Village: we do not regulate coin drops

By Derek Liebig

 

Coin drops were once again a topic of discussion at last week’s village board meeting.

The village board of trustees received an appeal from the Whitehall Youth League requesting permission to host a coin drop on Aug. 13 and 14 on state Route 4. The board declined to make a ruling on the request on the advice of village attorney Erikca Seller-Ryan.

She said that since the village does not currently regulate coin drops they don’t have to grant permission.

Although, Tony Jordan told Mayor Peter Telisky last month that he could find nothing that prohibits coin drops from being held within the village since they have the authority to regulate the use of highways under municipal home law, they were also told it may be a good idea to develop a set of regulations governing coin drops.

Seller-Ryan and Jordan have been working with the village to develop that set of regulations but have yet to finish the project. Until that time, the village will not rule on coin drops, officials said.

Last month the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company presented the village with a request to hold their own coin drop, but the village chose not to make a decision on the request as well.

However, under General Obligations Law if the village doesn’t approve or deny the request within 30 days of receiving it, then the fire department can move forward with their plans to hold a coin drop.

Because the village received the youth league’s request less than 30 days before the proposed date of the coin drop, the law doesn’t apply in this situation.

“The fire department’s request is a different situation,” Seller-Ryan said.

 The board passed a resolution to review and file the youth league’s request.

In other matters, the board approved a motion to authorize the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company to operate a youth program.

Although the WVFC has operated a youth program in the past, village trustee Ken Bartholomew was concerned that the village may have not formally approved the program and could be liable for any injuries that could occur in unauthorized activities.

The motion was approved unanimously.

The board decided to delay any action on the fountain in Riverside Veteran’s Memorial Park until next year.

Public Works Superintendent Don Williams presented the board with two options: fix the fountain, or fill it in with soil and plant flowers.

Williams told the board the cost to fix the fountain could be several thousand dollars and would essentially exhaust the park’s budget for the remainder of the year and would also likely prevent them from purchasing new benches as had been planned.

Village trustee Walt Sanford asked if it would be possible to paint the inside of the fountain with a Rhino Liner or other polymer based sealant, but Williams said he didn’t think it would be effective.

The board ruled out turning the fountain into a flower garden because most said they would like to see it return to its original glory and filling it with dirt and then removing that dirt next spring would create unnecessary labor.

The board is expected to revisit the matter in the spring.

The board also received a letter from Brian Gosselin with the Northern Sasquatch Research Society requesting access to the Pine Lake property to search for evidence of Big Foot.

The group wrote that the area has a history of Big Foot related sightings, including a foot print in the 1970’s.

The board denied the group’s request, citing past practice. Last year a group of hunters and fisherman wanted to access the property but were denied.