By Chris English
RICHMONDVILLE — The Richmondville Volunteer Fire Department got some good news recently in the form of a total of almost $245,000 in grants it has been approved for.
Fire Chief Floyd Seales mentioned the two grants at the Oct. 28 Village of Richmondville Board of Trustees meeting, and Eric Haslun, one of the assistant chiefs and also a Town of Richmondville Councilman, provided details the next day via telephone.
Haslun said the first grant is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) award of $148,899 to pay for turnout gear for 34 members. Gear will include helmets, goggles, coats, pants, boots and gloves. It requires a match of 5 percent, or $7,090 the department has available from public donations, Haslun added.
"This is a terrific thing for a small community like ours," he said. "It would be a significant outlay of money if we had to be buying these on our own."
The second grant is for $95,945 from New York State Homeland Security and Emergency Services and will fund an exhaust system for the garage at the department that will ensure vehicle emissions don't accumulate inside and possibly cause cancer, Haslun said. This grant does not require a match, he added.
“It's good for the public to know we're out there working hard for money," Haslun noted. "This (grants) is a positive aspect of government." He added that he has paperwork to finalize with the grants but there will be no glitches and they are pretty much set.
In other news from the Oct. 28 village board meeting, Seales said that he would like to hold a public forum soon, probably at one of the Cobleskill-Richmondville schools, on the potential dangers of Ion Lithium batteries as found in cell phones and other devices.
As an example, Seales said that if a cell phone is dropped and the battery damaged, and the phone is then plugged in to charge and laid on a bed, it can possibly heat up enough to cause a fire. The chief said it would be an important public service to make people aware of such potential hazards.
Also, Mayor Carl Warner Jr. and Trustees Garry Davis, Robert Hyatt, Cynthia Miller and Milan W. Jackson approved allocations for the remaining $58,000 in village American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Of that amount, $22,000 will go toward new software for Richmondville Power & Light, $6,400 for a new security camera for the electric substation, and the remainder for new water meters that board members hope will give a much more accurate reading on actual usage and possible lead to greater revenue.
"I have a feeling we're losing revenue," Davis said at the meeting.
"A ton of revenue," Miller agreed.
Davis added that village officials should pause their possible move to higher water/sewer rates until they get a better picture of how the the new meters might boost revenue.
"Let's address the meters first," he said. "Maybe we don't have to do anything with rates."
Board members had a brief discussion of a request by Department of Public Works Superintendent Eric Jones' request for a new backhoe. They will get more information from Jones on whether the new backhoe is an immediate need and requires an adjustment to next year's budget, or whether the current backhoe can make it through another year.
Warner said there are a couple of candidates he needs to call to talk about the vacant position of village attorney.
"It's going to cost us, not $5,000 but $12,000 (a year) because the person will be here at every meeting," the mayor said.
He added after the meeting that $12,000 is an estimate.
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