Sterling Town Board Approves Phone Switch, Building Repairs, New Highway Hire

Town Board · Meeting of March 23, 2026

Sterling Town Board votes to ditch Frontier phones, approve major town hall repairs, and hire a highway worker. The board voted unanimously at its March 23 meeting to switch town hall's phone service to Spectrum at $420 a month, saving roughly $125 monthly over the current Frontier rate of $544.90, after Town Clerk Tanya reported chronic outages were causing residents to show up in person to pay taxes after being unable to reach staff by phone. The board also approved a roughly $51,505 contract with Pace for new windows and a door at town hall, selecting the bid over a competing offer from Eric Nurse Construction partly because of a lifetime warranty, and authorized Great Lakes Heating and Air Solutions to overhaul the building's failing attic ductwork at approximately $11,500.

Supervisor Andrew Joyce read into the record a letter from Red Creek Central School District Superintendent Matthew Benwin reporting that annual electricity costs have surged from $395,000 in 2024 to nearly $700,000 this year, and the board agreed to co-sign advocacy letters to state legislators, NYSERDA, and the governor. The board also voted to hire Greg Webster as a Highway Motor Equipment Operator effective March 23.

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Source: the Town Board meeting of March 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.