Village board ups meeting schedule
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - The Bath village board this month will begin doubling the number of its regular monthly meetings - from one to two - in the aftermath of its recent dissolution of the Bath Public Utility Commission.

The board, overseen by Mayor David Wallace, will meet at 6 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month, with the June 2 meeting to focus on village matters outside Bath Electric Gas and Water Systems, the public utility previously overseen by the now-defunct commission.

Village board members will focus on the operations of BEGWS during their second meeting of the month.

All the same, the board is not obligated under law to keep the two governmental realms separate. According to the village clerk's office, trustees and the mayor may consider the operations of BEGWS during their regular board meeting; general village matters may also arise during the meeting held to focus on BEGWS.

The upcoming Monday meeting will focus on general village business, village Clerk Shirley Sowersby said last week, with the June 16 meeting to focus on BEGWS. However, beginning in July, the first Monday's meeting will focus on BEGWS, with village business to be reviewed on the third Monday.

Matthew Benesh, director of utilities for BEGWS, is out of town and cannot attend this week's meeting, Sowersby noted.

Village trustees last month voted 3-1 to dissolve the 76- year-old Public Utility Commission, with Wallace asserting he personally had lost confidence in the Commission's ability to oversee BEGWS. Village trustees, who traditionally have approved the appointment of Commission members, will assume the responsibility of directly overseeing the public utility company.

Wallace cited several reasons for his dissatisfaction with the Public Utility Commission, including labor issues and unresolved questions regarding how BEGWS would pay for a multimilliondollar upgrade of its electric infrastructure.