Richmondville Trustees Approve Bond for Terex Commander Truck-Digger

RICHMONDVILLE — Richmondville Power & Light got a nice boost to its equipment inventory recently when the Village Board of Trustees approved the issuance of a statutory installment bond not to exceed $476,205 for purchase of a Terex Commander truck-digger.

The action was taken during a very brief special public hearing on Monday, Dec. 15. Trustees Robert Hyatt _ who presided over the hearing _ Jennifer Golden and Milan Jackson voted 3-0 to approve the 10-year bond which runs through 2035 and will be paid back in annual installments at annual interest rates not to exceed 6.2 percent.

The Terex Commander is a truck with an attached digger that will allow RPL to dig holes for utility poles and other items.

At the regular monthly meeting which followed the special hearing on Dec. 15, the board did its annual reorganization and appointed or reappointed people to various positions.

Appointed for another one-year term was Hyatt as Deputy Mayor, Michelle Storm as village attorney, Jenifer Fisher as Budget Officer and Tax Collector, Eric Jones as Superintendent of Public Works, Tim Smith as Richmondville Power & Light Superintendent and Jesse Wilcox as Code Enforcement Officer.

Appointed to two-year terms was Fisher as Clerk-Treasurer and Alia Harwood as Deputy Clerk.

The Mountain Eagle was named the Village's official newspaper. Regular monthly meetings will continue to be the third Monday of the month. There was discussion later in the meeting of making the start time later than 5 p.m., possibly 5:30 or 6 p.m. but action on that was tabled until the board can confer with Village Attorney Storm to see if a later start time would be a help to her.

Jackson said he favored just keeping it at 5 p.m. He said that during his several years on the board, later start times have been tried and have not helped to increase attendance by the public.

Appointed to one-year terms on the Beautification Committee were Megan Ostrander, Jessica Terpenning, Kaylee Millington and Alex Kutinsky. Appointed to the Planning Board were Lisa Scott (term 2023-2028), Linda Carpenter (2022-2027), Joan Sondergard (2026-2030) and Scott Hill (2022-2027). Ben Atkinson (2023-2028) and Gordon Delpit (2022-2027) were appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Fire Chief Floyd Seales reported that the Richmondville Volunteer Fire Department recently received a $12,000 grant from the state Power Authority that was used to purchase electric jaws that will be added to the equipment on the new truck. The department now has two trucks with jaws that are used in auto extrications, he said. The department also used $5,000 from its own budget for the purchase, Seales added.

He further reported the department now has 38 active members, up from 29, and is actually one of the few volunteer fire departments that is actually gaining members and not losing them. Installation of the firehouse's three new overhead doors was recently completed with all the work being done in one day, Seales added.

In her Clerk-Treasurer report, Fisher said she wants to start a Village Facebook page to help in getting information out to residents. The page would be just informational and would not take comments, she continued.

"I think that's a great idea," Trustee Lisabeth Kabel said. "It's something we really need."

Fisher further reported that a rate case before the state Public Service Commission that could lead to the first Richmondville Power & Light rate hike in several years is going slowly but not because the village has not supplied adequate information. The commission is backlogged, Fisher said.

"Everything we have needed to fill out, we have filled out," she noted.

There was discussion on whether the Village of Richmondville wants to continue to be a member of SCOVA (Schoharie County Officers Village Association) at an annual cost of about $225. The association holds meetings once every two months with the five members, Richmondville, Middleburgh, Sharon Springs, Esperance and Schoharie, taking turns hosting the meetings.

Jackson said he favors continued membership. "It's a chance to listen to each other and share ideas," he said. The board will pick up the discussion again and make a decision, probably at the January meeting.

There was also a brief discussion on striving for better coordination between clearing sidewalks and streets of snow. Hyatt said the sidewalks had just been cleared on a recent Sunday when plow trucks came through about a half-hour later and pushed snow back onto sidewalks again.