DRAFT

Regular Meeting September 13, 2004

Charlton Town Board

Saratoga County

New York

After the pledge to the flag, the invocation was given by Town Clerk Gail Hanchar.

At the regular meeting of the Town Board of Charlton, Saratoga County, New York held at

7:30 P.M. at the Charlton Town Hall, called to order by Supervisor Acunto, there were present:

Councilman Alan Grattidge

Councilman Robert Lippiello

Councilman Dorothy Mitchell

Councilman Sandra Verola

Supervisor Ferdinand Acunto

At this time there was a presentation by the Director of the Office for the Aging, Sandra Cross. Sandra passed out a copy of the transportation schedule for the Charlton, Saratoga County Office for the Aging Services Directory and Caregivers Services Directory. The Office for the Aging serves anyone age 60 or older. Some of the services that are provided include: Adult Day Care, Alzheimer’s Disease Resources, Caregivers Support Program, Emergency Response Systems, Energy Assistance (HEAP), Health Insurance Counseling Programs, Health Care Screening, Home Health Care, Legal Services, Long Term Ombudsman Program, Long Term Home Health Care Program, Home Delivered Meals, Tax Assistance, Transportation and Weatherization Referral and Assistance Program. For further information you may contact the Office for the Aging at 884-4100 or visit the county web page. Sandra said they have a monthly Newsletter. If you would like a copy, call the Office for the Aging.

Midge Dube – Sweetman Road - stated that a lot of people in the town are not aware of the services that the Office for the Aging has to offer. She feels we need to get more information out via our Town Board Newsletter or some other means. Midge would like to see a senior’s group started in Charlton.

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola that the minutes of the August 9 Town Board Meeting and the August 30 Agenda Meeting be accepted as received:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

ABSTRACT OF CLAIMS:

The total of the bills for the month of September approved at the Agenda Meeting

was $84,917.95. Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Vouchers for the month were #1808-#1900.

TOWN CLERK’S REPORT:

Gail Hanchar read the Town Clerk’s Report. She reported taking in $236.18. Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR (Agenda Items):

No comments.

SUPERVISOR’S REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:

August expenditures and revenue:

General Fund – Expenditures of $47,223.18. Revenue of $106,339.18.

Highway Fund – Expenditures of $75,073.62. No revenue.

Water District #1 – Expenditures of $4,424.75. Revenue of $32,585.97.

Water District #2 – Expenditures of $167.88. No revenue.

Major expenditures:

General Fund – Contractual Law of $1,972.45, Buildings Operation (expenses for phone repair and squirrel damage) of $2,461.14, Safety Inspections Contractual of $1,752.00, Ambulance Contractual of $2,431.25, Joint Youth Program of $3,000.00 and Planning Contractual (Comprehensive Plan) of $3,692.63.

Highway Fund – General Expenditures Maintenance of Roads of $14,842.80, CHIPS Program of $29,668.00 and Machinery Repair Contractual of $5,038.69.

Water District #1 – Transmission and Distribution of $1,152.99.

Major revenue:

General Fund – Franchise payment from Time Warner of $4,228.30, Sales Tax Distribution

of $84,078.00 and Fines and Forfeited Bail of $11,400.00.

Water District #1 – Metered water sales of $32,343.39.

There were 776 hits this month on the town web site.

There will be a Budget Workshop on October 18 at 7:00 P.M.

There have been two requests for speed reductions. One is for Eastern Avenue from Division Street west to Route 147 and on Charlton Road from Jockey Street to Route 147. Some of this same request was made but it was at least 10 years ago.

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that Resolution #81, A RESOLUTION TO PETITION SARATOGA COUNTY FOR A SPEED REDUCTION ON EASTERN AVENUE FROM DIVISION STREET WEST TO ROUTE 147 AND ON CHARLTON ROAD FROM JOCKEY STREET WEST TO ROUTE 147, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

On September 29 there will be a Workshop Meeting with the Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Chairman of the Planning Board, Zoning Administrator and the Assessors Chairman.

Marv Schorr said that is the same night as the ZORC Meeting and the same people should be at both meetings. Marv will change the date of the ZORC Meeting.

Supervisor Acunto read an article from The Gazette regarding a robbery at the Gilchrist residence in West Charlton on August 16, 1882. $150,000 in bonds, mortgage papers and Certificates of Deposit were taken. Some weeks later the Gilchrist’s were contacted and the robbers wanted a ransom of $950.00 and they would return the papers. A meeting took place. The money was paid. The papers returned. The charges were dropped.

