Gilboa Gets Organized for 2024

GILBOA – Members of the Gilboa Town Board got organized for the new year with a few changes on Monday. Monthly meetings will be held on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Gilboa Town Hall.

Town Clerk Linda Wyckoff also announced that dog licenses may now be renewed online.

The evening consisted of official appointments and designations. The town did increase its liability insurance from $1 million to $2 million, at an increased cost of $715 for the year, bringing the annual premium to more than $45,000. This will also affect insurance requirements for contractors. Contractors must have prior approval before any work begins. They must agree to carry general liability and auto liability with a minimum of $2 million.

The town was asked to increase its liability insurance by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, due to a fossil exhibit located on town property. The level meets the city's level of insurance and Supervisor Alicia Terry said it does seem many municipalities are now increasing liability insurance levels.

There was also discussion about a planning board member who is not attending monthly meetings and Terry explained the town has no way to remove someone from the board based on attendance. She said the person in question has been asked to resign so that someone else may be appointed to the position. "The person has been spoken to and asked to either attend or resign. We will see how it plays out," she said. Cindy Buel was appointed the planning board vice chair, an added position and she has also been appointed the court clerk. The salary for the planning board vice chair is set at $104 per meeting. Buel was appointed to a five-year term on the planning board and Mark Powell was appointed chairman. Elsa Gonzalez was appointed as an alternate member for three years. As part of the organization for 2024, members of the planning board were reaffirmed and included Mark Powell, Cindy Buel, Patricia Coleman, Daniel Wright, and Christopher Albano, with Gonzalez as an alternate.

The land survey of town property is underway, which includes the Gilboa Museum and Juried History Center. It is expected to go before the town planning board next month. The town and the Gilboa Historical Society have been negotiating the sale of a portion of town property to the GHS where the museum and center are located. There are plans to construct an addition to the building once the sale has been completed. 

Routine appointments and designations included the following: Mountain Eagle and Times Journal, legal newspapers; Wayne Bank and NBT, official depositories; mileage reimbursement 67 cents per mile; submission of monthly reports by the highway superintendent, code enforcement officer, planning board, town supervisor and deputy code enforcement officer. They reinstated the town's hiring procedure, approved the salaries and hourly rates of employees and appointees; purchasing,  investment, and procurement policies.

They also established the policy for controlled substances and alcohol and testing of employees.

Appointments included: Joseph Moore Jr., dog control officer; Mary Wyckoff, deputy town clerk/collector/registrar; Matthew Cammer, deputy highway superintendent; Janette Reynolds, town historian; George Wilson, assessor chairman; Mark Powell, planning board chairman; Elsa Gonzales, planning board secretary; Joanne Darcy Crum, town attorney; Brian Caron as CEO, floodplain administrator and fire inspector. Linda and Mary Wyckoff were appointed registrar and deputy registrar last month.

Supervisor Terry said she is working with Kristen Wyckoff to determine how the fossils were transferred to the town. She also explained that taxpayers should have received their tax bills, which she noted went down for property owners in the town of Gilboa.

It was also noted that the television has been mounted on the wall at the town hall and can be used for a number of things, such as Zoom meetings, PowerPoint presentations and to facilitate training.