Hope TB Jan 13 2020
Hope Town Board gets organized
By PETE KLEIN
HOPE—The Organizational and Regular Board Meeting of the Town of Hope, Hamilton County and the State of New York was held at the Town Hall, Route 30, Hope, New York on the 13th day of January 2020. Supervisor Steven Tomlinson called the meeting to order with the Pledge to the Flag at 7 p.m.
STATE OF THE TOWN ADDRESS
Supervisor Tomlinson addressed all board members and public guests that were present. He recapped 2019. In doing so, he thanked Superintendent Colson for all he does. Some examples he used were the new garbage pickup, the continued successful Annual Clean Up and the amount of brush cutting that was completed. He added that Highway Department added a new truck and are waiting for the delivery of a second one.
Supervisor Tomlinson stated that the Town of Hope and its board members have successfully kept the town budget under the 2% state tax cap for 3 years in a row.
Supervisor Tomlinson gave end of the year fund balances. He was happy with the balances even with increasing the Fire Department budget, added building projects, equipment repair and preventative maintenance.
He went to add that at a County level, garbage now goes to Mud Road and this seems to benefit all the towns. He stated there is still a waiting period as Mud Road looks to change over to Single Stream recycling and when this happens, the Town of Hope will have changes in the way that recycling is currently done.
Supervisor Tomlinson states he is happy with the community involvement with the Town Picnic as it grows each year. He looks forward to adding community events possibly in the future.
He stated an area the Town lacks in, is an Emergency Preparedness Plan and this will be worked on starting ASAP.
Supervisor Tomlinson recapped the Halloween Storm of 2019. He states he has an upcoming meeting with other county reps with FEMA and will be given the results of reimbursements. Superintendent Colson will be joining him at the meeting. He states at the point, NYS has donated the material to fix the roads and this project will begin in the spring. Hamilton County Highway Department will be assisting.
ORGANIZATION RESOLUTIONS
Supervisor Tomlinson asked if anyone wanted to make changes to the regularly scheduled meeting dates and times. All town board members agreed to keep it the same.
Resolved is that the date and times for the Regularly Scheduled Town Board Meetings will continue to be the second Monday of each month, starting at 7 p.m.
Resolved that Supervisor Tomlinson has been approved to pay town salaries.
Resolved that Zachery Colson, Highway Superintendent has been authorized to spend up to $2,000 without approval of the Town Board.
Resolved that the travel allowance rate will be $0.58 per mile.
Resolved that the official bank for the Town of Hope will be NBT Bank.
Resolved that the official newspaper for the Town of Hope will be The Leader Herald.
Resolved that Supervisor Tomlinson has been authorized by the Town Board to pay power, phone, payroll, retirement monies, and other contractual expenses before audit is made.
Resolved that the following committees have been approved.
Buildings: - W. Witts and M. Stuart
Cemeteries: - J. Stuart and D. Downing
Highway: - M. Stuart and J. Stuart
Landfill/Transfer Station: - D. Downing and W. Witts
Parks and Recreation: - D. Downing and M. Stuart
Resolved that Dianna Downing has been appointed to the position of Deputy Supervisor.
Resolved that Supervisor Steven Tomlinson has been appointed to the position of Budget Officer.
Resolved that Jaret Welch has been appointed to the position of Deputy Highway Superintendent.
Resolved that Jill Dunham has been appointed Registrar of Vital Statistics.
Resolved that Marleen Webster has been appointed to the positions of Deputy Town Clerk, Deputy Tax Collector, and Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics.
Resolved that Mike Stewart has been appointed Code/Building Inspector for the Town of Hope.
Resolved that the ambulance contract between the Town of Hope and Northampton Ambulance Service has been reviewed and approved for the year 2020.
Resolved that the fire contract between the Town of Hope and Northville Fire Department has been reviewed and approved for the year 2020.
Resolved is the approval of the current Town of Hope and Town of Benson Transfer Station contract.
Resolved that an agreement by and between the Towns of Hope, Benson, and Wells for assessment purposes has been approved.
BUILDING/ CODE OFFICER’S REPORT
Supervisor Tomlinson distributed copies of the Code Officer’s Report given to him by Mike Stewart, Town of Hope Code Officer.
All fire extinguishers should be inspected and maintained – this was in process as we walked through the building.
The Town Hall should have a combo smoke/carbon monoxide detector installed.
The outside combustion air should be hooked up to the furnaces.
All outlets in the garage should be GFCI protected.