In August, the State Legislature passed legislation stating that any money from traffic fines that had been reduced in a justice court would go to the General Fund of the State of New York. The NYS Association of Towns has asked that we approve a resolution supporting the restitution of the fine revenue. We use these funds to help with justice court expenses, to defray costs within our constable’s budget and for the maintenance of the NYSP Satellite Station. This process started September 1^st. Supervisor Acunto said it was almost like rolling dice as to what we can anticipate in revenue next year.

COMMUNICATIONS:

We received a letter from the NYS Department of Transportation regarding a speed reduction request that we asked for on Crooked Street from Komar Drive west to Swaggertown Road. That request was denied.

ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER:

Lee has had more sick animal pickups. He picked up a coydog, a raccoon and a red fox. In April there was a situation on Division Street with dogs barking. Lee made numerous trips to talk with both parties. He issued an appearance ticket. The owner has moved and the dogs are no longer on the property. It was felt by counsel and Lee that the case be dropped.

ASSESSORS:

They are doing some field review work, inputting building permits and checking the progress of building permits. Vicki finished small claims hearings today. There were a dozen this year. Vicki has finished her training and is now a state certified assessor. Mary has taken her first course. The Assessor’s Office will be open Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:00 A.M. until Noon and Tuesday evenings from 7:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M.

CONSTABLES:

For the month of August there were 27 patrols, answered 8 911 calls, covered 2,115 miles, issued 30 tickets and investigated 1 accident.

ECC:

Marv talked about a means of natural control for mosquitoes which is bat houses. Bats eat mosquitoes. Councilman Verola said there is a web site www.bat.com. You can purchase bat houses there. Marv said that for those who are concerned, the dunks are not a chemical. They are quite natural. They are a virus that attacks the mosquito larva.

EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE:

They will be meeting this month but a date has not been set. They are close to coming up with a plan and presenting it to the Board.

HIGHWAY:

They are continuing their construction projects working on shoulder work on the roads that they have paved. He met with the town engineer on the Storm Water Management updating some information. They took some water samples. The resident on DeGraff Road was pleased that Ron was able to do some repair on that road.

HISTORIAN:

The NYS Public Historians Meeting will be held in Lockport. Laura will not be attending. She attended the meeting this past spring when it was held in Silver Bay.

The Region 5 Historians Meeting will be held in Brunswick. They will be reviewing what was done at the conference in Lockport. The historians are learning about tourism, document preservation, using computers more effectively in their work and meeting local historical personalities.

The Saratoga County Historians Meeting will be held on October 13 at the Saratoga County Offices. Themes will include historic districts, preservation and historic sites and saving the character of our towns, especially our open spaces. Our Comprehensive Plans are vital to our community if we care about what our communities are. History doesn’t mean long ago. It means where we are right now.

In acknowledgement of Archives Week, at our October Town Board Meeting we will display our records we have had preserved over the past years.

Archives Week is celebrated annually with the Capital Region Archives Dinner. Saratoga County is very active in this. This year it will be held at the Mohawk Club on Wednesday, October 6 at 7:00 P.M.. The topic is The Adirondacks. The speaker will be Richard Tucker who works at the Research and Development Lab.

On October 5th at 7:00 P.M. there will be a book signing at the Schenectady Museum based on a book called “Dark Light” by Linda Simons. The book is about the second half of the nineteenth century and the anxiety over having electricity in homes and interest in electrotherapy.

There will be a program at the Schenectady Museum featuring Highlights About Famous Americans and American Landmarks from the General Electric Photo Collection. This will be presented by Archivist Chris Hunter.

The next meeting of the Historical Society will be the first Wednesday of October. The Historical Society Newsletter will be out shortly.

The Historical Society is taking an active part in the Mohawk Valley Indian Consortium. It is a listing of organizations like our Town Historical Society along the Mohawk Valley.

The Half Moon will be docked in Albany at the Corning Preserve October 2-12. You can find out more about it by calling the Albany Visitors Center.

Laura will be attending a seminar on Early Modern Albany Farming and Fur Trading and how that brought about the growth of the Albany and Schenectady area and how that led to people settling in Charlton.

Laura has been editing a book on the founding of Schenectady called “Schenectady Genesis”. It will be out by the end of November.

