Town Supervisor Bob Meelan

We exist in the same space with and for each other. The Municipal Agreement cements that accord.

Mutual cooperation between Hamilton College and the Town makes for a long-term positive relationship, Kirkland Town Supervisor Bob Meelan believes.

With the signing of the third Municipal Contributions Agreement between the Town, Village, Oneida County, Clinton Central School District, and Hamilton College, the College provides budget stability for the local parties.

Meelan said Town agencies — the fire and highway departments among them — and other agreement participants share in the yearly distribution that currently totals nearly $600,000.

The first agreement was drafted in 2006 for 10 years; the second was renewed in 2016 for another five; and the current agreement runs for another five years.

The school district receives about 60 percent of the money and understandably so, Meelan said. “The agreement helps us to stabilize or minimize any tax hike to the local residents in operating the schools,” he said.

The payments are something the College volunteers to do, Meelan noted. “It doesn’t legally have to do it. But it’s a question of having each other’s back,” he said. “Hamilton needs the Town; the Town needs the College. I love having Hamilton here. I love having the kids in town. There’s nothing to be gained from being like the Hatfields and McCoys.”

The supervisor said the College will continue to support the Town even beyond the agreement. “I firmly believe if I was in a pinch and went to President Wippman, he would find a way to help,” Meelan said. “He knows we respond immediately to anything on the Hill that needs the attention of one of our departments.”

That relationship bears fruit for all: “We have a partnership. Hamilton College is in the Town of Kirkland. We exist in the same space with and for each other. The Municipal Agreement cements that accord,” Meelan concluded.