Van Etten Mayor, Trustees to Seek Re-election

The Village of Van Etten Fire Department currently has a machine to make reflective green address signs. Fire Chief Scott Rodman told the village Board of Trustees that the department will finish the signs that have already been ordered, then may go door to door offering signs to other residents.

Until recently the department as been relying on a neighboring municipality for the signs, which make it easier for emergency services to locate addresses. A single-sided sign costs $15 and double-sided is $18.

The board set March 18 as election day for the village. Voting will take place from noon until 9 p.m. Two trustee positions and the mayorship are open and current mayor James Ammack and trustees James Loomis and John Sandusky plan to run for re-election. Each person seeking a position must have a petition signed by 10 residents submitted to the village by February 10. The village will not be holding a voter registration day this year.

The Town of Van Etten court finished out the year with 406 charges brought, though Town Justice Jack Wiiki said additional charges from December 31 may have not reached his attention yet. Of all the charges in 2008, 341 were for traffic violations and the sheriff continued to issue more tickets than the state police in December. Nearly $32,000 from fines was submitted to the state, more than twice the amount for 2007.

The board received a letter of complaint and disappointment from J&M General Contractor, who was hired to do work on a fire station bathroom. The contractor requested the $4,000 balance due on the bill be paid before January 10 and expressed his disappointment that the village has dragged its feet in paying him.

Ammack presented photos of the bathroom to board members, demonstrating cracks in the walls and other problems. In addition to the cracks, which are allowing water under the tiling, it is reported that the drain does not work properly, the sink is not the correct size and the re-laid floor creaks. Because of these issues the board decided to meet with the contractor to discuss the “unsatisfactory” work and not pay the balance at the moment.

The village completed its water testing for 2008, which required samples to be taken in June and December. Twenty samples were sent for analysis last month to test for levels of lead and copper. Initial tests show no problems, said Carol Lent, trustee.

The number of calls to the fire department dropped slightly in 2008. The department received a total of 148 calls, mostly for emergency medical services (EMS) with only around 30 calls for fire.

Rodman told board members that six people are interested in EMS training but he would like to change how the process works. In the past, interested parties had to purchase EMS training books and would be reimbursed by the village if they passed the test. Because many people are struggling financially at the moment Rodman proposed purchasing the books with money from the department’s training budget. The board agreed with the idea.

Trustees are looking into the possibility of allowing residents to use colored trash bags instead of the currently-required clear bags. The rule may change because of the difficulty of finding adequately sized clear bags. Board members also wanted to let the public know that paper recycling put out in plastic bags (instead of paper) will still be taken by the collectors.

The village planning board will hold a public meeting to discuss the comprehensive plan at 7 p.m. on January 12 in the village hall.

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