March 1, 2005

Commissioners: Harriet VanKleeck, Ernie Kelder, Carol St. Rose, Joseph Roddy

Others: Terry Johnson

The February meeting was rescheduled for March 1st, due to inclement weather.

Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. on a motion by Harriet. Motion seconded by Ernie K.

A motion by Harriet to accept the January minutes, motion seconded by Ernie.

Sewer cleaner: Harriet asked Terry if he called Port Ewen to ask about their sewer cleaner. Terry said that they will not know until the spring. He also made a call to Ralph Herman about bringing the sewer cleaner in there last month for repairs, but because they have been so busy they told him not to bring it there until sometime in March.

Mark Abeel: Terry informed the Commission that Mark Abeel no longer works for them. Terry explained how Mark had problems with the water course and how Ted Skaar, the person who runs the program, gave Mark a make up test because he did not pass the first one. Mark passed the test, but he was told by Ted that if he had this much trouble with the water course that he might not pass the sewer course either. Mark went ahead and took the first section of sewer anyway and got a thirty six on the final exam. Terry explained that the sewer course is broken into three sections. Mark paid $1,100.00 back to our department. The $1100 includes the cost of the water course which was $750.00 and $350.00 for the first section of the sewer course. A short discussion followed.

Roy Weimann: Terry told the Commissioners that he hired Roy Weimann. Roy has his associates degree in environmental from Ulster, and he has his water license. Roy is already in school picking up were Mark left off on the sewer course. He does not need to take the first section of the sewer course which is the lab portion because he has an associates degree. The college was going to give us a refund of $1,100 for the sections Mark did not finish, but I called Ted and asked if they could get Roy into the class; he told me to send him up. Ted knows Roy from when he was going for his degree. A short discussion followed.

Seminar: Harriet asked Terry "Are you going to a seminar in April?" Terry explained that the Town Supervisor signed up all of the Town’s department heads for a seminar. The seminar topic is "Dealing with difficult people". Harriet asked where the seminar is being held. Terry said in Fishkill. A short discussion followed.

Pump repairs: Terry informed the Commissioners that the final cost for the pump repair was around $6,000. What Terry is referring to is the damage that was caused to the pump when they had the sewer backup at the plant back in January. The way they were able to pay for the repairs was by the bookkeeper transferring funds from the sewer capital reserve fund.

Fire Hydrant: Harriet stated to the Board that back in February, Bloomington had a fire and their trucks were coming down for water because they did not have enough. They were using the fire hydrant on Rte 32 near the mini mart gas station and Washington Park. She received a few phone calls from customers complaining of dirty water. She discussed this with Terry and he told her that he had set up a hydrant in the district for the fire companies to use; the hydrant by St. Peter’s, which does not service anyone in the district. Terry told Harriet that he didn’t have a problem with Bloomington using the hydrant by the mini mart as long as he is notified; so if someone were to call about dirty water he can tell them why. Harriet said, there is no reason why every fire company that comes to use their water, that only a few people pay for and maintain, why can’t they be told to go to the hydrant by St Peter’s. Terry stated, Bloomington did not use that hydrant because of the nature of the fire and also they did not want the traffic going down James and Main Street. A short discussion followed. Terry told the Board that he will send a letter informing the fire companies, who use their hydrants, to use the hydrant by St. Peter’s.

Purchase Order Request Sheet: Terry and the Commissioners reviewed the purchase order request sheet. All purchase orders were approved.

USDA: Terry informed the Commission that he and the supervisor had a meeting last week with a gentleman from the USDA. The USDA gave us the money to finance the sewer plant, which by the way will be paid off in three years. Terry read a letter that was sent to the Town from the USDA. He explained what they discussed and what has to be done. A short discussion followed.

EPA: Terry told the Board that the EPA will be here in a week or so this month to do soil samples on the Renda property and the sewer plant property for dioxin. A short discussion followed.

Road Runner: Carol asked Terry if he got Road Runner installed. Terry said road runner is presenting new problems. He explained, at this time the Town is currently using phone service from Cornerstone, which is not very good. If the Town is able to switch back to Verizon, we will be able to get their high speed on line service. The problem with installing Road Runner at the plant is we are an industrial facility, nothing can be overhead everything must be under ground. Presently, we have conduit that goes from the telephone poll to the sewer plant but no conduit to my building. Conduit would have to be put down because there is no direct burial for that cable line and that would cost us some money. He talked to the Supervisor about switching back to Verizon because all that is needed is a phone line which we have. Verizon high speed service is also cheaper. The Supervisor will present it to the Town Board; but before he can, he needs to know if there is a contract with Cornerstone. There was no contract signed. The Town cannot get the high speed service from Verizon unless we have their phone service.

Snyder Mine: Ernie K. asked Terry what is happening with the Snyder Mine. Terry said as far as writing letters to locate contractors, he was instructed by the Supervisor that he would like to get a legal opinion on the matter first. The Supervisor feels by taking down the mine, it would be an admission of guilt. A short discussion followed.

Vouchers were submitted for approval of payment.

Meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. on a motion by Joe. Motion was seconded by Ernie K.

Respectfully Submitted

Theresa Heinitz