Hector town board 07/13/10

Meeting:  The Hector town board met Tuesday, July 13.
Attendance:  All board members were present. Three members of the public were in the audience.
Action:  The board approved a resolution to survey a new straightened approach to the Havens Road Bridge and to abandon the old approach.
• In further highway action, the board approved a resolution to spend $275,000 on various road improvement projects on town roads.
• In Smith Park related action, the board approved two resolutions. The first resolution authorized the park manager to place an ad in the county Chamber of Commerce promotional brochure for the 2011 summer season. This is the first marketing expenditure for the park in over five years in an effort to attract more weekday business from distant travelers. The second resolution dealt with approvals for pricing clarifications relating to park sites.
Discussion without action: Additional reporting from the Smith Park manager included a description of the new pier in the swimming area and the addition of 160 tons of clean sand to make the whole swimming area a more comfortable space to use. During the recent heat wave, the park manager, Brian DeMeritt, noted the park accommodated at least 200 people a day.
The boat docks in the launch area have been refurbished. It was reported, however, that a significant number of boating customers ignored the parking rules, making it difficult for others to effectively use the area. The parking area near the launch (that can accommodate seven vehicles and trailers) was crowded with twice the capacity and more. Crowd control measures are being considered.
• In January of this year, Hector separated from the county health insurance collaborative arrangement and insured its workers in a new type of health plan. The county has yet to refund to Hector the premium in excess of identified expenses from 2009. More phone calls will be made.
• A considerable amount of time was taken up to discuss the creation of a new ambulance district near the village of Trumansburg. Several resolutions were considered to set the date and location for public hearings and a referendum on the issue among the affected residents.  These residents include those in northeastern Hector bounded by Sirrine Road, Vesa Road, the Seneca County line to the north and the Tompkins County line to the east. Hector could simply create the ambulance district and schedule a referendum if enough residents objected. But the board decided to hold the referendum first to give the people a say in this action.
The creation of the ambulance district is necessary because the village of Trumansburg, which owns the ambulance service, decided to begin billing residents for emergency medical calls if they have health insurance that covers emergency transport. Where insurance billing is not possible the basic tax assessment for the district will cover the cost as it does currently. It is hoped in the village that the use of insurance billing will reduce the tax burden for the special ambulance district residents. Announcements of the dates and locations for public hearings and referendum will be announced in the legal notice section of the REVIEW&EXPRESS.
• The burned out remains of a house on the main road through Mecklenburg has finally been removed and the plot is now newly seeded with grass. After several months and extended litigation, the town finally succeeded in getting the owner of the property to properly remediate the charred ruins of a structure that was deemed a danger to public safety.
Upcoming meetings: The next regular meeting of the town board will be Tuesday, Aug. 10, starting at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend all town meetings.