Author: Town of Madrid

    May 12, 2021

     A regular meeting of the Madrid Town Board was called to order was called to order at      6:30 P.M. in the Town Office.

     Members present: Tony Cooper, Garry Wells, Kevin Finnegan, Bill Barkley- Highway Supt. Zoe Hawkins- Town Clerk.  Absent: Alex Smith, and David Fisher.  Also Present: Colin Nicol, Anna Campbell, Sammi Ibey.

     Public Comment: Sammi Ibey is helping with baseball at the park this year, and was wondering how to go about getting reimbursed for stuff she has bought. The board told her that she will need to submit her receipts to be reviewed for approval at the next board meeting. Sammi was also wanting to buy trophies for the kids, and stated she did a fundraiser, and raised  the money to pay for most, if not all of the total amount they will cost.

     The code enforcement officer gave an update, and said that he has issued 15 building permits so far this this year.

     The assessor reported that, Last month she was busy preparing for the roll of upcoming grievance, for the next month, she is going to be taking calls on taxpayers with questions on their assessments. While tax payers can make an appointment with her anytime, this month she is required to advertise additional days of availability by the state. Change notices have been mailed out.  Grievance day is Thursday, May 27, between 4 and 8 PM.

     MDMS: Anna reported that they will be setting up a “drive in movie style” parking for the audience, and have been given the go ahead to proceed from the Department of Health. Anna will be dropping off the COVID contact information to be put on file in the town offices. Anna said that the MDMS was approved for the full grant amount they had applied for. Fundraising has also begun, and there are yard signs printed for donors.

     The board reviewed the monthly report. Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Garry Wells to acknowledge receipt of the monthly report. All were in favor.

     The board reviewed the monthly bills, General # 101-103 in the amount of $ 12,032.68, Highway# 73-87 for $33,369.34, Water #26-32 for $1,238.72, Sewer #30-34 for $268.75, Lighting #5 for $1,368.10, and Trust and Agency #5 for $5,208.50.  Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Garry Wells to pay the bills. All were in favor.

     Communications:   Ruth Doyle sent an email, with terms in which the Coronavirus State, and Local Fiscal Recovery funds can be used for. This includes, economic impact due to covid, replace lost public sector revenue, provide premium pay for essential workers, and invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.

     Atlantic Energy will now be the towns Energy Supplier. The bill will still be received from and paid to National Grid.

     Highway Report: Bill is looking into getting Crowned Vetch as a ground cover for the stone wall by the bridge. It is low maintenance, and will help keep the weeds down.

     The new Kubota mower has arrived, and there is no word on the payloader.

      NCC is coming on May 14^th to do an inspection on fire alarms, and signal system at the Town Barns.

     The board asked Bill to build more benches for the playground, and clean up the ground where the old bandstand was.

     Bill is looking into getting part time summer help from the county.

     Old Business:  Anna is going to meet with Amy Moulton about moving money into the MDMS account for the book program they assisted with last year.

     The old band stand has been completely removed.

     Tony met with NYPA about the LED light contract, and is awaiting a response from National grid. The town is hoping to have new lights by the end of 2021.

     New Business: Flowers have been planted at the Town sign.

     Ruth Doyle is going to be contacted, to see what is considered infrastructure, and if the Fiscal funds can be spent on equipment.

      Garry Wells made a motion, second by Kevin Finnegan to approve the minutes for the April 14^th, 2021 minutes.

     The next regular meeting will be on Wednesday, June 9^th, 2021 at 6:30 P.M.

     Kevin Finnegan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 P.M.

     _______________________

     Zoe Hawkins, Town Clerk    

April 14, 2021

     A regular meeting of the Madrid Town Board was called to order at 6:30 P.M.

     Members Present: Tony Cooper, Garry Wells, Alex Smith, Kevin Finnegan, Bill Barkley- Highway Supt., and Zoe Hawkins- Town Clerk.  Absent: David Fisher

     Also Present: Collin Nicol, Bill Hull, Collin Loomis, Tammy Hawkins, Anna Campbell, Megan Moulton, Philip Paige.

     Public Comment: Megan Moulton was checking for the beautification committee on where to plant flowers, it was previously mentioned that the first layer on the stone wall recently cleared off by the bridge would be a good spot. For the second layer of the wall, Bill Barkley is going to get quotes on Junipers or something else low maintenance that will help keep the sumac from growing.

     Bill Hull wanted to see how the property transfer is coming along, Collin Loomis has been in contact with Bills attorney about this.

