Newfane considers surveillance cameras for recycling area
NEWFANE — NEWFANE - After a resident complained to the Selectboard at the regular Sept. 21 meeting about illegal dumping at the town's recycling bins in the Town Offices parking lot, board members inched closer to doing something about it.
One suggestion the board is considering is installing surveillance cameras to monitor the bins.
The town once had cameras there. The feed traveled over the Internet to the Windham Solid Waste Management District's [WSWMD] offices.
The WSWMD paid for the cameras and monitored the feed. But, the feed took up so much of the Town Office's Internet bandwidth, regular office operations slowed down to the point where employees could not perform their tasks. Thus, the cameras were removed.
Board member Dennis Wiswall suggested the town purchase cameras and monitor the feed themselves. Administrative Assistant Shannon Meckle noted Brattleboro has done that, and the project is a success. She said the fines Brattleboro has collected from trash scofflaws has “already paid for the camera.”
When a discussion ensued on who will monitor the feed, Board Chair Todd Lawley assured his colleagues nobody had to sit there and watch it all day. He said that if someone came to the Town Office building in the morning and saw trash there, “you flip through” the previous night's video feed to find the incident - and, perhaps, the perpetrator.
Meckle said she will follow up with Brattleboro officials to learn more about their surveillance camera program.
Bid approved for Depot Road project
NEWFANE - At the Sept. 21 regular Selectboard meeting, members voted to award Fitzpatrick Excavating the bid for the Depot Road stabilization project. The company's bid was nearly $100,000 less than the highest bid.
The vote was unanimous, minus board member Michael Fitzpatrick, who owns the company and recused himself from the vote.
The town will pay Fitzpatrick Excavating $49,000 for the project, with an additional $20 per yard if the ledge needs to be blasted.
Shannon Meckle told The Commons in an email the Depot Road project has been ongoing, and money was budgeted last year for repairs.
“The bank that goes down toward the Rock River is sliding, and undermining the road,” Meckle wrote.
Winter sand bid awarded
NEWFANE - The Selectboard awarded Fitzpatrick Excavating the contract for the town's winter sand needs after the Board received a number of bids. Michael Fitzpatrick recused himself from voting because he owns the company.
Fitzpatrick Excavating's bid was for $11 per cubic yard, delivered. It was the lowest bid submitted.
Roads Commissioner Christopher Williams said he wants to inspect the sand before committing, so the final decision rests with him.
If Williams does not approve of Fitzpatrick Excavating's sand, the board will vote again at a later meeting.
FEMA buyout inches forward
NEWFANE - The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant buyout for the property at 246 Dover Rd., damaged during Tropical Storm Irene, is inching toward resolution.
At the end of September, Selectboard Administrative Assistant Shannon Meckle received the final grant agreement from FEMA. She said she is awaiting the final signature from the state, at which point Newfane will have permission to begin the process to acquire the property.
Meckle said at the Sept. 21 regular Selectboard meeting she hopes the town can close on the property in November, but no dates have been confirmed.
Once the town owns the property, it will be responsible for demolishing the damaged building that sits upon it.
Meanwhile, when asked if this means the property owner has received her buyout money from FEMA, Meckle told The Commons in an email, “She's not done yet, but much closer than before.”
Animal Control Officer stays busy
NEWFANE - The town's newly-appointed Animal Control Officer, Michael Young, has responded to “several complaints in the last few weeks,” Selectboard Administrative Assistant Shannon Meckle told the Board at its Sept. 21 regular meeting.
One of those calls was a “vicious dog complaint,” Meckle said, noting it took Young “a little while to find” the dog.
When he did, the pooch “sort of preferred to eat [Young's] Volkswagen, but it didn't, so that's good.”
Young also recently completed an animal welfare check, Meckle reported.
“He's good,” Board Chair Todd Lawley said of Young.