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION:

Doris Stauffer reported that the District had a meeting on August 4th. They had hoped to have some members of the Town Board there. They discussed the status of meeting with the Town Board. They are having a meeting on September 22nd at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall. They hope the Town Board members can be at that meeting. Some of the members cannot be there.

Councilman Verola stated that the Historic District Commission has been trying to get a date to meet with the Town Board since spring. Doris said they would like to meet with the whole Town Board and discuss the status of a budget for the Historic District Commission. The Commission would like to discuss the way we approach the Opinion of Approval Form. She asked if the Zoning Administrator handed out the Opinion of Approval Form when one applies for a building permit or is the form for a building permit application accompanied by the Opinion of Approval Form? What happens when no building permit is required? The Commission would like answers to these questions and come up with a formula that is not confusing. They also discussed modifying the Application for Opinion Approval Form. It is a terrible form. It is very confusing for people. They discussed having a cover letter to accompany the Application for Opinion of Approval Form containing information stating: Who we are. What the process is.

What we offer residents of the HDC. Councilman Verola suggested a date in October. She said they would like to discuss with us the lighting district and the Main Street Improvement Plan and that these things need to be resolved. It was decided on a tentative date of October 25th following the Agenda Meeting.

LIBRARY:

The library is working on a budget to present to the Town of Ballston. They are hoping to add a half time employee. They have requested a budget increase of 4.8% from Charlton.

PARK COMMITTEE:

They have had good use of the volleyball court. The portajohn will be gone by the end of this month.

PLANNING BOARD:

They will be meeting September 20 at 7:30 P.M.

RECORDS ADVISORY BOARD:

The book that we are having preserved this year is at Browns River. It should be back soon. Sandy is working with a professional bat person to clean up the upstairs room so we can work on the records.

TOWN HALL:

Bob VanVranken and Mr. Vosburgh are reviewing the contract. The town had some amendments. We are planning to have Mr. Vosburgh here on September 27 to give a presentation on his thoughts on the town hall.

VETERAN’S RECOGNITION BOARD:

They had a meeting. Estella has gotten some publicity out. We are looking for all former town residents of eight years minimum who have served in the military, not just necessarily in conflict. We will probably add a section called “Preserving the Peace”. This will be for veterans who are deceased or living who have been in service but not in service at a time of conflict. We would like these names by the end of November. Names should be given to Estella VanDerzee or Councilman Lippiello. We hope to have this done by next Memorial Day.

WATER:

John has been painting hydrants. He is trying to do an in-house roof repair at the pump house.

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:

They have a meeting on September 15. They will be hearing the Schermerhorn case. They want to subdivide but don’t have enough frontage.

ZONING:

For the month of August they issued 10 permits, 1 renewal, 1 ZBA application that was withdrawn, issued 4 CO’s and collected $1,113.00. Councilman Grattidge asked Dave to attend the Historic District Meeting on October 25.

ZONING ORDINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE:

They are still reviewing the Zoning Ordinance. They are continuing to discuss the definition of a kennel and discussing the clarification of sheds or roadside stands.

RESOLUTIONS:

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that Resolution #82, A RESOLUTION TO TRANSFER FUNDS, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Mitchell that Resolution #83, A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE REFUND OF A SUBDIVISION APPLICATION FEE OF $700.00 TO RUTH HALL, be approved:

Supervisor Acunto read a letter from Ray Black. Mrs. Hall paid $200.00 in Subdivision Application fees and $1,200.00 in park fees based on a two-lot subdivision. This was an error.

The actual subdivision was a one-lot subdivision rather than a two-lot subdivision. Mrs. Hall should be refunded $700.00.

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Motion made by Councilman Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that Resolution #84, A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING RESTORATION OF TRAFFIC FINE REVENUE, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Councilman Lippiello – Last month we discussed the assessors requesting a color printer to help with their pictures and paper work. We looked at a Hewlett Packard Color Laser Jet Printer, Model 3500N which could be networked to the Zoning Office and Town Clerk’s Office.

Supervisor Acunto – There is more than enough money in the assessor’s contractual account to cover it. We have a figure of a little over $1,000.00 from HELP CO. and prices from other sources from $899.00. We will shop for the best price.

Councilman Verola – You could buy a printer for each one of them for under $200.00 and they could all have their own printer. I thought we put a hold on all computer spending. I am very much opposed to this.

Councilman Lippiello – I was going to propose we set a maximum of $1,100.00 and if it can be purchased for less than that that would be a maximum.

