Town of Washington plans ahead for 2022

WASHINGTON — The Town of Washington (TOW) Town Board met on Thursday, Jan. 13, for its annual re-organization meeting.

Town Supervisor Gary Ciferri opened the meeting at 6 p.m., greeting newly-elected Councilwoman Leslie Heaney, and thanking outgoing Councilman Stephen Turletes for his more than 20 years of service to the Town Board. Turletes lost to Heaney in a court battle over the vote count by a single ballot.

The Oath of Office was administered to Ciferri, Heaney, and returning Councilmen Michael Murphy and Joseph Rochfort. Also upon the recommendation of Ciferri, Councilman Robert Audia was appointed as deputy supervisor and Lois Petrone was again named bookkeeper to the supervisor.

Other appointments included Chelsea Edson as recreation director; James Finley as building inspector; James Brownell as constable. Anthony De Bonis was named animal control officer; Kathleen Moro was named clerk to the assessor; and Michael Olivette was named data collector. Many were returning to their posts.

Edvard Jorgensen was named Planning Board chairman; Nicole Drury was appointed to the Planning Board; Frank Redl was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA); and Katherine Briggs was appointed to fill an unexpired seat on the ZBA through Dec. 31 of this year.

The town historian will again be David Greenwood. The Conservation Advisory Commission was appointed, and it will include: Greenwood, Lisa Conger, Walter Jacob and Howard Schuman, all through Dec. 31, 2023. Greenwood resigned as chair of the committee.

The board established the second Thursday of each month as its designated meeting date, with meetings beginning at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.

Van De Water and Van De Water was appointed attorney to the town.

The official mileage rate is the IRS rate of .58 cents per mile for town employees.

The supervisor was authorized to invest town funds as authorized by the Town Board.

The Poughkeepsie Journal and/or The Millerton News were named the official newspapers of the town. Legal notices will be published in either paper dependent on publication needs.

The board approved a blanket undertaking from a duly authorized corporate surety covering the officers, clerks and employees of the town, and must indemnify against losses caused by the officers or employees to faithfully perform their duties by fraudulent or dishonest acts.

Compensation was approved for all employees within limits of the appropriated funds as established in the 2022 budget.

The Bank of Millbrook is the official depository for town funds. (Councilman Audia abstained from this vote as he is on the board of the bank).

Ciferri appointed the following Town Board members as liaisons to the following committees: Audia will be liaison for Buildings and Grounds; Heaney will be liaison to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, with Rochfort; Murphy will be liaison to the Board of Ethics and Recreation Commission; and Rochfort to the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee and Killearn Road Review Committee.

The reorganization portion of the meeting concluded at about 7:35 p.m. It was followed by a public hearing on a renewal of a contract between the TOW and Altice, the cable television provider, and the town’s regular monthly meeting, both of which will be covered in an upcoming issue of The Millerton News.