Board addresses business at hand

PINE PLAINS — The Town Board discussed a number of miscellaneous items at its monthly meeting on Thursday, Aug. 18. The majority of those issues, albeit smaller matters, are important, as they deal with municipal matters that need to be addressed in a timely fashion.

Insurance issues

One of the first topics that was raised had to do with the town’s renewal of its health insurance policy and the Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) that was supposed to be passed in its favor.

“HRAs are among the most flexible insurance products on the market,” according to www.HealthInsurance.info. “These federally approved accounts may be tied to high deductible insurance plans, or they may be offered on their own. HRAs allow funds to be placed in a special account to reimburse employees for out-of-pocket medical expenses that they may incur.”

According to town Supervisor Gregg Pulver, as of Aug. 18, the HRA policy “should have been passed” by the town.

“When the insurance auditors come in, they need this in the files,” he said. “They manage our deductibles [which the town funds part of and employees fund part of], because we went to a high-deductible plan.”

Computer catchall

Town Clerk Judy Harpp make a request of the Town Board that it investigate a backup computer site program from Business Automated Service (BAS).

There is a one-time fee of $95 for the service plus a $180 charge annually. The town clerk would have all of the data backed up off-site, on a daily basis.

“Is that better than an external hard drive?” asked Councilwoman Sandra David.

“Yes,” replied Harpp and Pulver simultaneously.

The board voted unanimously to approve engaging BAS for its services. Harpp expressed her appreciation.

Recycling RFPs

The town supervisor informed the board that requests for proposals (RFPs) had been sent out for recycling services. Pulver said two responses had been returned: one from Welsh Sanitation Service, in Hopewell Junction, and one from Carmen Barbato, Inc., in Hillsdale.

“Welsh Sanitation is cheapest,” Pulver said, adding there will have to be an employee present, depending on the operation and assuming it will be on Saturdays. “I’m also going to ask [Highway Superintendent] Barry [Hay] to keep the facility open during regular work hours, too.”

Pulver said he would suggest starting either right away or wait until early next year to give it a try.

He then asked the board what it would prefer in terms of hours of operation and a startup time.

“I assume we can get it up and running within one month,” Pulver said.

Councilwoman Rosemary Lyons-Chase agreed with his timeline.

“It won’t affect this year’s  budget if we try to do this,” added Pulver, who said the town provided leaf and brush pickup before the fall last year as well.

“I think the sooner [we start] the  better,” said David.

“OK, if you guys give the OK, I’ll talk to Welsh and try to get it up and running before the next meeting,” Pulver said.

It was stressed that only recyclable materials, and “no junk,” can be dropped off for recycling.

Water works

Town Engineer Ray Jurkowski gave a report on the Pine Plains Water Improvement Area Number One at the Aug. 18 meeting. He said things were “pretty quiet” for the past month.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) was set to complete its annual inspection on Aug. 30. The review included a routine inspection of the town’s facilities.

Jurkowski said that the town had a “higher than normal” bill for the past month due to quarterly tests it had to run. The department conducted lead and copper tests. In
September and possibly October it expects to conduct additional tests that must be done every three years or so.

The engineer then reported that he’s taken a look at the Stissing Mountain Critical Environmental Area (CEA) and a related report on the sensitive environmental area. The issue has been a hot topic of conversation as  the Town Board is in the midst of deciding whether the CEA should be expanded.

Jurkowski said he plans to speak with Conservation Advisory Council Chairman Gregg Osofsky about the matter before the board’s next meeting.
 

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