Arkwright, Dunkirk agree to shared highway departments
Arkwright, Dunkirk agree to shared highway departments
OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen Arkwright Highway Superintendent Lisa Waldron will oversee the Town of Dunkirk Highway Department moving forward.
The town of Arkwright Highway Department is pictured. The Town of Arkwright will share Highway Department personnel with the Town of Dunkirk moving forward.
The town of Dunkirk Highway Department is pictured. The department will be overseen by Arkwright Highway Superintendent Lisa Waldron.
OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen Arkwright Highway Superintendent Lisa Waldron will oversee the Town of Dunkirk Highway Department moving forward.
The town of Arkwright Highway Department is pictured. The Town of Arkwright will share Highway Department personnel with the Town of Dunkirk moving forward.
The town of Dunkirk Highway Department is pictured. The department will be overseen by Arkwright Highway Superintendent Lisa Waldron.
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ARKWRIGHT -- The towns of Arkwright and Dunkirk have come to an agreement with a goal to benefit both communities.
At a special Town Board meeting, the Town of Arkwright approved a shared services agreement with the Town of Dunkirk regarding highway departments. Dunkirk will terminate its agreement with the Town of Sheridan for shared services, including a shared Highway Superintendent, Jeff Feinen.
Moving forward, Arkwright Highway Superintendent Lisa Waldron will manage both departments, while the equipment, materials and budgets for each department will be maintained by their respective towns. Work crews will remain employed by their original municipalities, but they will work in either town, as needed, under the direction of Waldron. Dunkirk will pay Arkwright $25,000 as part of the agreement, and Arkwright will add $10,000 to Waldron's salary as long as the agreement is in place. The agreement requires 30 days notice for either party to cancel.
Town of Arkwright Supervisor Brian McAvoy presented an analysis of the impact of a reasonable range of shared hours both ways at the recent meeting. McAvoy believes that the hours each town invests working in the other town will balance out over the year. A monthly accounting of shared hours will be presented at Town Board meetings moving forward. The agreement will have no impact on the shared services that all municipalities provide each other when it is required.
The agreement comes shortly after the Town of Arkwright's idea of changing the Highway Superintendent to an appointed position, which the Town hoped would save money and more accurately reflect the needs of the Town. After receiving public backlash, the Town elected to no longer pursue that avenue. Instead, a partnership came together as the Town of Dunkirk had been seeking solutions to its own Highway Department needs.
McAvoy feels that the bandwidth Waldron has to invest in Dunkirk will not only benefit her, but also Arkwright with added revenue, as well as much needed summertime help coming back from Dunkirk. Town of Dunkirk Supervisor Shari Miller was in attendance for the recent meeting, and she expressed confidence in the agreement being mutually beneficial, just as McAvoy did.
The Town of Arkwright Board passed the resolution with McAvoy voting in favor, along with Town Board members Chris Jackson, Bruce Gustafson and Larry Ball. Polly Gambino was absent from the meeting.