PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

Monday, January 13, 2025 - 9:30 AM

 

 

Kenneth Hughes, Chairperson

Ike Tyler, Vice-Chairperson

 

Chairman Hughes called this Public Safety Committee to order at 9:30 am with the following Supervisors in attendance: Clayton Barber, Matthew Brassard, Chris Clark, Robin DeLoria, Derek Doty, Shaun Gillilland, Charlie Harrington, Kenneth Hughes, Steve McNally, Jim Monty, Cathleen Reusser, Favor Smith, Matthew Stanley, Davina Thurston, Michael Tyler, Joe Pete Wilson, and Meg Wood, Mark Wright.     

 

Department Heads present: James Dougan, Judy Garrison, Miriam Hadden, Mary McGowan, Mike Mascarenas, Jack Moulton, David Reynolds, Heather Sheehan, Dan Woods and Matt Watts.  

 

Also present:  Josh Favro, William Tansey and Jay Heald.

 

HUGHES:  Good morning everybody. I’d like to call this public safety committee meeting to order.  It’s 9:30 on the 13th will you all please rise to salute the flag.  Thank you very much before I begin I’d just like to offer my appreciation to Chairman Gillilland for the opportunity to Chair the public safety committee moved over from Personnel. I’d like to also thank Supervisor Mark Wright from the Town of Ticonderoga for his leadership on this committee for the past year and Meg Wood I wish you the best of luck on Personnel.  Alright so let’s move onto the Veterans office, Mr. McNally what do we have from the Veteran’s office this morning?

 

MCNALLY: Nothing to report.

 

HUGHES: No report.  Okay we are now going to move onto County Sealer, Dan Woods.

 

WOODS:  Good morning everyone.  I have a resolution to accept and place on file the 2024 weights and measures annual report.

 

RESOLUTION ACCEPTING AND PLACING ON FILE THE 2024 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ANNUAL REPORT. Smith, Doty

 

HUGHES: Questions, concerns? Anything you want to note on that that we should be aware of from the report?  Okay all in favor aye, opposed – carried. Thank you.

 

WOODS: If everybody looks at the second page that’s the December monthly report.  It gives a little quick update of the yearly as well. If anyone has any questions I’d be happy to answer.

 

HUGHES: Any questions for Mr. Woods.

 

TYLER:  Yes I briefly looked over this report. Is there anything that sticks out to you in this report that you might want to add?  Is there anything that changed a lot or is changing in your personal feelings towards this report or anything you want to add to it?

 

HUGHES: The monthly report or the annual?

 

TYLER: The monthly.

WOODS: Monthly report, no sir we are getting a lot of short term rentals that is constantly adding. We are up to 1349 that’s since I started in 2021 we started at 740 I believe so it’s increased a lot in the last four years.  It’s just something we all need to keep working on and seeing how many more we can get registered.  Other than that everything is about the same businesses are going out, new ones are coming in trying to stay up with keeping the new businesses compliant and making sure they understand they need to report to me to get their scales inspected when they open so of any of the supervisors know of new businesses opening, new deli marts anything that would have scales if you’d be able to send me an email just to give me a heads up you guys are more aware in your town of things that are happening that would be greatly appreciated.  I could stay on top of it on my end.

 

TYLER: Are you charging any new stores like the marijuana stores that are opening up do you have anything to do with those?

 

WOODS: Currently we do not with the marijuana stores have everything in the marijuana store is supposed to be pre-packed so nothing coming in supposed to be weighed at the store. There was talk at one of the last regional meetings of us going in and doing a package check and checking the weights on it but at the same time with the clientele and things that go in there they were very leery on us going in there they don’t want to cause any conflict or anything that’s going on.  It’s more of a Federal thing than it is local.

 

TYLER: I ask because we may have one opening up in Westport. The person has gone through all the steps to have, the certificate to have one and all that stuff but I wasn’t sure when or if that is going to open.

 

WOODS: If they need me to check something I would happily go there but as far as the State gives us the answer it’s all question marks they want us to stay away as of right now.

