HIGHWAY CHIEF RESIGNS FROM LAKE PLACID:

Mayor Jamie Rogers accepted the resignation of Highway Superintendent Norm Harlow during the regular meeting of the Lake Placid Village Board Monday night.

Rogers said Harlow, who will continue to serve as the town of North Elba’s superintendent of highways, asked to resign from his position with the village in December.

Harlow declined to comment on the reasons for his resignation. Village Trustee David Jones told the Enterprise today that Harlow resigned because of other work-related obligations.

Harlow, aside from his position with the town, has a construction company, Harlow Excavating and Contracting Inc. out of Lake Placid.

“To have a person run a town and village department and run a private business is almost next to impossible,” Rogers said today. “He’s been a great asset to both departments.”

“It’s a full-time job.”

Harlow, whose resignation was effective Dec. 31, was elected by the town but appointed by the village.

OK, not a terribly interesting article, but it does prompt a couple points:

1. It seems like everyone does it, but there is no authority for a municipal governing body to "accept" the resignation of a town employee or officer. The resignation of a town officer must be submitted to the town clerk in writing. If there is no effective date specified, the resignation takes place immediately upon delivery. If an effective date is specified it takes place on that date, except that the effective date can be no more than 30 days subsequent to the delivery date, so if an effective date is specified but it is beyond the 30 day limit, the resignation is effective automatically on the 30th day subsequent to delivery. Once properly submitted a resignation may be withdrawn, cancelled, or amended only by consent of the Town Clerk. (See Section 53 of the Public Officers Law for more details). In this case it appears a resignation letter was submitted effective December 31, 2006, so it's completely irrelevant that the Board of Trustees "accepted" it three weeks later. But also harmless.

2. More importantly, the Comptroller's office has opined that "the positions of village superintendent of public works and town superintendent of highways are incompatible." 1989 N.Y. Op. Atty. Gen. (Inf.) 155. The same reasoning applies to a village superintendent of highways. I suspect- with absolutely no evidence, admittedly- that that's the real reason behind the resignation here.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TOWN STOPLIGHT TO GET BACKUP POWER:

Greenfield is a one-stoplight town that doesn't want the stoplight to go dark even when the power goes out.

'We send the highway crew down there with portable stop signs,' Supervisor Al Janik said Monday. 'But we're just afraid somebody is going to blow through the intersection. You take your life in your hands to cross the street.'

The intersection at Route 9N, South Greenfield Road and Wilton-Greenfield Road in front of town hall is by far the busiest corner in town, he said. Route 9N is a busy truck route leading to Corinth and Lake Luzerne in the southern Adirondacks.

Further north, the intersection of 9N and Spier Falls Road has just a blinking caution light.

The state will provide the electrical switches and wiring for an emergency generator at a traffic signals on state highways if a town, village or city will take responsibility for getting a generator and keeping that generator until power comes back on.
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If the Board moves forward, the Greenfield Center Fire Co. will keep the generators and be in charge of keeping them running.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BRIGHTON COOLS TO ONE-MAN PLOWING:

A trial program to cut back from two workers per snowplow to one has caused a firestorm of protest from some Brighton residents who say the change will make it more difficult for plow operators to see children waiting for buses and joggers running in the streets.

The residents have signed petitions, started a Web site, attended meetings and even put signs up in their yards in an effort to stop the town's pilot program before the heavy snow starts to fall.

Without the second person in the truck to help watch, "The driver cannot see someone standing on the other side of the truck," said Judy Keehn, president of the Ellison Park Heights Neighborhood Association and one of the people collecting signatures. "They are asking people to drive a manual nine-gear truck while handling salt control and working both plows — in a state where we're not allowed to hold a cell phone."

But other highway departments, such as Greece and Webster, made the decision to go with one operator in all their trucks about a decade ago and have no regrets. In fact, Webster has split its drivers into two shifts, which has cut down on the need for overtime, quickened response times because employees were already at work and made it possible for more plows to be on the road at one time.