     Anna Campbell reported she will be doing a free prom clothing event in the old Waddington school.

     MDMS asks the board to assist with the costs of the MDMS  children’s  BOOK BUNDLE events. The receipts were submitted prior and have been paid from our MDMS account. Each year  for the past 2 years… we host 2 book bundles events…and each time there are nearly 50 children in our community enriched. This past year we made covid safe the bundles, they were placed in bags for safe pickup at the library. MDMS has $400 invested in this project and we have supplies for the rest of 2021 and for 2022. Would the town assist MDMS  with an amount that  Amy would transfer from the  town children’s  account to the MDMS account? Alex Smith made a motion, second by Garry Wells to allow a transfer of $400.00 or less.  All in favor.

     Anna reported about the new bandstand, Steve will be speaking with David and  the committee  with the goal of design decision later this week. The next big need of the project is the quick removal of the old band stand  to proceed. Work to begin as soon as possible for completion as our Project Leader and our Electrician  have summer  commitments. MDMS was gifted $250 of LED lighting for the stage. Alex Smith made a motion, second by Kevin Finnegan to have the current bandstand removed starting the week of April 19. All were in favor.

     MDMS was selected  to receive a grant that requires our summer plans to be submitted for the payment. We are soon under a time crunch to complete the requirements for the grant award payment.   Info is required on how we plan to proceed on our Summer 2021 event evenings.

     Anna said that, The Madrid Park has a natural lawn space that would be our MDMS responsibility to meet the limitation of 200 people or less at an event.   It is the grass area between the paved path to the playground and across to the water front.  It would begin at the band stand and go back to the far end of the pavilion.

     MDMS has cancelled any food sales and will not use the Park Community Building for foods or as  rain location to respect the need of social distance requirements. SLPEM Board has offered their Carriage Barn for any rain dates. All Covid safety and  safe distance requirements of  1/3 capacity requirements would be in place. We reduced our usual 10 summer nights to only 6 nights….with penciled in bookings for our Summer 2021. MDMS,  upon Town board vote  to proceed. Alex Smith made a motion, second by Garry wells to allow the MDMS to proceed. All were in favor.

     The planning board is working with the vet who wants to build a new clinic at the State highway 310 and county route 44 intersection. The county is involved with this.

     The board is going to request code enforcement officer, Jeff Gilson start submitting monthly reports, and attend board meetings.

     The library is now open by appointment.

     The board reviewed the monthly report. Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Alex Smith to acknowledge receipt of the monthly report. All were in favor.

      The board reviewed the monthly bills, General #78-100 for $8,141.58, Highway #58-72 for $8,067.90, Water #21-25 for $2,104.28, Sewer # 24-29 for $2,050.38, Lighting #4 for $1,514.18 and Trust & Agency #4 for $5,208.50. Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Alex Smith to pay the bills. All were in favor.

     Communications: The Justice court fund was $404.00 to the town, and $526.00 to New York State.

     Highway Report: Bill presented the updated proposal for the payloader, after the trade in of the current one for $100,000.00, the balance due will be $122,454.00. Alex Smith made a motion, second by Garry Wells to have Bill order the payloader. All were in favor.

     Bill also presented the current quote for a new Kubota mower, with a price of $15,475.32. Alex Smith made a motion, second by Garry Wells to order the new mower.  All in favor.

     Bill is going to be placing several items on the online auction site, including Single Axle dump truck, cab and Chassis, the old lawn mower, and other misc. items.

     The bleachers for baseball have been repaired, and repainted.

     There have been repairs made at the sewer plant, and the chlorine injection lines were replaced at the water plant.

     The docks have been put in, and Bill recommended the one be replaced. The board said to repair and maintain the current docks.

     The board directed the Highway Superintendent to pick up the sand and debris piles on the county roads in the hamlet.

     Old Business:  The Teamster documents have been signed.

     The town is waiting to hear back on getting the street lights upgraded to LED.

     New Business: The town offices will be open to the public, as of April 15^th.

     The community building will be open starting May 1^st for the use of Bathrooms, but reservations will not be taking for dates before the 4^th of July.

     Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Alex Smith to approve the minutes from the March 10^th, and 24^th  meetings. All in favor.

     At 8:14 PM the board went into executive session and came out at 8:28 PM with no votes taken.

     The next regular board meeting will be May 12, 2021 at 6:30 P.m.

     Kevin Finnegan made a motion to Adjourn at 8:29 P.m.

   ________________________

   Zoe Hawkins, Town Clerk

March 10, 2021

     A regular meeting of the Madrid Town Board was called to order at 6:31 pm, via Zoom.

