November 10, 2022 Regular Town Meeting

CALL TO ORDER
Meeting was called to order at 6:42pm by Supervisor Peter Shrope at the Brighton Town Hall, 12 County Road 31 (aka Jones Pond Road), Paul Smiths, New York, on Thursday, November 10, following the Public Hearing held at 6:30pm with the following:
Pledge of Allegiance to Flag was recited

ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS
PRESENT: Supervisor Peter Shrope
Council Members: Amber McKernan, Steve Tucker and Lydia Wright
ABSENT: Council Members Matthew Szeliga
OTHERS PRESENT: Elaine Sater-Town Clerk and 1 resident
GUESTS: None

NOTICE OF MEETING:
Thursday, November 3, 2022, notice of this meeting was posted on the Town Clerkís Sign Board, written notice was provided to Town Board members, and notice was published in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise

REPORTS

HIGHWAY – Superintendent of Highways Andy Crary: Report provided
Picked up water; put new plow parts on plows; sand was put up; raked dirt roads; trimmed hanging branches around Town; picked up cemetery signs for winter; patrolled the beaver activity; worked on the Clark-Wardner turn-around; cleaned trucks; painted rust spots on trucks; changed plow steel on F-320 pickup truck; and started winter hours, 5am to 1pm, Monday through Friday.

TOWN CLERK – Elaine Sater: Total revenue to Supervisor as of October 31, 2022, was $50.00 from 5 dog licenses: two new (Tag #s 269 and 270) and 3 renewed
October 20 – Took Oath of Office from Deputy Tax Collector Elizabeth DeFonce and sent notice to the Franklin County Clerk.
October 27 – posted notice on Town Clerkís Sign Board and distributed notice to Town Board for a Special Meeting on November 1 at 7:30pm. Faxed notice to Adirondack Daily Enterprise
November 1 – Received letters of resignation from the Tax Collector Holly Huber and Deputy Tax Collector Elizabeth DeFonce.
After the Special Meeting on November 1, took Oaths of Office from Tax Collector Elizabeth DeFonce and Deputy Holly Huber. Sent letter dated November 1 to the Franklin County Clerk notifying him of the change,
November 3 – posted notice on the Town Clerkís Sign Board and distributed notice to Town Board of a Public Hearing for the Preliminary Town Budget for 2023 for November 10 at 6:30pm, with Regular Board meeting to follow the Public Hearing, published notice in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
Received notification from the NYS Association of Towns concerning the Annual Meeting and Training in New York City, February 19-22, 2023. A delegate and alternate needs to be appointed if anyone is attending the Annual Meeting on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
TOWN HALL REQUESTS: None
TOWN PARK REQUEST: Monday, October 31, 3:45 to 5:15pm, Highlander Soccer Club, Certificate of Insurance was provided.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT: Indexing Vol 13 of Minutes (1985 thru 1986)
Note: Town Clerkís Office will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, November 24.

HISTORIAN – Elaine Sater: Nothing to Report

TAX COLLECTOR – Elizabeth DeFonce: Obtained new Post Office Box number at Gabriels Post Office and will use personal cell phone number for Tax Collection. Requests a resolution to add an additional note to the Tax Bills alerting the taxpayers to the changes.
Audit of 2022 Tax Collection financial records was completed on November 1 by Council members Amber McKernan, Matthew Szeliga, and Lydia Wright

RESOLUTION #57-2022
AUDIT OF TAX COLLECTORíS FINANCIAL RECORDS FOR 2022
Motion made by Supervisor Peter Shrope, second by Lydia Wright,
WHEREAS Council members Amber McKernan, Matthew Szeliga, and Lydia Wright met on November 1, 2022, with the former Tax Collector and Deputy Tax Collector to audit the Tax Collectorís Financial Records of 2022,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board accepts the audit of the Tax Collectorís Financial Records of 2022 with no comments.
ROLL CAL VOTE: Aye 4 (McKernan, Shrope, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Szeliga)
Resolution #57-2022 declared duly adopted.

TOWN JUSTICE – Nik Santagate: Supervisor Peter Shrope said he received a check for $2,220.50 and the Justice disposed of 16 cases during October.

CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER – Rodger Tompkins: No Report received

ASSESSOR/DATA COLLECTOR – Roseanne Gallagher: Data collected Forestmere and Camp Regis/Applejack, still need to do Camp Topridge with Pam Sloate. Was out in the Town working on on-going and new construction several times in the last couple of weeks. Will review the GAR proposal and compare it to the KLW proposal for the reassessment, setting up an interview with PSP.

