TOWN OF NIAGARA – The annual road repair season should begin at the end of the month with work on four of the worst roads in town.
Highway Superintendent Robert Herman told the Town Board Thursday that he expects to start April 22 on Homestead and Richmond roads and then move on to Third and Fourth avenues.
All four roads, which intersect near the busy commercial strip of Military Road, were deemed to be “in the most need” of any in town, Herman said.
The roads, which take a beating because of traffic from the Fashion Outlet Mall of Niagara and the nearby Super Walmart, will be completely repaved and Homestead will be widened and made into a two-way road. Herman said congestion on Richmond and Homestead, which now leads away from Military, would be alleviated during peak periods once a two-way flow is in place.
Work on all four roads is targeted to cost about $368,000 of the highway fund this year, according to the discussion. Herman noted about $50,000 is left from 2013.
In May, he said he would put together a plan for the rest of the roads in town and would include some in each area, such as Belden Center.
However, he cautioned that he did not want to spend money unwisely by paving roads that would be soon dug up for sewer and water line work.
In a related issue, Supervisor Steven Richards asked Herman to begin the bid process to purchase a hot box mix transporter used for repaving materials and a leaf collector. Herman said he would turn over the specifications to the town attorney following the work session.
The equipment is expected to cost approximately $60,000 to $75,000, and would be funded with money the town received last month from BFI Waste Systems following an audit of garbage tonnage brought to the municipal waste landfill. The audit found the company owed the town about $154,000.
In another matter, an updated code of ethics for town employees will be sent to the ethics board for review.
Councilman Rob Clark said he went through the code used by the state and it included a number of items missing in the version adopted by the town in 1970.
Town Attorney Michael Risman, who is expected to review the code, said the new version would have to include a disclosure statement in which elected officials and department heads would have to list assets and financial holdings of themselves and family members.
The information would be used to determine possible conflicts of interest, he said.
Because of the highly confidential nature of the information, Councilman Danny Sklarski noted that the board would need to establish safeguards to protect the privacy of those involved.
Richards said he had to fill out a similar form as a member of the Niagara County Sewer Board.
Highway Superintendent Robert Herman told the Town Board Thursday that he expects to start April 22 on Homestead and Richmond roads and then move on to Third and Fourth avenues.
All four roads, which intersect near the busy commercial strip of Military Road, were deemed to be “in the most need” of any in town, Herman said.
The roads, which take a beating because of traffic from the Fashion Outlet Mall of Niagara and the nearby Super Walmart, will be completely repaved and Homestead will be widened and made into a two-way road. Herman said congestion on Richmond and Homestead, which now leads away from Military, would be alleviated during peak periods once a two-way flow is in place.
Work on all four roads is targeted to cost about $368,000 of the highway fund this year, according to the discussion. Herman noted about $50,000 is left from 2013.
In May, he said he would put together a plan for the rest of the roads in town and would include some in each area, such as Belden Center.
However, he cautioned that he did not want to spend money unwisely by paving roads that would be soon dug up for sewer and water line work.
In a related issue, Supervisor Steven Richards asked Herman to begin the bid process to purchase a hot box mix transporter used for repaving materials and a leaf collector. Herman said he would turn over the specifications to the town attorney following the work session.
The equipment is expected to cost approximately $60,000 to $75,000, and would be funded with money the town received last month from BFI Waste Systems following an audit of garbage tonnage brought to the municipal waste landfill. The audit found the company owed the town about $154,000.
In another matter, an updated code of ethics for town employees will be sent to the ethics board for review.
Councilman Rob Clark said he went through the code used by the state and it included a number of items missing in the version adopted by the town in 1970.
Town Attorney Michael Risman, who is expected to review the code, said the new version would have to include a disclosure statement in which elected officials and department heads would have to list assets and financial holdings of themselves and family members.
The information would be used to determine possible conflicts of interest, he said.
Because of the highly confidential nature of the information, Councilman Danny Sklarski noted that the board would need to establish safeguards to protect the privacy of those involved.
Richards said he had to fill out a similar form as a member of the Niagara County Sewer Board.