     Members present: Tony Cooper, David Fisher, Garry Wells, Alex Smith, Bill Barkley- Hwy Supt. ,Zoe Hawkins, Town Clerk. Absent: Kevin Finnegan.

     Also Present: Judy Hargrave, and Anna Campbell.

     Public Comment: The board meetings will go back to in person, starting in April, proper Covid guidelines will be followed.

      Anna Campbell gave the MDMS report, she spoke with Sen Ritchie’s Office, and they are going to be giving her new guidelines for outdoor entertainment space in the beginning of April. There are also plans in the works for a new stage down at the park for the MDMS.

     The planning board is hoping that now that courts are opening back up, they will get some compliance from landowners, and the code enforcement.

     The electronic sign downtown will be finished soon, there was a bit of money left to be used towards it, and the time/labor will be donated.

     The Beautification committee wants to plant flowers in the back of the park, however that section of land is used for hay. Bill Barkley suggested planting flowers along the stone wall by the boat ramp, once that is finish being cleaned up.

     Tony is going to contact Aaron Jarvis, to have him come up with a plan to work on the front of the town offices, to help with the snow and ice buildup on the sidewalk.

     The Assessor reported the deadline for exemptions was March 1^st. She has been updated the roll, and NYS. Amy also stated she needs a resolution passed, at 100% support from the board members so that she can do a revaluation. Once she gets the support of the board, she will be submitted a budget of estimated costs. Alex Smith Made a motion, 2^nd by David fisher to approve Amy Hunt to do a revaluation. All were in favor.

     The board reviewed the monthly report, David Fisher made a motion, 2^nd by Garry Wells, to approve. All were in favor.

     The board reviewed the monthly bills, General #49-77 for $27,627.48, Highway #39-58 for $32,551.36, Water # 12-20 for $1,648.32, Sewer #14-23 for $2,765.81, Lighting #3 for $1,547.14, and Trust & Agency #3 for $5208.50. Alex Smith made a motion, 2^nd by Garry wells to pay the bills. All in favor.

          Communications: The Justice court fun was $762.00 to the town, and $1,778 to the state. The annual court audit was done, and everything was in order.

     There was an audit done by the Teamsters for the town, for January 2014- December 2020. There was no audit liability found.   

     Highway: Bill wants to trade the payloader in, and keep all the attachments, as the current one is starting to show wear and tear. The current annual amount paid is $32,000, the new amount would be $22,000.  This offer will expire June 21^st. Bill would also like to sit down with the highway committee, and put together a 5 year plan for purchasing a new backhoe.

     The snowmobile association should be contacted, as snowmobiles are being careless while crossing roadways, spinning up shoulders, and throwing stone.

      Old business: The property transfer between Bill Hull and the town will soon be completed. The paperwork has to be transferred to the new town lawyer, Collin Loomis.  Bill Barkley is going to get the right of way surveyed, and the drain replaced.

     New Business: Cheryl Labarge asked about using the community building to do a lasagna dinner fundraiser for the Fire Department, the board decided not to allow it at this time, because other organizations have been turned down. The board is hoping to have the community building open May 1^st.  This will give them time to learn the guidelines that will have to be put in place due to Covid.

     David Fisher made a motion, second by Garry Wells to approve the minutes of the February 10^th meeting. All in favor.

     The next regular meeting will be April 14^th at 6:30 P.M.

     Alex Smith made a motion, second by David Fisher to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 P.m.

_______________________

Zoe Hawkins, Town Clerk

 March 24,2021 Special Meeting

     Present: Tony Cooper, David Fisher, Alex Smith, Garry Wells, Bill Barkley- Hwy Supt., Zoe Hawkins-Town Clerk. Absent: Kevin Finnegan.

     Also Present: Collin Nicol

     A special meeting of the Town Board was called to order to discuss 2021 highway expenses.

     The board discussed several pieces of equipment, and plans on how to start replacing them.

     First, piece of equipment is the 2016 John Deere payloader,  it is paid off, and worth 100,000 to trade in towards a new one. A new one would cost $22,000 a year to finance, for 5 years. If the town waits another year to trade it in, then there is a possibility of up to 15% depreciation in trade in price. Alex Smith made a motion, 2^nd by Garry Wells to move forward and buy the payloader, All were in favor.

