A regular meeting of the Jewett Town Board was held on December 10, 2003. Supervisor Michael Flaherty called the meeting to order at 7PM. Present were Board members Paul LaPierre, Thomas Hitchcock and Mark Middleton. Present were Superintendent of Highways Robert Mallory, Building Inspector Robert Bosworth, Zoning Officer William Dwyer, and Attorney for the Town Tal G. Rappleyea arriving late, newspaper reporter Mike Ryan, several Town residents and the town clerk.

A motion was made by LaPierre seconded by Hitchcock and carried approving minutes of the November 17, 2003 regular meeting with a name correction.

The Supervisor's report was given to the Board and bank statements were made available for the Board to review.

Assessor Georgette Krauss prepared a written report for the Board. A motion was made by Hitchcock seconded by LaPierre and carried to accept the Assessors report.

A motion was made by Hitchcock seconded by Middleton and carried to adopt the sliding scale for senior citizens tax exemption as recommended on the Assessors report.
The Building Inspector gave a monthly written report. He discussed un-safe buildings with the Board.
Councilman Hitchcock asked for a list of completions on un-safe buildings for the January meeting.
Councilman Middleton "I think we should recognize the fact that this has been a very successful program that this Town Board has pursued along with our building inspector. It's been a great success and I think the Town has only benefited from this piece of legislation we put forth."
A motion was made by Hitchcock seconded by LaPierre to accept the building inspectors report.

The Zoning Officer gave a monthly written report and discussed some of the items with the Board.
A motion was made by Hitchcock seconded by LaPierre and carried to accept the zoning officers report.

At the Boards request Attorney Rappleyea will write new language defining the definition for a building including containers. The Board will review the language as a possible amendment to the zoning law. Attorney Rappleyea will also look into the requirements for minimum set backs for leach fields near property lines.

Under courtesy of the floor:

Franz Steinherr addressed the Board and requested his statement be placed in the minutes verbatim.
"I would like to voice by concern over the Board's proposal to fill the position of Town Justice left vacant by the resignation of duly elected Mr. Rubinger. The position in which the Town finds itself is admittedly regrettable. The importance of the justice position cannot be understated, if the Board is willing to recognize this as a seat, to fill the position with urgency. Therefore the Board is saddled with a grave responsibility. Members of this Board will be supplementing the collective will and judgment of the Town citizens as expressed in the solemn act of voting with a judgment of it's own.
I therefore take issue with the proposal to appoint the elected out incumbent Mr. Selkirk to remain. The decision to keep Mr. Selkirk on, as Town Justice would have the effect of disenfranchising hundreds of citizens who called for change. The Town's voters made a very clear statement in which they not only made a positive affirmation of support for justices elect Rubinger and Tatar but also gave a negative endorsement to Mr. Selkirk and their desire to have him to remain."

Mr. Steinherr continues.
"I understand but in light of the circumstances can not agree with the Board's desire to have available an experienced Town Justice. The people elected to have two new justices. Absent Mr. Rubinger's resignation the Town would have indeed been forced to face whatever minor transient inconveniences this situation may have induced. There are less draconian alternatives. I have offered myself to the Board for consideration and I ask the Board to explore exhaustively other potential appointments. In making this important decision I urge the Board to not forget the wills of those you represent. To remember what it means for citizens to exercise their right to vote and to remember the scores of Americans who pledge their lives to make that right a defining and inviolate feature of our society."

Their being no further comments courtesy of the floor was closed.

Under old business:

A motion was made by Hitchcock seconded by LaPierre and carried to have web-master Peter Peters set up an e-mail account for the Town.

Councilman Middleton suggested that updates for the website be a monthly agenda item. The Board agreed with this suggestion.

On a motion by Flaherty seconded by Hitchcock and carried Terri Martin-Church was appointed as the Town's health officer for a 4 year term.
Councilman LaPierre asked that the health officer be asked to check on possible mosquito breeding sites through out the Town.

Gene Beers will come before the Board on December 17th at 6:30 PM to interview for a reappointment to the Planning Board.

Supervisor Flaherty informed the Board that Justice Selkirk has accepted the Town's offer to fill the justice vacancy left by the resignation of Marvin Rubinger. This appointment is for one year and the position will be on the November 2004 ballot.

Supervisor Flaherty presented the Board with information on a DEP land acquisition in South Jewett.
Board members were asked to bring their comments to the January meeting.

The Board received the Dog Warden's annual report.

Annually the Catskill Mountain Housing Corp. receives HUD money to assist income eligible homeowners with improvements.
Councilman Middleton asked how many families in the Town have benefited or availed themselves of this program before the Town endorses the program this year.
This item was tabled until the Supervisor can obtain the information.

The Jewett Fire Department provided the Board with written verification of their application to the IRS.
A motion was made by Middleton seconded by Hitchcock and carried to write a letter to the Jewett Fire Department, particularly Mr. Schildhorn, for his complete cooperation in this matter. The East Jewett Fire Department to be sent a copy of the letter.

