Bulk pick-up scheduled for June 8
By Peter Smith
Heavy rains kept residents away from the Nelsonville Village Board meeting on Monday evening (May 21), but Trustee Ande Merante presided nonetheless over a light agenda with new Village Trustee Will Duncan and Clerk Pauline Minners in attendance.
The board made small adjustments at the margins of the 2012-2013 budget, which was unveiled last month. Most significant of those adjustments is a budgetary maneuver called ‘encumbrance’, which allows a transfer of money from the current budget to the budget taking effect on June 1. Specifically, the move will be used to pay almost $150,000 to McNamee Construction, when they present their bill after the start of the next fiscal year. McNamee is currently performing extensive roadwork on several streets in Nelsonville, a long planned improvement project which has been financed through grant funding. The adjustment became necessary due to the timing of the roadwork and the contractor’s submission of the bill. “We had hoped to get the bill this [fiscal] year, but the year ends at the end of this month. And we’ll be paying it out in June.” said Minners.
Merante voiced a lack of familiarity with the rarely used encumbrance procedure. “We haven’t done one of those since I’ve been here.” he said. That thought was echoed by Minners. “I just have to figure out how to write it.” she joked, acknowledging that it was mostly a matter of writing a journal entry into the general ledger. A decision to move forward with the encumbrance was passed through a routine motion.
In other budgetary considerations, a $5,100 transfer from the contingency fund to the hydrant fund was voted on to cover expenses related to recent work done on several village hydrants by McGuire Plumbing.
Other board actions with financial implications included a vote to renew the village telecommunications contract with longtime provider Cornerstone Communications. “They’re pretty good, cheap.” said Minners, noting that Cornerstone’s rate for local calls actually decreased from 15 cents to 12 cents. Long distance rates have also decreased under Cornerstone, going from a recent rate of 50 cents to the current 39 cents. “And when you call, you get a person.” added Minners, sounding like a satisfied customer. The contract renewal passed with a routine motion.
In other contract considerations, the board voted on a resolution to renew a legal contract with Daniels and Porco the law firm associated with Village Attorney Bob Lusardi. The resolution allows Lusardi to carry out his duties for the village.
Another motion voted on allowed for the continuance of a yearly tradition of waiving approximately $200 awarded to the Youth Bureau, choosing instead to have those funds applied to Philipstown Recreation. The waiver passed with a routine motion.
In other news, village residents can expect to find tax bills in their mailboxes sometime within the next week or so. The mailing will take place over the next few days and it will include a notice about a bulk garbage pick-up, scheduled for June 8.
