June 12th, 2018
ARKPORT, NY – The Hornellsville Town Board met twice in June already and in both session the goal was to curb expenses and save tax payer money.
The first meeting was a special session held June 4th in which initial discussions were held about the eventual elimination of the Town Tax Collector position. All board members were in agreement that it would be good idea to abolish the current position and merge the duties with the Town Clerk’s duties.
The only problem with this, according to Town Supervisor Dan Broughton, would be that the position would have to be abolished the same way it was created. By going through the process legally and by the book, it would save a lot of red tape down the road if ever questioned by state officials.
Current Town Clerk Sharon Ames would assume the duties once the position is eliminated. The current Tax Collector is Fay Parada and she has expressed to the board that she would like to relinquish the position by the end of the year.
Also discussed in Tuesday night’s meeting were how to reduce the high cost of having code enforcement officer Bob Mooney continue to visit the major construction sites and businesses multiple times each month and curb the expense on the town. According to the board, Mooney has visited the Econo Lodge alone 6 times in the past month and each time he gets paid a flat fee plus mileage. Add in the trips to the new Simmons Rockwell dealership, Hospital, Medical Arts building, new apartments etc. and it can get very expensive.
The town also plans to revisit road opening fees for water sewer lines. Businesses have currently been paying a small fee for code enforcement to come visit job sites. The board plans to have board member Jim Giglio call these business and obtain ideas for future fees.
In other news a Hornellsville resident visited the board to explain that she has currently bought a house nears the Aldi’s location and her well is slowly drying up and would like the town to somehow find a way to run water service to the dwelling. Board members tried to figure out which water lines ran closest to the property and the feasibility of tapping into one of them. Broughton commented that no matter where they tap into, it will take some major excavating to get it there. According to Broughton, the whole process could take as much as a year and funding will be sought after for the project.
And finally Bill Robinson from the Arkport Fire Dept. visited the board to explain the upcoming Summerfest to be held July 6th through the 8th. The theme for this year’s event will be “A New Beginning” and many events and parade are planned for the weekend right after the 4th. This will be the 31st year Arkport has been hosting Summer Fest.
