Dozens of volunteers were recognized and thanked at the October Crawford Town Board meeting for the actions they took to assist senior citizens in the Crawford community during the Covid-19 shut down earlier this year.
Meghan Barnhart, Karie Boniface, Mary Ann Bott, Joyce Chess, Bill and Maureen Cronin, Alayne and Nicholas Eisseloffel, Emily, Kathy, and Meghan Herbert, Rory Holmes, Annette Kahrs, Aimee Monastero, Emma Olivet, Hugo Robbiano, Michelle Robinholt, Domanie Ragni, Linda Rogers–Seely, Laurie Wegener, Chelsea Williams, and Maria Vanini-Brown were all presented with certificates of appreciation by the town board at its recent meeting.

Overview of the 2021 Budget
Supervisor Charles Carnes indicated the 2021 property tax increase will be 1.2% which remains under the New York State cap. Water, sewer, parking, and lighting district will see a decrease for the upcoming year. Changes to the 2021 budget include the largest increases to the police and highway departments due to state aid decreases. Carnes indicated funds will be dedicated to the revitalization of the Bullville area which is to include sidewalk improvements.

Water Concerns
Carnes stated the hamlet had a water main break which was repaired, a clean out of the system was conducted over the course of three days and a “cut back on chlorine will make less of a problem with the mixing of manganese.”
During the public participation portion of the water and sewer benefit assessment role hearing, Suzanne Schubert asked questions regarding the largest consumers of the water being schools followed by businesses then homeowners.

Carnes confirmed this order of users in order of consumption and explained the schools are billed according to one unit per student with further explanation this cost is recouped by the school district via taxpayers in the district through revenue from their school tax bill.

Police Department Updates
Crawford Police Department has two vacancies to fill. In addition, plans are being made to appoint Michael Matarazza as a provisional Sergeant subject to county rules and regulations as no sergeant testing is currently being conducted due to Covid-19 restrictions. Also, two police vehicles are reaching high mileage therefore one will likely be re-purposed for other uses and one new vehicle may be purchased in 2021. In lieu of hayrides in Pine Bush for Halloween, the Police Benevolent Association has scheduled a Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 31 for children between 1 – 3:00 p.m. at the Pine Bush High School student parking lot as well as the Bullville Firehouse.

This event enables families to enjoy receiving candy for their children from a safe source without even leaving the comfort of their own vehicle.

New Business Items
Concerns regarding the school bus traffic and attempts to impose a weight limit restriction were redirected to propose the use of the Town owned property on Depot Street Extension. Carnes explained the property currently being used to park cars by the Car Tech Service Center will be repurposed to allow for a wider road and accommodate the school bus traffic.

The Board voted to approve the Shawanga Valley LLC, otherwise known as the airport property on Stone School House Road, request to a lower tax assessment to $385,000 from their previous assessment at $439,000. In future, all zoning applications must include the identity of those associated with an LLC to ensure accurate individual contact information is available.