The state Department of Transportation switched to one-person plowing in the early 1990s, when the state talked to others in the Northeast and even other countries to see what worked best. Since then, snowplow-related accidents have actually decreased, said Lori Maher, a DOT spokeswoman. The state credits that decrease to fewer distractions for drivers, more training and the fact that one person is now accountable for everything.

Note the discussion later in the article about how other Monroe County towns treat this issue.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

COUNTY OKS HIGHWAY BOARD:

Chemung County lawmakers Monday agreed to create a new board to help provide better highway services while reducing costs and eliminating duplication of equipment and operations.

Several town highway superintendents who attended Monday's Legislature meeting expressed optimism and reservations about the concept of a Municipal Highway Services Board.

One role of the new group will be to hire a commissioner or superintendent -- at county expense -- to develop a comprehensive plan for snowplowing, road construction and rehabilitation, equipment sharing and bulk purchasing by municipalities in the county that agree to participate.

Erin Highway Superintendent Roger Burlew, who is also president of the Chemung County Highway Superintendents Association, said town highway departments already cooperate with each other.

In the past, there was animosity between the towns and the Chemung County Public Works Department, which is responsible for maintaining county roads, Burlew said.

"The problem has always been the relationship over the last 20 years has been strained. Everybody went their separate ways," he said. "That's why we're just a little squeamish. There's been some distrust in past years.

"We're excited about this. We just want to do what's best for our people," Burlew said. "That's the best service at the cheapest price."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BERNE MERGER DOUBTFUL:

An Albany County highway consolidation plan that proponents had touted as possibly the first of its kind in the state appears to have collapsed under opposition from most of the Town Board. Berne Supervisor Kevin Crosier and county officials went public in August with their plan to fold Berne's Highway Department into the Albany County Department of Public Works.

The merger would save money, they said, by eliminating inefficiencies such as town plow trucks driving miles of county roads to reach the streets they are responsible for cleaning.

Crosier proposed the consolidation as part of his 2007 budget. But the other board members opposed it, he said. The board proposed additional spending that the supervisor said translates into a 28 percent tax-rate increase over his initial budget.

Officials are scheduled to take up the spending plan again at a 6 p.m. meeting tonight.

It's a lesson in how hard change can be in a state whose municipal system Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, faulted it for being stuck in the 1700s in a recent report. The Berne situation has also drawn attention from other Albany County towns.

Coeymans and Rensselaerville both informally approached the county about various forms of shared highway services, said Kerri Battle, spokeswoman for County Executive Michael Breslin. Coeymans Supervisor Ronald Hotaling Jr. had his own consolidation controversy when opponents earlier this year unsuccessfully mobilized against a plan to consolidate the village of Ravena's tiny police force with the larger Town of Coeymans operation.

"They keep saying, 'If it's not broken, don't fix it,' " Crosier said of opposition to the highway merger. "Well, hiking people's taxes by 28 percent means it's desperately broken."

Under the plan rolled out in August, the seven town highway workers were to have become county employees. The merger would eliminate the elected town highway superintendent post.

This town of fewer than 3,000 people wouldn't have to build new salt- and fuel-storage facilities because the county has them. The county wouldn't have to build a new field office because the town has one.

The merger would have saved taxpayers $200,000 annually, Crosier said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TRANSFER OF OVERSIGHT: ULSTER TRANSFER STATION PROBLEMS CITED:

Town Board members on Monday gave control of the town transfer station to Supervisor Nick Woerner after finding that dumping has been allowed without permits and employees have called in sick more than half the Saturdays this year.

The responsibility for the transfer station was taken from the town Highway Department in 4-1 vote during a Town Board meeting with Councilman Craig Artist as the lone opposition.

Following the meeting, Councilman Rocco Secreto said at least one of the transfer station's two employees has called in sick 20 of the past 34 Saturdays.

"They're covered (under union contract) but now we have to call somebody in at time-and-a-half for overtime," he said. "They also get two meal tickets, that's $20, on top of that $220 per day to work. That's big bucks we're losing."

Officials said an inspection by board members on Saturday found that residents were arriving without a permit.

"We sold 10 coupon books (for accepting bags with trash) and 10 permits," Secreto said. "We sold over $500 in one day. If we weren't there they would have never gotten sold because those people would have just shown up with no permit or no coupon."

