The Regular Meeting for the Town Board of the Town of Brighton, Franklin County, NY, was held Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 7:00pm at the Brighton Town Hall, 12 County Road 31, Paul Smiths, NY, with the following:   

CALL TO ORDER:   

Meeting was Called to Order by Supervisor Peter Shrope at 7:00pm 

The “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag was recited. 

 ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS 

PRESENT:  Supervisor Peter Shrope 

Council Members: Amber McKernan, Caroline T. Santagate (Tracy),  Steve Tucker 

ABSENT: Lydia Wright 

OTHERS PRESENT: Andy Crary-Superintendent of Highways, Elizabeth DeFonce-Town Clerk /Tax Collector, Russ DeFonce-Town Justice, two residents 

 

NOTICE OF MEETING:  

Notice of this meeting was posted on the Town Clerk’s Sign Board. 

 REPORTS 

Highway – Superintendent of Highways Andy Crary: mowed the cemeteries, park, Town Hall and; weed wacked the intersections; took care of a downed tree on Clark Wardner; trimmed the trees and took down a dead tree at Mt. View Cemetery; road raked the dirt roads; helped the Town of Santa Clara; changed the oil and filter in the F-350; worked on the new plow truck; helped the Fire Department with the new bottle bin at the park; had the 2015 truck towed to Mitchell’s in Tupper Lake to have the IPR valve replaced, then picked it up; one highway employee is currently on vacation. 

Superintendent Crary brought up the subject of his eventual retirement and proposed that the town consider hiring someone so that there would still be 3 people in the department after he left. 

After a brief discussion, which included a communication from a resident, the decision was made to abandon Mountain Pond and Slush Pond roads. 

 

RESOLUTION #34-2026 

ABANDONMENT OF CERTAIN TOWN ROADS 

Motion made by Supervisor Peter Shrope, seconded by Steve Tucker, 

WHEREAS, Mountain Pond Road, located in the McCollums area of the Town of Brighton on State Route 30 is 1.58 miles in length, based on the NYS Department of Transportation Local Roads Listing, is surrounded completely by New York State Forest Preserve lands and is used to access State Forest Preserve lands and, 

 

WHEREAS, Slush Pond Road, located in the McCollums area of the Town of Brighton on State Route 30 is 2.37 miles in length, based on the NYS Department of Transportation Local Roads Listing, is surrounded completely by New York State Forest Preserve lands and is used to access State Forest Preserve lands and, 

 

WHEREAS, it is a financial and workforce burden on the Town of Brighton Highway Department to maintain both roads, and it has been determined by the Town of Brighton Highway Superintendent and Town Board, that these roads have not been used by more than two vehicles daily for the past two years, including pedestrians and people on horseback and, 

 

WHEREAS, there shall remain public egress over both roads, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation shall have the right to maintain both roads if it so desires, the ownership of both roads will remain with the Town of Brighton, and the Town of Brighton retains the right to resume jurisdiction over both roads at any time and for any purpose. 

 

THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Town of Brighton, Franklin County, New York hereby abandons Mountain Pond Road and Slush Pond Road. 

 

ROLL CALL VOTE: Aye 4 (McKernan, Santagate, Shrope, Tucker), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Wright) 

Resolution #34 declared duly adopted.  

Town Clerk Elizabeth DeFonce: Total Revenue to Supervisor as of July 31, 2026, was $370 from 2 dog licenses, 4 building permits, and 1 town park donation. 

Completed the annual purge of old records. 

Issued 2 disability parking permits. 

Received a Freedom of Information Law request regarding the cameras placed on Route 30. A search of the Town Clerk’s files doesn’t turn up any information. 

TOWN HALL REQUESTS: None. 

TOWN PARK REQUEST: Birthday party, July 25, 3pm, 4 hours; Birthday party, August 9, 3pm, 3 hours; Birthday party, August 30, 2pm, 2.5 hours 

Tax Collector – Elizabeth DeFonce: No report. 

Historian – Elaine Sater: No report. 

Town Justice – Russ DeFonce: Disposed of 10 cases during July and the Supervisor received a check in the amount of $835. Performed 3 criminal arraignments, 2 for Tupper Lake and 1 for Harrietstown. 

