Two New Members Take Oath for Stamford Town Board

STAMFORD - The two new council members on the Stamford Town Board are Jessica Watson, left, and Deb Ballard, right. Both smile as they sign audit vouchers during last Wednesday’s meeting.

HOBART – The town of Stamford welcomed two new council members last Wednesday as they held the regular monthly meeting and organizational meeting for 2026. They also have a new highway superintendent, Dan Miglianti, who started his new job on January 1.

There were few changes in reorganizing the town, with the exemption of changing committee members with those outgoing board members. A deputy highway superintendent has not yet been named by Miglianti.

They also heard an appeal from Jim Kopp, deputy mayor for the village of Stamford, to help with repair of the roadway that leads from the "saddle" to the top of the Mount Utsayantha, now that it has been included, along with Bramley Mountain, in the Catskills Fire Tower Challenge (see separate story.)

Official appointments and designations were made, as follows: Authority for the highway superintendent to bid for whatever isn't on state contract, approved the town clerk's audit report and approved salary resolutions according to the adopted budget.

Official band depositories will be theDelaware National Bank of Delhi, Wayne Bank, NBT, Community Bank, TheBand of Cooperstown and the Bank of Greene County.

The official newspaper remains The Mountain Eagle. Yvonne Shaw was appointed deputy town clerk and Julie Sechrist will serve as deputy town supervisor. Charlie Ferris was reappointed as chairman of the Board of Assessors. William Sechrist will serve as planning board chairman; Jacke Lamport as town bookkeeper; Kelly Chien as town historian; Kim Kanarek as court clerk; Tomi Tompkins as building inspector; Anne Barr as dog control officer.

Supervisor John Kosier and Julie Sechrist will serve on the budget committee.

All town board members were authorized to attend the Association of Towns Convention in New York City with all necessary expenses paid.

The final designation was to allow the town supervisor to invest town funds.

There were several residents present for the meeting, including Jeff and Laurie Laing, who asked what was being done about a possible noise ordinance. They said there is a venue in the neighborhood that has visitors coming and going all summer long. They are advertising under Acme Acres LLC and there were questions if they are operating according to regulations. They also complained about live bands and fireworks lasting into the wee hours of the morning. Supervisor Kosier said he has contacted Tomi Tompkins, the town building inspector. The Laings said they would return to the board next month.

Without a noise ordinance, law enforcement can do little to stop the noise. 

Doug McMullen was present to see what was being done about live-streaming the town board meeting. Supervisors Kosier said he has looked into cameras and was waiting for Kevin Brown to provide a quote.

McMullen also asked about the reserve fund and asked Kosier to report how much remains in the fund. He also asked when the town last had an audit. The answer was with the change in supervisors in 2019.  Kosier said the town could ask for an audit. 

The meeting ended with a discussion of the aging computers and the recommendation from Level Up to purchase new computers that could be made compatible with the county's programs. He made the recommendation saying much of the existing equipment is outdated. The town is looking to purchase two new computers.

The town is also encouraging dog owners to license their pets. The cost is not expensive and applications are available from the town clerk.

Meetings will continue to be held on the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the town hall. The next meeting is set for Feb. 11.