Motion made by Councilman Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion to purchase a Hewlett Packard Color Laser Jet Printer which can be networked at a cost not to exceed $1,100.00, be approved:

Councilman Verola – We decided at the Agenda Meeting that we would put a hold on computer spending other than things that are already ordered and maintenance. This has not been ordered and this is certainly not maintenance. This computer stuff is outdated in three years. Why would we spend that kind of money on one printer? We could buy three printers for $140.00 for each office and if they are outdated in three years throw them away and buy new ones and still be under $1,000.00. This price does include the wiring.

Vicki Hayner – There is not a reason for a laser printer. It was suggested that we go with a higher quality so that it would hold up and do the job. Personally, I’m not convinced that we need to go quite that elaborate. An ink jet would probably do the job. I would think we could get 3 or 4 years out of it for the amount we would use it. I want to be able to have color pictures to affix to our property cards and to our sales book. It is much easier for people to identify a property when it is in color.

Supervisor Acunto – Your need for a color printer is more important for January 1^st than right now?

Vicki – The reason I put the request in for the 2004 Budget is because I know I have the funds available to purchase it. I would be able to use it immediately.

Councilman Grattidge – The quality of the black and white pictures was extremely poor this year when it was printed out on paper.

(Changed tape)

Laura Linder – The laser prints for long term. The ink jet doesn’t hold up. If it is something you want to have for a legal document or archival purposes, you need the better quality.

Vicki – I don’t know the longevity. Things change.

Councilman Verola – Right now with us talking about building a new town hall, to wire and network an expensive printer in this building and then have to move it to another location just doesn’t make any sense to me. We don’t have a price on how much the wiring is going to cost, not to mention we just passed a resolution not to do any more computer spending until we can get a handle on what we have and determine what we need.

Supervisor Acunto asked Dave LaFountain about his needs. He said anything that he would file would be forever. He would need long term quality.

Supervisor Acunto – There are two issues. Should it be networked or stand alone and are we going backward on what we said at the Agenda Meeting when we said we would not purchase any more hardware other than the things that were previously ordered.

Councilman Lippiello read from the minutes of the August Agenda Meeting and said the Board had addressed the point that this printer for the assessors had been requested.

Councilman Verola – What I had in mind was an ink jet printer that Vicki had requested. It was not this printer.

Vicki – It wasn’t a specific printer. I had requested a color printer and was told that we would have to get quotes.

Councilman Verola – We put a hold on everything that wasn’t ordered. Dave LaFountain would like a fax machine for his house. A lot of people want a lot of things but they are not ordered. With the kind of spending we have done this year on computer stuff so far, I say it has to stop.

Councilman Grattidge – My opinion is that the Assessor’s Office is an extremely active office. I view this as an improvement in the equipment they need to get their job done. I would rather see us spend the money on the quality of the machine rather than the throw-away machines. I would be in favor to move on this tonight. We can review whether it gets networked or not. That doesn’t have to be done right away.

Councilman Verola – So what we did in August at the Agenda Meeting has absolutely no meaning. Anyone can order anything they want because you are going against what we voted on.

Councilman Lippiello – We still have a printer coming for the assessors. We were aware of that last month.

Councilman Verola – But it wasn’t that printer. There was another (could not understand) for an ink jet.

Councilman Mitchell – Is it going to be necessary to spend this much for a color laser printer? If we get a less elaborate one will it do the job? Have we checked into that?

Councilman Verola – The kind of printer I had in mind was like the ink jet that I have at home. It was around $140.00.

Councilman Lippiello – I don’t think you will get the quality and wear and tear out of a $140.00 printer.

Councilman Verola – This is why we did the hold on computer spending. We don’t know what we need. This is the very reason why we did it.

Councilman Lippiello – This is the reason we have HELP CO. working with us to make suggestions to us as to what we need as a town. They are professionals.

Councilman Verola – They are selling us something.

After further discussion Supervisor Acunto said that he understands the question to be, is the printer for the assessors going to be a networked printer or a stand-alone printer? Is it going to be laser or ink jet? The one that has been asked for is a networkable laser printer.

Marv Schorr – Color laser jets run quite a bid of money. I question whether you will get the quality you think you will get as a compared to an ink jet. Ink jets are very good printers. It is a question of the quality of the printer. Laser jet printers get very expensive if you want good quality, a lot more than $1,000.00. Anyone who has any experience can tell you that. John Tasse stated that we need to be aware of the cost of supplies.

Councilman Grattidge suggested we table this motion for a month.

