Franklin County holds hearing on proposed change to highway-defect filing rule

The Franklin County Legislature held a public hearing on March 2, 2023, to consider Local Law 1 of 2023, a proposed amendment to Local Law 5 of 1982 that would affect where notice of a highway defect must be filed before a civil action can be maintained.

Penny A. Premo, clerk of the Franklin County Legislature, read the legal notice and participation instructions, saying, “Citizens are invited to attend by person or by WebEx and have the right to provide written and oral comments and suggestions.” She also advised the legislature that no written comments had been received before the hearing.

County Manager Donna Kissane and County Attorney Janelle LaVigne summarized the substantive changes explained to the legislature: the filing requirement would be changed from the county superintendent of highways to the Franklin County Clerk, and a new Section II would state that Franklin County’s local law supersedes New York Highway Law §139, Subdivision 1. Chairman Edward Lockwood opened the hearing to public comment; no members of the public spoke, and he closed the hearing at 10:08 A.M.

The hearing notice directed residents to the county website for the proposed Local Law 1 of 2023 (Departments → Administrative → Board of Legislature → Documents → Local Laws 2023) and provided contact information for the clerk’s office for submitting written comments before March 2, 2023. The notice also included a WebEx meeting number (23012695249) and a password (A8Acwaysk38).

No formal vote or final action on the proposed local law is recorded in the hearing transcript. The transcript records that all members were present with all districts represented except that one legislator, Martin, had briefly stepped out of the room. Next procedural steps, including any legislative vote date, were not specified in the hearing record.