North East Town Board reassembles, organizes for the upcoming year

NORTH EAST — The North East Town Board wasted no time in making appointments and designations for 2022 at its annual organizational meeting on Monday, Jan. 3, at 5 p.m.

Gathering at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex, all board members attended in-person, save newly-elected Councilman Griffin Cooper who attended remotely.

Town Supervisor Chris Kennan began by appointing Councilwoman Lana Morrison as deputy supervisor.

The board noted its business meetings will take place on the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at Town Hall at 19 North Maple Ave., Millerton.

Salisbury Bank & Trust was designated as the official depository while The Millerton News was designated the official newspaper, with The Poughkeepsie Journal as its alternate.

Warren Replansky was appointed as Attorney to the Town and Michael Torchia of Sickler, Torchia, Allen & Churchill was appointed town accountant.

Lorna Sherman was appointed bookkeeper and budget officer; Sherman was later appointed secretary for the Planning Board office while Debra Phillips was appointed secretary for Planning Board meetings.

Donna Morrison was appointed assessor’s aide while John Lloyd was appointed real property data lister.

Virginia Wheatley was appointed town justice clerk.

Patricia Millius was appointed secretary to the Building Department; Judith Carlson was appointed secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).

Ken McLaughlin was appointed building inspector/code enforcement officer (CEO) for administrative and zoning matters while Michael Segelken was appointed building inspector/CEO for building/fire inspections and field work.

Town Clerk Tilly Strauss appointed Marcella Wheatley deputy town clerk for office assistance and then deputy registrar. Christopher Virtuoso was named deputy town clerk for tax collection.

After approving a resolution designating the town clerk as the records management officer and adopting the Records Retention and Disposition Schedule, the board appointed Virtuoso as scan clerk.

Julie Schroeder was appointed ZBA chairman; Edie Greenwood was appointed vice chairman, as well as to a term ending Dec. 31, 2026.

Schroeder was later appointed to the Zoning Review Committee (ZRC) for a term ending June 11, 2024, as was Ed Downey, who was later appointed town historian.

Dale Culver was appointed Planning Board chairman; Bill Kish was appointed to a term on the Planning Board ending Dec. 31, 2028.

Lance Middlebrook was appointed to the Ethics Committee for a term ending Dec. 31, 2026.

Robert Stevens was appointed highway superintendent for a term ending Dec. 31, 2023. Shawn Morrison was appointed highway motor equipment operator (HMEO) foreman while Joshua Schultz was appointed highway HMEO assistant foreman.

Richard Prentice was appointed dog control officer.

Town Board committees

Councilmembers Cooper and John Midwood were appointed to Emergency Services and Building, Grounds & Facilities; Ralph Fedele and Lana Morrison were appointed to Police Services and Personnel; Kennan and Midwood were appointed to Highway; Cooper and Morrison were appointed to Recreation; Kennan and Morrison were appointed to Budget, ZRC and Wastewater District Committee; Fedele and Midwood were appointed to Cemetery; and Kennan, Fedele, Stevens and McLaughlin were appointed to Hazard Mitigation.

After the salaries of all elected and appointed officers were established along with the wage rates for all other personnel per the adopted 2022 town budget, the board authorized Strauss to open bids on public works or purchase contracts.

The mileage rate was set at the standard IRS .58 cents per mile.

The board adopted a resolution for appointed and elected officials to attend the New York State Association of Towns Annual Meeting on Sunday, Feb. 20, to Wednesday, Feb. 23, and Kennan was designated as delegate for the annual meeting.