October 8, 2020 Regular Meeting

The Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Brighton, Franklin County, NY, was held Thursday, October 8, 2020, following the Special Board Meeting held at 5:30pm 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 6:35pm

ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS
PRESENT: Supervisor Peter Shrope
Council Members: Amber McKernan, Matthew Szeliga, Steve Tucker, and Lydia Wright
ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Paul Blaine-Code Enforcement Officer, Andy Crary-Superintendent of Highways, and Elaine Sater-Town Clerk
GUESTS: None

NOTICE OF MEETING:
Notice of this meeting was posted on the Town Clerk’s Sign Board and was published in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise on Thursday, October 1, 2020.

The North Country including Franklin County is still in Phase 4 of the Reopening of New York State due to the corona virus called COVID-19. People are still asked to wear masks to cover their nose and mouth when within 6 feet of other people. A limited number of people are allowed inside the Town buildings.

REPORTS

1. Highway-Andy Crary, Superintendent of Highways:
a. Put 3 loads of crusher run on Clark-Wardner Road
b. Helped Town’s of Santa Clara and Harrietstown with shoulder work
c. Mowed the ball fields at park to get the ready for next spring
d. Received shipment of salt
e. Chipping back the sides of the Town roads
f. Made a dump run
g. Put the new sanding chain in the 2015 truck, received a used chute from Harrietstown
h. Hauled tar for Village and Town of Tupper Lake
i. Changed oil filters in the F350 pickup truck
j. Cleared out culvert on Keese Mills Road due to beaver activity
k. Took the 2013 truck to Plattsburgh for a leak in the coolant line
l. Installed new hydraulic hoses on the 2015 sander
m. Cleaned the shop
n. Helped the Fire Department haul rocks
o. Submitted CHIP’s form with Supervisor for funding, State has cut 20% of allowed amount due to Budget cuts

2. Town Clerk – Elaine Sater:
a. Total Revenue to Supervisor as of September 30, 2020 was $ 1,472.45 from 4 Certified copies, 1 Town Hall donation from coffee fund, 6 Dog Licenses: 3 renewed and 3 new (Tag#243 thru 245), 5 Building Permits #20-037 thru 041, and 1 copy of a tape recording
b. Received Tentative Budget for 2021 on October 1 and distributed to Town Board.
c. TOWN HALL REQUEST: None
d. TOWN PARK REQUEST: Received a request from Scout Troop 8012, dated September 12 for September 13, 5:30pm.
e. RECORDS MANAGEMENT:
1) Indexing Minutes Vol 11 (1979-1980)
2) 24, received a FOIL request for a copy of a tape from a Board meeting
3) Tuesday, September 29, attended a one hour on-line session (webinar) entitled “What Does the Genealogists What From You? And How to Provide It.” Describes how to provide access to older records and ways to protect them.

3. Historian – Elaine Sater: Copies of the 1976, 1977, and 1978 minutes and right-of-way documents concerning Boot Bay Road (now Hull Road) were provided to Matthew Szeliga and to Supervisor Peter Shrope. It appears that Boot Bay Lane is a different road.

4. Tax Collector – Holly Huber: Nothing to report

5. Town Justice – Nik Santagate:
Disposed of 43 cases and gave the Supervisor a check in the amount of $4,760.00 for September

6. Code Enforcement Officer – Paul Blaine:
a. Issued five (5) building permits (BPs) for September BP#s 20-037 thru 041)
b. Issued 1 Certificate of Compliance for BPs #20-028
c. Requested people come directly to him for questions on Building Permits and what they need to do to complete the process so he can issued Certificates

7. Assessor – Roseanne Gallagher:
a. She and Pam Sloate data collected the 12 residences on the Hogsback on Rainbow Lake by canoe earlier this week.
b. Made appointments to data collect White Pine Camp and North Brook Lodge tomorrow. Also have spoken to two other property owners and was given permission to data collect their camps on North Brook Rd. tomorrow. Pam Sloate will be doing this with her. That leaves three other places on that side of Osgood Pond that she hasn’t been to; will try to get them done also.

