Deadline for help with sewer connection looming
By Martha E. Conway
(Town of Sullivan, NY – April 2, 2014) As the April 15 deadline nears to apply for grants to help connect to the Bridgeport Sewer District, Supervisor John M. Becker reports that only about 57 percent of those eligible have applied for assistance.
Residents who wish to apply for help are encouraged to call the supervisor’s office at 315.687.9190 for details.
Fire Inspector Bill Pindle has asked the Sullivan Town Council to consider amending its zoning laws to require fire-grade sheetrock to be installed beneath staircases in new constructions. Pindle was not in attendance at the April 2 meeting, but town attorney John Langey said Code Enforcement Officer Philip Costanzo passed along correspondence from Pindle explaining the proposed change.
Langey said the construction language is contained in the town’s zoning law, but does not belong there. He said he suggests the council enact two new laws, pulling the existing language out of the zoning law, combining the three sections pertaining to construction and inserting them into the town’s codes.
“Then you can adopt what Bill wants into the new law,” Langey said.
Langey said the law carries a negative SEQR declaration; a public hearing will be held May 7 to hear from those for and against.
“We’ll have Bill available that night,” Becker said.
In other business
* The board approved the hire of a part-time seasonal employee to assist with checking for inflow and infiltration of sewers. Langey suggested making it a six-month probationary position.
* The board approved the purchase of a new truck and equipment with which to outfit it; they also approved the surplus of a 24-year-old vehicle that is being replaced with the new.
* The board approved a permissive referendum to correct a survey issue that cut off a resident’s access to his property; the correction is subject to permissive referendum.
* Langey reported that the town’s procurement policy was updated to reflect current practices.
* The board accepted the annual update document presented by Comptroller Beth Ellis.
* The board approved three property tax refund requests to correct a variety of errors. The refunds total about $860.
* The board discussed ways to even out the pay/rent ratio for the Sullivan Park caretaker. The current contract ends Dec. 31. The matter was tabled to allow the council and comptroller to evaluate the numbers.
Martha E. Conway is vice president of M3P Media, LLC, and publisher of the Madison County Courier. She can be reached at 315.813.0124 or by emailing martha@m3pmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/marthaeconway or Facebook at facebook.com/meconway.