Town Board Weighs School Resource Officer Request From ECS
Town Board Weighs School Resource Officer Request From ECS
The Ellicottville Town Board fielded several personnel-related issues during its June 15th regular session.
The question of assigning a full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) to work at Ellicottville Central School had been placed on hold but was revived and may be settled if employment terms can be worked out and an authorizing resolution is drafted for the July meeting.
Town Board members discussed some of the details with Officer-in-Charge Don Auge and Town Attorney Seth Pullen during the meeting. The school district's superintendent had made a general proposal to Auge earlier this year, but details were lacking, and school officials had at one point considered seeking a deputy from the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office.
The expenses of salary, benefits and reimbursable costs, the length of the contract, flex time, and overtime were among the key issues raised, to be addressed in the coming weeks. The group agreed that supervision would remain in the hands of Auge and the arrangements should line up with the terms of the police bargaining unit, such as limiting the SRO to an 8-hour work day.
The Board accepted the June 8th resignation of Highway Department worker Brian Fuller and, before turning to the matter of the Department's three vacancies, Highway Superintendent Kevin Woodin announced he had accepted a Civil Service job offer from another municipality. His resignation, effective July 8th, was accepted and his position will be advertised.
Woodin was elevated to his post in April to fill a vacancy caused by the retirement of former Highway Superintendent Thomas Scharf. Candidates have been sought to fill laborer, commercial driver and heavy equipment operator jobs since April. Two former Highway workers were called back as temporary laborers to fill in on an as-needed basis.
Woodin reported he has received four applications and will conduct preliminary phone interviews, assisted by Deputy Superintendent Thomas Raab. He said one of the candidates is CDL-certified but permanent hiring will be based on all candidates’ ability to obtain the license. A Board member will assist in the final round of interviews and hiring.
In the meantime, the Highway Department has been working on Jackman Hill Road shoulders, ditching, patching potholes and mowing.
Town and Village Engineer Ben Slotman reported that a new boiler is in place and other work is underway on the Town Center renovation project, with the Board approving a change order from Erhart Construction Management for $4,860 in costs of electrical work in the conference room, Engineering Department offices and the Cornell Cooperative Extension wing. The Board also approved a $11,206.75 change order by Parise Mechanical for HVAC work.
Slotman said $188,841 is the new cost breakdown for the Center renovation project and the boiler portion of the project is $147,700, with an expected completion date for the boiler portion in mid-July.
On the topic of the capital water project, the water main and storage tank contract bids of $4,298,935 were awarded to low bidder J.D. Northrup Construction in a special Board meeting held May 25th. At that time, change orders were being prepared for the well house and pump station, as well as the electrical and instrumentation component now being advertised for rebid.
The Board then approved a $16,080 bid from Ehmke Well Drillers for cleaning and inspection of the Trailer Park well and pump.
Town and Village Planner Greg Keyser reported he received an application from Borrego Energy of San Diego, Calif. to place a 5-megawatt solar project at 6902 Simmons Road. The project will be on the Town Planning Board's June 27th agenda.
Brief discussion was held regarding the town's power to regulate cannabis, possible zoning provisions and a proposal to the Village Zoning Board from a "zoning service" provider for 5G networks.
The Board also adopted a local law to override the New York State Tax Levy Limit for 2023 following a public hearing. There were no comments from the public.
The next meeting of the Ellicottville Town Board will be held in the Ellicottville Town Hall on Wednesday, July 20, 2022 at 6:00pm. For information, go to ellicottvillegov.com.