Gilboa Preps for Budget Season

GILBOA  – Members of the Gilboa Town Board approved several items, including, setting Oct. 12 as their fall Tire Day from 8 a.m. until noon,  a watershed project at Albano Farms and approving things that will improve operations.

Chris Albano, from Albano Farms on state Rt. 23 in the town, was present to get the nod from board members to construct a 5 million gallon manure pit at the farm under a Watershed Ag program. The new pit will increase capacity five-fold over the current 1 million gallon pit. The new pit will be constructed 15 feet into the ground and will not be visible from state Route 23, according to Albano. He said the project requires notification of all neighbors within 1,500 of the pit. No one has issued any protest and all must be okay with the project. A motion was made to approve town Supervisor Alicia Terry to sign the approval letter. While it is hoped the project could be done before winter, it is questionable. The project has been six years in the process.

Gilboa Historical Society President Gerry Stoner took the floor to report attendance at the museum was up significantly this year. There are double the number of vendors for this weekend's Psychic Fair. He said Bobbie Curious will be at the September meeting and there are several important dates coming up.

Town Clerk Linda Wyckoff reported hunting license sales have been brisk, but there are complaints from hunters about the fact that the new licenses are now printed on plain paper. Of the more than $1,100 taken in for the hunting licenses, she said the town received $67, with the remainder going to the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

She also discussed a new vendor for the online payment of taxes. She said the county is also on board with the new vendor, Municipate. She said the old vendor was not familiar with tax payments and she is comfortable with the demonstration they received and is ready to move forward with the new vendor.  She received permission to do remote deposits with NBT, eliminating daily trips to the bank during tax season. The checks will be scanned in by a check reader for the electronic deposit.

Wyckoff also received approval from town board members for a brochure she would like to mail out to new residents of the town which she believes will provide helpful information about getting a dog license, a building permit and what laws are in effect. She said it contains a QR code that will take the new residents directly to the website. "It's a good resource for new residents," she said. 

Although the new generator has been installed and actually used during a recent outage, the town has not signed off on the installation. There was a hiccup last week when an error message appeared. Wyckoff attempted to contact Councilman Les Parker and Highway Superintendent John Wyckoff when she noticed a beeping noise. She suggested others have the ability to access the controls in the event it needs to be shut down when she is not available.

Supervisor Terry said the town has not made final payment and the glitches will be worked out before it is made.

In her report, Supervisor Terry asked board members to approve a change order that will install new windows at the highway garage. It will be added to the existing siding project. It will provide some natural lighting and some cross ventilation that is needed on hot summer days, according to Superintendent Wyckoff. The added windows will cost $44,625.37 and were approved.

She also received permission to contract with Delaware Engineering to repair the leaking roof on the salt/sand shed which is now almost 30 years old. She would like them to design the project, help with the bidding process and provide construction management. Board members approved the $29,000 cost. The asphalt shingles on the building were 25-year shingles, according to Terry and they lived up to their warranty. Metal roofing will now be considered.

Terry reported that she has been contacted by Gilboa-Conesville Central School regarding a capital project to create additional parking at the school. She said the county has approved paying the cost  to repair the length of Wyckoff Road, which runs through the school property. She wants to ensure the school project will not have an impact on the road project. 

Wyckoff Road is being used as a detour route for county-owned Flat Creek Road. Due to the lengthy closure of Flat Creek Road, the town road has been seeing a high volume of traffic. There is a "flicker of a candle" according to Terry, that the Flat Creek Road project is moving forward slowly. She said Schoharie County Department of Public Works Commissioner Dan Crandell is reporting the easement contracts are done and they may use some leftover materials from the dam reconstruction. 

She said she has had communication with Code Enforcement Officer Brian Caron regarding last month's complaints about his responsiveness and she intends to meet with hime one on one to discuss those issues. 

The town has also received the budget from the Stamford Joint Fire District and will host a harassment training on the day following the Columbus Day holiday. 

Before adjourning into an executive session that included the town assessors, town clerk, and town attorney, to discuss personnel, town board members approved the annual holiday party to be held at the town hall. The date has yet to be determined.