Village Board Minutes

December 2, 2024 (35)

A regular meeting of the Village Board was held December 2, 2024 at 6:30 PM in the Firehouse, 16 Saratoga Ave.

Mayor Miller called the meeting to order &led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call: Trustee Bedell, Trustee Clark, Trustee Kirchhoff & Trustee Stollery were present.

Motion by Trustee Bedell, seconded by Trustee Stollery, approved minutes of November 18, 2024 regular meeting as typed.
Carried – 4 – 0

CORRESPONDENCE – none.

PUBLIC COMMENTS, QUESTIONS & CONCERNS (AGENDA ITEMS ONLY) – none.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

CLERK-TREASURER – Clerk-Treas Colson was present, report for 12/2/2024 read & filed.

Motion by Trustee Clark, seconded by Trustee Kirchhoff, approved payment of abstract #12 in the amount of: Payroll $42,687.52 (#0532-0533); General $43,661.31 (#0534-0551; 0562-0565); Water $2,250.89 (#0552-0554; 0564-0565); and Sewer $6,644.34 (#0555-0562; 0564-0565).
Carried – 4 – 0

FIRE DEPARTMENT – Chief Kelley was present, report for November 2024 read & filed.

Chief Kelley stated one bid was received for the purchase of the new Fire Chief’s vehicle to replace the damaged Dodge Durango.

Motion by Trustee Bedell, seconded by Trustee Stollery, approved acceptance of sole bid for purchase of a 2024 Dodge Durango from McGee Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Springfield for $39,000.
Carried – 4 – 0

Chief Kelley presented the Board with information on an available used 2014 75-foot ladder truck fire engine for $640,000.  Chief Kelley stated purchase of this equipment would allow the Department to respond with less required manpower as manually putting up ladders at fire calls requires multiple firemen to secure the ladder.  Chief Kelley proposed making the purchase using the $500,000 in reserves and hoped to make up the remaining required money by selling two of the Village’s current trucks for an estimated $140,000 - $170,000.  Before agreeing to purchase Chief Kelley would like to travel to Alabama to inspect the apparatus to ensure it meets the Village’s requirements.  The Board opted to discuss this further at the next Board meeting in order to get more information.

DPW/WATER/WWTP – Supt Lozier was present, report for November 2024 read & filed.

Supt Lozier stated with the snow season underway the leaf & brush pick-up is discontinued until spring.  He also requested posting of the “No Parking” 11 PM – 6AM Code on Facebook.  Supt Lozier also discussed issues with homeowners pushing snow from their driveways into the sidewalks.  Notices will be posted on Facebook and the website; Supt Lozier will give a list of violations to the Code Enforcement Officer to address.

Supt Lozier also informed the Board that one of the tandem dump trucks is out of commission due to a broken hydraulic valve.  Trius is the only vendor that offered a quote of $8,468.84 with a 14-16 week lead time.

Motion by Trustee Bedell, seconded by Trustee Kirchhoff, approved purchase of hydraulic valve from Trius for $8,468.84 if no suitable part can be acquired from Saratoga County.
Carried – 4 – 0

Motion by Trustee Clark, seconded by Trustee Bedell, approved purchase of 150 tons of rock salt from Morton Salt on the Saratoga County Contract pricing list.
Carried – 4 – 0

BUILDING INSPECTOR – Insp Hepner was present, report for 12/2/2024 read & filed.

Mayor Miller noted the Junk Car notices went out in the December water/sewer bills.

OLD BUSINESS – none.

NEW BUSINESS

Clerk-Treas Colson presented information about New York Cooperative Assets Securities System (NYCLASS) a short-term investment fund for New York municipalities and school systems.  Funds are cooperatively invested in accordance with NYS General Municipal Law.  Yields lately have not been much higher than the Village’s current sweeps accounts but can be used as a secondary investment tool with decent liquidity.  There is no minimum investment and no fees to the municipality.  All invested funds are collateralized by NYCLASS with no guaranteed yield.  The Board agreed it was a good investment opportunity.

Resolution #36 approved, authorize Village of Corinth participation in the NYCLASS program.

Motion by Trustee Bedell, seconded by Trustee Stollery, approved mayoral signature on contract with Smartt Software LLC to provide network administration and computer maintenance for 2025 at the cost of $450 per month.
Carried – 4 – 0

PUBLIC COMMENTS, QUESTIONS & CONCERNS

Jennifer Kietzman, Pine St, questioned what has changed since the Fire Department stated at public hearings for the Rise apartment project that they had the proper equipment to cover the larger buildings in town without a ladder truck.  Ms. Kietzman also questioned the status of the Saratoga County Trails Grant and stated if signs for the Reservoir Property are ordered in the winterthey would be ready for spring.

Jake McCasland, Fire Department 4^th Lieutenant, stated the larger ladder trucks owned by mutual aid Fire Departments do not fit into the Rise property as well as the older ladder truck under consideration.  Mr. McCasland also asked the Board to authorize the inspection visit for the fire truck since it did not commit the Village to purchase.  Mayor Miller stated the trip is not in the budget and the Board is hesitant to commit Village funds to the trip without considering all impacts.

Jennifer Michelle, Locust Ridge, requested Chief Kelley address the change of opinion regarding fire protection since the Rise public hearings.  Chief Kelley stated the Department had 60 men at that time and manpower has since decreased.  Dan Hughes, Fire Department Captain, also spoke to the manpower issues in the Department.

BOARD QUESTIONS, COMMENTS & CONCERNS

Trustee Bedell had questions for Chief Kelley regarding training for ladder truck operation and insurance impacts.

Mayor Miller thanked DPW for their response to the Thanksgiving snowstorm and thanked Chief Kelley & Insp Hepner for their work.  Mayor Miller also thanked Trustee Tyler for allowing the Village to use the former Vested Veterans location for the visit with Santa at the Hometown Christmas celebration on December 14^th.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion by Trustee Bedell, seconded by Trustee Stollery, that Board adjourn, 7:30 PM.
Carried – 4 – 0

Nicole M. Colson
Clerk-Treasurer