Falls Village OKs highway department improvements at town meeting

FALLS VILLAGE — A town meeting Thursday, Jan. 29, unanimously approved an appropriation of up to $48,251.39 for the purpose of entering into an agreement with Allied Engineering Associates for a new sand and salt shed, a truck washing system and a water and oil separator, all for the town’s highway department.

The in-person town meeting also approved a minor change to the town’s ordinance concerning the publishing of the annual town report.

First Selectman Dave Barger explained that the town recently received a state Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant, and on the list of things partially covered by the grant are the salt shed and other improvements.

“These are long-needed,” Barger said, adding that the changes will bring the town into compliance with state environmental regulations.

He said the items were grouped together “because they are so closely related.” And it will make it unnecessary to come back to the Board of Finance and the town for another supplemental appropriation down the road.

On the second item, Barger said he and Town Clerk Johanna Mann initially looked at the town report ordinance to see if they could print fewer copies. State law requires publishing enough copies for 10% of a town’s population, which in the case of Falls Village means lots of extra copies that wind up getting tossed out.

Unfortunately, that idea was not possible.

In the course of looking at the ordinance, Barger and Mann realized there was a typographical error in referring to the relevant state law.

So the motion was to fix that error.

Eleven people attended, including all three selectmen, two voter registrars, and the town clerk.

Lou Timolat was the moderator.