Highway Superintendent Richard Butts had several reports for the town board at its regular meeting.
He said the snowplow, which needed its rails replaced, was fixed by Rexford Services, Inc. He said Rexford's bid came in far lower than the other bidders at $16,500. The town also opted to do additional work on the anti-lock brake system, belts, pins and the starter while the other work was done to save the money on future repairs.
"Rexford did an excellent job. ... It should give another 10 to 15 years of service," he said.
Article Photos
OBSERVER Photo by Nicole Gugino
Highway Superintendent Richard Butts gave reports at the recent town board meeting. Also pictured is Councilman Juan Pagan.
Butts also reported on a problem in the East Lake Road Sewer District. He said a company had been dumping tar or oil into the system and the pump had to be fixed. Supervisor Richard Purol asked about recourse, Butts said he was very stern with the owner, who promised to fix the problem. The board decided to send the owner a letter for recording purposes.
Butts also brought up the matter of the radio system currently used by the town highway department. He said he is concerned the town could be fined if it does not change its radios to the higher frequency radios required by the FCC. He said his original proposal for all the trucks to be changed was estimated to cost $4,884. Now he is asking for just the three newer radios to be updated and to have one portable. He did not have an estimate for the board at the time of the meeting. The expense was not expected and not budgeted for.
Butts also answered Councilman Mark Kutner's question about a pool of water under the train overpass on Willow Road. He said he has heard concerns about the problem in the past and the highway department tries to keep the area well salted in the winter. The problem is the runoff from the state right of way on Route 5. He said he has tried to get some action from the state Department of Transportation, but nothing came of it. He said it's only 125 feet to run a drain pipe to the state's drainage inlet but he would like the state to help with labor and equipment because it is coming from its right of way. The board decided to send a letter to the DOT about the dangerous situation if the water were to freeze there.
The board will hold its organizational meeting Jan. 2 with a workshop to immediately follow. The regular meeting will be held Jan. 15.
In other business:
Code Enforcement Officer Ryan Mourer reported the zoning board considering re-zoning some parts of the town, such as rezoning Route 60 for commercial use. Town Attorney Jeffrey Passafaro said the proposal would go to the town board for a decision but may not affect the Dunkirk Meadows project. When asked about closing the application for the project due to inactivity, Passafaro advised against that at this point.
Councilman Juan Pagan reported things are moving along on the Route 5 waterline. The board passed the resolution to pay its $975 portion toward the preliminary study by Nussbaumer & Clarke Inc.
The board made no decision on a time clock for employees. Butts warned a time clock may end up counting overtime in the highway department. Councilman Robert Penharlow said this move would not be anything against employees, just updating an old system. The board decided to table the matter until the employee handbook could be reviewed at the next workshop.
Comments on this story may be sent to ngugino@observertoday.com
