Starkey meeting watch 12/04

Meeting: The Starkey town board met for approximately one and one half hours Dec. 4.

Attendance: All councilmen were present. Four members of the public were in the audience.

Action: Approved the low bid for mowing from The Source Landscaping of Himrod.

• Agreed on details of health insurance plans to be offered to town employees next year.

Discussion without action: The town clerk’s office will be closed from Dec. 11 through Dec. 16.

• Supervisor Richard Burcaw reported the engineer’s assessment of the town hall and highway building has been submitted to New York State and the report is expected next week. He estimated that $16,000 of improvements associated with energy conservation could be made. After receipt of the report, it will be sent to Sen. George Winner, Jr. to see if assistance could be secured for the needed work.

• The board answered questions from two town residents about property the town is offering for sale on Castle Point. Bids are to be in by Jan. 8, 2009.

• The board discussed the possibility of charging for review of major projects. The town has received drafts of laws in other municipalities that have such charges. Councilman Jim Ritter asked that some rewriting be done to clarify certain positions of the draft, such as description of what constitutes a major project. The matter will be studied by the board.

• Highway superintendent Louis Seeley reported on road plans for 2009. He said if Consolidated Highway Improvement Funds are available work will be done on Upson Point and Smith roads as well as some others. Ritter noted a town regulation is needed to get people to keep vehicles out of the town right of way in winter so that crews can plow.

• Councilman Tim Gibson reported Black Rock Speedway has made a big attempt to remove junk vehicles from the property. Code enforcement officer Brian Quackenbush said he wants to work with track owner Dean Hoag for better understanding of the flood plain.

• Yates County Public Health  Director Lauren Snyder spoke to the board about the health surveys that are currently available to residents of Barrington, Dundee and Starkey. The information is beginning to be pulled together from surveys completed so far. Surveys will be sought until the end of January 2009.

• Snyder said there are some mini-grants available for projects that impact social, physical or economic health of the community. These grants are available to residents, not municipalities and applications are available from the Yates County public health office in the county office building on Liberty Street in Penn Yan.

Bids/Purchases over $1,000: None

Appointments/Resignations: None

Upcoming meetings: The year end meeting will be Dec. 29 and the regular board meeting will be Jan. 8, 2009. Both meetings will be at 7 p.m. in the town hall on Seneca Street in Dundee.