The Town Board of the Town of Clayton held a regular meeting at the Municipal Building, Clayton, New York with the following present:

Justin Taylor                             George Kittle                            Donald Turcotte

Lance Peterson(Absent)           Paula Baril                                Robert Boulton

Kathy LaClair

Alicia Dewey                            Candie Pecor                           Jim Kenney

Nicole Cornaire

The meeting was opened at 5:00 PM by Supervisor Taylor.

Public:

No attending public spoke at this meeting.

Town Clerk:

Correspondence:

-                     Judge Clarence Giles August 2007 report.  (See attached.)

-                     Judge Clifford James August 2007 report.  (See attached.)

-                     Notice received of a Land Use Planning Workshop – Zoning Administration, Wednesday, 9/19 at the Jules Center Amphitheater from 6:30-8:30 PM.  (See attached.)

-                     Reminder from the State Education Dept. that Final Expenditure Reports for each grants-contract is due within a specific time frame following the end of the approved project period.  (See attached.)

-                     Notice of a Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Phase II training session being held on Wednesday, 9/26 from 1-5 at the State Office Building, 11^th Fl. Conference Room.       (See attached.)

-                     Notice from Sandy Corey, Bd. of Elections concerning Primary day 9/18 (none here in Clayton) & the General Election Day 11/6 with a reminder that a Presidential Primary will be held February 2008 instead of March.  (See attached.)

-                     Notice from Kelly Davis, Jeff. Co. Auditor inquiring of any district changes to previous years sewer districts need to be in by 10/1.  (See attached.)

-                     Notice of a propane tank explosion.  (See file.)

-                     September 2007 issue of Northern Regional Center for Independent Living received.  (See attached.)

-                     Received copy of the Joint T/V meeting minutes from the Village of Clayton.  (See attached.)

-                     Notice that the Town Clerk’s Office will be closed, Thursday 9/13 from 9-1 to attend a NYS Archives (SARA) Workshop.

-                     Notice that “Business With A Twist” will be on 9/19 from 5-8 PM at the Swan Bay Beach Club.  Those going should RSVP to the Chamber of Commerce Office by 9/17.  (See attached.)

Update on Deputy Town Clerk Position:

Town Clerk LaClair reported that eight (8) applications had been received by the deadline.  She will review them and schedule four (4) applicants for interviews.  Mrs. LaClair stated she had asked Councilwoman Baril to sit in with the interview process.

Copies of those to be interviewed next week will be given to Councilwoman Baril.

Bills:

Motion by George Kittle, 2^nd by Paula Baril, to pay Abstract #9 in the amount of $629,340.37.  (Peterson – Absent.)  Motion carried.

Supervisor’s Report:

Motion by Donald Turcotte, 2^nd by George Kittle, to approve the Supervisor’s Report as submitted.  (Peterson – Absent.)  Motion carried.

USDA Revised Application:

The Village of Clayton has revised their application to USDA asking for another $200,000 bringing the total to $1.5 million for construction/remodeling of the Joint Town/Village of Clayton Municipal Offices.

Budget:

Budget sheets have been distributed and should be completed and returned to Supervisor Taylor by 9/21.  Supervisor Taylor indicated he will be having meetings with all the Dept. Heads prior to receiving the budget sheets to get an idea on what the Departments will need.

Assessor Clerk Support:

Discussion followed that Jefferson County Real Property Service doesn’t have the staffing to aid all the municipalities in doing updates to their property tax rolls.  Mrs. Cornaire has been helping the Assessor and has had some training that would be helpful to the Assessor during this time.

Motion by Paula Baril, 2^nd by Donald Turcotte, to hire Nicole Cornaire, at the same rate of $11.55, regular 40 hours weekly, as a temporary clerk to aid the Assessor with the reval, through June 2008.  (Peterson – absent.)  Motion carried.

CLDC Meeting Report:

Supervisor Taylor indicated he had given the Town Board members copies of all CLDC information. 

