Town Board talks background checks and highway garage

AMENIA — The Amenia Town Board met on Thursday, Feb. 14, for a regular business meeting in which two different individuals appealed to the board for assistance.The first person to speak up was Tom Warner, Recreation Committee commissioner, who wanted the board to act on mandatory background checks for coaches and recreation members.“We request that you do the background checks as required by law. I would suggest you start with the commissioners and work down to the coaches and so on,” he said.Town Supervisor Bill Flood was quick to react to the cost.“Are the commissioners going to pay for it?” he asked.“Are you going to pay for yours?” Warner responded.Flood clarified that Warner was asking the town to pay for the inquiries.“That’s why I’m here. I’m asking the board to pay for these to be done,” he said.Flood noted that he had looked into the legislation with the State of New York Comptroller’s office.“It’s a bit of a gray area. It used to be that just the head of the rec committee was done, now they want all the coaches, too. We have to look into the cost. I’ve heard estimates of $75 per person,” he said.Warner and Councilwoman Vicki Doyle confirmed a going rate of $96 per person.“We will need a list of everyone,” Flood said.Warner added that he realized it was expensive for the town.“Regardless, you can’t ask a man who’s giving up his time to then give up $100 for a background check,” he said.Flood reiterated that they would need a list of all individuals who would need a check.“We’ve been remiss in this for over a year,” Warner said.The board agreed that a list would need to be submitted before they could move forward as pricing can vary.Highway garage discussionNext to speak was Highway Superintendent Stanley Whitehead, who was seeking the board’s approval in moving forward with a project to complete a new town highway garage.“I was wondering if we could move forward with the highway garage? Maybe sit down next week and go over it?” he asked.Flood spoke up that an inspection on the current facility had been conducted on Tuesday, Feb. 12, that yielded six conditions that could be safety issues for the employees, including holes in the roof that show through the exterior, outdated electrical systems and a foundation of poured concrete with several stress cracks.“It’s not getting any better,” Whitehead said.Councilwoman Victoria Perotti asked Whitehead if he had seen any new facilities in the area.“I have checked out two in Wingdale. They did a great job. The guy who did those is willing to come up and talk to the board,” he said.Doyle added that her husband had worked with the same company in the past.“They’re the best quality for the best price, hands down,” she said.The board agreed to have a representative visit Town Hall for a meeting with a tentative date of Monday, Feb. 25.The full Town Board meeting can be viewed at www.youtube.com/ameniatv.