North East Town Board organizes for ‘21

NORTH EAST — Within half an hour, the North East Town Board found itself in good shape for 2021 after making the necessary appointments and designations at its annual organizational meeting on Monday evening, Jan. 4.

The board met in person in the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex and invited members of the public to tune in via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following welcoming remarks by town Supervisor Chris Kennan, the board dove into the meeting.

To start, Kennan appointed Councilman Ralph Fedele as deputy supervisor. The board designated the North East Town Hall as its regular meeting place at 7 p.m. on every second Thursday of the month. However, Kennan noted on a later date that the next few Town Board meetings will be conducted over Zoom until further notice. Salisbury Bank & Trust in Millerton was designated as the town’s official depository while The Millerton News was designated as its official newspaper.

Warren Replansky was appointed attorney for the town while Ray Jurkowski, P.E., from CPL was appointed for the town’s engineering services. The firm Sickler, Torchia, Allen & Churchill was appointed for the town’s accounting services.

Kennan appointed Lorna Sherman as bookkeeper and budget officer. Donna Morrison was appointed assessor’s aide, followed by John Lloyd’s appointment as real property data lister. For the North East Planning Board, Debra Phillips was appointed secretary for meetings while Sherman was appointed secretary for its office. Leslie Farhangi was appointed to the Planning Board for a term ending Dec. 31, 2027, while Dale Culver was appointed board chairman. Patricia Millius was appointed secretary to the Building Department while Judith Carlson was appointed secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA); Carlson was also appointed scan clerk later in the meeting. Also for the ZBA, Patti Lynch-Vandebogart was appointed for a term ending Dec. 31, 2025, while Julie Schroeder was appointed ZBA chairman and Edie Greenwood was appointed ZBA vice chairman.

Virginia Wheatley was appointed clerk to the town justices. Kenneth McLaughlin was appointed building inspector/code enforcement officer (CEO) for administrative and zoning matters while Michael Segelken was appointed deputy building inspector/CEO for building and fire inspections and field work. 

Marcella Wheatley was appointed deputy town clerk. Town Clerk Gail Wheeler was appointed registrar of vital statistics and designated as the records management officer; she later appointed Wheatley as deputy registrar.

Michelle Haab was appointed to a term on the Ethics Committee, ending Dec. 31, 2025. Shawn Morrison was appointed highway HMEO foreman while Joshua Schultz was appointed highway HMEO assistant foreman. Richard Prentice was appointed the dog control officer while Ed Downey was appointed the town historian.

Regarding the Town Board  Committee appointments for 2021, Councilmen Fedele and John Midwood were appointed to both the Emergency Services Committee and the Cemetery Committee. Fedele and Councilwoman Lana Morrison were appointed to the Police Services Committee and the Personnel Services Committee, while Kennan and Councilman George Kaye were appointed to the Highway Committee; the Buildings, Grounds & Facilities Committee and the Zoning Review Committee. Morrison and Midwood were appointed to the Recreation Committee, while Morrison and Kennan were appointed to the Budget Committee. Lastly, McLaughlin, Fedele, Kennan and Highway Supervisor Bob Stevens were appointed to the Hazard Mitigation Committee.

Following a resolution to fix the salaries of all elected and appointed officers and establish the wage rates for all other personnel, the board authorized Wheeler to open competitive bids on public works or purchase contracts as required to be advertised. The mileage rate for the CEOs, dog control officer, assessor and real property data lister for town business within the town and for all officers or employees for town business outside the town was established at 56 cents per mile. 

Kennan appointed Fedele, Midwood and Morrison as emergency interim successors. Kennan himself was later designated by the board as the delegate to the annual meeting of the New York State Association of Towns. The board also authorized appointed and elected town officials to attend the New York State Association of Towns’ Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually this year from Sunday, Feb. 14, to Wednesday, Feb. 17. 

After adopting “The North East Town Board Meetings: Rules of Procedure” for 2021, the board wrapped up its organizational meeting.