Frink Update:

He explained that the Town and CLDC has partnered with the Department of Environmental Conservation in doing an Interim Remediation Monitoring (IRM) at Frink Development.  We have to wait for thirty (30) days for a public comment period before we can proceed.  Thirty days will have gone by on 9/20.

Planning Board Alternate:

The Village at their regular meeting of August 27^th appointed John Summers as alternate to the Joint T/V Planning Board.  After doing so, they found that all alternates are joint appointees and therefore the Village is asking the Town to appoint Mr. Summers to this position for a term of five (5) years, ending on 4/30/2012.

Motion by Paula Baril, 2^nd by George Kittle, to appoint Mr. Summers, as alternate to the Joint Planning Board through 4/30/2012.  (Peterson – absent.)  Motion carried.

Control Board Teleconference:

Supervisor Taylor stated he is not sure at this time if the teleconference will still be held.  The Plan being put forth is on hold at this time.

Wind Farm Meeting:

A Wind Farm Meeting is being held tonight 9/12 from 7-9 PM at the LaFargeville Central School.  Supervisor Taylor stated he could not attend as he has another meeting to go to.  He urged any of the other Board members to attend if possible.

SUNY – Potsdam Local Government Conference:

Supervisor Taylor indicated that the conference will be held on Tuesday, October 9^th.  Those attending should get there applications into the Town Clerk by 9/20 so that a check can be put in the mail prior to 9/21.

Fairview Manor Historic Status:

Supervisor Taylor reported he had received a letter form NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation that they will recommend to the Commissioner, who is the NYS Historic Preservation Officer, that the property of Fairview Manor, 38389 NYS Rte 12E, Clayton, Jefferson County, has been listed on the NYS Register of Historic Places and nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.  This application will now be forwarded to Washington, DC.   (See attached.)

(LUCA) Local Update of Census Addresses:

Supervisor Taylor stated he had received a letter from the US Dept of census inquiring of updated contact information for the Town.  This form was completed and faxed back to the Census Bureau.

Wireless Mobile Cameras:

Supervisor Taylor expressed interest in a “mobile” Wireless Internet Provider Camera that could be utilized at the dock at Grindstone Island and possibly Rec. Park and Depauville Community Center.

Website:

Matt Turcotte has been updating our web site.  We’re still working on bettering the site with more information about the Town.

Town Code Officer:

Supervisor Taylor stated that Atty. Joseph Russell is looking into the paperwork on the Town providing Code Enforcement and taking this process back from Jefferson County.

NYS Retirement System:

Supervisor Taylor stated he had been approached by Karen Goetz of the Clayton Chamber.  Years ago Mrs. Goetz had worked under the NYS Retirement System and has been recently written to stating she needed one (1) days worth of work under the system to save her retirement.

Supervisor Taylor stated he would bring this to the attention of the Board to see if we could help her out with this matter.

Motion by George Kittle, 2^nd by Donald Turcotte, to hire Karen Goetz @ $8.00 per hour as a laborer for the day.  (Peterson – Absent.)  Motion carried.

Highway Superintendent:

-                     Brooks Drive/Strawberry Lane – Gaining on the project.  Currently at the Medical Center .  Tomorrow the road will be closed from Wahl Drive  up to the Medical Center.  Should be finished with this project by winter and hoping to put down a binder.

-                     Riverwalk tour – CLDC put together a walk of the public easement area at the Frink Development site for this Friday (9/14) at 10 AM.  Any Board member available is invited.

-                     Village Wide Pickup – The Highway crew will again help the Village with the pickup.  This will start Monday, 9/24 and will be one pass down the streets.  The Village has advertised this event.  It takes a day and a half to complete the Village.

-                     Lovers Lane – Wednesday, 9/26 the highway will be putting down cold mix.

