By Liz Page
GILBOA – Supervisor Alicia Terry took her seat at the table with the rest of the members of the Gilboa Town Board on Monday, marking an end of the time when Covid dictated members of the board be distanced. She said she was happy to rejoin the board at the table and it was a good way to start out the new year as they went down a long list of official appointments and designations.
They will continue to hold their meetings on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the town hall.
Terry opened the meeting with a moment of silence in memory of former President Jimmy Carter and Nick Juried, who grew up in the town of Gilboa and was a great benefactor, not just to the town, but to Schoharie County. She felt they were both worthy of a moment of reverence for the great contributions they had made.
Bill Sharick, deputy chairman of the commissioners for the Stamford Joint Fire District and an active member of the Stamford Fire Department was present to address the board about emergency medical services and ambulance transport. He went down the brief history of why the SJFD discontinued its ambulance service and became a first responder unit with a fly car. Schoharie County added ambulance service in 2020 and it worked for a while, with an ambulance stationed at North Blenheim. However, of late, he said it has gone by the wayside. He said Headwaters EMS is responding to calls and he said Jefferson has an EMT in station, but must wait for a driver. AMR ambulances may respond wherever, but the response time has again grown the 30 minutes or more
He believes there is some kind of a disconnect regarding the dispatch between the two counties. Terry said she was recently appointed to the radio committee for the county and the two hope to rectify the issues to provide timely response. Council member Lester Parker said he recently needed to call an ambulance and said Headwaters EMS responded and he was very pleased. Sharick also had to call an ambulance and he received Jefferson, but the response time was about 30 minutes. The Schoharie County ambulance is not always nearby, which is due at times to staffing issues.
The issues have been discussed in the past between the two counties and they both committed to working on the issues once again to see that they are worked out properly so that Gilboa residents receive timely response. They will research a previous agreement between the SJFD and Schoharie County, which approved the Stamford first responder fly car to respond to any call until a Schoharie County ambulance could arrive on scene. They will also open discussion for Headwaters EMS to come into Schoharie County. They were not criticizing any of the providers nor the efforts to provide service, but merely seeking to work through some of the possible issues.
Town Clerk Linda Wyckoff reported that the online tax payment system is working well and she is able to track payments. She is pleased with the new system.
The town's security cameras were able to help authorities last week as someone struck the town hall and left the scene.
Supervisor Terry said they are still looking for a Summer Youth Program Coordinator. Anyone interested can contact Terry or the town clerk.
A new town justice was appointed and will begin Feb. 1 after Dave Lapinel announced his retirement, which was effective Dec. 31, 2024. However, he agreed to serve one more month to allow appointment by the state court system. Jefferson Town Justice Lynn Hait has been appointed to cover justice duties until a new justice can be elected next fall.
While NYSEG was expected to attend the January meeting, Terry postponed the visit to February to explain the frequency and duration of power outages in the town of Gilboa.
Supervisor Terry also took the opportunity to explain a couple of county board issues with the council. She said the health insurance discrepancies in the county budget are being reviewed by the county's finance committee and she said she will push for a forensic audit of the books. They are providing weekly reports to the board of supervisors. She said it is her belief that it is the board's primary responsibility to the public is fiduciary.
She also reported on the local assessors and an update on the corrective action plan undertaken to satisfy the state comptroller. She said there was only one document they couldn't locate from 1970. She said the billing system has been updated so that bills go out for the not-for-profit and forestry exemptions and to ensure everyone is compliant for receiving those exemptions.
It is expected the county Department of Public Works will be removing a building on Mace Road to keep it from falling into the roadway. The building's demolition was approved 14 years ago to raze the building and improve sight distance at that location.
A partial listing of the official appointments and designations are, as follow: Mountain Eagle and Times Journal, legal newspapers; Wayne Bank and NBT, official depositories; mileage reimbursement 70 cents per mile; submission of monthly reports by the highway superintendent, code enforcement officer, planning board, town supervisor and deputy code enforcement officer. They reinstated the town's hiring procedure, approved the salaries and hourly rates of employees and appointees; purchasing, investment and procurement policies.
They also established the policy for controlled substances and alcohol and testing of employees.
Appointments included: Joseph Moore Jr., dog control officer; Mary Wyckoff, deputy town clerk/collector/registrar; Matthew Cammer, deputy highway superintendent; Janette Reynolds, town historian; George Wilson, assessor chairman; Mark Powell, planning board chairman; Joanne Darcy Crum, town attorney; Brian Caron as CEO, floodplain administrator and fire inspector.
Motions were passed to approve Mary Wyckoff as deputy tax collector and registrar; Cindy Buel as court clerk until the end of January; Sinzia Reese as the planning board secretary; Pat Buel as town bookkeeper and establishing the subdivision fee at $25 per lot and authorization for the town clerk and highway superintendent to attend their respective schools.
Jessica Warner was appointed to the town's Assessment Review Board and Chris Albano was reappointed to a five-year term on the town planning board.
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