Duties Shift New Positions In Davenport

DAVENPORT - Water District Discussion

DAVENPORT - Davenport Town elected officials strife over Clerk Linda Adam's hours. Board members and Highway Superintendent Fred Utter believe it is in the town's best interest to have a clerk available on Saturdays. Currently, Adam is at the office Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until noon.

Utter said there should be a clerk available Monday through Saturday for the transfer station needs. "For 100 years this place has always been open Monday through Saturday," he said. According to Utter, this was the schedule when Adam accepted the position. 

Council Member Norman Schubert said the main complaint he hears is that the town hall is closed. "There is a need to be open," he said.

However, Adam said she is unavailable to work on Saturdays. She noted that no other towns in Delaware County have clerks working weekends. "Well hire a deputy, I can't find anybody," said Adam. She said that Court Clerk Karen Smith has been assisting as an unofficial deputy clerk. Smith is in the office Monday through Wednesday.

The board decided to advertise to hire a deputy clerk to work Monday, Friday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. with a salary to be negotiated. 

The board will also advertise for a heavy equipment operator with a CDL license minimal Class B.

The town also accepted Bookkeeper Sandy Whittaker's resignation and appointed Karen Kropp to replace her.

In another discussion, Kelso is seeking grant opportunities through Congressman Marc Molinaro and Senator Peter Oberacker. He mentioned that Roxbury was recently awarded $1.25 million from Molinaro for water infrastructure improvements. Kelso explained that potential water district modifications require discussion.

In April the board appointed Carol Malz as water district bookkeeper. Malz researched property lines and developed a document of questions for Utter and board members. A meeting is scheduled for next week. "This is a start," said Kelso.

The board and Utter briefly discussed options for rectifying water volume issues. Some suggestions included drilling additional wells, though Utter explained that a wells requires a costly pump station to be installed for chlorine treatment. 

Kelso suggested using gravity to bring water down a hill to the existing pump house, but Utter said the pipes would need to be larger.  

Schubert noted that rectifying water issues is a major commitment for only 36 homes. He added that when the development of a water district first came to the board he was against it.

Council Member Mark Miller reminded Schubert that regardless of the past, the town has a water district that they must continue to care for.

In other business:

Town assessors Michael Bordinger-Lutz and Glenna Jeschke were permitted to attend the annual seminar of assessors at Cornell University from July 14-18. New York will reimburse half of the training cost and the remainder of Jeschke's costs will be split with the Town of Worcester.

Councilmembers entered into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter.

Smith was permitted to attend the annual magistrate court conference training in Niagara Falls.

The town donated $500 to the Charolot Valley Senior Citizens Association.

The next scheduled town council meeting is Tuesday, June 18, at 7 p.m.