-                     Hours of Operation – Thursday, 9/27 the highway will be back on five (5) days working nine (9) hours each day to get projects completed before bad weather.

-                     Sand – Hauling at this time; have completed 1500 out of 5000 tons.

-                     Mowing & Grading – Being completed on Grindstone Island at this time.  Mowing this year has seen 402 hours of town roads and 369 reimbursable hours of county roads completed.

-                     Transfer Site – Alicia Dewey and Highway Supt. Boulton visited this afternoon to check on the Tefft clean-up.  A screening unit, eight (8’) foot trailer and another trailer need to be moved back as yet.  Mr. Boulton stated they would continue to monitor the progress.

-                     Depauville Sewer – A problem with the site recently purchased by Brad Bourcy as it was taken off the billing list some time ago.  This site currently has a septic tank but nobody is paying toward the capitol.  The Town Board consensus is to consider this as a new hook-up and the fee of $1,000 is payable before hooked in and a billing at the time of connection.  Ms. Dewey will send a letter to Mr. Bourcy.

-                     New Sander – Hwy. Supt. Boulton stated he will be looking to purchase a new unit.  He will get bid specs ready.

Paynter Senior Center:

Supervisor Taylor indicated that Adult Medical Day Care might be a possibility at the Paynter Center.  This program is reimbursable by Medicare.  The Paynter Board might want to look into this.

[ Board member Baril left at 6:10 Pm for LaFargeville for the Wind Power discussion.]

Public Assistance Workshop:

Highway Clerk Candie Pecor gave an over view of a Public Assistance Workshop she had attended on August 9^th put together by the State Emergency Management and Jefferson County Emergency Management.  This workshop was intended for those responsible for disaster repairs, restoration and those involved in submitting the applications and documentation for disaster funding.  (See attached.)

Committee Reports:

George Kittle:            - Tomorrow will be the first Chamber of commerce meeting for the                                   Fall.

                        - Youth Commission will meet this coming week.  Jim Yuhas will                        go to explain financial information. 

                        - George will be asking the Board to increase the Budget amount                                    for the coming year for Youth Commission. 

                        -  Lights at Rec. Park fields need to be addressed.  They over heat                                 and not all are lit.

                        -  TIPAF - this Sunday on Grindstone Island TIPAF will be                                  honoring Mary McDonald Mascott for the start of an                                            Endowment Fund for the Opera House.

Donald Turcotte:          - Thank you to everyone for the cards and thoughts at the time of                                                  his brothers passing.

                                      - Heritage Heights – pumps are being installed.  Pump #1 has                                                    been working hard; needed to get #2 on line.

                                      - Depauville Community Center – taping is being completed.                                                  The chimney is going to need to be replaced for about $5000.

                                      - Depauville Sewer Fee – We’ve discussed previously in this                                                    meeting.

                                      - Rec. Park Dugouts – More have been completed with the                                                      exception of for the roofs and they’ll need to get done before to                                                     much water gets in there.

Flexible Benefits Plan:

Supervisor Taylor indicated a new draft for the “Benefits Plan” is in the works to add “fitness for health”.

Floating Cottage:

Supervisor Taylor stated he had not received a letter back yet from the Dept. of Environmental Conservation concerning the abandoned floating cottage that was discussed at the Grindstone Island meeting.  Ms. Dewey had put in a phone call to the DEC yesterday and is hoping to hear back soon.

Association of Towns Credit Card Abuse:

Supervisor Taylor indicated he had received a letter from the Association of Towns concerning abuse of credit cards for purchase of gas for vehicles for government entities.  Persons where using the cards to remove the excise tax portion.  Now individuals have to get a receipt and submit for reimbursement and apply for a rebate of the excise tax.

Motion by George Kittle, 2^nd by Donald Turcotte, to adjourn this regular meeting at 6:30 PM.  (Peterson – absent).  Motion carried.

                                                                                      ______________________________

                                                                                      Kathleen E. LaClair, Town Clerk