ASHLAND — There was the monthly town meeting of the Ashland Town Board Monday. The Meeting was chaired by Scott Tuttle, Deputy Supervisor, following the resignation of former Supervisor Chris Hamilton. The town business was carried out by Councilman Jeff Gonzalez; Councilman James Garraghan; and Councilman John Mattice as well as Town Clerk, (Tax Collector, Records Management & Registrar of Vital Records) Dawn Thorpe who expertly assisted those on and before the Board in following the sometimes complex parade of steps in doing the town's business.
There were a few issues to be presented to the town, the Property Tax Override, a local law Fire and Building Code. There were no questions or comments about these issues from the floor. As to the fire building code changes, a board member observed that there was little to do but pass the new code as presented to the town by Albany as "we have to follow them anyway, so we might as well pass it." So, the public hearing was closed and the New York State Fire Building code was accepted by the Board. Failing to have community comment on the Property tax issue, the Board approved a local Law to Override the Tax Levy Limit established in General Municipal Law §3-c. This law is being proposed to comply with subdivision 5 of the General Municipal Law §3-c which expressly authorizes the Town Board to override the tax levy limit by the adoption of a local law approved by vote of at least sixty percent (60%) of the Town Board. This will allow the town to levy higher property taxes, above the caps, if approved by the Board.
The next order of business was to help Paul and Darlene Vandergrift navigate the laws created to make it possible for citizens of Ashland to build a small structure, in this case a shed, which by necessity will need a variance to accommodate the necessity of it being too close to the road, but legally within the allowed placement if a variance is granted. There will be an open hearing on this matter on November 9th.
Following the variance concern was the presentation of the budget by Travis Castle,the chief operator and Henry Lamont, General Manager of LVDV Operations, an affiliate company of Lamont Engineers. They service the water and wastewater needs of Ashland. Some detail was provided by Castle and Lamont, but as the issues are complex, a final approval has been held over until after the Board can hold a workshop to examine the proposed budget in detail.
The final business was a report by Rich Tompkins, the Highway Superintendent, on his department's preparations for the coming winter. His estimate was based on the need for 600 tons of materials for the winter highway prep, and the current bid of $10,000 in salt and $15,000 for most likely sand (the acoustics in the room are not wonderful.) This may not be the final price. The price of salt has risen and it is his responsibility to make sure the stockpile is ready for what the winter will be sending our way all too soon.
