2629 State Route 22A
P.O. Box 125
Hampton, NY 12837
Phone: 518-282-9830
Fax: 518-282-9042

Town of Hampton News
www.hamptonny.org
December 2015 Edition

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
HAMPTON’S OWN PATTIE’S PATCH HONORED AS 2015 WASHINGTON COUNTY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR


Pattie’s Patch owned by Patricia and Dennis Sbardella was honored by the Washington County Local Development Corporation and The Adirondack Chamber of Commerce as Small Business of the Year for 2015 at a luncheon on December 4th.  Nominations for the award were solicited from all 17 Washington County Town Supervisors.

Patricia and Dennis Sbardella were recognized for the success of their business, the unique aspects of their business, customer service, the growth of the business over the past 23 years, and the diversity of their customer base across the northeast.  Last year Pattie made and sold around 4500 pies. The roadside stand on Route 4 in Low Hampton also sells a variety of fruits and vegetables, pastries, relishes, and pickles. 

Pattie was in California on presentation day on a well-deserved vacation visiting her family.  Through the wonder of Technology, she was able to accept the award and make her acceptance speech via IPAD!  Visit Pattie Patch’s Facebook page to view the video of the award presentation.

BROADBAND UPDATE


The New York State Broadband Project continues to move forward slowly.  The Broadband Commission has been conducting surveys, mapping, and soliciting information from vendors and local officials to determine how best to approach the project.  The State is still committed to completing the project on schedule.

DOG CONTROL AND LICENSING

The Town is beginning to review the Town of Hampton Dog Laws. With this review we will be considering increasing the fines and penalties for unlicensed dogs.

We have found that there are still several dogs unlicensed.  We recommend owners that have not licensed their dogs come to the Town Hall and license their dogs to avoid fines and penalties. 


HIGHWAY SUPERVISOR’S CORNER

With the winter months upon us I would like to remind everyone to drive safely on the roads. The plow trucks will be out plowing snow in the snow storms. I would also like to remind everyone that plowing snow into or across the roads is against the law and may cause damage to the plow trucks and personal vehicles if hit just right. That would put unnecessary cost to the town and you to fix or replace the trucks, so please refrain from doing it. Sand for the residents of Hampton will be available at the sand barn by the town garage, please don’t go to the sand pile for sand as we will be in and out with our trucks and loader and we don’t want anyone to get hurt

COUNTY UPDATES

After 32 years, the County Administrator, Kevin Hayes will retire on December 30th, Kevin has contributed immensely to the county and we extend our thanks and best wishes to him. His knowledge and expertise will be missed.

The new County Administrator, Chris DeBoldt, has been working for the past four months and will be ready to step into his new role in January,

The County Budget has been adopted.  The budget saw an increase in the Tax Levy of about 1.5%.  With this budget the county has increased road paving bringing it closer to what should be paved annually.  In addition, the County Superintendent has implemented new methods to improve the road system and hopefully extend the life of the roads.

PUBLIC HEARING ON CEMETERIES

On December 16th at 7:00 PM the Town Board will be having a Public Hearing on the Hampton Cemeteries.  Over the past few months the Town Board has been discussing allowing cremation burials in three of the cemeteries and full burials in the Hampton Flats Cemetery. As Municipal Cemeteries all jurisdiction of these cemeteries is governed by the Hampton Town Board.  They are not subject to any state or county laws.  We have done substantial research on the cemeteries and feel this is a logical way to proceed and we would like to solicit your input before moving forward.

We have been considering this due to interest from several Hampton residents on being buried where they grew up.  Additionally, the revenue from the sale of burial plots will help fund the maintenance of cemeteries and the repair of headstones.

The Miller and Warren Cemeteries have room for cremation burials.  The Hampton Flats Cemetery appears to be about half vacant with half possessing no headstones or visual signs of burials.  We have had people familiar with cemeteries inspect the land and they also believe there has been no usage.   We have made provisions to further inspect burial lots as they are sold.  There is also a possibility of expansion of the Miller Cemetery through a donation of land.

With the help of Alternative Sentencing straightening of the headstones has begun.  This will be a process which will take several months as some of the work needs to be done when ground conditions are beneficial.

CHANGE IN TOWN BOARD MEMBERS 

Town Board Member Dave Jensen will end his elected term on December 31st.  Roger Weeden will be sworn in as the newest Town Board Member on January 2nd.  We would like to thank Dave for his contributions to the Town Board.  There are no other changes to the Town Officials.

2016 ADOPTED BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

The Town’s 2016 Budget saw a minimal increase of 0.7% in the amount to be raised by taxes.  The increase was directly due to an increase in Fire Protection Contracts.  The Town benefited both by attention to expenditures which led to larger than normal expended balance and by a change by the Town Supervisors in the way the Washington County Sales Tax Revenue is distributed. Through a combination of these two items the town has been able to make a one-time contribution to the Highway Equipment Fund of $15,000.

Highlights of the 2016 Town of Hampton Budget are as shown below.

GENERAL FUND – The amount to be raised by taxes for expenditures in the General Fund decreased by $2,681.

HIGHWAY FUND – The amount to be raised by taxes increased by $800.  A contribution to the Highway Equipment Fund of $22,500 will be funded by Sales Tax Revenue and Unexpended Funds from the Highway Fund.  All other budgeted expenditures showed little change from 2015.

The only significant increase is $3,822 to fund Contracts for Fire Protection District 1 and 2.  In total the amount to be raised by taxes increased by only $1,961.  If you have any questions I would be more than happy to review the entire budget with you.

Supervisors Corner