A proper receptacle and cord should be installed for the welder.
Disconnected wiring should be removed.
An exit light and emergency light combo should be installed over the back exit in the Town Hall and an emergency light should be installed in the truck bays.
PURCHASE OF DUMP INSERT FOR THE FORD PICKUP
Supervisor Tomlinson distributed copies of quotes, given to him by Superintendent Colson, of dump inserts available for the Ford pickup. The board discussed this in length and chose two similar designs that were similar in price and gave Superintendent Colson approval to purchase one of them, at his choice, for the Ford pickup.
On a motion by Councilperson John Stuart Jr., seconded by Councilperson Mark Stuart, the following resolution was ADOPTED Resolved that Zachery Colson, Highway Superintendent has been authorized to purchase a dump insert for the Ford pickup truck.
APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A 2020 GMC PICK UP
On a motion by Councilperson William Witts, seconded by Councilperson Mark Stuart, the following resolution was ADOPTED. Resolved to purchase 2020 GMC pickup.
APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A NEW PLOW FOR THE 2020 GMC PICKUP
On a motion by Councilperson William Witts, seconded by Councilperson Mark Stuart, the following resolution was ADOPTED. Resolved to purchase a new plow for the new 2020 GMC pickup.
TOWN OF HOPE WEBSITE
Supervisor Tomlinson advised that Mike Stewart is willing to take over as Administrator of the Town of Hope website. He is very familiar with website work and has a good working relationship with Digital Towpath, owner of the website. He has many ideas to transform it into a user-friendly site for the community to use as great informational resource. All town board members were in agreeance.
On a motion by Councilperson William Witts, seconded by Councilperson John Stuart Jr., the following resolution was ADOPTED Resolved was the approval to make Mike Stewart the Administrator of the Town of Hope website.
HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Highway Superintendent Zachery Colson presented the board with the following for his monthly report:
We cleaned up all the bottles and cans that were lying on the ground and in the bottle building. There were two large loads that we hauled down to a redemption center in Amsterdam.
Our new pickup truck is here. This Friday it goes down to have the plow put on it and I will be scheduling it to have the letters put on it.
We discussed the possibility of logging the property once before and I still have the forest lot analysis. With permission, I would like to contact another forester and have an up to date analysis done. Once the analysis is completed, we can talk about logging the property.
This was discussed by the board members and they all agreed to have Superintendent Colson call a forester to get another analysis.
We received approval for our gateway sign on Route 30. I am waiting on our insurance company to send me the Certificate of Insurance. Ince that is received, I will send in the permit for work and we will put the sign up this spring.
I completed the permits for the work on the River Road. This was in the spring we can get working on the washouts as fast as possible.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN
Supervisor Tomlinson discussed further the need to put an Emergency Preparedness Plan in place as soon as possible. He advised he wants to set up a work night to begin on this. It was agreed that all board members would come to a work session at 5:30 p.m., prior to next month’s meeting on February 10, 2020.
CLERK’S COMMENTS
Jill Dunham stated tax season is under way and there are no concerns. She has also completed her training to be able to do Electronic Death Certificates. There are some minor details to get on the NYS DOH site that she is working directly with DOH to do so. This should be completed by the end of the week. Jill also requests that the railing coming into the town hall be removed for safety reasons and the ground be made flush with the walkway. One last request from Jill was made. She requested the doorknob be replaced to the building as the current one is too hard to open and lock. Superintendent Colson advises that he bought a new one and will have it installed the next day.
PUBLIC COMMENT
JoAnne Robinson spoke and advised that her and her husband took two loads of bottles to the Redemption Center. They will be continuing this weekly in hopes to stay up with the returns. She did state that due to ice and unsafe conditions, they were unable to get to them prior to now. Superintendent Colso0n added that he also took two loads to a Redemption Center and is awaiting the check from those returns. Supervisor Tomlinson added, with the blessing from the town board, that they will deposit that check and write a check made out to the Fire Department once they receive the monies from the Redemption Center. Pete Robinson asked if the building could be moved back up to the Transfer Station. He added that him and his wife would pick the returnable up weekly and during open Transfer Station hours. Superintendent Colson agreed to do this.
Pete Robinson asked if the town board was still moving forward at looking at the fire department for a place to renovate and make a new maniple office location. Supervisor Tomlinson stated plans to move ahead with a project in 2020 are continuing and he will hopefully have final answers to the details of that project soon.
This story is based upon minutes provided by Jill Dunham, Town Clerk.