Councilman Verola - I still haven’t put together a group of people who have a clear understanding of computers to look at what we have and determine what we need. That would be a part of this.

Marv asked who was currently on the Computer Committee. Sandy said it was Bob, herself, Craig Jones and Kathy Hanley. Sandy said she wasn’t sure if she could get a group together before the next Agenda Meeting.

Councilman Verola – I am adamantly opposed to doing this until I can get a group of people together.

Supervisor Acunto – The Assessors Office is anticipating a printer in the very near future to meet their needs.

Councilman Verola – What have they been doing all these years?

Supervisor Acunto – They have been using black and white which has not been helpful in any of the legal discussions that have been taking place, especially small claims matters. My concern is making sure the Assessor’s Office has the tools to do their job. I don’t want to delay it too long. We need to make a decision on what to put in that office next month.

Marv - When you said who was on your Computer Committee, you have three people who are not computer experts and the one person who is is the one who wants to sell us the equipment.

Supervisor Acunto – He is recommending it along with his cost but that doesn’t say we are going to buy it from him.

Councilman Verola – That is why I want to form a separate sub-committee.

Councilman Grattidge – That is fine for looking a long-range stuff, we just need to do something within the next month.

The Board agreed to table the resolution until next month and get a recommendation back from the current Computer Committee.

COUNCILMAN REPORTS:

Councilman Mitchell – Asked for a resolution proclaiming Constitution Week.

Motion made by Councilman Mitchell, seconded by Councilman Grattidge that Resolution #86, A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING CONSTITUTION WEEK, SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2004, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

The Saratoga Chapter of the NSDAR will be meeting this Thursday at the Historical Society Building. They will be ringing the bells at 1:30 P.M. in honor of Constitution Week

The Newsletter information is due Thursday.

Councilman Lippiello – If residents know of people in the town who are veterans, get the names to Estella VanDerzee or Bob.

Councilman Verola – Would like to hire Schmidt & Schmidt to install a fan in the attic to remove the bat odor. The fan is a $375.00 fan and the price includes painting around the window. Sandy has estimates for $1,690.00 and for $640.00. The $640.00 estimate is not a hard-wired estimate. The fan would be plugged in and we would have to turn it on and off. The fan cost would be $204.45.

Motion made by Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Mitchell, A Motion to hire Schmidt & Schmidt to install the fan and switch in the attic at a cost not to exceed $1,960.00,

be approved:

Councilman Lippiello asked if the fan would be switched on.? Would the fan need to be thermostatically controlled? Would the fan expel the current smell of urine and feces?

Councilman Verola said the fan would be switched on. She did not believe it needed to be thermostatically controlled but will check into that. Sandy is not comfortable with the fan going on when no one is in the building. The fan would expel the smell but it would be an ongoing thing. For safety reasons, the fan should be on when someone is working in the attic. United Bat recommended that we have and ammonia proof, explosion proof high-amp fan.

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

Councilman Verola – United Bat will seal behind the chimney and clean up any bat guano

existing in the room. He will begin on September 20.

Councilman Verola said she wanted to make the residents aware that the wetlands map was not filed during the wetland hearings is being enforced. We had one resident who was unfortunate enough, through no fault of his own, started to do something on a piece of property he had purchased and it turned out to be a wetlands. I went to court the night that he was to appear. This is a criminal offense. Anyone who is thinking about doing any kind of work on their property, please call DEC and not take anyone else’s word for whether or not there are wetlands on their property.

Vicki – The Assessor’s Office does not assess property as wetlands unless you bring the letter from DEC stating the amount of wetlands you have.

Councilman Verola – If you violate the wetlands it is a criminal charge and you could spend time in jail.

Marv Schorr – We had an article in the last Newsletter about that specifically warning people that DEC is enforcing a map that has never been finalized. DEC has the right to do that.

Supervisor Acunto - We have that map. They have also modified that map and have enlarged those areas. The map in Warrensburg does not coincide with the map at the county. It is very important that people who think they are near a wetlands go to Warrensburg and get a definitive opinion.

Marv Schorr – There is a legal issue here if they have modified those maps but never reissued them whether they can enforce the modifications.

Councilman Verola – The Town has hasn’t had an audit since 1997. That was the last time the NYS Comptroller’s Office came in and did an audit. I would like for the Board to approve having an external independent audit done of the town’s books.

Supervisor Acunto – I think we should discuss it at the Agenda Meeting.

