Yearly meeting reappoints Knox’s workerbees

The Enterprise — Marcello Iaia

Bright white in the winter, the Saddlemire Homestead in Knox is sporting refurbished green shutters on Jan. 1, putting the final touch on a fresh painting of its outside. The chipped exterior paint of the town’s historical museum was a pale yellow, now white. Eschewing vinyl siding, the town chose instead the more historically appropriate option — paint — which will not damage the structure in the long run.

KNOX — On New Year’s Day at 9 a.m., Councilman Dennis Barber pointed out how nice the newly painted Saddlemire Homestead looked in front of Town Hall with its green shutters installed.

Board members gathered for the annual ritual of town appointments, completing their business by unanimous vote in under a quarter of an hour.

The town board voted to:

— Establish The Altamont Enterprise as the official newspaper of the town;

— Designate The Key Bank, Bank of America, and First Niagara Bank as the town’s depositories;

— Set regular town board meetings to be held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m., except for the November meeting, which will be on the first Wednesday following Election Day. All meetings will be held in Town Hall; and

— Empower the supervisor to implement a 1970 resolution by the town board relating to the town’s participation in the sales-tax distribution by the county.

— Authorize the highway superintendent to purchase equipment, materials, and tools for his department, not to exceed $1,500 for a single purchase without board approval; and

— Authorize the supervisor to submit the town’s annual fiscal report to the state’s comptroller within 60 days after the close of the previous fiscal year.

Appointments

The board also made the following appointments on New Year’s Day:

—  Mary Alice Geel as deputy town clerk;

— Helen Quay as registrar of vital statistics;

— Deborah Liddle as deputy registrar of vital statistics and court clerk;

— Lee Martin as deputy tax collector;

— Cheryl Frantzen as town historian;

— Dennis Decker as emergency preparedness coordinator;

— Nicholas Viscio as deputy supervisor;

— Edward Nicholson as data collector;

— Robert Delaney as building/sanitary inspector and zoning administrator;

— Daniel Sherman as assistant building inspector;

— Louis Saddlemire as part-time dog warden and also as a park laborer;

— Dennis Barber as ex officio member of the youth committee;

— Deborah Liddle as court clerk;

— John McGivern as court officer;

— Loren Shafer Jr. as deputy highway superintendent;

— Catherine Bates as part-time account clerk;

— David Quay as landfill attendant;

— Richard Dexter as landfill attendant;

— Carol Barber as minutes recorder for the zoning board;

— Jennifer Geckler as minutes recorder for the planning board;

— Charles Crary as highway department equipment operator 1 at $19.67 per hour;

— James Schager as highway department equipment operator 1 at $14.73 per hour;

— Matthew Schanz as highway department equipment operator 1 at $18.70 per hour;

— Loren Shafer as highway department equipment operator 1 at $20.34 per hour, plus 50 cents per hour;

— Donald White as highway department equipment operator 1 at $20.23 per hour;

— Donald Wagner as highway department equipment operator 1 at $16.17 per hour;

— Joseph Adriance as a landfill attendant and also as a part-time highway department laborer at $15.80 per hour;

— John Dorfman as town attorney;

— Robert Edwards as zoning board of appeals chairman for 2015, and named these members with terms to expire on Dec. 31 of the following years — John DeMis (2021), Susan Mason (2020), Kenneth Kirik (2019), Robert Edwards (2018), Pamela Kleppel (2017), Gail Burgess (2016), and James McDonald (2015);

— Robert Price appointed as planning board chairman, and named these members with terms to expire on Dec. 31 of the following years — Robert Gwinn (2021), Thomas Wolfe (2020), Robert Price (2019), Brett Pulliam (2018), Earl Barcomb Jr. (2017), Betty Ketcham (2016), and Daniel Driscoll (2015);

— Timothy Frederick as board of assessment review chairman, and named these members with terms to expire on Sept. 30 of the following years — Gerald Irwin (2019), Jocelyn Farrar (2018), Vall Pulliam (2017), Howard Zimmer (2016), and Tim Frederick (2015);

— Councilman Dennis Barber as ex officio member of the youth committee and named the following members — MaryEllen Nagengast, Jean Gagnon, Jean Forti, Ann Payne, Thomas Payne, Karin Kuck, Chasity McGivern, and Glen Humphrey; and

— Councilman Nicholas Viscio as ex officio member of the conservation advisory council and named these members with terms to expire on Dec. 31 of the following years — Chairman Nathan Giordano (2022), Travis O’Donnell (2021), Toni Forti (2020), Patricia Irwin (2019), Cheryl Frantzen (2018), Eric Kuck (2017), Hank Donnelly (2016), and Stephanie Siciliano (2015).

The youth services coordinator, and the senior services coordinator positions were left vacant.

Salaries

The board also established the following salaries:

— Supervisor at $16,672;

— Superintendent of highways at $55,878;

— Town clerk, a part-time post, at $12,585;

— Deputy town clerk paid $12.87 hourly;

— Tax collector at $5,000;

— Assessor at $12,608;

— Data collector at $4,202;

— Councilmembers at $3,825;

— Justices at $10,143;

— Registrar of vital statistics at $1,188;

— Emergency preparedness coordinator at $222;

— Deputy supervisor, youth services coordinator, and senior services coordinator with no salary;

— Building/sanitary Inspector and zoning administrator at $9,522;

— Assistant building inspector at $4,096;

— Town historian at $712;

— Court officer at $1,900;

— Dog warden at $6,687;

— Park laborer at $14.92 hourly;

— Landfill attendants at $12.33 hourly;

— Court clerk at $16.71 hourly;

— Account clerk at $20.97 hourly;

— Deputy highway superintendent salary, an additional 50 cents an hour;

— Deputy tax collector at $12.87 hourly;

— Minutes recorder for the zoning and planning boards at $12.87 hourly;

— Highway department laborer at $14.66 hourly;

— Highway department operator I at $15.04 hourly;

— Highway department operator II at $15.45 hourly; and

— Town attorney at $18,094.

More Hilltowns News

  • Multiple maps and an oddly-worded legend has made it difficult to discern whether or not Berne has a historical district with enforceable zoning regulations but, while residents could be forgiven for any confusion, the district’s legitimacy is unambiguous from a legal point of view. 

  • A driver crashed into a Rensselaerville home early Sunday morning, causing it to go up in flames. The driver and an off-duty paramedic who assisted in the rescue both suffered only minor injuries while the occupants of the home were uninjured. 

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