• 082806-1 The Board voted to approve the motion to accept the Water Commission's recommendations to modify charges by a vote of 3 to 1 (Lopez voted nay. Ms. Hyatt was not in attendance.)

  The Board claimed that basic rates for water use had not been changed since 1990 while the operational costs had gone up significantly, leading to the decision to raise the rates. The Village is currently at a 47% deficit for the water budget and at a 49% deficit for the sewer budget. Village Manager Elliott Auerbach, having prepared a price comparison with other municipalities, declared that the Village was "well below" the rates being charged to residents of Woodstock, Saugerties and Rosendale among others.

  The new rates will be $3.00 per thousand gallons for residential use and $3.50 per thousand gallons for commercial use.

• 082806-2 The Board unanimously voted to extend the February 2005 agreement between the Village of Ellenville Water District and the Town of Wawarsing-Napanoch Water District and modify the per 1000 gallon charge to reflect the rate charged to "inside commercial user". This means that the Village of Ellenville will sell its water to the Town of Wawarsing at the rate of $3.50 per thousand gallons.

• 082806-3 The Board unanimously approved the changing of the Village Board Meeting from Monday, October 9 to Tuesday, October 10.

  The Board agreed to change their meeting time for the September 11 Village Board Meeting to 7:10 p.m. The change will allow the Board to attend the ceremony remembering September 11, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the steps of the Hunt Memorial Building.

• 082806-4 The Board unanimously approved a motion for a fund balance budget appropriation from an account designated to Water for the 2004 fiscal year to be used to offset other expenditures the Water fund had incurred.

• John Burns, Director of the Summer Recreation Program, offered an end of program summary for the Board including a report on the program's successes and recommendations for next year.

  The program served 218 children, down from a 2005 total of 243. Some issues and concerns were raised about the Board's decision to move the program to the afternoon so that it would not conflict with the school district's summer school program. The intention was, as Mayor Kaplan expressed it, "to not seem as though we were punishing kids that were going to summer school."

  However, a drop in attendance, concerns about the afternoon heat, and problems with implementing the program's cafeteria program to full capacity seem enough to givc the Board some reason to pause and evaluate the success of its decision.

  Charles Dechon, who headed up the Village's Pool program was, along with Burns, warmly thanked by the Board. Applause was offered by everyone in attendance for a job well done.

• Before new business was discussed, the mayor asked the village treasurer how much the Town had contributed to the pool program and was told $3500 compared to the total cost of the pool's salary and activity expenses at $30,700. Mr. Kaplan then asked if there was a rough estimation as to the breakdown of Village residents to Town residents using the pool and was informed by Burns that it was "roughly 50/50". Mayor Kaplan then spoke to the unfair situation that has the Town paying "ten percent and benefiting fifty percent of the time."

• The Board unanimously voted to permanently appoint Police Officers Langlois and Morse.

• The Board took a moment to congratulate and thank both Ellenville's Police and Street Departments for their performance during the Village's event filled weekend.

• 082806-5 Board unanimously voted to approve a SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) Resolution with regard to the new village hall.

• 082806-6 The Board unanimously voted to approve a Bond anticipation notice for an amount not to exceed two million dollars. The resolution will insure that the money is in place for when the Board will require it to purchase the Village's new hall and make all necessary retrofit measures.

• The Board was also informed that Provident Bank will be donating all of the personal property within the five story building to the Village. The property, which consists of office furniture, is valued at roughly $250,000.

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