Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes Halcott Grange
June 17, 2024, 6:00 pm

Present: Deputy Supervisor Alan Reynolds, Eric Fronckowiak, Innes Kasanof, Judy DiBenedetto, Town Clerk, Patricia Warfield. Public: Andy Vlahos.

Call to Order at 6:00 p.m.

Approval of the minutes of the May 20, 2024, meeting: Motion to approve by Councilwoman Innes Kasanof, 2nd by Councilman Eric Fronckowiak, Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto: aye, Deputy Supervisor Alan Reynolds: aye.

Highway Superintendent’s Report: (A) Deputy Supervisor Alan Reynolds reports that on Tuesday they will be topping Turkey Ridge Road and Mead Road. (B) There is an old town road known as the Fazio loop which runs from Silas Lake Rd. to Turkey Ridge Rd. around what was known as the Bill Gordon farmhouse. This loop has not been in use for years and the question has been asked whether the town could or would abandon it to the property’s new owner. (C) Since being repaired, the new Ford pick-up truck has been running well, insurance covered the cost of those repairs.

Voucher vote: General Abstract #G0624 – vouchers 87 – 92 = $914.14. Highway Abstract #H0624 – vouchers 93 – 97 = $10,080.37. Motion to pay bills by Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto, 2nd by Councilman Eric Fronckowiak, Councilwoman Innes Kasanof: aye, Deputy Town Supervisor Alan Reynolds: aye.

Finance Chair Report: Councilwoman Innes Kasanof presented the monthly finance report.

Clerk’s Report: Grange Rental: 1 @ 50.00, 1 @ 100.00, Building Permit: 1 @ 325.00, Transfer Station: March/314.00, April/236.00. The Town collected and disbursed $1,025.00 for the month of May.

Other Business: Town Clerk Pattie Warfield gave a summary of her conversation with Tara Donadio who is the Assistant Director of Sustainability Clean Energy & Climate Smart Communities Outreach Coordinator. After explaining to Tara, the Town’s need to move the Highway garage out of the flood plain and the desire to add a heated space for a firetruck, Tara’s thought was that this was the kind of project that would qualify for a Climate Smart Community Grant. The grant itself can be a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $2 million. This is a matching grant, which means a 50% match for towns with a median income over $65,000.00. The median income for Halcott according to the last census was $60,000.00, which would then drop us to a 20% match. The Town has an LFA already in place, which is a plus, but we would need to come up with a cost estimate to submit with the grant paperwork. The Town should also be aware that due to being a climate smart grant, our heating source for the new building would most likely exclude a fossil-fuel based system.

Public: Andy Vlahos spoke to the Board about a parcel of land which is now marked as Bear Lane, but on both the deed and tax bill the property is shown as Gail Drive. It was his hope that the property be acknowledged as Gail Drive. Councilwoman Innes Kasanof thought that the first step would be to talk to the Town Assessor.

Next Meeting: Regular Town Board Meeting, July 15, 2024, 6:00 pm.

Motion to Adjourn at 6:22 p.m. by Councilwoman Innes Kasanof, 2nd by Councilman Eric Fronckowiak, Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto: aye, Deputy Supervisor Alan Reynolds: aye.

Propane group gets a new choice as Paraco undercuts Suburban price.  Halcott Propane coop can now buy from either company.  Arrange the swap ahead of time and try to burn off most of your existing supply to keep restocking charges down but change over safely before winter and frozen pipe risks.

My negotiations with propane providers got very complicated this year when a competing company (Paraco) came in with a fixed price bid that is ten cents a gallon cheaper than what Suburban is presently charging.  Paraco’s proposal also does not add on the delivery and safety charges which Suburban imposes.  Because changing over to Paraco may be complicated for some of the Halcott group’s participants, we are going to agree to both Paraco and Suburban’s proposals, giving our present participants the choice of what company to buy their gas from, and also making it possible to buy gas at good prices before any tank change overs.

Suburban’s added charges for “Safety” and “Transport” totalled $22.28 for each delivery I received.  Those charges may vary.  I have tried to get Suburban to drop them as well as to state contractually what they will be but they have not done so.  They say those charges vary but are in every customer’s service agreement and can be verified by calling Suburban.  Good luck to you on that.

Suburban’s new price is $1.799 cents a gallon, equivalent to last year’s price and includes the delivery-related charges.

Paraco’s proposed price is $1.70 per gallon with no additional charges for delivery. Paraco will provide a new tank and swap out your Suburban tanks with no charge.

Suburban’s “restocking fee” is the sticky point in changing companies.  You should burn off as much gas as you can before setting up the change-over but do not risk winter freeze-ups in the process.  Wait till next year if need be. Suburban’s restocking fee will be quoted from the regional office based on your Customer Service Agreement. The charge can be $1 per gallon or more. Suburban’s phone number is 800-776-7263.

To get set up with Paraco, call or email Edward (goes by Ned) Howard, ehoward@paracogas.com, 845-745-2159.

Please cc me on all emails so I can oversee this admittedly complicated process, and also please inform me by email of the per-gallon rate you are billed by either company. For those of you who will understandably want to take advantage of Paraco’s low price, plan ahead. You will be able to change propane providers at any time, but should of course be very careful not to run out of gas, especially in the winter when your pipes can freeze. The two-company option may remain our way of doing business in coming years as well.  This is uncharted territory for us. I’m reluctant to divide the buying group in any way but hopefully two options are better than one. We have a lot of buying power with 92 Halcott households buying 38,500 gallons a year. Making that buying power stronger, Paraco offers a bonus of $50 for all full-heat customer referrals and $25 for non-full-heat customers. Suburban offers 35 free gallons for new customer referrals.  Or about $62 in credit towards gas purchases.

In addition to emailing me for review what rates you are charged, please also copy