Hope Town Board gets organized
By PETE KLEIN
HOPE—The Organizational and Regular Board Meeting of the Town of Hope, Hamilton County and the State of New York was held at the Town Hall, Route 30, Hope, New York on the 13th day of January 2020. Supervisor Steven Tomlinson called the meeting to order with the Pledge to the Flag at 7 p.m.
STATE OF THE TOWN ADDRESS
Supervisor Tomlinson addressed all board members and public guests that were present. He recapped 2019. In doing so, he thanked Superintendent Colson for all he does. Some examples he used were the new garbage pickup, the continued successful Annual Clean Up and the amount of brush cutting that was completed. He added that Highway Department added a new truck and are waiting for the delivery of a second one.
Supervisor Tomlinson stated that the Town of Hope and its board members have successfully kept the town budget under the 2% state tax cap for 3 years in a row.
Supervisor Tomlinson gave end of the year fund balances. He was happy with the balances even with increasing the Fire Department budget, added building projects, equipment repair and preventative maintenance.
He went to add that at a County level, garbage now goes to Mud Road and this seems to benefit all the towns. He stated there is still a waiting period as Mud Road looks to change over to Single Stream recycling and when this happens, the Town of Hope will have changes in the way that recycling is currently done.
Supervisor Tomlinson states he is happy with the community involvement with the Town Picnic as it grows each year. He looks forward to adding community events possibly in the future.
He stated an area the Town lacks in, is an Emergency Preparedness Plan and this will be worked on starting ASAP.
Supervisor Tomlinson recapped the Halloween Storm of 2019. He states he has an upcoming meeting with other county reps with FEMA and will be given the results of reimbursements. Superintendent Colson will be joining him at the meeting. He states at the point, NYS has donated the material to fix the roads and this project will begin in the spring. Hamilton County Highway Department will be assisting.
ORGANIZATION RESOLUTIONS
Supervisor Tomlinson asked if anyone wanted to make changes to the regularly scheduled meeting dates and times. All town board members agreed to keep it the same.
Resolved is that the date and times for the Regularly Scheduled Town Board Meetings will continue to be the second Monday of each month, starting at 7 p.m.
Resolved that Supervisor Tomlinson has been approved to pay town salaries.
Resolved that Zachery Colson, Highway Superintendent has been authorized to spend up to $2,000 without approval of the Town Board.
Resolved that the travel allowance rate will be $0.58 per mile.
Resolved that the official bank for the Town of Hope will be NBT Bank.
Resolved that the official newspaper for the Town of Hope will be The Leader Herald.
Resolved that Supervisor Tomlinson has been authorized by the Town Board to pay power, phone, payroll, retirement monies, and other contractual expenses before audit is made.
Resolved that the following committees have been approved.
Buildings: - W. Witts and M. Stuart
Cemeteries: - J. Stuart and D. Downing
Highway: - M. Stuart and J. Stuart
Landfill/Transfer Station: - D. Downing and W. Witts
Parks and Recreation: - D. Downing and M. Stuart
Resolved that Dianna Downing has been appointed to the position of Deputy Supervisor.
Resolved that Supervisor Steven Tomlinson has been appointed to the position of Budget Officer.
Resolved that Jaret Welch has been appointed to the position of Deputy Highway Superintendent.
Resolved that Jill Dunham has been appointed Registrar of Vital Statistics.
Resolved that Marleen Webster has been appointed to the positions of Deputy Town Clerk, Deputy Tax Collector, and Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics.
Resolved that Mike Stewart has been appointed Code/Building Inspector for the Town of Hope.
Resolved that the ambulance contract between the Town of Hope and Northampton Ambulance Service has been reviewed and approved for the year 2020.
Resolved that the fire contract between the Town of Hope and Northville Fire Department has been reviewed and approved for the year 2020.
Resolved is the approval of the current Town of Hope and Town of Benson Transfer Station contract.
Resolved that an agreement by and between the Towns of Hope, Benson, and Wells for assessment purposes has been approved.
BUILDING/ CODE OFFICER’S REPORT
Supervisor Tomlinson distributed copies of the Code Officer’s Report given to him by Mike Stewart, Town of Hope Code Officer.
All fire extinguishers should be inspected and maintained – this was in process as we walked through the building.
The Town Hall should have a combo smoke/carbon monoxide detector installed.
The outside combustion air should be hooked up to the furnaces.
All outlets in the garage should be GFCI protected.
