Town of Ashland, NY

Town Board Minutes

TOWN OF ASHLAND

12094 ROUTE 23
ASHLAND, NEW YORK 12407
518-7343636 Fax 518-734-5834

Richard E. Tompkins, Town Supervisor
James Lawrence, Councilman                         Martin Blanden, Councilman
Thomas Soule, Councilman                                         Dennis Mattice, Councilman

Special Town Board Meeting
October 4, 2010

A  Special Town Board Meeting was held at the Town Hall, 11980 Route 23, Ashland, New York on the 4th day of October.
Present                                   
Richard Tompkins----------------------Supervisor
James Lawrence------------------------Councilman
Thomas Soule--------------------------Councilman
Robert Ferris---------------------------Deputy Supervisor          
Dennis Mattice-------------------------Councilman
Justine L Koehler----------------------Town Clerk

Supervisor Richard Tompkins opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance at 4:22.

Fred Grober gave the board a recommendation with the low price proposal to furnish and install the foundation and superstructure from Gallo Construction Corporation of Watervliet, NY in the amount of $474,888.00.  Fred would like to proceed on Tuesday if the board awards the bid. Gallo has no problem with our time frame and it does not include the site work.  The house and the fire department trailer needs to be moved and also the electric pole.  Fred will draw up a plot plan and Supervisor Richard Tompkins will stake out the building.

MOTION-A motion was made by Councilman James Lawrence to award the contract bid to Gallo Construction and move forward pending Town attorney approval, seconded by Councilman Dennis Mattice, motion was:
Adopted:         Aye     4 Tompkins, Lawrence, Soule, Mattice
Nays    0
Absent 1 Blanden

MOTION-A motion was made by Councilman James Lawrence to give Fred Grober a notice to proceed with the building, seconded by Councilman Thomas Soule, motion was:
Adopted:         Aye     4 Tompkins, Lawrence, Soule, Mattice
Nays    0
Absent 1 Blanden

MOTION-A motion was made by Councilman Dennis Mattice to have Fred Grober from Delaware Engineering to draw up a contract with Gallo Construction and the Town of Ashland, seconded by Councilman Thomas Soule, motion was:
Adopted:         Aye     4 Tompkins, Lawrence, Soule, Mattice
Nays    0
Absent 1 Blanden

The board and Fred spoke at length, about windows and doors for the building, Fred is going to try to get 13 or 14 foot doors, the windows are going to be 6 feet long and will be 18 inches from the floor, he will however put windows in the kitchen above the counter top.  Fred will give this to GNH and to Williams Lumber for pricing. 

MOTION- A motion was made by Councilman James Lawrence to have Gifford Engineering do soil borings to identify subsurface conditions, seconded by Councilman Thomas Soule, motion was:
Adopted:         Aye     4 Tompkins, Lawrence, Soule, Mattice
Nays    0
Absent 1 Blanden

Larry Gambon came to the board with a letter with questions that he would like to send to James Reynolds at Mid-Hudson Cablevision, he would also like them to bring applications to the public hearing on Oct 12, 2010.

Dear Mr. Reynolds,
 
On October 12th the Town of Ashland will once again have a Public Hearing to instigate a Town Board and public discussion relating to the proposed franchise agreement with Mid-Hudson Cable.
 
We understand that on August 4, 2010 Congressman Scott Murphy announced that nearly $3.5 million in rural broadband funding had been awarded to Mid-Hudson Cablevision to expand broadband coverage in 8 Greene County towns (Ashland, Jewett, Lexington, Cairo, Catskill, Windham, Coxsackie and New Baltimore) and 7 towns in Columbia County (Taghkanic, Copake, Claverack, Ghent, Chatham, Hillsdale and Austerlitz).
 
In order to expedite the public hearing process, the Town of Ashland has instituted the Ashland Communications Infrastructure Committee. To that end, the committee is requesting that Mid-Hudson Cablevision answer the following questions in order to get many of the basic questions answered before the hearing and thereby streamline the process.
 
What is the total percentage of broadband coverage by MHC in each of the towns mentioned above?
 
What portion of that grant has been allocated to the Town of Ashland?
 
Is the proposed service map we were given by MHC exactly where the expansion will take place or is it subject to change?
 
What is the timeline from start to finish for the implementation of the expansion covered by the grant?
 
What will be the expected monthly cost per home for cable television? For cable phone? For Internet? For all three?


How many days after the town signs the franchise agreement can we expect the expansion work to begin?
 
Do you have a program that allows seasonal residents (summer residents or winter residents) to pay for your services in the season they are here?
 
Your cooperation in answering these questions is greatly appreciated.
 
Thank you.
 
Ashland Communications Infrastructure Committee

There will be a meeting on the Emerald Ash Borer on October 19, 2010 from 7-9pm; Councilman Dennis Mattice is going to go.

Motion was made by Councilman James Lawrence to close the meeting.

                                                                                    ___________________________________
Justine L Koehler
Town Clerk
Town of Ashland