By Chrissy Prichard

Express News Staff

The Webb town board held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Feb 14. Board members present were Council-woman Mary Brophy-Moore, Councilwoman Kate Russell, Councilman J.B. Herron, Councilman Mike Ross, and Town Supervisor Ted Riehle. Also in attendance were Town Clerk Nanci Russell and Town Attorney Richard Frye.

Discussion was held among board members concerning the town’s facility use agreements for groups seeking to rent the facilities at McCauley Mountain and the Hiltebrant Recreation Center. Riehle and other members of the board expressed an interest in updating the agreements, and having them be the same for both locations. Establishing new rates and guidelines for renting the facilities will eliminate any confusion when the town is making the arrangements to rent these facilities.

Facility rental includes the use of the chalet or pavilion, as well as the grounds and parking area at these locations, with the exception of the soccer fields at North Street. After a lengthy discussion, Riehle proposed that non-profit groups be charged $75 per day; private/family groups, $400 per day; and for-profit groups, $600 per day. These prices are for each day an event is held. Groups will be allowed one day before the event and one day after the event for setting up and cleaning up at no charge. A $500 refundable cleaning/damage deposit will also be required. A motion to adopt these rates was made by Riehle, seconded by Herron, and passed by unanimous vote.

Scott Thompson of Beaver River made a request to the board that they rescind Resolution No. 56 of 2007, which essentially closed discussion about overland access to the community of Beaver River. Although the board did not move to rescind the resolution, Thompson was given the opportunity to voice his concerns about the issue. The board advised Thompson on how they would like to see him proceed in order for them to consider assisting Beaver River residents with the creation of overland access to the community.

Thompson’s concern is that the only ways to access Beaver River are by way of the Stillwater Reservoir, or by way of the railroad tracks, both of which range from tedious to impossible depending on the season and the weather. He stated that DEC and DOT regulations add to the difficulty of using the lake and the tracks for access.

Riehle suggested that Thompson have the majority of Beaver River property owners sign a petition asking that a road to Beaver River be created. Ross suggested that Russell put together a proposal that provides the details on where the road would go, whose land it would be on, and some approximation of the cost involved, so that the board has something more tangible to consider. Riehle reminded Thompson that the creation of any type of access road would be very costly. He stated that all Beaver River property owners, as a district, would be responsible for the cost of creating the road, and therefore would like to see a petition stating that the majority of property owners are interested in the road.

“I’m willing to listen if the people come forward. The majority has to want it, since all property owners in Beaver River would bear the cost,” said Riehle. “We’re willing to work with you. Show us the numbers, and show us that the need and the interest exists.”

Riehle proposed a resolution to change the schedule for the board’s audit of claims meetings. Usually held on the second Tuesday of each month, the meetings sometimes take three to four hours, says Riehle. He proposed that audit of claims meetings be held twice a month, the first and third Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m., beginning in March. Brophy-Moore made a motion to adopt this schedule change. The motion was seconded by Russell and passed by unanimous vote.

The first order of business was a bid opening for a 2012 all wheel drive road grader. One bid was received, from Five Star Equipment in East Syracuse. Their bid price was $225,300 for a John Deere model 6726P, including shipping and delivery. They also offered a trade-in allowance of  $21,500 for the town’s old grader, which takes the price of the new grader down to $203,800. The 2012 budget allows $225,000 for the purchase of a new grader. A motion was made by Herron to award the bid, contingent on the approval of Highway Superintendent Casey Crofut. The motion was seconded by Ross, and passed unanimously.

Riehle reported that bids were opened earlier on Tuesday for the work involved in the East Side Pump Station project. Five bids were received for the project. Bids were given to GHD Consulting Engineers, who are overseeing the job for the town, for their review. Following their review of the bids, GHD will make their recommendation to the board, after which time the bid will be awarded.

Riehle proposed a resolution to authorize GHD Consulting Engineers to provide the design, construction and permitting services necessary to complete the William Street extension of the Old Forge Water District. The cost for these services is $8,400 and will be the responsibility of the owners of the three properties in the district extension. A motion was made by Ross, seconded by Russell and passed by unanimous vote.

Town Attorney Frye offered a resolution to allow improvement and clearing of a “paper road,” owned by the town, to provide driveway access to landlocked property owned by Michael Tomilonus in the Herreschoff Trail area in Thendara. Improvements to the paper road are to be done at the expense of the property owner. Frye stated that the property owner has the right to use the paper road to access their property but will not have exclusive use of the driveway once it is created, as the property will still belong to the town.

Frye asked the board about scheduling a work session to go over the codification project and to have the board begin the process of make decisions pertaining to the updating of the town’s laws and ordinances as a whole. Frye has reviewed all of the town’s laws and ordinances to date, and is ready to make recommendations to the board about changes and clarifications that need to be made before all the town’s laws can be put in one book, allowing for easy reference to this information.The board agreed on 5 p.m., Monday, Feb. 27 to meet.

Phil Fortuna, of Newport, N.Y. addressed the board about his concern that cell phone service is inadequate on the snowmobile trails. He described a situation a couple weeks ago in which he was snowmobiling with his teenage son who struck a tree and became unconscious. Fortuna was unable to call for help due to the many “dead zones” in the wireless coverage. He asked the board to consider possible remedies to the situation to make the snowmobile trails safer. He suggested installing another cell tower closer to the trail system, or installing call boxes on the trails for emergencies. Other ideas that came up were putting signs on the trails in places where service is available, pointing out areas with service on the trail maps, or the use of satellite phones.

Brophy Moore explained that this is something we’ve been battling for a long time and that dead zones are due to the terrain in the area, and additional towers are highly regulated by the APA. Ross said the Town of Inlet is planning to install a cell tower, which may improve the signal. Fortuna offered to assist the board in any way he could, and said all he wants to do is spare others from being in the same situation he was in.

After the members of the assembly were heard, Riehle made a motion to enter into executive session to discuss appointments to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and to discuss starting wages for the town’s current open positions.

After the board reconvened, they appointed Ellen Wilcox as a full-time member of the Planning Board, filling the vacancy created by Riehle when he became town supervisor. The board also appointed Mary Denn as a full time member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, filling a vacancy created by Brophy-Moore when she became town councilwoman.

The next audit of claims will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 5. The next regular meeting of the board will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13. All meetings of the board are open to the public with the exception of executive sessions.