A proper receptacle and cord should be installed for the welder.
Disconnected wiring should be removed.
An exit light and emergency light combo should be installed over the back exit in the Town Hall and an emergency light should be installed in the truck bays.
PURCHASE OF DUMP INSERT FOR THE FORD PICKUP
Supervisor Tomlinson distributed copies of quotes, given to him by Superintendent Colson, of dump inserts available for the Ford pickup. The board discussed this in length and chose two similar designs that were similar in price and gave Superintendent Colson approval to purchase one of them, at his choice, for the Ford pickup.
On a motion by Councilperson John Stuart Jr., seconded by Councilperson Mark Stuart, the following resolution was ADOPTED Resolved that Zachery Colson, Highway Superintendent has been authorized to purchase a dump insert for the Ford pickup truck.
APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A 2020 GMC PICK UP
On a motion by Councilperson William Witts, seconded by Councilperson Mark Stuart, the following resolution was ADOPTED. Resolved to purchase 2020 GMC pickup.
APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A NEW PLOW FOR THE 2020 GMC PICKUP
On a motion by Councilperson William Witts, seconded by Councilperson Mark Stuart, the following resolution was ADOPTED. Resolved to purchase a new plow for the new 2020 GMC pickup.
TOWN OF HOPE WEBSITE
Supervisor Tomlinson advised that Mike Stewart is willing to take over as Administrator of the Town of Hope website. He is very familiar with website work and has a good working relationship with Digital Towpath, owner of the website. He has many ideas to transform it into a user-friendly site for the community to use as great informational resource. All town board members were in agreeance.
On a motion by Councilperson William Witts, seconded by Councilperson John Stuart Jr., the following resolution was ADOPTED Resolved was the approval to make Mike Stewart the Administrator of the Town of Hope website.
HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Highway Superintendent Zachery Colson presented the board with the following for his monthly report:
We cleaned up all the bottles and cans that were lying on the ground and in the bottle building. There were two large loads that we hauled down to a redemption center in Amsterdam.
Our new pickup truck is here. This Friday it goes down to have the plow put on it and I will be scheduling it to have the letters put on it.
We discussed the possibility of logging the property once before and I still have the forest lot analysis. With permission, I would like to contact another forester and have an up to date analysis done. Once the analysis is completed, we can talk about logging the property.
This was discussed by the board members and they all agreed to have Superintendent Colson call a forester to get another analysis.
We received approval for our gateway sign on Route 30. I am waiting on our insurance company to send me the Certificate of Insurance. Ince that is received, I will send in the permit for work and we will put the sign up this spring.
I completed the permits for the work on the River Road. This was in the spring we can get working on the washouts as fast as possible.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN
Supervisor Tomlinson discussed further the need to put an Emergency Preparedness Plan in place as soon as possible. He advised he wants to set up a work night to begin on this. It was agreed that all board members would come to a work session at 5:30 p.m., prior to next month’s meeting on February 10, 2020.
CLERK’S COMMENTS
Jill Dunham stated tax season is under way and there are no concerns. She has also completed her training to be able to do Electronic Death Certificates. There are some minor details to get on the NYS DOH site that she is working directly with DOH to do so. This should be completed by the end of the week. Jill also requests that the railing coming into the town hall be removed for safety reasons and the ground be made flush with the walkway. One last request from Jill was made. She requested the doorknob be replaced to the building as the current one is too hard to open and lock. Superintendent Colson advises that he bought a new one and will have it installed the next day.
PUBLIC COMMENT
JoAnne Robinson spoke and advised that her and her husband took two loads of bottles to the Redemption Center. They will be continuing this weekly in hopes to stay up with the returns. She did state that due to ice and unsafe conditions, they were unable to get to them prior to now. Superintendent Colso0n added that he also took two loads to a Redemption Center and is awaiting the check from those returns. Supervisor Tomlinson added, with the blessing from the town board, that they will deposit that check and write a check made out to the Fire Department once they receive the monies from the Redemption Center. Pete Robinson asked if the building could be moved back up to the Transfer Station. He added that him and his wife would pick the returnable up weekly and during open Transfer Station hours. Superintendent Colson agreed to do this.
Pete Robinson asked if the town board was still moving forward at looking at the fire department for a place to renovate and make a new maniple office location. Supervisor Tomlinson stated plans to move ahead with a project in 2020 are continuing and he will hopefully have final answers to the details of that project soon.
This story is based upon minutes provided by Jill Dunham, Town Clerk.
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