July 9, 2004

Highlights of the first July Town Board meeting

I'll be writing this up in more detail, but here are some quick highlights from last night's Town Board meeting:

  • The board decided to appeal a FEMA decision to halt payment on $170,000 of grants for work on Virgil Creek. FEMA claims the scope of the project grew beyond the grant, while the town believes the changes that were made to the plan were required to stay in compliance with the terms of the grant. (They also reduced the cost of work rather than increasing it.)
  • The sale of the Lakeview Golf Course has been postponed, perhaps until after Labor Day, and there are other buyers looking at it. That seems to be what drove Supervisor Trumbull's public letter yesterday.
  • There was general support for the Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) for volunteer firefighters, though concern about points systems and the potential $250,000 cost of a five-year buyback plan for firefighters already serving.
  • While no action was taken on highway matters - Highway Superintendent Jack Bush is on vacation - the draft plans for Hunt Hill Road are now complete. The next step will be sharing them with the public.
  • A cell phone tower near the NYSEG building was approved after a three-year process.
  • Councilman Mike Hattery expressed his concerns about the Town Board needing to coordinate with the Planning Board on the Draft Comprehensive Plan and with the ITCTC on a possible park-and-ride near the intersection of Routes 13 and 366.
  • Summer concerts are going well, with 200 people at the Mark Rust concert last week and 500 at The Burns Sisters concert this Wednesday before a thunderstorm dampened the festivities.
  • The Board set up a public hearing for the Royal Road water and sewer district.

I'll have more detail on all of those in the weeks to come. The next board meeting is on July 22nd at the Dryden Town Hall (map), and will be largely filled with public hearings.

Posted by simon at July 9, 2004 8:50 AM in emergency services , politics (local) , recreation , water and sewer
Note on photos