Will be filling in for the Village of Tupper Lake Court next week. 

The annual New York State Magistrates Conference will be held in Albany at the end of September. A voucher for the conference registration is included in this month’s abstract but the credit card will need to be used for the hotel reservation. 

RESOLUTION #35 

USE OF CREDIT CARD FOR TOWN JUSTICE 

Motion made by Supervisor Peter Shrope, seconded by Amber McKernan, 

 

RESOLVED that the Town Board authorizes town Justice Russ DeFonce to use the town credit card for a hotel reservation to attend the annual New York State Magistrates Conference in Albany, NY, in September of 2026. 

 

ROLL CALL VOTE: Aye 4 (McKernan, Santagate, Shrope, Tucker), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Wright) 

Resolution #35 declared duly adopted. 

 

Code Enforcement Officer – Rodger Tompkins: Processed 5 building permits. 

Due to a recent separation from one of the towns that employed the Code Enforcement Officer a new computer has been purchased. The software has already been transferred from the old computer to the new one.  

Assessor – John Stack: No report. 

 Supervisor – Peter Shrope:  

BridgeNY: The call for bids to replace the Keese Mill Road culvert was held on Wednesday, August 5. There were 8 bids total; the winning bid will be selected by the engineer in charge of the project. Costs have risen since the project was developed leaving a shortfall of $153,452. It would be preferable not to use NYCLASS funds but there may be some available through CHIPS. The projected fund balance at the end of the year may also come into play. A $100,000 loan has been initiated but hasn’t been used yet; the engineer recommended raising it to $300,000. Supervisor Peter Shrope will look into it.  

Deposits: Town Clerk – $370, Town Justice – $835, snow and ice – $27,078.13, SLYSA – $300. 

Budget: Doing well. 

NYCLASS: For July – General Fund interest $399.73, total $132,470.81 ($20,000 for Town Hall). Highway Fund interest $152.33, total $50,484.04.  

 

Citizen Comments: A resident comment that they had attended for the discussion of the abandonment of roads and was satisfied with the outcome. 

 ACCEPT/AMEND MINUTES 

July 9, 2026 – Public Hearing Minutes 

Motion made by Amber McKernan, second by Supervisor Peter Shrope, to accept the minutes of the July 9, Public Hearing, with no corrections. Aye 4 (McKernan, Santagate, Shrope, Tucker), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Wright) 

July 9, 2026 – Regular Board Meeting Minutes 

Motion made by Amber McKernan, second by Steve Tucker, to accept the minutes of the July 9, Regular Board Meeting, with the following corrections: capitalize the name “Andrea” in the Town Clerk’s Report. Aye 4 (McKernan, Santagate, Shrope, Tucker), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Wright) 

Business: 

Succession planning: Names of potential board members have been mentioned in the past but new leads are always welcome. 

New bottle bin: A new PSGVFD bottle bin has been erected and is already being used. 

AUDIT OF VOUCHERS  

RESOLUTION #36-2026 

AUDIT OF VOUCHERS 

Motion made by Amber McKernan, seconded by Tracy Santagate, 

 

RESOLVED that the Supervisor be authorized to pay the audited vouchers as listed on the abstracts as follows:  

PREPAID FUNDS: Abstract #8 for Voucher #8A through #8C for 2026 in the amount of $857.56 and Voucher #8C STREET LIGHTING FUNDS in the amount of $99.69 

GENERAL FUND: Abstract #8 for Voucher #121 through #133 for 2026 funds in the amount of $6,695.26 

HIGHWAY FUND: Abstract #8 for Voucher #78 through #88 for 2026 funds in the amount of $8,800.16 

ROLL CALL VOTE: Aye 4 (McKernan, Santagate, Shrope, Tucker), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Wright) 

Resolution #36 declared duly adopted. 

 ADJOURNMENT 

 

Motion to Adjourn at 8:02pm made by Amber McKernan, second by Tracy Santagate, Aye 4 (McKernan, Santagate, Shrope, Tucker), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Wright) 

 

Respectfully Submitted,  

Elizabeth DeFonce, Brighton Town Clerk