BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – The process to merge the Canton and Potsdam Housing Authorities is on hold after members of the Canton Village Board tabled a resolution to support the merger at the board’s monthly meeting on Wednesday night.

Trustee Barbara Beekman and Deputy Mayor Anna Sorensen each voiced concerns about the wording in the resolution, feeling any authority or representation for the village of Canton was in question.

Both board members, however, did say they were in favor of the merger.

“How do we know we get representation if we sign this now. What authority do we have?,” said Sorensen. “I am not comfortable with this. I want to know if our board has the ability to say this is not okay.”

“If we have any authority I would like to preserve it,” added Beekman.

Sorensen also asked what was the next step in the merger process.

“Is there any information about the next step,” she said.

The board is aware that municipal governments have no authority regarding the management and operation of housing authorities. The only input involves the mayor appointing people to serve on the board of directors.

Mayor Michael Dalton supported signing the merger resolution, pointing to the final paragraph in the resolution as an indicator for village input.

“HUD has made it very clear that’s how it works,” the mayor stated. “There’s a lot more work that needs to be done to make this happen.”

“The said contract is to be for such consideration, amounts, terms and conditions as the Village of Canton Board of Trustees deems most advantageous to the Village of Canton and within the scope of Board of Trustees Authority,” the resolution reads.

The mayor will now look to hire an attorney for legal advice on the matter and potentially hold a meeting with said attorney, Housing Authority Executive Director Robert Santamoor and a member of the Canton Housing Authority board of directors.

The exact resolution has been approved by the Potsdam Village Board. Both the Canton and Potsdam Housing Authority board of directors have supported the merger.

For a little more than a year, the Canton Housing Authority has been managed by Santamoor who served as executive director of the Potsdam Housing Authority.

The success associated with that move prompted an initiative to merge the two entities with hopes of offering additional housing opportunities for families in both communities.

If the merger takes place, both the Canton and Potsdam Housing Authority will dissolve and a new name will be created. A new board of directors will be appointed.