     The next piece of equipment discussed was the 1989 Ford backhoe, Bill is running into issues of no longer being able to find part for this. Bill was hoping to replace this, at some point in the near future, with a broom and a grapple bucket. The price of this would be $129,500.00, and this piece of equipment would be kept long-term. David asked why get these attachments with the backhoe, instead of the payloader. It will be discussed with the Nortrax salesmen on prices to get these attachments with the payloader instead. This discussion was table by the board.

     Next point of discussion was to replace the John Deere lawn mower that is used to mow the 4 cemeteries. The current on has over 4,000 hours on it. A new one would be approximately $15,500.00. Amy Moulton advised that this could be paid for out of the Highway Capitol Fund. There was no further action taken on this.

      Finally, there was talk about replacing the 1996 Chevy pickup with the 2016 Chevy ¾ ton, and getting the Highway Superintendent a new pickup truck. Also there was discussion on roadside mowers, looking to buy used possibly from another town.

     The board talked about the bandstand that is going to be going into the park for the MDMS, Bill will be pouring the cement piers, and then it will hopefully be built in place, with lumber from the Amish.

      The board approved a resolution to set a 2^nd fee notice for taxes at $2.00 per parcel.

     Garry Wells made a motion, Second by David Fisher to adjourn the meeting at 7:15 P.M.

______________________

Zoe Hawkins, Town Clerk

January 13, 2021

     A regular meeting  of the Madrid Town Board was called to order at 6:30 P.M. Via Zoom.

     Members Present: Tony Cooper, Alex Smith, Garry Wells, David Fisher, Kevin Finnegan,  Bill Barkley- Hwy Super, Zoe Hawkins-Town Clerk

     Also Present: Kevin Acres, Judy Hargrave.

     Public Comment: Kevin Acres presented a Certificate of Recognition to Judy Hargrave for her 30 years of service, from the Board of Legislatures.

     Kevin reports sales tax is going to stay the same.

     CR 30 property, the county will not be responsible for the cost of cleanup, if it’s a foreclosure.

     Kevin also reported, Maxcy Hall at SUNY Potsdam will be a COVID vaccine site, they are hoping to get up to 1,000 vaccines per day, but are unsure of when they will hit that goal.

     MDMS reported they met their goal, for the bandstand, of $19,000, they will be using $1,000.00 of that for plans. They are hoping to meet with Steve Rookey for the plans in February, and hoping to have a new stand for this summer.

     The Board reviewed the monthly report. Kevin Finnegan made a motion 2^nd by Alex Smith to approve the monthly report.

     The monthly bills were reviewed. General 1-18 at the amount of $7,598.88, Highway 1-18 for $6882.66, Sewer 1-4 for $1,884.64, Lights #1 for $1,649.84, and Trust & Agency for $30,510.33

     Communications: Mortgage tax was $7,100.59 received on December 11^th, 2020.

     A bill was signed for the county to protect workers, that are considered essential, and a list of those jobs were made. There are also Emergency plans, and Protocol that will be put into place for COVID-19.

     The housing Council submitted their final request, and a public hearing will be needed for the close out.

     TSA clean energy is looking to lease 25-30 acres for solar energy.

      The Assessor gave her report. David Fisher made a motion to approve, 2^nd by Garry Wells. All were in favor.

     Highway Report: Bill reported that there has been a light snow season so far.

     Truck number 8 has been worked on, a new radiator, and fan clutch were installed.

     Bill also mentioned he has to find out what amount he is getting from CHIPS this year.

 Old Business: The town is waiting to hear back from Teamsters negotiation committee.

 Solar Pilot was discussed, and there were questions in need of answering, such as,  How is the assessment changed? Does it revert to farmland? Does the energy company pay extra taxes? The board decided to table this, and discuss at a later date. Motion made by Kevin Finnegan, 2nd by David Fisher.

New Business: The Highway Dept. gave the agreement to spend town highway funds, of $195,000 for the year for the board members to approve and sign off on.

The Madrid Town Board has opened an HRA for the retirees of the town, in an amount of 2,600.00 per person.

Appointments for 2021:

     David Fisher made a motion, second by Alex Smith to set mileage at $.575 per mile for use of personal vehicles for official town business during 2020. All were in favor.

     Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by David Fisher to designate the Watertown Daily Times as official newspapers for the Town of Madrid for 2021. All were in favor.

Garry Wells made a resolution, second by Kevin Finnegan to designate the Madrid Community Bank NA as the depository for town money. All were in favor.

     Alex Smith made a motion, second by Kevin Finnegan to hold the regular town board meetings on the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. All were in favor.

Garry Wells made a motion, second by David Fisher to appoint Sara Schulz and Carrie Rutherford as co-town historians for 2021. All were in favor.

     Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Alex Smith to authorize membership in the NYS Association of Towns with Tony Cooper as the delegate and David Fisher as the alternate delegate. All were in favor.

     David Fisher made a motion, second by Garry Wells to authorize the Supervisor to use the short form for the Supervisor’s annual report to the newspaper. All were in favor.

     The Supervisor appointed himself budget officer for 2021.

     Alex Smith made a motion, second by Kevin Finnegan to appoint James Pipher Sr. as Dog Control Officer with a salary of $4,203.00. All were in favor.

     Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Garry Wells to appoint Collin Loomis As Town Attorney for 2021 with a salary of $3,225.00. All were in favor.

     Alex Smith made a motion, second David Fisher to appoint Zoe Hawkins  as Registrar of Vital Statistics with a salary of $1,555.00, with Kerri O’Bryan the Deputy. All were in favor.

      Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by David Fisher to appoint Judy Hargrave as water and sewer billing clerk with a salary of $2,432.00 and Zoe Hawkins as the collector also for $2,432.00. All were in favor.

      Garry Wells  made a motion, second by Alex Smith to appoint Jeffrey Gilson as Code Enforcement Officer for 2021 with a compensation of $10,084.00. All were in favor.

   Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by Garry Wells to set the Senior Citizen Exemption at $20,000 with a sliding scale to 20%. All were in favor.

   David Fisher made a motion, second by Alex Smith to appoint William Barkley as Water and Sewer Superintendent with a compensation of $5,520.00. All were in favor.

     David Fisher made a motion, second by Kevin Finnegan to appoint Thomas Rutherford as Deputy Water and Sewer Superintendent with a compensation of $500.00. All were in favor.

     Garry Wells made a motion, second by Kevin Finnegan to appoint Kerri O’Bryan as Court Clerk with a salary of $12,546.00. All were in favor.

     Alex Smith made a resolution, second by David Fisher to allow the Highway Superintendent to exchange work with other highway departments when feasible in a fair and equitable manner and to authorize the Supervisor to sign inter-municipal agreements to that effect. All were in favor.

     Kevin Finnegan made a resolution, second by Garry Wells to limit the Highway Superintendent to expenditures of $2,999.99 without Town Board approval. All were in favor.

     Alex Smith made a motion, second by Garry Wells to allow the Supervisor to sign a contract for the provision of emergency medical services for the Town of Madrid with the Madrid Rescue Squad Inc. in the amount of $33,000.00. All were in favor.

     Garry Wells made a motion, second by Kevin Finnegan to authorize the highway Superintendent to attend schools, and conferences in the spring and fall.

     Garry Wells  made a motion, second by David Fisher to pay the following Town Officials Salaries according to the 2020 budget: All were in favor.

      Supervisor                                                  $11,000.00

      Town Clerk                                                $22,153.00

      Town Justice                                              $11,042.00

      Town Council (each)                                  $ 2,750.00

      Highway Supt                                             $44,445.00

      Registrar of Vital Statistics                          $ 1,555.00

      Historian   (each)                                        $ 350.00

      Town Attorney                                           $ 3,225.00

      Assessor                                                    $15,382.00

     The Supervisor appointed David Fisher as Deputy Town Supervisor.

     Zoe Hawkins appointed Kerri O’Bryan and Judy Hargrave as Deputy Town Clerk at an hourly     rate of $16.00. All were in favor.

     The Highway Supt. appointed Thomas Rutherford as Deputy Highway Supt.

     The Supervisor appointed the following committees:

     Planning Board: David Fisher and Tony Cooper

     Insurance: Tony Cooper and Garry Wells

     Highway: Garry Wells and Kevin Finnegan

     Parks and Recreation: Kevin Finnegan and Alex Smith

     Personnel: Tony Cooper and David Fisher

     Water and Sewer: Kevin Finnegan and Alex Smith

     Library: Alex Smith and Garry Wells

     Fire and Rescue: David Fisher and Alex Smith

     5 Year Planning: Tony Cooper and Garry Wells

     Budget & Finance: Tony Cooper and David Fisher

     Audit day will be January 25 at 10 AM.

     Kevin Finnegan made a motion, second by David Fisher to approve the minutes of the December 9^th, 2020 town board meetings. All were in favor.

     Next regular meeting will be February 10^th @ 6:30 PM.

     Alex Smith made a motion, second by Garry Wells to adjourn at 7:45 PM.

   _______________________________
    Zoe Hawkins, Town Clerk