Tonight (2018-05-14) was a meeting of the Mendon Town Board.
As the Board members went through their communications, it struck me how much stuff there was. Nearly all of it small things, but the quantity of it was impressive.
One of those items was the potential re-purposing of the ‘Old’ Library on Monroe St. As a roof replacement/mold removal is already planned, the question becomes ‘what to do with the building next’. The idea that is being explored is turning it into a rec center. What exactly that would entail, and even if it is worth while, was not covered. All that came up tonight was how one Board member is exploring the possibilities.
Narcan came up again, as it has at various other meetings. The new twist is the recommendation from the county that all defibrillators have Narcan stored with them. Nice idea, but if we are going to go that direction, might as well make it a full first aid kit (that happens to include a defibrillator and Narcan). I still find it ironic that a problem of ‘too many drugs’ has a solution of ‘even more drugs’.
Apparently, Roosters (or at least the noise they make) has become a problem in the Town. While no decision was made tonight, the Board is considering the impact of changing the zoning code so that Rooster are limited by acreage, not zoning district. Might help down the road, but any existing rooster would likely be ‘pre-existing non-conforming’ (AKA, grandfathered).
For those of you that have kids (or are kids) in the Town of Mendon, you may be glad to know the Town has agreed to continue subsidizing Summer Recreation through the school. Sounds like the cost to campers has gone up, mostly due to increase in minimum wage.
The Town settled a property assessment disagreement with the owners of Pinehurst (Episcopal SeniorLife Communities). Part of this agreement is that one third of the value be considered a charity. While that was nice to know, it was the explanation of taxes that was more interesting. Each budget season (tomorrow for the school district) a total levy amount is approved. That amount is what will be collected from the tax payers. The assessment only matters in deciding how that tax is distributed. So if your property assessment goes up, but the average goes up more, you may end up paying less in taxes. While I like the idea of a more direct ‘pay x per thousand of value’ system, I can see value to the levy system. Unfortunately, it feels like it can be abused and/or misleading. Still, probably the best way to do what is inherently unpleasant (paying taxes).
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the May 14, 2018 meeting of the Mendon Town Board.
Link to agenda on Town website until they update it, losing the past.
Link to agenda stored on this site, for when the town lose their copy.