ELDRED, NY— There were no outward surprises at the Town of Highland board reorganizational meeting. Town of Highland judge Anthony LaRuffa swore in town clerk Sue Hoffman, supervisor Jeff Haas and councilmember Chris Tambini. Each vowed to support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of New York, and faithfully discharge the duties of their respective office and the Town of Highland to the best of their abilities. Most appointments were routine, although the designation of the Scenic Byway representative and alternate are on hold due to correspondence received that the board had not reviewed. Additionally, the town did not designate the town historian, saying that Peter Barnes was interested and other “younger” people had expressed interest in the position as well.

In the workshop that followed, the board was informed that a letter of resignation had been received from code enforcement officer Jim Hansen.

“We no longer have a part-time/full-time code enforcement officer,” Haas said, while noting the former code enforcement officer Dave Preston was working on a per-diem basis. “We have come up with a plan to interview a contractual agency to come and do our code enforcement either on a temporary basis or a full-time basis. The town attorney is in the process of setting that meeting up.”

The issue was to be discussed at the regular town board meeting on January 11.

“We will have to make a decision fairly quickly. Thank God it happened this time of year,” Haas said.

In other business, the board heard Chris Tambini, a newly elected councilperson and president of the Highland Ambulance Service, report that negotiations are complete with American Legion Post 1363.

“Papers have been signed. We have acquired the ambulances, durable goods, and medical supplies; everything we need to operate the service,” he said. The new corps also received a cash settlement and small grant.

“Everything is moving and everything is been filed,” Tambini said. “It’s quite an undertaking, but it is moving.”

Want to catch up on coverage of the Highland ambulance district? See the stories below:

Busy Highland meeting

A new—and old—volunteer ambulance corps for Highland

Ambulance district formed—fingers crossed on equipment negotiations

Town board inks contract with Highland Ambulance