October 2009 Monthly Announcements

1.  Salary Survey - The salary survey was mailed out the first week of September.  A copy of the completed information was sent to the Supervisor or Mayor as well as the municipal clerks. If anyone wants a copy, please contact your circuit rider.

2.   NOCCOG Annual Meeting & Dinner - Notices for NOCCOG's 26th Annual Meeting and Dinner scheduled for Thursday, October 22nd at the Franklin Hotel, Rome have been mailed out.  The social hour will start at 6:00, followed by the dinner at 7:00 .Our annual meeting which will include the presentation of the 2009 NOCCOG proposed budget and election of officers for the NOCCOG Executive Board. John Bartow , Executive Director of the NYS Tug Hill Commission will be speaking about the results of the Tug Hill Community Surveys and Forums held earlier this year and what the results show for the residents for the NOCCOG communities.  The cost for the dinner is $19.00.  Reservations are due on Friday, October 16 by contacting Gerry Ritter at 392-2260.

3.  Fall Workshops for NYS Archives Records Management - The following workshops are being offered in the region:

            CNY Electronic Records Symposium -The NYS Archives and New York Association of Local Government Records Officers is proud to invite you to the CNY eRecords Symposium to be held at the Clay Town Hall,   4401 State Rte. 31, Clay  8:30- 4:00 on  Wednesday, October 21, 2009. This day-long event will feature a broad range of topics of value to creators, users and managers of electronic records in their many varieties. The symposium is free and open to all local and state government officials.    

            LGRMIF Grant Application Information Session -The purpose of this information session is to review the LGRMIF application guidelines and instructions for 2010 and to learn how to write a strong grant proposal. Examples of successful applications are examined and analyzed. The session will be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 9:00- 1:00 at the Marcy Town Hall, 8801 Paul Becker Road,  Marcy.

You may register for any of these workshops by calling Denise Russo at the regional office in Utica at 315-793-2780 or by going to the NYS Archives website and registering online the link to all workshops being offered in CNY Region 5 is: http://iarchives.nysed.gov/WorkShops/workshopsServlet?owner=LG&cat=05.  You will receive a confirmation letter one week prior to the workshop.

Also if you are interested in applying for a 2010 NYS Archives grant, you need to contact the Region 5, RAO, Kent Stuetz to set up an appointment to discuss the project ASAP. Grants are due 2/1/10.    Kent can be reached by contacting the regional office at 793-2780 or by email at kstuetz@mail.nysed.gov.  If you want NOCCOG or the Tug Hill Commission‘s assistance in writing the grant, please contact us as well.

4.  ATV'S & Snowmobiles on Municipal Property and Roadways - October 15th from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Redfield Fire Hall, representatives from New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR) will hold a training session regarding the use of ATVs and snowmobiles on municipal property and roadways. Participants can expect to learn about ATV and Snowmobile Law and what those laws say about how a municipality designates roads for ATV and snowmobile use. The training will also cover recent court rulings, best practices for designating roads for ATV and snowmobile use, and risk transfer (using the clubs to groom trails).

 Please register by contacting the Tug Hill Commission at 1-888-785-2380.

5.  NYSERDA Program - The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) recently announced two new grant programs to advance energy efficiency and conservation.  This is in addition to existing programs that you may have heard about previously.  Every town and village received information in the mail the first week of August from the Tug Hill Commission about these programs:
Existing NYSERDA programs: Small Energy Audit Program and  FlexTech Program

New NYSERDA programs: Program Opportunity Notice 4 (PON 4) for Energy Conservation Studies and PON 1613 for implementing energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean fleet projects

Funding for the two new programs is being provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).   PON 1613 funds are to be used to implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean fleet projects. If you have already had an energy audit this program will provide funds to implement the recommendations.  Applicants may request up to 100% of the project cost, up to $1 million per proposer (cap of $500,000 for clean fleet projects). Deadlines for grant applications are October 26th, December 21st, and February 16th, unless all funding is allocated before the final deadline. Please let us know ASAP if you are interested in taking part in one of these programs.

6. Planner's Corner on THC Website - The planning department of the Tug Hill Commission now has a "planner's corners" on the commission's website:   http://tughill.org/.  To access the planner's corner, go to the top of the home page on the web site and click on the link under Planning Board Basics. Posted is all the information presented at a recent Planning Board Basics workshop in Central Square.  This includes the power point by Phil Street and Jean Waterbury, information about the sub division review process, technical checklist for use in subdivision review, model public hearing notice, Ag data statement examples,  information about the site plan review process, information about SEQRA, etc.

If approved by the local governing, the review of this information by Planning Board and ZBA members can count towards yearly credits.

                                                             Email addresses:

Gjriiter01@aol.com or gerryritternoccog@frontiernet.net