Massena Town Board approves organizational slate, contracts and appointments at Jan. 2 meeting
January 02, 2026 | Massena, St. Lawrence County, New York
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The Massena Town Board convened an organizational meeting and public hearing on Jan. 2, 2026, at 3:30 PM at Massena Town Hall and confirmed its leadership, committee liaisons and a series of routine contracts and appointments for the year.
Supervisor Raymond Lancto presided as the board administered oaths of office to Town Justice Joseph Brown, Supervisor Raymond Lancto, council members Jared Hollander and Adrian Taraska, and Town Clerk Joni M. Bigness. The board appointed Sam Carbone to fill the remainder of an unexpired one-year term and designated him deputy supervisor.
The board ratified committee and liaison assignments across library, recreation, Massena Electric, museum/culture center, chamber of commerce, planning, zoning, highway, airport and other committees. It also set regular meetings for the third Wednesday of each month at 4:30 PM through December 2026.
By unanimous roll-call votes, the board approved a series of resolutions including: appointment of Eric Gustafson as the town attorney with a retainer rate of $165 per hour; adoption of a new policy on employee-related FOIL releases; renewal of the town dog control policy; designation of the town supervisor as the compliance officer; and designation of North Country This Week, Advance News or the Watertown Daily Times as the town’s official newspapers for legal notices.
The board also authorized official banks (NBT Bank; Community Bank, Massena; and NYCLASS) and designated authorized signatories, with two signatures required on checks. Contracts and renewals authorized included a Hold Harmless agreement with St. Lawrence County, renewal of the Meals on Wheels contract and renewal of the Massena Senior Citizens contract.
Appointments to town positions were recorded: Sean P. Lynch was named deputy town clerk, deputy registrar and marriage officer; Christina Barber and Shannon MacCuaig as justice court clerks; Taya Pryce as receiver of taxes; Dylan Casselman as superintendent of highways and maintenance and airport manager; Patrick O’Brien as town code enforcement officer; Maurice LaRock as town dog control officer; and other staffing assignments as listed in the minutes.
The board set standard workday hours for 2026 (7.5 hours for non‑contract town-hall employees; 8.0 hours for airport, highway, town-hall and maintenance departments) and approved payment of the St. Lawrence County Supervisors Association annual dues of $100.
On tourism and promotional spending, the board approved a promotional services contract with Don Meissner for fishing tourism at $25,000 per year covering Jan. 1, 2026–Dec. 31, 2027, and authorized participation in three fishing expos with a combined expense cap not to exceed $11,700 for five expos in 2026/2027. During closing comments, Meissner introduced Aaron Hardy (Halcyon Fly Fishing) and Jason Rappaport of Zerox Processing Center, whose company contributed $20,000 toward fishing tourism efforts.
The board approved a dog control services agreement with Maurice LaRock for $14,350 for 2026. It then held an executive session beginning at 4:12 PM on litigation, medical, financial and personnel matters, adjourned that session at 4:30 PM, returned to public session and adjourned the meeting at 4:35 PM.
Finally, the board appointed John Finnegan to the Massena Electric Utility Board for a five-year term (effective Jan. 1, 2026–Dec. 31, 2030) and appointed James Shaw as chairman of the Massena Electric Utility Board. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2026, at 4:30 PM in Town Hall Room 30.
Actions recorded in these minutes were routine organizational and administrative matters with unanimous board approval unless otherwise noted.
Supervisor Raymond Lancto presided as the board administered oaths of office to Town Justice Joseph Brown, Supervisor Raymond Lancto, council members Jared Hollander and Adrian Taraska, and Town Clerk Joni M. Bigness. The board appointed Sam Carbone to fill the remainder of an unexpired one-year term and designated him deputy supervisor.
The board ratified committee and liaison assignments across library, recreation, Massena Electric, museum/culture center, chamber of commerce, planning, zoning, highway, airport and other committees. It also set regular meetings for the third Wednesday of each month at 4:30 PM through December 2026.
By unanimous roll-call votes, the board approved a series of resolutions including: appointment of Eric Gustafson as the town attorney with a retainer rate of $165 per hour; adoption of a new policy on employee-related FOIL releases; renewal of the town dog control policy; designation of the town supervisor as the compliance officer; and designation of North Country This Week, Advance News or the Watertown Daily Times as the town’s official newspapers for legal notices.
The board also authorized official banks (NBT Bank; Community Bank, Massena; and NYCLASS) and designated authorized signatories, with two signatures required on checks. Contracts and renewals authorized included a Hold Harmless agreement with St. Lawrence County, renewal of the Meals on Wheels contract and renewal of the Massena Senior Citizens contract.
Appointments to town positions were recorded: Sean P. Lynch was named deputy town clerk, deputy registrar and marriage officer; Christina Barber and Shannon MacCuaig as justice court clerks; Taya Pryce as receiver of taxes; Dylan Casselman as superintendent of highways and maintenance and airport manager; Patrick O’Brien as town code enforcement officer; Maurice LaRock as town dog control officer; and other staffing assignments as listed in the minutes.
The board set standard workday hours for 2026 (7.5 hours for non‑contract town-hall employees; 8.0 hours for airport, highway, town-hall and maintenance departments) and approved payment of the St. Lawrence County Supervisors Association annual dues of $100.
On tourism and promotional spending, the board approved a promotional services contract with Don Meissner for fishing tourism at $25,000 per year covering Jan. 1, 2026–Dec. 31, 2027, and authorized participation in three fishing expos with a combined expense cap not to exceed $11,700 for five expos in 2026/2027. During closing comments, Meissner introduced Aaron Hardy (Halcyon Fly Fishing) and Jason Rappaport of Zerox Processing Center, whose company contributed $20,000 toward fishing tourism efforts.
The board approved a dog control services agreement with Maurice LaRock for $14,350 for 2026. It then held an executive session beginning at 4:12 PM on litigation, medical, financial and personnel matters, adjourned that session at 4:30 PM, returned to public session and adjourned the meeting at 4:35 PM.
Finally, the board appointed John Finnegan to the Massena Electric Utility Board for a five-year term (effective Jan. 1, 2026–Dec. 31, 2030) and appointed James Shaw as chairman of the Massena Electric Utility Board. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2026, at 4:30 PM in Town Hall Room 30.
Actions recorded in these minutes were routine organizational and administrative matters with unanimous board approval unless otherwise noted.
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