TOWN BOARD MEETING
 AUGUST 21, 2003

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Town of Esopus Town Board was held on Thursday,
August 21, 2003 at 7:30 PM in the Town Hall on Broadway in Port Ewen, New York with the following persons in attendance:

Supervisor Ray Rice
Councilman Marshall Courtney
Councilman Gloria VanVliet
Councilman Wayne Freer
Councilman Peter Beisel

Recording Secretary: Diane L. McCord, Town Clerk, RMC
Daily Freeman Reporter: Tree McElhinney

Pledge to the Flag

Supervisor Ray Rice called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

Announcements:

Dogs are available for adoption without charge.

Public Comment: None

Resolutions:

1.  RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE ATTENDANCE OF ASSESSOR AT ASSESSOR’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Be It Resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

Whereas, The New York State Assessor’s Association will conduct their Annual Conference and Continuing Education Seminar for Assessors in Lake Placid, September 8-10, 2003,

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Town Board authorizes the attendance of Town Assessor Dan Terpening with the expenses to be paid from the assessor’s budget.

Resolution offered by Councilman Marshall Courtney
Resolution seconded by Supervisor Ray Rice

Supervisor Ray Rice    Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney  Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet  Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer   Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel   Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

2.  Resolution to approve a Peddlers Permit

Be it resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

Whereas, as per section 100.5 of the Code of the Town of Esopus, the Town Board is required to accept, and examine, applications for peddling and soliciting, within the Town,

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Town Board has examined the application, accepted, or waived, the required fees, and does hereby authorize the issuance of a Peddlers license for Terry L. Sutton.

Resolution offered by Councilman Peter Beisel
Resolution seconded by Supervisor Ray Rice

Supervisor Ray Rice    Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney  Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet  Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer   Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel   Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

3.  Resolution to authorize an increase in the cost of a Marriage License

Be it resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

Whereas, New York State has increased the cost of a Marriage License by requiring that Town Clerks charge ten dollars for the marriage certificate, which increases the total cost of a Marriage License to Forty Dollars, of which NYS receives $22.50 and the Town receives $17.50.

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Town Board authorizes the Town Clerk to increase the cost of a Marriage License to Forty Dollars.

Resolution offered by Supervisor Ray Rice
Resolution seconded by Councilman Wayne Freer
 
Supervisor Ray Rice    Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney  Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet  Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer   Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel   Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

4.  Resolution to Fill a Vacancy on the Environmental Board

Be it Resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

Whereas, the Town of Esopus Environmental Review Board has a vacancy resulting from the resignation of Sue Ronga,

Whereas, the Environmental Review Board has recommended Julie Melancon for the position,

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Town Board appoints Julie Melancon to the Environmental Review Board for a term expiring December 31, 2004.

Resolution offered by Councilman Wayne Freer
Resolution seconded by Councilman Marshall Courtney

Supervisor Ray Rice    Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney  Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet  Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer   Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel   Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

5.  Resolution in Opposition to the Closing of Post Offices

Be it Resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

Whereas, newspaper articles have indicated that the U. S. Postal Service is considering closing the Rifton Post Office,

Whereas, the closing of the Rifton Post Office would be extremely inconvenient to the residents of the Rifton areas, and

Whereas, the Post Offices in our smaller communities serve a valuable additional purpose as a community information center,
 
Therefore, be it resolved, that the Town Board express our opposition to the closing of any Post Office in the town of Esopus, and specifically oppose the closing of the Rifton Post Office.

Resolution offered by Supervisor Ray Rice
Resolution seconded by Councilman Marshall Courtney

Supervisor Ray Rice    Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney  Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet  Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer   Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel   Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

6.  Resolution to Appoint Part Time Dog Control Officers

Be it Resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

Whereas, the Town of Esopus Dog Control Officer position is curently vacant,

Whereas, the Town Board has advertised the position and reviewed the many applications which were submitted,

Therefore, be it Resolved, that the Town Board appoints Jill Shufeldt as Part-Time Dog Control Officer and Jack Spinnenweber as an On-Call Dog Control Officer,

Resolution offered by Supervisor Ray Rice
Resolution seconded by Councilman Gloria VanVliet

Supervisor Ray Rice    Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney  Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet  Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer   Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel   Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

7.  Resolution to Authorize Adjustments of the 2003 Budget

Be it Resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster as follows:

Whereas, adjustments to the 2003 budget are required in order to properly reflect changes in certain accounts,
 Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Town Board authorizes the transfer of the following amounts from the indicated accounts and Fund Balances to the indicated active accounts.

From:     Amt.  To:
A1990.4 Contingency  $19.45 A1220.4 Internet Access
316.34 A1410.4 Town Clerk School
125.28 A3310.4 Traffic Signs
425.00 A1620.2 File Cabinets, Assessor’s
Office
428.53 A3620.4 NY Bldg. Code Updates
Kiosk Materials (Reimb.
By Main St. Grant)
116.84 A7144.2 Perrine’s Bridge Sign
       15,000.00 DA5130.2 Plow Truck

Resolution offered by Councilman Wayne Freer
Resolution seconded by Councilman Marshall Courtney

Supervisor Ray Rice   Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer  Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel  Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

8.  Resolution to Authorize the Payment of Vouchers Received Since the July Board Mtg.

Be it Resolved, by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus, in the County of Ulster, as follows:

Whereas, the Town of Esopus has been presented with vouchers for payment and these vouchers have been examined and approved by the Town Board,

Therefore, Be it Resolved, that the following vouchers be approved for payment:

GENERAL FUND  #412-481   $27,735.01
HIGHWAY FUND  #185-230     86,511.97

STREET LIGHTING   8       3,344.48
PORT EWEN SEWER #  96-108       5,186.06
PORT EWEN WATER #203-207      18,114.45

TOTAL...............................$140,891.97
 
Resolution offered by Supervisor Ray Rice
Resolution seconded by Councilman Marshall Courtney

Supervisor Ray Rice   Aye
Councilman Marshall Courtney Aye
Councilman Gloria VanVliet Aye
Councilman Wayne Freer  Aye
Councilman Peter Beisel  Aye

Resolution duly adopted.

A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE JULY TOWN BOARD MEETINGS WAS MADE BY SUPERVISOR RAY RICE AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN GLORIA VANVLIET.  ALL TOWN BOARD MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.  MOTION CARRIED.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Ernie Germano - Ulster Park: What happened with the new launch?  The Highway Dept. men have cleaned up and we are waiting for the paving period to end.  Some work has been done already on the launch itself.  We are relying on the Highway Dept according to Supervisor Rice.

A meeting to discuss the new Town Hall with the DOT will take place on Tuesday, August 26th at 7:30 PM in the present Town Hall.  The community is invited.

A MOTION TO ADJOURN WAS MADE BY SUPERVISOR RAY RICE AT 7:45 PM AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN MARSHALL COURTNEY.  ALL TOWN BOARD MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.  MOTION CARRIED.

Respectfully submitted,

Diane L. McCord
Town Clerk, RMC