Last week we held our 2024 Organizational Town Board meeting.  A link to the video of this meeting is available on our website at https://www.townofjayny.gov/meeting-minutes/ .  I discussed the new proposed Verizon cell tower in the hamlet of Jay on Jay Fire District property.  This is hopefully the first of several cell tower locations around the Town of Jay to increase coverage to our residents.  A huge Thank You to Verizon for hearing our pleas of the importance of cell coverage to our rural community.  I also gave an update on the construction kickoff meeting that was held for the ADA upgrades at the Community Center.  The construction should begin over the next few weeks and be finished by the end of the summer.  As part of the Clean Energy Communities program, we qualify for a free CEC energy study.  This qualifies us for a $10,000 grant to implement suggested improvements to the Community Center.

My committee assignments were announced this week as part of the Essex County Board of Supervisors.  I am continuing on the Human Services committee and have been added to the Public Safety, Public Works, and Legislative/Intergovernmental committees.  I am also Vice Chairman of the EMS Services subcommittee and on the Buildings and Grounds subcommittee.  I will continue to be an ex officio board member of ROOST and an Essex County Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) board member.  I will work hard in these positions to strengthen Essex County and the Town of Jay.

This month during the Essex County Economic Development committee meeting, Essex County CCE discussed two opportunities I thought might be of interest to Town of Jay residents.  On February 21 and 22, in conjunction with Clinton County CCE, they will be offering a babysitting course for youth 12-years-old and older.  The second opportunity is for 4-H youth, age 6 and up, to have an opportunity to learn to ski at Whiteface for free on February 11.  If you are not a current 4-H member, you can sign up and find more information for both of these programs by calling the Essex County CCE office in Lewis at 518-962-4810.

I also wanted to inform you about upcoming community forums for the proposed AVCS Capital Project.  There will be a forum in the Town of Jay at the Au Sable Forks Elementary School on January 23rd at 6:00 PM.  For more information, check out: https://avcs.org/capital-project-2023/

Hope you have a great week,

Matt.