By Jay Lawson
The Town Board held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 14, in Old Forge, where it discussed and resolved a number of issues from tobacco policy to local health services.
The Town of Webb Board resolved that a review of the Town of Webb Master Plan is necessary, and that interested community members, whose names were submitted by Planning Board Chair Marcia Barker, be appointed to serve on a Plan Review Committee.
Supervisor Ted Riehle thanked Planning Board members Marcia Barker and Brian Morgan for executing the search for a review committee and moving the process forward.
“[The work] is extremely important,” he said.
—
The Town of Webb Board agreed to expand a policy in its employee handbook to prohibit not only tobacco smoking in the workplace, but also use of any tobacco product, as well as smokeless e-cigarettes.
The workplace, as described in the policy, includes all town buildings and all town vehicles.
The expanded policy is in accordance with the New York State Clean Indoor Air Act.
—
A surplus 2010 Impala was relisted and sold for $2,651 after a previous buyer, who had commited to a $3,050 purchase price, failed to follow through with payment.
It was still a pretty good price based on the mileage and condition of the vehicle, according to Supervisor Riehle.
The Impala had previously been part of the police department fleet.
—
The Town Board agreed to renew an agreement with Souvenir Village to provide public restroom facilities at Souvenir Village’s Old Forge location in center of town.
The Town of Webb will pay $5,000 for this use, and the restrooms will be available to the public from May 15 to October 15, 2015.
The town will pay the costs of water usage and cleaning and maintaining the area.
—
The Town of Webb Board appointed Don Haehl to the Zoning Board of Appeals. He will fill the position previously held by Mary Denn. Haehl is scheduled to serve a four-year term through December 31, 2019.
—
The Town Board approved a three-year labor agreement with the Webb Police Benevolent Association.
The hourly pay rate for Town of Webb police officers will increase from $22.84 to $25.25 effective April 15, 2015.
There will be no increases in 2016 or 2017.
Police unit members shall also contribute 10% of premium toward their Health Insurance, effective May 1, 2015.
This raises their employee contribution in line with the Board’s objective for all town employees, according to Supervisor Ted Riehle.
Added to the Police Department’s list of holidays is Christmas Eve day, December 24th.
Stipends will accompany shift differentials and Officer in Charge duties. Each officer will receive $2,400 in consideration for working different shifts and Officer in Charge duties. This will be prorated for 2015.
The previous shift differential and officer-in-charge arrangement had posed difficulties, according to Riehle.
“It was a scheduling and payroll nightmare,” he said.
To simplify, they factored the total number of hours per year that apply, and came up with the $2,400 stipend amount.
—
The Town of Webb discussed the adoption of a policy to make Town-owned parks and municipal grounds tobacco-free.
It was decided that the one-size-fits-all policy needed some tweaking to accommodate the wide variety of facilities this would encompass, including the lakefront, pavilion, McCauley Mountain, and parking lots.
Another sticking point involved whether or not policing should be involved, and details that may be involved in enforcement.
For the time being, the board adopted a general anti-tobacco and electronic cigarette policy with special emphasis on children’s play areas.
The remainder of policy is expected to be handed to Town Attorney Richard Frye and revisited at a later date.
—
Councilman Mike Ross commended McCauley Mountain Manager Steve Uzdavinis for arranging a last day celebration for the ski season. He said the event was popular with a decent crowd showing up to participate. Though a power outage brought the day to an early close, Ross encouraged similar events for upcoming years.
—
Supervisor Riehle updated the Board on the Park Avenue Building’s roof project. The architect visited recently for some initial measurements for a planned extension over the building’s rear entry. The bid documents are in the preparation stage and should be ready for the Board’s next meeting on April 27th. The formal bid process should begin soon thereafter, Riehle said.
—
Councilwoman Kate Russell was absent for the meeting, but Councilman Ross conveyed some information to the board on her behalf. She would like to explore the scheduling of some summer Playschool activities at McCauley Mountian. She also hopes to plan a solutions-oriented discussion about some of the freezing issues the town has experienced recently, particularly regarding the Eagle Bay Restroom facility. She also requested that any tobacco prohibition signing be displayed tastefully and not overdone.
—
Councilman Mike Ross said he wanted the Board to focus attention on the energy efficiency shortcomings of the Municipal Building that houses the Webb Information Center. In need are, among other things, energy efficient doors and windows, insulation and weather-stripping.
The building is one of the town’s weakest on energy performance, he said, and should be tops on the list for improvement.