 

TYLER: Okay thank you.

 

HUGHES: Thank you. Any other questions for Mr. Woods this morning?  Looks like we’re good. Thanks, we’ll see you next month.  Moving onto Board of Elections.  Good morning.

 

MOULTON:  Good morning everybody.  I want to thank everybody that reached out to me in the last week in light of Monday’s announcement I wanted to reiterate my commitment to bring in the same work ethic and care to this position that I had in the last two and a half years.  Until a new commissioner is sworn in I think it’s important that we are here, we are ready to go especially with this special election just a little over 90 days away. I’d also be remised if I didn’t take this opportunity to ask the Republican caucus to reconsider your position before the deadline on January 20th.  Dan Manning said the 21st at the last meeting the deadline is actually the 20th it’s 60 days not two months January is a 31 day month, you have one less day.  I love serving as Election Commissioner and I think we’ve done a great job and a lot in the last two years to make the office run smooth but that’s about it, that’s all I want to say about that.

Onto a happier topic, Mary and I are excited to announce that we’ve been working with the Election commissioner association for the last year and received word in December that the 2025 summer election commissioner conference will be held in Lake Placid. This will bring 350 Board of Election Commissioners, State Officials, Elected officials and election workers to Essex County to see how we do things. That’s all I’ve got.

 

HUGHES: Mary, anything to add?

MCGOWAN: No.

 

HUGHES: Any questions?

 

TYLER:  I’m taking over for Jim asking questions today.  Just curious, I’m getting different answers on how this new election law is or if it’s in place or not in place with two year terms and four year terms could you maybe clarify that?

 

MOULTON: We haven’t received anything other than the law was found unconstitutional so –

 

TYLER: So we are staying with the old stuff, we’re moving ahead like my term is going to be a two year term and four year term?

 

MOULTON: Correct.

 

TYLER: Perfect, thank you.

 

HUGHES: Any other questions?

 

DOTY:  First of all I’d just like to say that North Elba has a great working relationship with the whole department. I look forward to the same people moving down the road. I think it’s very effective.  It’s great for young blood, the whole bit but also I’d like to let you both know that at least in North Elba we are beginning a master plan for our park district and you know we had a little confusion over where people are going to vote.  It left the town hall went to the Shipman Center different challenges there because on election day school is still in and the parking lot isn’t as big as we anticipated long story short, as I move forward with proposing to tear down that long building at the horse show grounds and building a new one as we reinvent the horse show there is millions of dollars put into the new rings, we are trying to put in, climate controlled year round building that will serve as an emergency building that will serve our community non for profits as well as horse show and we fully intend because that building will be 400 feet long, and a little bit wider it will be a much better place to hold elections. So I don’t want you to think the pressure is still just on you guys to find the right place in North Elba but I think this will be the premier spot that will be easy in, easy out buses can go there to help voters come so we’re stepping it up.  Thanks for everything in the past both of you.

 

MOULTON: Thank you.

 

HUGHES: Anything else for Jack or Mary?  Thank you very much.  Office for the District Attorney has no report.  Now we will move onto Emergency Services.

 

WATTS:  You have our report.  Is there any questions about our report before I move onto the other stuff?  Okay I need a resolution accepting the 2025 Deputy Fire Coordinators and EMS Coordinators and investigators.

 

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE APPOINTMENTS OF THE 2025 DEPUTY FIRE COORDINATORS, DEPUTY EMS COORDINATORS AND FIRE INVESTIGATORS.  Tyler, Wright

 

HUGHES: Questions or concerns?  All in favor aye, opposed – carried. Thank you.

 

WATTS:  I’m looking for a resolution to adopt the 2025 EMS billing rates. We have not changed those billing rates since we accepted five years ago. We got a recommendation from our billing company and we talked about it in the EMS committee as well.

 

RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE 2025 EMS BILLING RATES.  DeLoria, Tyler

 

HUGHES: Discussion?  All in favor aye, opposed – carried. Thank you.

