North Harmony officials are investigating changes to the town’s dog shelter.

Robert Yates, town supervisor, told board members at the Oct. 15 board meeting that the existing dog shelter had been investigated by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and received an unsatisfactory rating because there was no electricity, heat and no written shelter contract between the shelter and the town.

John Stow, town dog control officer, was asked if he wanted to move the shelter to Stow’s home, and Stow said he did not. Stow was renting property referred to as the Mitchell property to serve as the dog shelter. Another option was to move the shelter to the town highway building, though that solution was not preferable to Dan Strickland, town highway supervisor. The final option is to contract with the Chautauqua County Humane Society.

The North Harmony dog shelter has never boarded more than 10 dogs in a year in recent memory, with nine dogs in 2015, seven dogs in 2016, one dog in 2017, five in 2018 and two through mid-October 2019. Stow said he has been able to adopt out most of the dogs that have been held in the shelter at a profit to the town. There were some instances when Stow kept a dog at the town shelter longer than required in attempts to get the dogs adopted while the Humane Society has taken some dogs Stow couldn’t get adopted at no cost to the town.

A formal contract with the Humane Society will cost the town, though town officials don’t know how much yet. Yates asked Stow to put together numbers

Work is continuing on the new North Harmony town building, with steel beams for the structure set in early October. Yates told board members that construction meetings were being scheduled, though a Clerk of the Works had not been needed on the project through mid October.

Board members also unanimously approved submitting a grant request to the state Unified Court System not to exceed $30,000 for materials, equipment, furniture, supplies and training for the North Harmony Town Court. Howard Peacock, town justice, said the town may know if it receives grant funding before Jan. 1.

Town officials continue to discuss a water service agreement between the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, BOCES and the Sunrise Cove Association in North Harmony. Pump repair at Sunset Cove was still being worked on through mid-October, though there is also a financial issue because the association can’t spend its money on a pump that doesn’t belong to the association. The special district tax line for Sunset Cove will need to be increased to pay for the work. Yates said BOCES officials are considering paying its share of the repair up front, which would keep the town from having to raise taxes as much in its next budget. The issue will also have to be worked into the BPU contract for water and sewer services.

Strickland told board members the town has received communication from the state Department of Environmental Conservation regarding Drake Forest Road. Depending on which map one reads, the road is referred to either as Drake Road, Goodrich Road, “abandoned road,” “highway,” or Eggleston Hill Road Extension. DEC officials are asking the town to abandon the road, which Strickland said is basically a dirt track that no one remembers the town ever maintaining. The DEC is doing work on beaver populations in the area and wants the town to abandon the road so it can apply for funding.

The town would have to pass a resolution to abandon the road at a public hearing and then file the resolution with the Chautauqua County Clerk’s office. The abandonment could affect roughly 2,937 feet, according to Nancy Thomas, town clerk.

Dave Stapleton, town attorney, suggested the town inspect the property, give notice to all the neighbors and then schedule a public hearing to discuss it.

Strickland said the issue has been discussed with neighboring property owners, neither of whom opposed abandoning the road. Stapleton said the town should act cautiously, particularly if there is confusion over who actually owns the road.