8. Supervisor Peter Shrope:
a. Fiscal Stress: Received an notice from the Office of the State Comptroller showing the Fiscal Stress designation for the Town using the Annual Update Document of 2019, out of 100 points the Town is at 0 points and has no Fiscal Stress or Environmental Stress designation,
b. St. Regis Presbyterian Church: Received notice from the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation dated September 25, 2020, stating that the St. Regis Presbyterian Church on Keese Mills Road has been listed on the State Register of Historic Places and has been recommended to be listed on the National Historic Register.
c. New NYS Public Employer Mandatory Emergency Plan: Received information from the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) concerning a webinar that he attended on October 7. The Town must complete an Emergency Plan for contingency operations to protect public workers in future health emergencies. For $1,000 the Town can hire a consultant to create the plan. The CSEA Union will have to review the plan and include it in the union agreement. The Board was provided with more detailed information.
d. Electronic Banking: The Town will have to create a policy and pass a resolution to open an on-line banking account. The Board was provided with information on the process.
e. Ball Field Lease with Paul Smith’s College: Recreated the lease to make the corrections noted. Sent a copy to Paul Smith’s College for their review on October 6, no response yet.
f. Public Hearing for Preliminary Budget 2021 is scheduled for October 29 at 6pm.
g. The Financial Report ending September 30, 2020, was distributed to Board members.
1) Revenue received: $4,760 from Town Justice and $1,472.45 from Town Clerk
2) NYCLASS interest was as follows: General $4.34 for a total of $111,129.39 and Highway $1.61 for a total of $42,351.40.

ACCEPTANCE/AMENDMENT OF MINUTES

– Regular Meeting September 10, 2020
Motion made by Amber McKernan, second by Steve Tucker, to accept the Minutes of the September 10, 2020, Regular meeting, with the following correction: Page 2, Para 3, Historian, first sentence, the reference in the minutes from 1977 is to “Boot Bay Road”, not “Boot Bay Lane”. Aye 5 (McKernan, Shrope, Szeliga, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0

CITIZENS’ COMMENTS: NONE

BUSINESS

ANNUAL CONTRACTS FOR 2021 Superivosr Peter Shrope:

1. NORTH COUNTRY LIFEFLIGHT for emergency medical evacuation services

RESOLUTION #47-2020
NORTH COUNTRY LIFEFLIGHT CONTRACT FOR 2021
Motion made by Supervisor Peter Shrope, second by Amber McKernan,

RESOLVED that the Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to sign a contract with North County LifeFlight, Inc. for medical evacuation services during 2021 and pay the amount of $1,500 from the 2021 Town Budget.

ROLL CALL VOTE: Aye 5 (McKernan, Shrope, Szeliga, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0
RESOLUTION #47-2020 declared duly adopted.

2. SARANAC LAKE CIVIC CENTER for Youth Activities

RESOLUTION #48-2020
SARANAC LAKE CIVIC CENTER CONTRACT FOR 2021
Motion made by Supervisor Peter Shrope, second by Amber McKernan,

RESOLVED that the Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to sign a contract with Saranac Lake Civic Center, Inc. for youth activities services during 2021 and pay the amount of $1,000 from the 2021 Town Budget.

ROLL CALL VOTE: Aye 5 (McKernan, Shrope, Szeliga, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0
RESOLUTION #48-2020 declared duly adopted.

COMMITTEES

1. Parks and Recreation – Supervisor Peter Shrope/Amber McKernan: Amber McKernan said due to the closing of businesses in Town the Port-a-Potty should stay up another month because people traveling through the area are using it. It will stay at the park until November 30.

2. Website – Supervisor Peter Shrope/Amber McKernan: Reviewed the new website, corrections have been made. The “Ease of Use” button on the top is not that easy to use.

AUDIT OF VOUCHERS

RESOLUTION #49-2020
PAYMENT OF AUDITED VOUCHES AS LISTED ON THE ABSTRACTS
Motion made by Amber McKernan, second by Lydia Wright

RESOLVED that the Supervisor be authorized to pay the audited vouchers as listed on the abstracts as follows:
PREPAID FUNDS: Abstract #10 for Voucher #s 10A and 10B for 2020 General Funds in the amount of $372.22
GENERAL FUND: Abstract #10 for Voucher #165 through #176 for 2020 funds in the amount of $3,595.65 and STREET LIGHTING 2020 FUND Voucher #172 in the amount of $58.55
HIGHWAY FUND: Abstract #10 for Voucher #100 through #108 for 2020 funds in the amount of $24,270.57

ROLL CALL VOTE: Aye 5 (McKernan, Shrope, Szeliga, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0
RESOLUTION #49-2020 declared duly adopted.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion to Adjourn at 7:30pm made by Amber McKernan, second by Lydia Wright, Aye 5 (McKernan, Shrope, Szeliga Tucker, Wright), Nay 0

Respectfully Submitted,
Elaine W. Sater, RMC
Brighton Town Clerk