MALONE — Legislators passed a resolution Thursday in favor of purchasing a new road striping truck for the county’s highway department utilizing Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program funds.
County lawmakers authorized the county’s highway superintendent, Edward Adams, to purchase a road striping truck from MB Companies in the amount of $421,356.62, according to the resolution.
“This is really good news for our county I know we wait for this be done and now with our guys having their own machine I think this is going to be great for our county,” Andrea M. Dumas, R – Malone, said.
Lindy Ellis, D – Saranac Lake, thanked the county highway crew for the work they have done throughout Franklin County since Tropical Storm Debby moved through the area dropping several inches of rain leading to road damage in multiple municipalities.
Ellis said she appreciates the work the department has done to keep the entire county safe following the storm.
Paul Lauzon, D – Fort Covington, thanked the first responders for their work during and after last week’s storm.
“We are very thankful,” Lauzon said.
According to County Manager Donna J. Kissane, as the county works to assess damage from the storm they will work with both state and federal officials to determine if the storm impacts reach the cost threshold necessary to qualify for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We have some boots on the ground today from the state to look at and take pictures, and evaluate some of our costs, working with our highway superintendents and supervisors,” Kissane said, “So that I think then they can go back and help the governor put a package together as to what the statewide costs are to hopefully meet that threshold.”
Kissane said the county’s threshold to receive funding is much lower than the state’s.
“Our threshold for the county is less than $300,000, which will be no problem,” she said.
Kissane said the county has worked with towns that received damage to their infrastructure in the days since Tropical Storm Debby moved through the area.
“We have certainly taken a leadership role in that and we are happy to do that,” she said, “We just all work together. There’s kind of no boundaries when it comes to an emergency like this and we are proud of all of our communities working together and doing what needs to be done.”
County legislators reappointed Michelle Mulverhill as commissioner of social services, with her current term of office expiring in September, the county’s resolution, appointed Mulverhill to a five year term expiring in September 2029.
The board passed a resolution authorizing the county to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the village of Malone to put up a 90-foot Texas Tower within village limits.
The tower will be located in the upper parking lot of the village office behind the building and the village will cover expenses associated with the installation of the tower and its maintenance, according to the resolution.
“The county owns the parking lot adjacent to the village office and we own the parking lot behind it. We are putting up a 90-foot Texas Tower, it’s the same type of tower that’s in front of the fire department,” Dumas, who is also the village mayor, said, “It’s so we can read our water meters in the gully. There’s many areas we can’t reach. This will assist with us as we move forward with state mandates.”
Dumas abstained from the county’s vote on the memorandum of understanding.
Lawmakers voted to approve a resolution for adoption of parcels into the Franklin County Agricultural District.
Prior to the board’s meeting, earlier Thursday morning, legislators met with Devin Normandeau of Franklin County Soil and Water to hold a public hearing on including new parcels in the existing district.
There was no public comment at the morning’s public hearing.
Thursday’s resolution added 25.07 acres in the town of Bloomingdale, 183.40 acres in the town of Chateaugay, 47.55 acres in the town of Gabriels and 14.35 acres in the town of Tupper Lake to the county’s agricultural district.
County legislators authorized the county’s highway superintendent to purchase a new road striping truck, Thursday, and talked about repair efforts to roads across Franklin County after Tropical Storm Debby brought damaging rainfall totals to the area last week.