LIBERTY - At the January 8 meeting of the Village of Liberty board of trustees, the board approved sending a representative with town attorney Gary Silver to meet with Town of Liberty officials to finalize a water service agreement. The New York State Department of Health recommends that in the event of a water shortage, municipalities have a mechanism for sharing water resources.

Also on the agenda was the renovation of the Liberty Theater on Main Street. According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, renovations such as this fall under New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), which “requires all state and local government agencies to consider environmental impacts equally with social and economic factors during discretionary decision-making.” After the board passed a resolution to act as the lead agency, village attorney, Gary Silver, read aloud the SEQR worksheet, allowing for board discussion and input. Able to answer “no” to all of the questions regarding any negative environmental impact the renovation of the theater would have on the community, the board approved the SEQR negative declaration for Liberty Theater. This allows the renovations to move forward.

Dave Ohman, of Delaware Engineering, provided updates on village water projects. The Waste Water Treatment Plant clarifier #1 reconstruction is complete. Funding for that project was through a 2015 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) of $599,830. The village has been turned down for a CDBG grant for clarifier #2 reconstruction, but may re-submit for the next round of grants.

Work continues on the Columbia Street sewer main. A leak was discovered in September 2017 under the eroded footing of the Town of Liberty bridge on Columbia Street off North Main Street. TAM Enterprises has been working on the project since September. Among other repairs, a new aluminized corrugated steel culvert pipe will be installed under the bridge. The board is considering a bond resolution for the repairs on Columbia Street.

In new business, the board discussed the need for a new code enforcement vehicle. The current vehicle is not useable, and the village's code enforcement officer, Pam Winters, is being paid mileage on a personal vehicle until a replacement vehicle is purchased by the village. Board discussion centered around concerns regarding whether or not a 4-wheel drive vehicle is necessary. The board will continue to investigate local options, including state bids.

Mayor Ron Stabak stressed the need for fiscal restraint, reminding the board of the recent expenses of repairing water line breaks in the village.

The board approved continuation of their contract with Partners in Safety to provide mandated drug testing of employees. It was noted that there are no rate changes in the new contract.