Mar 2024 Minutes

    Minutes for the Village Board Meeting on Tuesday, March 5th, 2024

    The regular meeting of the Village of Galway Board was held on March 5, 2024 at 5212 South Street. Present were: AM Best, Trustees DiLeva and Hyde, Clerk-Treasurer Ruman, Special Counsel John W. Sutton and village business owner Jay Fitzgerald. AM Best called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Minutes were read and a motion to approve as read was made by Trustee DiLeva and seconded by Trustee Hyde. Carried.

    Treasurer’s Report

    • Receipts-$5,948.59,
    • Disbursements-$5,560.45,
    • Checking-$79,258.91,
    • Savings-$48,553.66
    • Grand Total-$127,812.57.

    Motion to accept Treasurer’s Report made by AM Best and seconded by Trustee DiLeva. Carried.

    Correspondence

    • Town of Galway Acting Supervisor JD Arnold emailed request for all recent building permits for the village.
    • Saratoga County requested the payroll for January 2024 be submitted.
    • Received letter from Saratoga County Department of Planning and Economic Development announcing 2024 Saratoga County Trails Grant Program.

    Code Enforcement

    • Code Enforcement Officer Concilla will meet with AM Best and Clerk/Treasurer Ruman in the next few weeks to review current zoning laws. He has suggested looking at other small villages in Saratoga County and reaching out to the Saratoga County Planning Office as possible resources. CE Officer Concilla is waiting for estimate for software. He will write up code violations for 5254 North Street.

    OLD BUSINESS

    • Special Counsel Sutton reported on progress regarding 5254 North Street. HUD said that they would have the property manager contact AM Best to give the permission to enter the residence. They then said no because no one has the ownership to give the permission. AM Best reached out to HUD and they said they would try to find out what is going on. The end result was that there has been a violation of the assignment of mortgage and no one has control of the property. Sutton suggested getting a local judge involved to get access to the property. The entities involved are violating their duties under actions and proceedings law. After getting the permission from the Saratoga County Surrogate’s Court the Bank allowed the property to sit vacant for 5 years which is negligent. The village would ask the court for a penalty payable to the village if they do not fulfill their duty. The court would determine the fine based on the village’s expenses. Sutton passed out a certification that the property is abandoned. This would be filed with the County Clerk and the family and bank would get notice. Jay Fitgerald spoke about the importance of knowing the condition of the building. He is estimating that the cost of tearing it down would be $40,000 but that could increase due to factors that are unknown at this point. He would like to see it saved if possible and does not have to meet a timeline for the project/funding. The costs involved would be the filing fee with the court of $275.00, cost of service and Sutton would cap thenext phase of work at 6 hours @$125.00. AM Best asked that a resolution be passed to adopt the certificate of abandonment. Trustees DiLeva and Hyde voted to pass the resolution.
    • The Comprehensive Plan Committee had a meeting on February 26 and the next committeemeeting will be on March 21 to draft and fine tune goals. On Friday, April 26 they will have a pop-up event at the fire house during their dinner fundraiser. AM Best is taking photos around town to include in the brochure to showcase the town. The scheduled end date for the completed comprehensive plan is July of this year. The village had a response of 33% which AM Best will digitalize.
    • The update on the village traffic light back-up system is after writing to solar companies and talking to the surrounding towns generators are used around here. The Galway Fire Department has been notified.
    • The next meetings for the Saratoga County Hazard Mitigation/Emergency Preparedness Plan will be on April 4 at 10:00AM for municipal officials and 4PM for the public. The plan is reviewed every 5 years. Parts of the plan that might apply to us are a community emergency alert system for the village.
    • We could go door to door to see if house numbers are visible. The village could possibly pay for house numbers for residents if they would like them.
    • Board continued discussion about Christmas decorations in the village. Jay Fitgerald would like to help with the funding. Actual lit decorations are very expensive. AM Best took some pictures ofthe decorations used in Greenwich. They use supports on the poles that are just about eye level. These have banners attached to them. Banners can be purchased for $150-$200 and have various seasonal themes. We could begin by decorating a few poles and maybe start with a fall banner and change to a winter banner.

    NEW BUSINESS

    • Clerk-Treasurer Ruman presented the preliminary 2024-2025 Budget for discussion.
    • CT Ruman gave a report about the Galway Senior Citizens operations with information from a conversation and correspondence from Lizzy Fuelner. Changes were made as follow:
    • ‘Expenses
      • Moved $800 from Mayor expense to Mayor Salary
      • Moved $650 from Clerk-Treasurer expense to Clerk-Treasurer salary Insurance was increased due to anticipated premium increase
      • Legal increased due to anticipated expenses increase
      • Fire contract increase 2% as customary
      • Increase in Zoning Administration due to anticipated work load increase Administrative Leases increase due to increased cost of building use NYS and Local Retirement (police) decreased to zero
    • Revenues
      • Fines and Forfeitures decreased due to decrease of tickets written.
      • Sales tax increased due to anticipated increase
      • Use of Money increased due to changes in interest rates
    • AM Best represented the village at the February Town of Galway meeting which was well attended. The message from Acting Supervisor JD Arnold is that the board is moving forward. Two people were appointed to fill the vacated positions. Work toward a community building will keep going to see what makes sense. A site plan is needed.
    • The large gazebo in the village park needs a new roofand we received an estimate from Jacque Godbout for $2,100.00. AM Best made a motion to accept the bid of $2,100.00 from Jacques Godbout to replace the roof on the large gazebo and use ARPA funds to cover the cost. Trustee DiLeva seconded the motion. Carried.
    • AM Best will meet with JD Arnold to discuss the village court situation.
    • AM Best contacted Pfister Energy, Inc. to request access to take photos for the comprehensive plan brochure.
    • Galway Booster Club would like to have a coin drop on May 18 in the village.
    • Lion’s coin drop will be on Memorial Day and the other date that the village has recognized is over Labor Day weekend. AM Best will let Lori Graaf, who is the contact person for the booster club, know about the available date.

    Abstract No. 10 totaling $3,973.52 was submitted for approval and payment.

    The Budget Hearing for the Proposed 2024-2025 Budget will be held on April 4, 2024 at 6:15PM. The regular meeting will be changed ot April 4, 2024 immediately following the Budget Hearing due to the national primary to be held on April 2, 2024.

    No further business. AM Best adjourned the meeting at 8:27 PM.