Village of Lewiston holds reorganizational meeting

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Trustees in the Village of Lewiston set their sights on the next fiscal year, and approved appointments, at Wednesday’s special meeting.

Prior to the session, a moment of silence was held in honor of former Mayor Marilyn Toohey, who died on Sunday – not long after celebrating her 100^th birthday.

Appointments

Board members approved the following motions:

√ Mayor Anne Welch’s appointment of Trustee Vic Eydt to the position of deputy mayor (for a one-year term).

√ The reappointment of law counsel Joseph Leone (one year).

√ The reappointment of Nussbaumer & Clarke Inc. as the Village of Lewiston engineering firm (one year).

√ Appointing Kenneth Candella as building inspector and as zoning officer (one year).

√ The appointment of Treasurer Stephanie Longwell as registrar and Clerk Shannon Fundis as deputy registrar (one year).

√ Reappointment of Russ Piper as historian and Barry Beebe as fire inspector (one year); Rita Geiben to the Historic Preservation Commission (five years); Doreen Albee and Joshua Janese to the Planning Commission (two years); and Denise Mess, Colleen Swavey and Joseph Marra to the Parks, Recreation, Conservation Board (two years).

√ KeyBank was designated as the official Village of Lewiston depository for the next fiscal year.

√ The Sentinel was named the official newspaper of the Village of Lewiston.

√ Two other passed motions granted 1) the same benefits for non-union employees as full-time union employees, as referenced in the collective bargaining agreement; and 2) adopted the rate of .655 cents per mile, as set by the state comptroller.

√ Trustees tabled Welch’s reappointment of Deputy Clerk Donna Vazquez, seeking to modify the municipal code to allow for a four-year term.

Resolutions

A series of resolutions were accepted, including:

√ Establishing committee liaisons and alternates:

• Administration – Welch/Eydt
• Personnel – trustees Tina Coppins/Dan Gibson
• Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce – Welch/Eydt
• Beautification – Welch/Coppins
• Artpark – Welch/Gibson
• Lewiston Council on the Arts – trustees Nick Conde/Gibson
• Law enforcement – Eydt/Conde
• Fire company – Eydt/Gibson
• Recreation, parks and environment – Gibson/Conde
• Planning Commission – Welch/Eydt
• Zoning Board of Appeals – Conde/Eydt
• Department of Public Works – Welch/Conde
• Community Sewer Commission – Eydt/Conde
• American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars – Gibson/Coppins
• Lewiston Library – Coppins/Gibson
• Historic Preservation Commission – Welch/Eydt

√ Establishing the regular meeting dates of the Village Board of Trustees for 6 p.m. in the Red Brick Municipal Building, 145 N. Fourth St., on the first Monday of each month (work sessions) from October through May, except the September 2023 and January 2024 meetings shall be on the first Tuesday; and the third Monday of each month (regular meeting) from September through August, except the January and February 2024 meetings shall be on the third Tuesday.

The next organizational meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 8, 2024.

√ A special meeting of the Village Board may be called by the mayor or, in the absence of the mayor, the deputy mayor. The clerk shall thereupon contact each member of the board by telephone, and shall contact the news media and public, as required by the Open Meetings Law. Such special meetings shall be held in the Red Brick Municipal Building.

√ Pursuant to Section 77-6 of General Municipal Law, to authorize officials and employees to attend school and conferences during the next fiscal year, with expenses covered by the village, as follows: The annual meeting conducted by the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials (NYCOM) – Board of Trustees, attorney, clerk and treasurer; municipal officials workshops conducted by NYCOM – trustees; training school for fiscal officers and municipal clerks conducted by NYCOM – clerk, treasurer and deputy clerk; NYCOM winter legislative meeting – trustees, attorney, clerk and treasurer; Northwestern Frontier Association of Village Officials and Western New York Association of Village Officials – trustees, attorney, clerk and treasurer. Also, Historic Preservation Commission members can attend approved New York State Historic Preservation Office training.

√ The Village of Lewiston established the following days for its employees – Department of Public Works, eight hours per day; Recreation Department employees, seven hours per day – and will report days worked to the New York state and local employees’ retirement system based on the timekeeping system, or the record of activities maintained and submitted by these members to the clerk of this body.

√ Trustees established the following standard work days for elected and appointed officials:

• Clerk, seven hours per day
• Treasurer, seven hours per day
• Deputy clerk, seven hours per day
• Superintendent of Public Works, eight hours per day
• Deputy superintendent of Public Works, eight hours per day
• Recreation director, seven hours per day
• Village Board of Trustees, six hours per day
• HPC/Planning Board members, six hours per day
• ZBA members, six hours per day

The municipality will report these workdays to the state and local employees retirement system based on the timekeeping system records, or the record of activities maintained and submitted by these officials to the clerk of this body.

√ Pursuant to Section 5-524 of the village law, the treasurer (or, in the absence of the treasurer, the deputy clerk) is authorized to pay claims in advance of an audit; and claims for the following recurring charges during fiscal year 2023-24: public utility services, postage, freight, express charges, Ricoh lease, and financed vehicle leased payments and health payments.

√ Pursuant to the Uniform Notice of Claim Act, which became effective on June 15, 2013, an amendment to the New York General Municipal Law allows notices of claim against villages to be served on the New York secretary of state as agent for New York’s public corporations. Pursuant to the act, the New York Department of State will forward any notice of claim served on it to the Village of Lewiston designee.

The board designated the clerk as the individual to whom the secretary of state must mail notices of claim.