SUPERVISOR – Supervisor Peter Shrope:
Charter Communications: Received notices dated October 21 and 28, concerning upcoming changes to cable channel lineups.
Budget update as of October 31, 2022, was provided to Town Board
Revenue received: $2,220.50 from the Town Justice and $50.00 from the Town Clerk
NYCLASS investment interest received for October as follows: $273.96 for General Fund, balance is $112,133.15, ($20,000 for Town Hall); $104.40 for Highway Fund, Balance is $42,733.49

ACCEPT/AMEND MINUTES

Special Board Meeting – October 20, 2022
Motion made by Amber McKernan, second by Supervisor Peter Shrope, to accept the minutes of the Special Board meeting of October 20, 2022, as written. Aye 3 (McKernan, Shrope. Tucker), Nay 0, Abstain 1 (Wright), Absent 1 (Szeliga)

Regular Board Meeting – October 20, 2022
Motion made by Amber McKernan, second by Lydia Wright, to accept the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of October 20, 2022, with the following correction: Typographical error on Page 3, Credit Card Policy, Resolution #52-2022, 8th paragraph; change ìusedî to ìuser: Aye 3 (McKernan, Shrope, Tucker), Nay 0, Abstain 1 (Wright), Absent 1 (Szeliga)

Special Board Meeting – November 1, 2022
Motion made by Amber McKernan, second by Lydia Wright, to accept the minutes of the Special Board meeting of November 1, 2022, as written. Aye 4 (McKernan, Shrope, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Szeliga)

CITIZEN COMMENTS: None

BUSINESS

EAS AGREEMENT – Supervisor Peter Shrope: Received a new agreement from Employee Assistance Services (EAS) using Behavioral Health Science North (BHSN) for monitoring drug use by Highway employees.
RESOLUTION #58-2022
AGREEMENT WITH BHSN EAS FOR DURG TESTING OF HIGHWAY EMPLOYEES
Motion made by Supervisor Peter Shrope, second by Steve Tucker,
RESOLVED that the Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to sign an agreement with Behavioral Health Science North, Employee Assistance Services (BHSN EAS) to provide employee assistance services including drug testing for Highway employees for a cost of $12.50 per quarter per employee (3).
ROLL CAL VOTE: Aye 4 (McKernan, Shrope, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Szeliga)
Resolution #58-2022 declared duly adopted.

TAX BILLS INSERT – Supervisor Peter Shrope- Received a request from the Tax Collector Elizabeth DeFonce to include a notice in addition to the Tax Bills for 2023 to alert taxpayers to the new address and phone number for the Tax Collector.
RESOLUTION #59-2022
ADDITIONAL TAX BILL INSERT FOR 2023 TAXPAYERS
Motion made by Supervisor Peter Shrope, second by Amber McKernan,
WHEREAS the Real Property Tax Law requires a Town Board to approve the addition of inserts into tax bills, and
WHEREAS the Town Board appointed a new Tax Collector on November 1, 2022, who will use a different address and phone number for collecting taxes,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board authorizes Tax Collector Elizabeth DeFonce to include an insert printed on colored paper in the Tax Bills for 2023 alerting the Taxpayer to the change in address and phone number for the Tax Collector.
ROLL CAL VOTE: Aye 4 (McKernan, Shrope, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Szeliga)
Resolution #59-2022 declared duly adopted.

ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS MEETING – Supervisor Peter Shrope: Received information from the NYS Association of Towns concerning the Annual Training and Meeting in New York City, February 19-22. A delegate and alternate need to be appointed if anyone is interested in going to the Annual Meeting.
No one said they were planning to attend.

BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW (BAR) MEMBER REAPPOINTMENT – Supervisor Peter Shrope: Paul Pillis is up for reappointment for the BAR. He is waiting to hear if Paul Pillis is willing to be reappointed.

NUISANCE ALARM LOCAL LAW DRAFT – Supervisor Peter Shrope: Sent the draft Nuisance Alarm Local Law to the Attorney for the Town Scott Goldie for review; waiting for a reply.

ADIRONDACK ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS & VILLAGES (AATV) MEETING – Supervisor Peter Shrope: Received notice of a reception and meeting of the AATV, Sunday December 4 and Monday December 5 in Lake George; cost is $115.

COMMITTEES:
Park & Recreation – Peter Shrope/Amber McKernan: The port-a-potty was removed for the winter.

CITIZEN COMMENTS: None

AUDIT OF VOUCHERS
RESOLUTION #60-2022
AUDIT OF VOUCHERS
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 dated as follows:
PREPAID FUNDS: Abstract #11 for Voucher #s 11A and 11B for 2022 GENERAL FUND in the amount of $349.88. and Voucher #11B for 2022 STREET LIGHTING FUNDS in the amount of $81.36
GENERAL FUND: Abstract #12 for Voucher #180 through #197 for 2022 funds in the amount of $4,897.18
HIGHWAY FUND: Abstract #11 for Voucher #86 through #91 for 2022 funds in the amount of $1,771.35
ROLL CALL VOTE: Aye 4 (McKernan, Shrope, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Szeliga)
RESOLUTION #60-2022 declared duly Adopted.

ADJOURNMENT
Motion to Adjourn at 7:30pm made by Amber McKernan, second by Lydia Wright; Aye 4 (McKernan, Shrope, Tucker, Wright), Nay 0, Absent 1 (Szeliga)

Respectfully Submitted, Elaine W. Sater, Brighton Town Clerk