Washington Town Board meeting

WASHINGTON — The Washington Town Board met on Thursday, Aug. 11, to discuss a handful of topics that have been on previous agendas. Some of those issues came to a resolution.

Courtroom renovations

Town Supervisor Florence Prisco announced that the Town Hall’s courtroom renovations have been finished.  At the Thursday, June 9, Town Board meeting the board accepted bids for the renovations, which include adding a private room for the judges to gather in. The judges have been asking for such an area for a while. The private room is complete, along with other small renovations done to the courtroom.

Prisco thanked the contractors for their hard work and flexibility during the renovation process.

Donations

The town of Washington received three checks from the Millbrook Tribute Garden as donations. There were two checks for $3,500 each for summer camp scholarships and another to help lessen the cost of the senior citizen bus trips. The third check was for $5,000.

Prisco thanked the people from the Tribute Gardens who sent the donations.

Town Hall Insurance

At the Thursday, July 14 Town Board meeting Prisco discussed a “Risk Evaluation Letter” that was sent to the town from Selective Insurance, dated July 5. The letter claimed there were potentially hazardous conditions at Town Hall that have been overlooked by the municipality. The letter stated all town buildings must be checked for lead and asbestos contamination by a licensed company and have a written report of the findings.

“It is very important to the insurance company that we at least are showing a good faith effort … meaning getting an engineer in and taking a look at what the situation is and if there is lead and asbestos [and submitting that information to the insurance company],” said Prisco.”

It is recommended the hazards pointed out by Selective Insurance be looked into regularly. However, Trustee Mike Murphy pointed out that if asbestos is found there is the potential for insurances rates to go up.

At the Aug. 11 Town Board meeting, Prisco updated the board on another situation. The supervisor said that one of the town’s easiest problems has been taken care of. That issue dealt with a gas tank that had been sitting at a driveway adjacent to the town park. The tank has since been moved out of the way of the driveway.

Town of Washington Attorney Rebecca Black sent a message to Selective Insurance to notify them that the town has started to address the hazards listed by the insurance company.

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