by Chris Rossi
The February Hamilton Town Council meeting opened with comments from the public. A question was raised about the comprehensive plan and next steps in completing the work. During the meeting, a revised draft of the plan, which included edits based on written and spoken comments submitted during the fall public meetings, was presented to the Town Council. Now the Town Council will review the document and add their comments to the mix. Once the plan is again edited, it will be the subject of a public meeting in early May, with another opportunity for the community to review and share comments on this updated version. The new draft of the plan will be available for the public to read well ahead of the meeting.
Mayor McVaugh announced that the movie, recently filmed in Hamilton, would most likely be released this winter or later. The Hamilton Merchants Association is meeting to discuss how the filming went in terms of economic benefits and losses to merchants, and how to refine the process for the future.
Town Clerk Reymers shared information on tax collection, with the majority of payments collected. Notices for late payments will be mailed out by March 1, with a $2 reminder fee. The Town has also received its first installment of Sales Tax revenue from the County and Colgate’s annual voluntary gift.
SOMAC representative Vinny Faraone gave an update on ambulance operations. Changes in process and the addition of paid personnel have led to positive changes in response time and efficiencies. Priority 1 (Lights and Siren Emergency) calls had a 2.28 minute average response time for 2015 as opposed to a slower 3.98 minutes average for 2014. In addition, call volume was up in 2015, not including transfers. The SOMAC board now includes non-voting members from the municipalities it serves—Hamilton, Lebanon, and Earlville. The Town of Hamilton signed its contract with SOMAC for 2016 ensuring continued support, collaboration, and oversight.
The Town Zoning Board of Appeals has a vacancy for an unexpired term through 12/31/18. Please contact the Town Office if you are interested in serving.
The Partnership for Community Development (PCD) continues its work on a number of town-wide projects. They recently secured $241,000 to aid in the Good Nature Brewing expansion. Half of this money will be awarded as a grant. The remainder will be a loan to be paid back to the PCD, which can then apply it to other economic development opportunities.
Supervisor Shwartz reported that the countywide emergency services study is moving forward with a report due in April. The County Soil and Water District will continue to clean up streams, an important project that reduces the cost of flood damage to local government and residents. A stream clean up project was completed in Poolville in 2015. Continuing their green initiatives, the County landfill is sending out RFPs for a company to create an agricultural plastic waste to fuel oil plant. And, the Madison County courthouse will undergo much needed renovations to make the building accessible and efficient, while maintaining its historic integrity.
The Hamilton Town Council meets on the second Thursday of the month at the Town of Hamilton office at 16 Broad Street in the Village of Hamilton at 6:30 pm. Our next regular meeting is Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 pm. We invite and encourage you to join us. For more info visit www.townofhamiltonny.org.