Wayne County Life

TOWN OF GALEN

Supervisor’s Report        

By Steve Groat

 

I certainly hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas and had the chance to visit with your family and friends.  I feel a special concern for the overseas service veterans that can’t be home with their loved ones.  We should consider ourselves fortunate that they are protecting our freedom while we celebrate the wonderful times of our lives.  Also, I would like to take this opportunity to send a delightful cheer to everyone for the best in the New Year, and to quote John Lennon, “I hope it’s a good one without any tears.” 

Up until now, the record snowfall has dominated the Galen and Clyde Highway Departments with many extended hours on the roadways.  Please join me in thanking these individuals that perform their duties diligently in spite of the many challenges that Mother Nature has to offer. Along with their skillful methods of clearing roadways, they are also required to be on call 24 hours a day.  For the Town, this added workload has not over stressed the budget beyond projections.  I want to personally thank the Galen Town Board, Account Clerk, Town Clerk and the Highway Superintendent for a great working relationship throughout the year, which included many successful budget workshops (and look forward to 2011.)

Over the past several years the cost of doing business has increased and revenues are always a concern in proper planning.  Some of the uncontrollable expenses of the budget process are in area of personnel.  Health Insurance and retirement contributions continue to rise at the alarming rates of 12 to 15% annually.  These difficult economic times, especially in New York State, have given the terms, (wise spending, efficiency and consolidation of services) greater meaning. We in Galen are all working to minimize spending while supplying the many required services that we have become accustom to.

It is with great pleasure that I can inform you that the Town of Galen has been awarded a $246,000 grant for the construction of a salt and sand storage building.  We have been desirous for many years to build such a structure for the safe keeping of the valuable salt and sand mixture that is spread by our highway department.  Currently, the mixed pile of materials sits out in the open air and is exposed to the elements.  Much of the expensive salt gets washed away (down stream) and ultimately ends up in the Erie Barge Canal. We have approximately 73 miles of Town roads and 32 miles of County roads to cover with salt, sand and plowing.  Back in 2009 the Town Board received notice of funding from the DEC and the official grant application form was provided.  The Board also received a request from a private grant writer to apply for this grant on behalf of the Town for a fee of $2800.  Although (we) the Board were very interested in the professional writer’s skills, many times they are not successful.  With spending always on our minds, we as a Board decided that maybe with the help of Wayne County Soil & Water and other agencies, that we could prepare the application in-house.  I asked the Board for their permission and support to “let me give it a try.”  The Board was very positive towards this initiative and a formal Resolution was passed. The work began, the grant was submitted and the waiting for the response ensued.  Many months have passed, but we, the Board, were delighted to receive the official word (in November) that we were awarded the grant!  We are now in the early stages of development of this project.  We want the taxpayers to be aware that this grant does require a 25% matching fund by our Town.  We feel that this will give us a good return on our investment in a timely manner.  Once again, I want to thank the Galen Board members for the opportunity to prepare such an application on our behalf.

The 2011 Town Budget levy was structured at $547,522 with no increase to taxpayers.  With much hard work at our budget meetings, your Board was able to hold the line, due to unexpected revenues in Sales Tax and full appropriations from the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program to name a few.  The concentrated efforts by all members of the Galen Team to control spending made this responsible budget a reality.

As you know by now, the new recycling law will be in effect starting January 1, 2011.   We recommend that you contact the private refuse collectors for competitive pricing on supplying both services.  I have made several inquiries and have found some will be requiring additional fees up to $5.00 per month while others have no increase.  We currently have 13 licensed collectors in Wayne County, so give them a chance to compete for your business.

Finally, the grocery store search team committee continues its quest to locate a full service market in our business district.  We should all be proud to be a part of a community that has much more to offer than some might think.  Together we can continue to move forward with the necessary strides to improve our Town.

You may contact me at the Galen office by phone at 923-7259 or e-mail me at galensupervisor@rochester.rr.com

Happy New Year,

Steve Groat