By CHRISSY PRICHARD

Express News Staff

The Webb town board held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11. 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.

Supervisor Riehle raised the topic of the town’s aging water tower, located on Maple Ridge. The structure is in need of repairs and rehabilitation and he wants to get started on the process. “We’ve known for a number of years now that there’s a deficiency with our current water tower. We’ve had inspections done, there’s maintenance that has to be done. Mark Hudon has been receiving letters form the department of health for the last four or five years,” said Riehle.

The project would entail first constructing an auxiliary water tower, which would be used while the existing tower is repaired. Once the repairs are complete, the town will use both water towers. Riehle said the town’s water storage needs have grown, so having a second tower will help with this issue.

He asked the board to consider contracting with GHD to have them prepare the engineering and design plans for the project, at a cost of about $49,500. There is about $38,000 in the town’s 2012 budget available to cover the expense of the plans. An appropriation will be made for the remaining $11,000 in the 2013 budget.

Potentially, plans could be complete by the spring and construction could begin as early as next summer. A motion to contract with GHD was made by Russell, seconded by Brophy-Moore, and passed by unanimous vote.

• Riehle said he had been approached by a commissioner from the Old Forge Fire Department about the possibility of using the town’s fuel system located at the highway department. The fuel tanks are currently used for refueling the highway department vehicles, and the idea of allowing both the fire department and the school to share the fuel was discussed.

The fuel system is computer monitored and users have to enter a PIN number. This would make it easy to keep track of how much fuel each department is using so they could be billed accordingly.

The board agreed that sharing the fuel system is a good idea because not only would it save the fire department and the school money, it wouldn’t cost the town anything and the increase in the amount of fuel purchased for the system could lead to a lower cost per gallon.

Riehle said he would be in contact with the fire department and the school to discuss some of the details.

• Bids were opened for the replacement of the 155 kilowatt emergency generator and transfer switch at the wastewater treatment plant. Two bids were received. A bid of $61,799 was submitted by P.M. Electric, and a bid of $53,001.87 was submitted by Power Generation and Industrial Engines. Riehle would like the opportunity to review the bids with Wastewater Treatment Plant Chief Operator John Mitchell and will report back to the board with a recommendation.

• A motion was made for preliminary approval of bids that were submitted for the completion of the TOBIE Trail Phase 2 welcome center in Eagle Bay. Bids were opened on Aug. 31, and were given to Barton and Logudice for review. Bids were solicited for four separate contracts involved in the project: general construction, electrical construction, heating and ventilating construction, and plumbing construction.

Upon determination that the low bidders were compliant, the following bid awards were recommended: general construction, R.E. Alexander Company Incorporated, $484,240; electrical, S.C. Spencer Electrical Inc., $46,700; heating and ventilating, Superior Plumbing and Heating, $48,950; plumbing, Superior Plumbing and Heating, $33,200.

The town’s preliminary approval is required before the bids can be reviewed by the Department of Transpor-tation (DOT), which is the next step. Riehle said he anticipates the DOT’s review will be complete for the next meeting of the board. The motion to grant preliminary approval was made by Russell, seconded by Brophy-Moore and passed by unanimous vote.

• The board agreed to declare surplus a 1970s Onan diesel generator that is at the Town of Webb  Professional Offices. The generator was replaced by a new one a few years ago. Riehle said he would find out the value of the generator so a minimum bid could be set. A motion was made by Brophy-Moore, seconded by Ross and passed unanimously.

• A resolution made by the board on Aug. 14 will go into effect, granting license for Barry Miller/ BCJ Enterprises to utilize the town-owned landing located at the end of Six Mile Road on the Stillwater Reservoir. He will be allowed to use the area for the landing, departure and mooring of a boat or barge. The resolution was subject to a 30-day permissive referendum, which has expired.

• The board agreed to grant preliminary approval for property owner William Rehm to make improvements to approximately 570 feet of the right of way on Iroquois Road to access his property. The property owner is currently having a survey of the property done. Once the survey is complete, it will be reviewed by the board at which time they can consider a formal approval. A motion to grant preliminary approval was made by Herron, seconded by Ross, and passed by unanimous vote.

• Riehle announced that public hearing would be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 17, to hear public comment on the application made by Adiron-dack Homes/Mike Mitchell requesting the establishment of a planned residential district on the 3.71 acre parcel located between the Strand Theatre and the Adirondack Pizzeria in Old Forge.

In relation to the proposed planned district, the board passed a resolution that the determination has been made that the project is an unlisted action under the State Environ-mental Quality Review Act (SEQR) regulations and will not have significant impact on the environment, based on the Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Adirondack Homes/Mike Mitchell. The resolution also included an amendment to the zoning ordinance and map to establish a planned residential district in this particular location.

A motion to approve the resolution was made by Ross, seconded by Herron, and passed unanimously.

• Assemblyman Marc Butler was in attendance at the meeting. With the 2012 redistricting of the New York State Assembly, Butler will be shifting from the 117th district which included Herkimer County, Fulton County and a portion of Otsego County, to the 118th district which contains Fulton County, Hamilton County, northern Herkimer County and portions of Oneida and St. Lawrence Counties. He will still be representing the Town of Webb.

In an effort to familiarize himself with the new district, he is reaching out to town governments within the district. He asked the board if there were any problems or concerns he could help the town with. Riehle asked about bear problems around the district, but Butler said the only problems he’s heard of were in the Town of Webb. Brophy-Moore suggested that increasing DEC law enforcement coverage could be helpful.

• Riehle also mentioned that the state review process, as it applies to many town projects, is often slow and can make it difficult to adhere to a timeline. Butler said he would look into the issue and see if there’s anything he can do.

• A motion was made to declare surplus the 2001 Ford Explorer used by the Codes Office. The vehicle will be replaced by the Police Department’s 2008 Jeep that was declared surplus at the last board meeting. Although the Jeep no longer met the needs of the Police Department, it was agreed that the vehicle would be sufficient for use by the Codes Office. The motion was made by Brophy-Moore, seconded  by Herron, and passed unanimously.

• Brophy-Moore asked about the flashing sign on Route 28 that advises visitors against feeding deer and bears. She suggested that since summer is over, the sign may not be necessary anymore. The sign was placed by the DOT and no one on the board knew how long it would be staying there. Russell and Riehle both expressed that they hope to see the sign remain through the fall, since public awareness and education is a never-ending process.

• Russell announced that the McCauley Mountain committee would be making a presentation to the board on Monday, Sept. 17 detailing the plans for the improvements they have been working on for the facilities at McCauley Mountain.

• Herron brought up the topic of ice hockey for this winter. Sandy Tetreault and Clark Lubbs, two community members that advocate the re-establishment of ice hockey in Old Forge, were given the opportunity to address the board. Tetreault asked if the board intended to use their hockey boards this winter. No one had a definitive answer to her question, but board members did have divergent ideas on the future of hockey in Old Forge. Various locations and their associated costs were discussed, including the pavilion on North Street, the existing outdoor rink, and the parking lot at Mountainman Outfitters. Insurance, the use of pond hockey boards rather than full size boards, as well as the operation of a hockey rink as a business venture were discussed.

No decisions were made as a result of the discussion, however Lubbs said he would gather more information about some of the things that were discussed so they can further the conversation at an upcoming meeting.

The next regular meeting of the board is be 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9.