January 16, 2006   

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:50 p.m. by Chairman John A. Eberly. All Trustees were present.  Mr. Jeff Renner led the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

            Motion by Patrick Cavanagh seconded by Mike Troyan to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of January 9, 2006.  VOTE:  Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes.  The motion passed.

 

REPORTS:

            Jeff Renner, President, Auburn Volunteer Fire Department, presented a report for December, 2005 as follows: there were 39 calls with 7 (almost 18%) of them covered by station staffing. He reported that they accepted a bid for $6500 for their squad. All equipment will stay here and the lights and siren go with the squad. They were pleased with the transaction. The new pick up truck arrived but there was an error made with the slide in unit that is being fixed. The whole project came in under the projected price. A forestry service grant was applied to the purchase. Mr. Eberly said the fire department is doing a great job with applying for and winning grant money as well as with staying on budget with their purchases.

            Pancake breakfasts are on the horizon! Mark your calendars for the last Sunday in February and the first Sunday in March to eat your fill of pancakes. In addition, the Auburn Firedevils will host a bake sale on March 5, a spaghetti dinner on April 1, their annual plant sale on May 20, the Annual 4^th of July Parade and Picnic, and a chili dinner in October.

            The deployment of local fire fighters to the Katrina and Rita disaster sites was discussed. Auburn’s Bob Holbom was there for two weeks.

            Expanded staffing at the fire station is under discussion and they are examining budgets over the next few weeks in that regard.

 

            Michael S. Troyan had no report.

 

            Patrick J. Cavanagh looked into cable contract coverage for neighboring townships and found that Troy, Hambden, Parkman, Newbury, Burton, and Claridon are still under original contracts. Ours was the first one to expire. The trustees discussed the situation and decided to take no action now on executing the contracts. We will wait and see how the negotiations go as other townships’ contracts come up for renewal.

 

            John A. Eberly said that the Quarterly Township Dinner meeting hosted in Newbury last week had an interesting program. A slide show of the hurricane Katrina devastation was presented by local firemen who were there for a two week period to assist. In addition to the water damage, millions of gallons of oil escaped tanks and caused pollution. One slide showed a wall of water approaching.

            JohnsonConstruction will continue to monitor Adam Hall to be certain that the icicle problem was repaired.  Fortunately, there was no damage done from the ice. Bud Weber from Johnson Construction wants to schedule a demonstration with contractors and township trustees, road department personnel, etc. They will run through how the lighting, heating, etc. are operated. Mr. Eberly will set this up.

 

            Susan Plavcan, Fiscal Officer, presented warrants, a blanket certificate and purchase orders for signatures.  She suggests setting up an Audit Committee to meet two times a year. This was discussed and she will advertise it.  

            She discussed Adam Hall. There are at least two or three calls a day asking about pricing. There are four bookings set and several more close to scheduling. People are very pleased with having this facility in Auburn for their use.

            The letter received from a resident about the Arctic Freeze and a fence issue was discussed and will be handled by Mike Troyan.

            We are waiting on paperwork from CUE about the salt buying co-operative and hope to become members in March, 2006.

            A letter from the Maple Leaf weekly newspaper was received asking to be named our newspaper of record for our legal ads. The trustees discussed this. They decided to stay with the News Herald, a daily paper, for now and they will revisit the decision next year.

 

            Motion by John Eberly seconded by Mike Troyan to remain with the News Herald as our newspaper of record for this year.  VOTE:  Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.

 

            The trustees discussed the secretarial position that needs filled. Mr. Eberly reviewed the resumes and grouped the candidates into three groups. Mr. Troyan and Mr. Cavanagh each took resumes to review.

 

            Motion by John Eberly seconded by Mike Troyan to adjourn the meeting. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned.