By Peter Calvert
Andes Town Board Meeting, February 10
Board and Staff: Supervisor Ritchie Gabriel, Deputy Supervisor Bud Gladstone, Councilmen Dale Cole, Thomas Hall, and Jason Mondore. Support Staff: John Bouton, Highway Superintendent, Carol Ames, Town Clerk.
Privilege of the Floor: Ann Roberti reported on the repairs to the bridge on the Andes Rail Trail. Work was generously donated by LaFever Excavating with purchased materials totaling $1,250. Ann Roberti is coordinating with Derek Curl of the Andes Hotel to hold a community fundraiser on Sunday May 31 at the Hotel to offset the materials cost of repairing the rail trail bridge. Time to be determined on that Sunday one week after Memorial Day.
Darwin Savinon was engaged as an Assistant to the Town Assessor. The hours will be 3-4 per week and the salary is $20 per hour. This hire will give the Town a chance to acquaint a new person gradually to our systems and create a potential back-up to Tina Moshier, the Town Assessor in case of any illness.
Robert Abbate, Chair, Zoning Board of Appeals, is working with Eric VanBenschoten, Planning Board Member, and newly appointed Dana Scuderi-Hunter to review the Zoning regulations for the Town and Hamlet. The committee has been working for a few years on this complicated task. Currently, they are focusing on “Definitions”. Zoning codes use “Definitions” to explain items regularly used like Trailer Home or Building Lot, etc. The terms need to be explicit and consistent in zoning.
Supervisor’s Report: Ritchie Gabriel went around the Hamlet to personally share a handout of the sidewalk snow and ice clearing regulations with 20 homeowners. The goal is to increase compliance with making the Hamlet sidewalks safe and passable in a timely manner (By 9:00 AM).
Spring Bids for Material, Mowing, and Rental Bids were announced and will be advertised and are due March 6th at noon. Details available at Town office.
One road, New Cemetery Road, mysteriously disappeared from the Town road register in 2016. It needs acknowledgement as a public road by the Highway Department during the construction and for the maintenance of the cell tower. The Board voted to restore the 500 feet of New Cemetery Road off High Street to the rolls of Town highways.
The Sewage Treatment Plant will need new pumps and for their replacement at least three competing bids are the minimum based on the Town’s procurement policy requirements. The Board will advise the Plant management on the pump replacements to ensure they comply with procurement policy.
Reporting from his newly created position as Director of Finance and Banking, Bud Gladstone announced that excess Town funds will buy short-term CDs to earn the Town interest while not being used for ongoing expenses.
Highway Department: The highway department reported on their extensive road clearing work during this busy snow and ice season, including dealing with repair issues on multiple vehicles and equipment. New vehicles needed for plowing purposes will be needed to replace broken equipment. Between November 1st and January 31st, the Andes snow plows used approximately 6,000 yards of sand and $28,325 for fuel.
Next meeting is March 10 at 6 pm, open to the public as usual and available on Zoom.~