The boards from both the town and the village met at the village's Government Center on Monday at 3:30 p.m. for their third meeting of the year. All members of each municipality's board were present, except for Village Trustee Ray Younger, while Town Councilwoman Theresa Hyatt arrived at 4:15, shortly after the meeting had begun.

Gillette Creamery Continues Growth – Could Be On The Move
J.B. Gillette, owner of Gillette Creamery, joined Lance Matteson, President of the Ulster County Development Corporation (UCDC) and CEO of the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) in addressing the gathered community officials regarding the efforts to keep the business in the Ellenville/Wawarsing area. The business has outgrown its space, Matteson said, and he and the UCDC are looking to find an appropriate space within the Town of Wawarsing — hopefully within one of the area's Empire Zones.

The IDA would potentially be able to offer similar tax benefits to the business should it not be able to find a suitable location within an existing Empire Zone, though Matteson said that such benefits were not as extensive, and as such, an Empire Zone location would be ideal. Matteson and Gillette stressed the short timeframe within which the move would have to take place, but made sure to point out that things are moving forward positively, and that while it's still too soon to comment on anything definite, the effort is making headway, and that they are at the point of drawing sketches of layouts at one undisclosed site that looks promising.

EPD Costs for Local Festivals
Ellenville Police Department Chief Phil Mattracion informed both the boards of the costs to fund police officers that worked during the various festivals held within village limits during 2007.

The July 4 parade cost $3,000, the Blueberry Festival cost $1,500, and Run Like the Wind cost $2,000, for a combined total of $6,500 for EPD protection. The chief also estimated that this year's Firemen's Parade will cost around $3,000.

Village Manager Elliott Auerbach then gave an estimate of between $1,500 and $1,800 for the street department's combined efforts before and after each event. The chief's and Auerbach's reports were part of an effort for both municipalities to come to an agreement regarding the costs and benefits of town-wide events such as those listed above that are held within village limits.

Consolidation of Services
There was further discussion regarding Dwight Coombe's proposal of an independent committee of non-elected, business-minded people to assess town and village expenses and make suggestions regarding consolidation of services. Mayor Jeff Kaplan declared his support for the proposal, and suggested that the town and village merge their courts as a first step toward consolidation. Part of the merger would involve the village dissolving their court, and the town moving their own court to the village's courtroom, with any revenue gained from cases within the village, such as tickets or fines issued by the EPD, going to the village to cover expenses of housing the town court.

In response to questions raised by members of the town board, Kaplan cited similar set-ups in Wurtsboro and New Paltz as precedents, who, he said, have each merged their village and town courts in such a fashion.

Later, Town Councilman Terry Houck suggested the help of the state comptroller to come to the town and village to do an assessment to see what areas could be consolidated between the two municipalities. Once this was done, he said, this would open doors to further talks about reducing duplication of services and help both governments run more efficiently.

Economic Development Officer
Village Manager Auerbach reported that the village will make a proposal in front of the Local Development Corporation this week about the parameters of the oft-discussed Economic Development officer. The town board said they had not engaged in any further discussions on the subject since the last joint meeting, and with this latest proposal, talks within both municipalities may resume.

Transfer Station Situation
The two boards debated the price of transfer station usage for the village, as Town Clerk Jane Eck needed a figure to bill the village on April 1. Various discussions took place between members of both boards, but eventually the figure of $1,400 per quarter was settled upon for the village's use of the transfer station.

E.L. Henry
Before the meeting's close, former Wawarsing Town Supervisor Dr. Richard Craft stood and spoke from a prepared statement about how the village ought not to sell its E.L. Henry collection to reduce its budget deficit. He said that the collection was a gift to the village, and that selling the paintings would be like selling the area's history, and that was a mistake given how much the area has already lost.

The meeting adjourned, and the next joint meeting was set for Monday, April 14 at Town Hall.

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