Secreto said taking the authority away from town Highway Superintendent Donald "Mac" Tinnie Jr. will make employees take the job seriously.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHARLOTTE TOWN BOARD QUESTIONS HIGHWAY EXPENDITURES:

The Charlotte Town Board is establishing a procurement policy requiring Lewis Nickerson, town highway superintendent, to submit requisitions to town officials before buying any items costing more than $100.

Officials also directed Nickerson to return several items to a Rochester business, the costs of which were described as ‘‘way overpriced.’’ In addition, Darla Frost, town clerk, was instructed to inform the firm the town will no longer deal with the enterprise.

Varsi Peterson, town councilwoman, said a procurement policy would enable officials to maintain ‘‘a more accurate picture of budget balances,’’ and would help them keep track of outstanding invoices. Nickerson, however, insisted that some incidents require immediate attention.
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Both Russo and Ms. Peterson said they were especially concerned about several ‘‘high-priced items,’’ including three 25-foot tape measures, each priced at $89.

‘‘This (price) is absolutely outrageous,’’ Russo said.

Other purchases questioned included a box of rawhide work gloves at a cost of $554, and a 50-foot heavy-duty extension cord with a trouble light, with a price tag of $169.

The same quality gloves, Ms. Peterson said, could be picked up at local stores for between $6 or $7 a pair, while the cost per pair of those at the highway department is about twice that amount. In addition, three boxes of sunglasses — at 12 pair a box — have been purchased by the highway department at a cost of $12.95 a pair.
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Also, Gary Sargent, town supervisor, called for Nickerson to maintain daily reports on vehicle maintenance.

‘‘That kind of system gives us an immediate guide as to what repairs should be planned, and reflects the overall operational performance of each vehicle,’’ Sargent said. ‘‘We need that kind of information on our trucks.’’

‘‘If that’s what you want, then that’s what you get,’’ an irritated Nickerson said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CANISTEO HIGHWAY DECISION CAN GO BEFORE VOTERS:

Less than a week after the Canisteo town board thought it would have to make a decision on the method of employing a highway superintendent, it has been learned it can go to voters.

Highway Superintendent James Drake has said he plans to retire after his current term expires Dec. 31, 2007. That prompted Councilman Thomas Ryan to ask whether the position should be changed from one that's elected to an appointment of the board. Wanting to ensure a quality superintendent stay in the job, he suggested a referendum vote be placed on November's ballot, but was told at Wednesday's meeting it needed to be done 150 days prior to the election.

But that does not apply in Canisteo's situation, town Clerk Nancy McMindes learned Friday.

“The Board of Elections called me Friday and said the 150 days the proposition has to be on the ballot before the general election only applies if someone is running for that position in that year,” she said. “The proposition will be on the November ballot.”

Since Drake's term runs through 2007, that position will not be on the ballot this fall, allowing the referendum vote to go forward. Ryan doesn't know if a referendum is better than a local law, but said a vote will allow residents to make their voices heard.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ATV RULING FOR DEC:

The loss of all-terrain vehicle access will hurt the economy of an Adirondack town that lost a court dispute with the state over control of roads through a state wilderness area, the town's supervisor said Thursday.

Horicon Supervisor Ralph Bentley called one of the environmental groups celebrating the win by the state Department of Environmental Conservation "the dictators of this park ... In the '40s they called it Nazi Germany. They have their own Gestapo with the DEC officers."

"The economy is bad enough up here, and they just drove a whole segment out of state," Bentley said.
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State Supreme Court Justice Richard Aulisi ruled Tuesday in Warren County against the town of Horicon, 70 miles north of Albany, saying it cannot regulate the use of the roads on state forest preserve land.

ATVs and other motorized vehicles are banned from state land designated as wilderness, but the town argued it maintained the roads, or they had been deemed abandoned, so it was free to determine what vehicles could use them. Adirondack ATV enthusiasts have opposed greater restrictions sought by environmentalists, arguing the activity provides an economic boost to the area's struggling economy.
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Aulisi ruled that the town couldn't prove it maintained the roads for the necessary 10-year period before the state acquired the property.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)