Social media policy under consideration in Plattekill

By RICK REMSNYDER
Posted 9/14/22

The Town of Plattekill is considering a social media policy to establish guidelines for postings by town employees.

Supervisor Jennifer Salemo said during the Sept. 7 Town Board meeting that a …

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Social media policy under consideration in Plattekill

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The Town of Plattekill is considering a social media policy to establish guidelines for postings by town employees.

Supervisor Jennifer Salemo said during the Sept. 7 Town Board meeting that a draft of the policy has been forwarded to the town’s labor attorney for review. She said she’d give an update on the status of the review at the board’s next meeting on Sept. 21.

The town currently doesn’t have a social media policy, according to Salemo.

“It’s to keep the employees from making defamatory posts or slandering anyone,” Salemo said. “It’s basically to keep everybody safe from saying the wrong things online.”

Town Councilman Darryl Matthews noted that the employees’ union would also have to review the policy before it is adopted.

“It has to go through our attorneys and the union and if the union isn’t happy with it, we’d have to start over and go back to the drawing board with any suggestions they may have,” Matthews said.

In other news, Councilman Dean DePew Sr. said the firm that was hired to test six abandoned barrels at the town transfer station was unable to open the barrels to draw samples because the barrels were rusty and old. Clear Waters Environmental Services of Newburgh said there would be an additional charge to open them with an apparatus that is basically a large can opener, DePew said.

DePew said the environmental firm also would need to overpack the barrels to eliminate any chance of spillage. A forklift would also need to be rented to move the barrels to facilitate the process, DePew said.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the additional charge of $5,725 to secure the barrels and rent the forklift. DePew also said the firm found an additional barrel at the transfer station.

The seven barrels that were left behind by an unidentified firm that previously ran the transfer station are at least eight years old and are in very poor condition, DePew first reported at the July 20 meeting.

Since the Town of Plattekill now operates the transfer station, town officials have acknowledged that it’s the town’s responsibility to dispose of them. But first, the contents must be identified before they can be disposed of.

County legislator Kevin Roberts, who represents the Town of Plattekill, told the board that applications for $100,000 grants from American Rescue Plan would soon be available. He urged the board to be ready to apply for those when applications are made available by Ulster County officials.

“I know Councilmen (Bill) Kras and (Wilfrido) Castillo (Jr.) had good ideas about expanding some services at the (town) park,” Roberts said. “I urge you to act quickly.”

Roberts also suggested that the Town of Plattekill consider hiring a full-time building inspector rather than looking to hire a part-time inspector.

“You might want to consider going to a full-time building inspector to be able to serve the residents better,” Roberts said. “It would be more efficient and bring more revenue to the town.”

He added that he hoped the town would look to promote within the ranks.

Roberts also praised the work of Highway Superintendent Robert Wager and his crew for recently making repairs to the Old Mill Road Bridge promptly. New concrete barriers and guardrails were installed to make the bridge safer.

Wager said the work was done by the town with help from the Ulster County Department of Public Works and the New York State Department of Transportation.

“He reopened that in a matter of days,” Roberts said of Wager.

The board appointed Carol Strauss and Ludla Griffin to the town’s Veteran’s Committee.