A motion was made by Flaherty seconded by LaPierre and carried approving Resolution #19. This resolution provides a six-month probationary period for new highway employees. This resolution will be in effect until the employee handbook is reinstated.
The resolution was amended as follows:
The wording "department head or supervisor" was changed to "Superintendent of Highways".
The wording "medical insurance will begin immediately" was changed to "medical coverage shall commence as defined by the carrier".
ROLL CALL: Aye 4 Flaherty, Hitchcock, LaPierre, Middleton
Nay 0

Under other:

Councilman Hitchcock addressing Franz Steinherr:
"In discussion at the last meeting about the situation that developed with the justice court I believe the Board did ask the Supervisor to speak to Mr. Selkirk. Mr. Selkirk's feeling at that time was that he would be amiable to being appointed by the Board for a year."
"Our discussion centered on whether or not we wanted to ask Mr. Selkirk, with all deference to what Franz had to say, this was a close election. Mr. Rubinger had put us in a difficult position and we wanted to remedy it and we asked Mr. Selkirk to do this for us with the civet that it was for a year."

A motion was made by Hitchcock seconded by Middleton and carried to appoint Mr. Selkirk to the justice position for the year 2004.

Councilman Middleton added that the "Board was concerned with no sitting judge available in this Town with experience. After Mr. Rubinger's unfortunate set of circumstances, that was one of the reasons why there was a consensus among the Board members to approach a sitting judge and ask him if he would continue. I'm not so sure I was of the understanding that it would be for a whole year. Our only other option was to remand anything that would come before a justice in the Town of Jewett would have to go to an outside judge. Effectually we would not have a judge in this Town that could act on anything without going through school. We had missed the time frame that would allow us to have a judge on the bench on January 1st. That's some of the history that led this Board to make a decision to approach a sitting judge, so somebody with experience, because of Mr. Rubingers late announcement, would cover us. Otherwise we would have had the opportunity to approach other citizens or consider other applications to take the training."
"I think there are qualified individuals including Mr. Steinherr and I applaud his effort. It would be wonderful to see more young people endeavor to be involved in government."

A motion was made by Flaherty seconded by LaPierre and carried to go into executive session concerning pending litigation.
A motion was made by Flaherty seconded by LaPierre and carried to come out of executive session.
Attorney Rappleyea has been authorized by the Board to take further action on various cases.

Councilman Hitchcock said that next year the Board has to do something about a list of pre-existing, grand fathered places. He suggested the Board either hire or appoint somebody to do this. Board members were in agreement.

The Board will work on the employee handbook in January.

Councilman Hitchcock asked that the Board again look into the noise ordinance next year.

Councilman LaPierre "The Board needs to be attentive to the fact that the communities of Tannersville and Hunter are looking very closely at adult entertainment regulations. My question is, sense we have no downtowns in Jewett within which to have an area set aside for that kind of activity, if somebody wanted to bring that into Jewett could they?"
Attorney Rappleyea "It could happen."
This will be another item for discussion next year.

Bills were audited and ordered paid. The general fund was $9,112.52 on abstract #12, claim numbers 273 to 299. The highway fund was $9,095.82 on abstract #12, claim numbers 184 to 199.

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 10PM on a motion by Flaherty seconded by LaPierre and carried.

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Patricia Merwin Town Clerk

December 17, 2003

The year-end meeting of the Jewett Town Board was held on December 17, 2003. Supervisor Michael Flaherty called the meeting to order at 7PM. Present were Board members Thomas Hitchcock, Paul LaPierre and Mark Middleton. Also present were Zoning officer William Dwyer and Town resident Tom Wilson and the town clerk.

A motion was made by Flaherty seconded by LaPierre and carried to reappoint Gene Beers to the Planning Board for a seven year term.

A motion was made by Flaherty seconded by LaPierre and carried approving Resolution #20 in the amount of 32,000.00. This resolution is the repayment of the loan to purchase new trucks for the highway department from good neighborhood funds. This completes the payment of the loan.
ROLL CALL: Aye 4 Flaherty, Hitchcock, LaPierre, Middleton
Nay 0

A motion was made by Flaherty seconded by Hitchcock and carried approving Resolution #21. This resolution is a transfer of funds to balance the general fund in the amount of $33,572.13 and to balance the highway fund in the amount of $33,618.88 for the end of the year.
ROLL CALL: Aye 4 Flaherty, Hitchcock, LaPierre, Middleton
Nay 0

A motion was made by Flaherty seconded by Middleton and carried approving Resolution #22 in the amount of $20,000.00. This resolution is a transfer of funds from the unexpended balance to the Future of Jewett Fund.
Prior to tonight's resolution this Board, in the past 4 years, has put $95,000.00 in this account.
ROLL CALL: Aye 4 Flaherty, Hitchcock, LaPierre, Middleton
Nay 0

Under other:

Councilman Hitchcock "I consider it an honor and privilege to have served with Mark Middleton the last 4 years. He's been a tremendous asset to this Board. I'm going to miss his voice, his ideas and his help and I wish him well in the future."
Councilman LaPierre seconded this statement.
Councilman Middleton "Thank you very much. I appreciate the kind words."

Supervisor Flaherty said the Town Attorney was waiting to hear back from Mr. Ahrent on the land.

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM on a motion by Flaherty seconded by LaPierre and carried.

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Patricia Merwin Town Clerk