Councilman Grattidge – Thanked Nina for helping arrange having Sandy Cross come in and give us the presentation. He is looking forward to seeing the activity on the Veteran’s Recognition Board.

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR:

Dimmy Miner – Vines Road – Dimmy is concerned about the lighting on Route 67. It is hard to find the intersections after dark and vehicles travel too fast making intersections dangerous. On Route 29 in the Town of Greenwich they have solar lights. She would like the town to look into this type of lighting at the intersections.

As liaison to the Highway Department, Councilman Grattidge will look into this.

John Tasse- Sweetman Road – What is the plan for replacing Mrs. Dennis as Assessor?

Supervisor Acunto – Officially she hasn’t resigned.

Vicki – September 30 she resigns.

John Tasse – Is there a plan? What legally are the methods to re-establish that position?

Supervisor Acunto – We have elected Assessors. We have the option of filling the position or leaving it vacant until the next election. The Board has not discussed it so I don’t know what the Board will do.

Vicki – (Could not understand)

John Tasse – I understand that. We have had enough notice that it conceivably could have been done.

Vicki – (Could not understand)

John Tasse – Relative to the motion you approved from the traffic violations receipts, we did not hear a number. Roughly what is the town…………………………

Supervisor Acunto – We budgeted roughly $40,000.00.

John Tasse – We made $40,000.00 a year?

Supervisor Acunto – Estimated revenue was budged in the beginning of the year. To date a little over $30,000.00 so there is a balance of $8,502.00 and we will get one more check before the end of the year.

John Tasse – The shortfall next year will be almost $40,000.00?

Supervisor Acunto – We have no way of knowing. It depends on what the volume of traffic tickets are.

Dave LaFountain – Do you have an average of the past?

Councilman Grattidge – It traditionally runs around $40,000.00 a year, the revenue that comes in from the tickets. Seeing what the next quarter will do will tell us what next year is going to do.

Traditionally, if you come in with a ticket and it is reduced to parking on the pavement, etc. those tickets would go into the town coffers. Now the State is saying they are going to take everything. I believe they are leaving a provision if you want to put a $10.00 surcharge on it for one year.

Supervisor Acunto – We would have to enact a local law. We have that option at any time.

John Tasse – Talking about the new contract with the Town Hall engineering, we have spent $20,000.00 and I’m not sure what we got for that. How much are we spending on this new contract?

Councilman Verola – We are trying to negotiate a contract. It would be a per cent of the total estimate of the Town Hall. We don’t have any idea how much money we are talking about for the Town Hall yet.

John Tasse – My only concern with that is, you did that with the last guy and ended up having to pay “x” figures and we did not get his full services for whatever reasons. I’m worried. I don’t know what I got for the last (could not understand). How much did the small claims cost us with the assessors? Is that a cost to the town?

Supervisor Acunto – We still don’t have a final figure because we are waiting for decisions.

Vicki – They have all been heard. The hearing officers have 30 days.

John Tasse – Are there legal fees that have been incurred by that or are there no legal fees and we just represent ourselves?

Vicki – We don’t use lawyers.

John Tasse – How much have we spent on the Crooked Street, Swaggertown Road water district and what is the status of it?

Supervisor Acunto – I gave that out publicly at one of the Town Board Meetings.

Councilman Verola – I don’t think it was a public meeting.

Supervisor Acunto – We are appealing the decision of the County judge. We are waiting to formulate the paperwork to go before the Appellate Court.

(Changed tape)

Supervisor Acunto – On the Article 78 proceeding, to date we paid in 2003 Tabner, Ryan and Keniry $7,937.00 and Bob VanVranken $1,750.00.

John Tasse – You talked about putting a hold on the computer expenditures. How much have we spent in the year 2004 on computer equipment?

Councilman Verola – We spent $11,798.60 with HELP CO. and that did not include the two programs that we bought for the Zoning Office and the Tax Collector. Those programs were under $10,000.00 but just under $10,000.00. The total is close to $22,000.00.

John Tasse – We don’t have a server network?

Councilman Verola – No, we don’t.

The Agenda Meeting will be September 27 at 7:30 P.M.

Motion made Councilman Verola, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion to adjourn to an executive session to discuss personnel matters, be approved:

Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes

Councilman Lippiello Yes

Councilman Mitchell Yes

Councilman Verola Yes

Supervisor Acunto Yes

After everyone had the opportunity to speak who wished the meeting was adjourned at 9:55 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gail Hanchar

Town Clerk