 

WATTS: Thank you. Then just a couple other things our new app is done.  It is online.  I’ve sent it out. We’ve posted it on Facebook.  Last I knew we had over 500 people registered with it so that was good.

Reminder, Hazard Mitigation meeting at the public safety building on February 5, it’s kind of open public. We are going to have other stakeholders DPW will be there, utility companies, Sheriff’s Department everybody will be there for that meeting as well.

And then the training that I sent out a month ago, the Tier III the training from DSHES that overviews your roles and responsibilities and authorities as town supervisors we sent out a survey just if you haven’t filled that out please fill it out today and we will get it scheduled.

 

HUGHES: Any questions for Mr. Watts?  I want to bring up something real quick about the app.  Notifications that was an essential aspect of the app to make sure that we get essential notifications out to anybody that has downloaded that app.  It’s possible that we as supervisors have events in our towns that might affect county roads or county property that might impact the traveling public both visitors as well as citizens that we may want to work with  you to get a notification out. I think my broader question is who sets the parameters for what is put onto the app and what is not put onto the app?  Who would be the determining factor of that information? So let’s say for example, somebody requested of you to put something on the app but it wasn’t germane necessarily to the county but it was germane to a town they were just looking for the easy way of getting the word out.  Are you the arbiter of that?  Is that between you and that department?

 

WATTS:   I think it would be Josh and I.

 

HUGHES: Okay I just want to be clear that we’re not abusing because notifications become very powerful I want to make sure we are not abusing that.

 

WATTS: Thank you.

 

HUGHES:  Sheriff Reynolds, good morning.  How are you?  Come up sir.

 

SHERIFF REYNOLDS:  You have my report. If you have any questions I can answer those. 

 

HUGHES: Any questions for Sheriff Reynolds this morning?

 

SHERIFF REYNOLDS: If not, I do have one resolution of congratulations to Randy Woods who is retiring from the Sheriff’s office as a Correction Officer who was with us over 16 years and he had prior military and state corrections so Randy is also Dan’s father.

 

RESOLUTION OF CONGRATULATIONS TO RANDY WOODS UPON HIS RETIREMENT FROM ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT.  Tyler, unanimous

 

HUGHES: Thank you very much.  Anything else?  You have a great day.  Moving onto the Coroners.  Mr. Heald, come on up sir.  Good morning.  Really great to have you this morning.  Thank you.

 

HEALD:  So you have my report.  It’s kind of a year-end report. I have nothing really to add to it.  If there is any questions anybody has?

 

WILSON: I appreciate the detailed report I just need a little education. Does the coroner go to every death?

 

HEALD:  In the State of New York any unattended death the coroner must respond yes.

 

WILSON: That clarifies, thank you.

 

HUGHES: I’d like to say I was a little concerned about what you wrote in paragraph four about two investigations that have been signed out as accidental deaths at the nursing home and not natural. I was concerned about that.

 

HEALD: I think that’s a conversation that I will have privately with anybody that wants to have that.

 

HUGHES: You mentioned that in your report, yes. I’m glad you said that.

 

HEALD: I’m available, reach out to me.

 

HUGHES: Thank you for being here. Anything else for the coroner?  Okay great.  Thank you.  Heather Sheehan from Probation.

 

SHEEHAN:  Good morning everyone and happy New Year.  You have my report and I can answer any questions you may have with that.

 

HUGHES: Any questions for Heather this morning on her report?  I think we’re good. Thanks have a great year.  Is Emily here? I don’t see Emily.  We will move onto the Conflict Defender, Miriam Hadden.

 

HADDEN:  Good morning everybody.  No report but if you have any questions, happy to answer.

 

HUGHES: Any questions for Miriam this morning?  That’s easy. Thank you very much.  Is there anything else to come before this committee this morning?  If not, we are adjourned. Thank you.

 

            As there was no further discussion to come before this Public Safety Committee it was adjourned at 9:46 a.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Judith Garrison, Clerk

Board of Supervisors