWAY REPORT

A. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. Superintendent DeMars read the following report:


• Hauled sand from Trudeaus and Saranac Lake Quarries.
• Borrowed dozer from Franklin County to put up sand.
• Plowed and sanded when needed.
• CHIPS paperwork has been filled out and sent in.
• 3 overweight permit renewals have been filled out and faxed.
• Prepped three trucks for winter, however we break 2 of them down almost every day for hauling material.
• Picked up 2009 Freightliner with only 980 miles ($4,500) from Fort Drum(OGS).
• FEMA work has been completed on Thatcherville Rd. and Kushaqua Mud Pond Rd.
• Had men out cutting trees due to heavy winds.
• Patched potholes on: Franklin Falls Hill, Rock Street and Alder Brook Rd.

Motion accept Highway Report (A.Berg-C.Smalley m/s/p) ALL AYE

B. HIGHWAY COMMITTEE. Co. Hamm inquired as to whether Superintendent DeMars was keeping track of the fuel logs. Superintendent DeMars responded in the affirmative and there are no discrepancies other than how the meter is read when between numbers.

C. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ON HIGHWAY MATTERS. None

8. NEW BUSINESS

A. AWARD BIDS FOR HIGHWAY GARAGE

RESOLUTION #52 On a motion by Councilman Berg, second by Councilman Smalley, BE IT RESOLVED the Town of Franklin Town Board does hereby award the bid for two pedestrian entryways to Michael R. Arnold as lowest bidder in the amount of $12,926.00

Those voting aye:
Sup. Willman
Co. Hamm
Co. Merrill
Co. Smalley
Co. Berg
Those voting no: none

B. AWARD BID FOR HIGHWAY ALARM SYSTEM

RESOLUTION #53 On a motion by Councilman Smalley, second by Councilman Berg, BE IT RESOLVED the Town of Franklin Town Board does hereby award the bid for the installation and monitoring of an alarm system at the Highway Garage to Security Concepts of Plattsburgh in the amount of $10,891.51.

Those voting aye:
Sup. Willman
Co. Hamm
Co. Merrill
Co. Smalley
Co. Berg
Those voting no: none

C. 2014 FINAL BUDGET

RESOLUTION #54 On a motion by Councilman Merrill, second by Councilman Berg, BE IT RESOLVED the Town of Franklin Town Board does hereby adopt the 2014 Preliminary Budget, as presented at the Public Hearing, as the 2014 Town of Franklin Final Budget.

Those voting aye:
Sup. Willman
Co. Hamm
Co. Merrill
Co. Smalley
Co. Berg
Those voting no: none

D. 2014 INSURANCE POLICY

Andree LaBarge, LaBarge Insurance Agency, addressed the board to regarding proposal provided to the Town of Franklin for 2014 insurance coverage through New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR). Ms. LaBarge met with the Supervisor and Highway Superintendent to ensure adequate coverage on buildings, equipment, vehicles, etc. Ms. LaBarge will provide an additional quote raising the coverage of the Town Clerk/Collector to $1,143,870 (the amount of taxes to be collected for the Town of Franklin).

E. HUD GRANT

The Town of Franklin has been contacted by Friends of the North Country to apply for a Housing Rehabilitation Assistance Grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The town has mailed postcards to residents regarding this. A Public Hearing will be held on December 11, 2013 at 6:30pm for public comment.

F. AUDIT OF JUSTICE ACCOUNT

Supervisor Willman has audited the Justice account and found all financial records to be in good order. Justice Symonds relayed to the Supervisor that board members are encouraged to inspect the court financial records.

RESOLUTION NO. 55: ACCEPT JUSTICE COURT ACCOUNTING.
WHEREAS, Town Justice Roger Symonds, in compliance with NYS Comptroller guidelines, requested an audit of his accounts; and
WHEREAS, Town Supervisor Arthur P. Willman inspected said records on October 23, 2013, bank statements and accounts, inclusive, and found them to be in good order; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Franklin Town Board hereby accepts and approves of the accounting records maintained by Town Justice Roger Symonds.

Those voting aye:

Supervisor Arthur Willman
Councilman Allen Berg
Councilman Donald Hamm
Councilman Bradley Merrill
Councilman Clifford Smalley

Those Voting nay:

None

Those Absent:

None

Those Abstaining:

None

9. OLD BUSINESS

A. Tandem Bids Specifications will be provided to the Town Clerk before the end of November. Authorization to solicit bids has been given to the Town Clerk (Resolution #51).

B. Defibrillator Training No Update

C. Land Inventory No Update

D. Oil No Update

E. Code Officer Cell Phone Co. Merrill provided information to the board regarding prices of a cell phone package for 2 separate lines. Supervisor Willman will discuss this with the code officer.

10. COMMITTEE REPORTS.

A. AUDIT. None

B. CELEBRATION. None

C. CEMETERY. The Cemetery Committee discussed wording changes to the current policy to include "Non-Residents pay $400 Per Plot".

11. CORRESPONDENCE

A. SL Civic Center Councilman Smalley requested feedback regarding a draft letter he would like to submit to the Civic Center regarding the Town of Franklin possibly sponsoring “ice times” to encourage participation by individuals and families who may not otherwise be able to afford public skating fees and to increase opportunities for increasing physical activity. Discussion was held regarding the Town’s current level of funding support to the Civic Center. Co. Smalley will finalize his letter and submit it to the Civic Center to open initial discussion.

12. ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business before the board, Supervisor Willman adjourned the meeting at 8:15pm. (A.Berg-C.Smalley m/s/p) ALL AYE

Respectfully submitted, Sandra J. Oliver, Town Clerk

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Town of Franklin
P.O. Box 209, Route 3, Vermontville, NY 12989  ·  Tel: 518-891-2189  ·  Fax: 518-891-6389  ·  info@townoffranklin.com
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