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General News: COVAC Discussed at January Board Meeting
January 10, 2013
The first Cornwall Town Board work session of the new year was attended by a number of citizens eager to speak their mind on the COVAC issue. Last month, the board voted no three to two on a resolution to allow COVAC to begin billing for its services, an outcome which surprised some board members and angered several Cornwall residents and COVAC volunteers.
During the public comment period of the meeting, Al Mazzocca, one of the board members who voted down the resolution, stated that Cornwall has “the finest volunteer ambulance corps in this area and beyond,” clarifying that he was not against COVAC, but did object to the proposed billing procedure.
Mr. Mazzocca also responded to the “caustic remarks” made in the wake of December’s vote, citing the fact that he and the other board members would have “less take home pay” than they had last year. These remarks were made in response to accusations that the board was willing it give itself a raise but not willing to support COVAC.
Town Board member Randy Clark, who had been surprised by the outcome of the vote in December, said, “I don’t know what plan B is,” expressing his belief that billing was the plan he had assumed the board would be ready to move forward with.
Former Supervisor Randazzo weighed in on the subject, stating that the Town is “at a crossroads” on this issue. He provided some background on COVAC to contextualize the issue, and asked everyone to consider “whether the Town of Cornwall. . . wants to remain in the ambulance business.”
Citizens and COVAC members also spoke passionately on the subject, reminding the board that COVAC is not merely a “transportation service.” The dedication of the volunteers saves lives, and because the members of COVAC know the area well, they can be more helpful than a commercial ambulance service.
The Board was urged to work on this issue diligently.
As the meeting progressed to other business, most of the people in attendance left. Although some audience members objected, the board took the advice of Steve Gaba and went into closed session to discuss the progress of 2 Mill Street, citing the fact that they may need to discuss litigation.
Update 1/10/13: The board is considering litigation regarding 2 Mill St. due to failure to comply with fire debris cleanup. As of this week, 2 Mill St. began asbestos removal and invited Gary Vinson to come by and see the work in progress.
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