Town Board Meeting Report
10/14/02

I've taken my Mac iBook to the meeting and will be doing a blow-by-blow report. Some minor things have changed that I will tell you about while we're waiting for the meeting to start. If you've been to meetings in the past you will remember that the board used to sit behind two tables in the front of the room.  They have changed that. Instead of a bench like setting they moved the two tables together and now sit in a 'U' around the table so they look at each other. Starting from the front left is Jane Davenport, town clerk then Tom Fox. On the back left to right are Peter Knapp, Betty Pitman, and Kate Edinger. Then on the right front is Don Armstrong lawyer and then Linette Currie. If you stood in front of the board you would have Don on the right and Jane on the left.

The meeting got started at 8:05 with the normal stuff, approval last months minutes, dog report, highway, recreation will have a Halloween party 6 to 9 PM on the 26th at the fire hall. Zoning etc. Sub-division regs approved and filed with Jane. New sub-division regs added to the ordinance book was discussed. Ended up deciding to charge $5 for a copy of the regs but include it with the $20 ordinance book when it is sold. I suggested they put it on their web site but you only need it if you want to do a minor sub-division and you could always look at it in the town hall.

The nitrates information meeting on 10/2 went well according to Betty. Many people had concerns but she thinks they were all addressed.

Mrs. John Snavlin was there and Betty told her there was nothing the town board could do for her anymore (in their feud with Bob Rittenhouse.)

Now the discussion is about streetlights around the town that have different wattage light bulbs in them and no one knows why. Probably just happened over the years. However, NiMo charges according to wattage so Betty is trying to figure why they are what they are and should they change them to a more reasonable system.

Preble has 45 street lights at 100w for a cost of $100 per year each. 11 at 150w for $127 per year and 5 at 250w at $182 per year. If they were all 100w it would save  $297 for the 150w to 100w and $410 to make the 250w 100w for a total savings of $707.

Betty is asking the board to make some sense of it and see if we can save some money by going to lower wattage bulbs. She is going to ask if NiMo can change them all to 100 watt and what that change would cost if anything.

Linette, at the request of a citizen, wants the board to recommend asking the DOT for a speed limit on Tully Center road. They have to ask for a specific speed of say, 40 MPH and then the DOT will look at it and make a determination of an actual speed limit after the study. Kate is pushing for leaving it at 55 MPH and doing nothing. Tom wants to go ahead with it. Peter thinks they should do something tonight. He wants them not to take action until every board member goes down that road at 45 MPH and then they could make an informed decision at a future meeting. Kate has studied it as she lives close by and doesn't think many cars speed and trucks can't because of the nature of the roads condition etc. Limit is not marked so it is now 55 MPH. They decided over the next month all of them would try the road at speed to see what they think and come back next meeting for a decision.

There was some discussion about a past employee who may be improperly collecting workman's comp. Don is going to look into it.

New Road names and house numbers are out and Jeff is putting the road names up now.

Joe Elgelston(sp?) is requesting a Song Lake Road to Long Road stop sign. County has it and is looking into it. This is at the intersection with Lake Road by Song Mountain. This intersection may be in Onondaga County.

The Star program has been approved for Preble. Payment will come from Star in November.

Julie Ray, our town assessor has been awarded the IAO award. This is the highest award an assessor can get. There are only 238 IAO members in the entire state. Congratulations to Julie.

TLC letter from Bill Butler and Dryden fire department seems moot because of changing events. (Sorry if that sounds vague but I didn't get the full details and it didn't seem important.)

Don is discussing a Red Cross Cortland county agreement that he feels seems nebulas at best. It's about emergency preparedness using town facilities. Town hall is the only facilities the town can offer. Church and fire hall are separate entities. Concerned about liability and time limit. They decide to do it with a 2-year time limit and if the Red Cross provides proof of insurance.

Public comment.

Several months ago the board went into executive session about possible litigation from the new owners of Song Mountain. Song is disputing their assessment and is threatening a lawsuit. I asked if there was any new information on that and was told it is still in litigation. The town board can withhold information about things in litigation until they are resolved. Also I don't think they knew anything. My gut tells me they are not eager to give Song a tax break but they may end up doing so because it may be less expensive than fighting it.

I asked Betty about the Master Plan and the Aquifer Protection District. She said work on both would start after the holidays in January when people were more available to work on it. I am very glad to hear that and will have more details about it over the next several months.

Time flies. Thanksgiving is a month away and then Christmas. Seems like summer was just yesterday. Oh well, at least we have the fall foliage to look forward too.

The meeting for the budget workshop is next Monday the 21st at 7:30 PM at the town hall. Probably take a couple of hours. If you have no life whatsoever you can come and watch.

The next Planning Board meeting is the17th.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 or so.

After they adjourned Betty presented Peter Knapp with a birthday card signed by the board and they all wished him a Happy Birthday.

Well, there you have it, small town politics at work. While some of the things may seem trivial, it isn't trivial to the individuals involved. I've been coming to these meetings for 3 or 4 years and sometimes they are interesting, funny, boring, maddening, dull, exciting, exhilarating... well you get the picture. I kind of miss the old days though. However, you never know when the next pile is going to hit the fan.

Frank Hogg
10/14/02