Note to readers: The Town of Rockland Town Board and Livingston Manor School Board meeting reports for the month of December 2021 will not appear in the paper, but will be published here.
County proposes 2022 budget of $269M, a 1.24% hike
By Marge Feuerstein | Manor Ink Mentor
Town Board meeting of Dec. 2
Public Hearing: The board was asked whether the Town of Rockland should opt in or out of the NY State law that would allow retail cannabis dispensaries and/or smoking establishments in Livingston Manor. In response to several questions, Supervisor Rob Eggleton explained that 5 to 8 percent of the taxes collected on sales would go to the town, and the fee for applying for a license would likely be in excess of $100,000. Since there were no other questions, the hearing was closed.
Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were unanimously approved.
Correspondence: An appeal was received from the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless; the board approved a $50 donation to the group. A letter was received advising the board that Cindy Theodore, town assessor for 29 years, is retiring at the end of December. The state has announced that it will institute a ban on foam food containers beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
OLD BUSINESS
Overnight parking on Main St. in the Manor and in Roscoe is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed. The River Walk contract requires an extension, and that will be undertaken. The town’s LED lighting contract saved thousands of dollars in 2021. Electric costs went from $32,000 in 2020 to $17,000 in 2021.
Resolution Required: The following resolution was passed by the board.
Do nothing about the state’s cannabis law, which in effect will result in the town opting in to the plan.
NEW BUSINESS
The board noted that there is a movement in the state to divide New York into three individual states, each with its own governor. There is also a proposal to preserve the state while creating three autonomous regions within it.
Resolutions Required: The following resolutions were passed by the board.
Approval of vacation pay and sick time for Assessor Cindy Theodore
Hire a part-time bookkeeper
Details of all dollar amounts can be found on the website at townofrocklandny.com under the minutes of Dec. 2.
Town Board meeting of Dec. 16
Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved after a correction regarding the paying of bills which had not been done at the Dec 2 meeting.
Correspondence: The board received a newsletter from the Upper Delaware Council stating that the upper Delaware River must receive its fair share of funding for watershed protection. The county holiday schedule was received; the board voted to keep the schedule they had developed for 2021. Also received was the proposed Sullivan County budget for 2022, which was in excess of $269 million, an increase of 1.24 percent over the previous year. That would add approximately $17 to the tax bill on a property valued at $100,000.
Request to appear: Trish Huggins gave a brief description of the “Divide NYS” proposal, and supplied board members with a lengthy print version of its goals and the legalities involved.
OLD BUSINESS
Water and sewer billing for the property at 639 Old Rte. 17 in the Manor has been in error. The owners were billed for water after it was turned back on, but not for sewer service. Owed is $103 for each of seven quarters.
Resolution Required: After being assured by Supervisor Rob Eggleton that Max Doestch was highly qualified, the following decision by the board required a resolution.
Hire Max Doestch as a water-and-sewer trainee
NEW BUSINESS
Resolutions Required: The following resolutions were passed by the board.
Adopt the county’s Flood Mitigation Plan and resolve to execute the actions outlined in it.
Modify the following town budgets: highway, general, Manor and Roscoe water
Allow Mike Finn to trap and remove the badgers that are building a dam on Roscoe sewer property.
Reappoint Christopher Tuleweit as the town’s representative to the Sullivan County Advisory Board.
Approval of Bills: The bills on Abstract #23 and on #24 were approved.
Details of all dollar amounts can be found at townofrockland.ny.com under the minutes of Dec. 16.
State’s PTA recommends replacing Manor’s PTSA
By Marge Feuerstein | Manor Ink Mentor
School Board Meeting of Dec. 15
After convening the meeting and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the board retired to the conference room for an executive session. At 6:44 p.m., the board returned to regular session.
Superintendent’s Update: A joint meeting of the school boards of the Livingston Manor and Roscoe districts will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 21, in the Roscoe gymnasium. Supt. John Evans will recommend appointing the firm of Castallo & Silky, an educational consulting firm from Syracuse, NY, to conduct a Centralization Merger Study for Roscoe and Livingston Manor schools. The meeting will be open to the public. Consultants Alan Pole and Deborah Ayers will give an overview of the merger process. The boards will determine the structure and makeup of the advisory committees and will set dates going forward.
The superintendent also announced that both districts had been awarded NY Dept. of State grants to fund the merger study.
The district is working with Capital Region BOCES to improve public relations through use of the school’s website and other avenues of social media.
Supt. Evans thanked the LMCS cafeteria staff for increasing their hours to maintain food service while they are experiencing are staff shortages.
In a special meeting, the NY State PTA advised the district that the current LMCS PTSA should be dissolved and a new local group should be established.
Both the action items and consent agenda were passed. They can be found in detail at lmcs.12.ny.us under the minutes of Dec. 15.