VB Meeting 5.8.12 [Audio]

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Ice In May In The Bay

Town Of Alexandria Municipal Arena located in the Village of Alex Bay has had an extended season this year.  Ice was available in September and continues till May 18th.  Bobby Cantwell from Clayton was kind enough to give me a quick sound byte on  what he thinks about the late season ice.  Don't Forget about the Bumper Cars

Alexandria Negotiations?

Town Of Alexandria:

This audio clip is from the Town Board Meeting held on 5.9.12.  A brief discussion of the appointment of 2 councilman to act on behalf of  the board and negotiate with the Teamsters Union that represents the Town Employees. Supervisor Hunneyman accepted volunteers Councilmen Durand and Sweet.  Town Clerk Peck mentions a possible conflict of allowing Durand to negotiate because he has more than one relative that belongs to that collective bargaining unit. Durand even questions if it is ok?  Under advice of council, J. Russell gives it the ok by saying that  If you live in this town you've got relatives. 

The following is from the Town of Alexandria Code of Ethics that was adopted on 3.14.12.  Seems cut and dry to me.  Maybe everyone did not get a chance to read it?  I am sure the argument can be made that I am misinterpreting this.  If that is the case, then who am I to argue? Just a taxpayer.


Section 7. Recusal and abstenation

(a)   No municipal officer or employee may participate in any decision or take any official action with respect to any matter requiring the exercise of discretion, including discussing the matter and voting on it, when he or she knows or has reason to know that the action confers direct or indirect financial or material benefit on himself, or herself, a relative[s]......

(b)   In the event that this section prohibits a municipal officer or employee from exercising or performing a power or duty:


        (1) if the power or duty vested in a municipal officer as member of board, then the power or  duty   shall  be  exercised  or performed by the other members of the board

The Shadows In The Cave Series

The Shadows were a local band from the early 90's.  They are Phil 'Crush' DuMond, Tommy "Gunn" O'Riley, and David "The Knappster" Knapp. They found themselves brought together for a brief 2 night reunion.  Also featured in these videos are John Meyers and D.J. Rogers.  Collectively I call them my friends, which is a rare commodity these days!

This "suite" of videos are raw and gritty.  The lighting is poor and my camera does not do well in low lighting.  I have tried to compensate for the dimness with some filters in my editing software. They are still a representation of what I saw in the musicians cave on the nights I recorded them.  The band members are practicing, rehearsing new songs, sometimes they hit the notes while other times they seem to be searching for the harmonies.  I never judge them when they miss  because I know they will keep trying till they make those harmonies perfect.  

Some musicians have huge egos which I do not care about capturing.  That is always the downside of recording bands.....individuals trying to outdo the others in the band or not even caring about what the audience wants.  Unfortunately those types are blind to this point and will be wondering who I am referring to.   You won't see much of the ego thing with this group of guys.  But it does exist with some and it is not pretty.

If I wanted MTV style videos, then I would have set up the lighting with multiple camera angles and digital audio recording.  What I was really after was just a quick glimpse into musicians practicing, with all the mistakes that go with it.  After all, you only see the final perfect package when the band steps onto the stage to perform.  I hope you enjoy watching these behind the scenes videos.  They are from my perspective and are still life paintings that have come alive using the medium of video.

Zero Increase in Alex Bay Tax Rate

Alexandria Bay:

Despite tough economic times, on 4.30.12  the village board adopted a budget with a zero percent increase from last years budget.  The tax rate is the same at $7.9218 per $1000 of assessed property value.

One of the many Budget Workshops

According to Mayor Jury this is the first year the board as a whole has sat down with pencils, worksheets, and calculators. We were given worksheets and  the board plugged in numbers, we erased them and changed them.  But in previous years this [Already Prepared Budget from the Treasurer] is what you got and you read through it and that was it.  This is the first time we [the board, the treasurer, and clerk] have put a budget together.

The Budget hearing was held on 4.25.12 and it lasted about 35 minutes.  Myself and two others attended.  Some questions were asked and promptly answered.  The board had a daunting task preparing this budget as it came on the heels of an audit from the NYS Comptrollers office that found deficiencies in board oversight and an abnormally large excess of reserves in village accounts.  Mayor Jury, the trustees, and the village treasurer are still working to reconcile the auditors findings. Mayor Jury assured us that they will continue working until all the village finances and bookkeeping  are in alignment.

The following audio clip is from the budget hearing.  It is an edited version with highlights from that hearing.  I increased the speed of the clip because of long pauses between questions. To listen to the unedited clip, click here.