The Nelson Town Board last week discussed four significant issues facing the town in terms of governmental administration and resident safety, and while the board dropped consideration of changing some town offices from elected to appointed, it did move forward on contracting for town ambulance services, improving the safety of a dangerous intersection and creating a process to condemn dangerous buildings.
About two weeks ago, it was made public that Nelson Town Supervisor Roger Bradstreet had proposed to the town board to open a discussion on changing the positions of town clerk and highway superintendent from elected to appointed, and also extending the term of office of the supervisor from two to four years.
“We’re talking positions, not names,” Bradstreet said during the board’s Aug. 13 regular monthly meeting. He said he would hate to see the town lose talented officials in these “skill positions” of clerk and highway superintendent because they get out-campaigned in a political contest, potentially by candidates who may not be especially qualified for the jobs. As for extending the supervisor’s term, he said at least five towns in Madison County have made the change, including Cazenovia last year.
Town Attorney Jim Stokes advised the board that to make these changes the board would need to hold a public hearing in September and get the propositions on the November election ballot for town residents to vote on. Also, the changes, if approved, could not affect a sitting town officer and would not be enacted until at least 2018.
During discussion, the supervisor change was withdrawn and a majority of board members said they preferred to leave the clerk and highway superintendent positions as elected rather than appointed. The potential to change both positions from two- to four-year jobs was also rejected. The discussions centered on maintaining quality town employees and, if necessary, the easiest way to remove incompetent or poor performing employees. A majority of councilors agreed that maintaining two-year elected terms appeared to be the best way to maintain or remove officials.
Also at the meeting, the board:
—Heard from Bradstreet that while the board supposed that its recent agreement with the Georgetown Ambulance Service to have the organization cover emergency services in the southern portion of the town was completed, he received a letter from the county department of health stating that the town would have to pay $10,000 to conclude the agreement.
The Nelson town board has been working for months on the ambulance agreement and recently signed a temporary Certificate of Need with Georgetown Ambulance for the service. The DOH letter said the town of Nelson would have to pay $10,000 up front in order to make the agreement final and permanent.
“I just thought that was outrageous,” Bradstreet told the board.
After further discussions with the DOH, that $10,000 payment was reduced to $2,500, but Bradstreet said the entire deal began to make him feel “uncomfortable” because Nelson would share in the ambulance service’s liability and, as a municipal service, all the paperwork would be in the town of Nelson’s name. Bradstreet asked the board if it should instead drop the Georgetown Ambulance deal and seek to contract with CAVAC, which is a private service and already covers a majority of the town.
“Basically, we need to decide if we want to get into the ambulance business,” said Councilor John LaGorga.
The board agreed with the town attorney’s recommendation that they gather more information and revisit the issue at their September meeting.
—Discussed how to improve driver safety at the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Route 20, which all agreed was a “dangerous” intersection. Bradstreet said he acquired accident statistics on the intersection from the state Department of Transportation, which stated that there had been 16 injuries and four fatalities there within the past 11 years.
The board discussed whether safety would be improved, specifically from the southern Willowvale Road approach, by adding warning signs, reflective tape on traffic signs or rumble strips on the road. Highway Superintendent Jack Sevier said all highway signs on and approaching the intersection would be controlled by the state. Bradstreet said he had discussed the issue with the state DOT and they said they would investigate the matter.
—Continued a discussion on how best to erect signs/placards on town buildings that have been deemed to be unsafe to enter or need to be condemned. The discussion concerned whether deciding on and posting such placards was the responsibility of the town codes enforcement officer or some other county or state official, specifically on the nature of the safety and liability issues the town CEO would face in such situations.
The board agreed to seek advice from town of Sullivan officials, who have a process for this in place, and to continue discussions on the issue at its Sept. 10 regular meeting.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
