by Alex Brooks
This month’s Petersburgh Town Board meeting convened without Councilman Ray Broadwell or Supervisor Mason Hubbard, who was unable to attend because he needed to stay with his wife, who is ill.
The meeting was run by Deputy Supervisor Peter Schaaphok. No major action was taken, but some of the Town’s ongoing issues were discussed further.
Amendments to the Right to Farm Law first proposed by Planning Board Chairman Dave Miller in March (reported in the March 21, 2008, issue of the Eastwick Press), remained on the agenda. Town Attorney Kevin Engel said he had reviewed the proposed law and he felt it is ready for a public hearing. The law requires a minimum of 2 acres for subsistence farming, and it requires commercial farming operations to get Planning Board approval. Peter Schaaphok asked how big a farming operation has to be to require Planning Board approval. Engel said the language is not very specific. Schaaphok said he thought that ought to be clarified before presenting the proposed law for a public hearing so people who are engaging in small scale farming will know where they stand in relation to it. The Board agreed to have discussions with Dave Miller with a view to clarifying the definitions and the size of farms covered by the law.
Ambulance Contract
The Ambulance Squad gave the Town Board a proposed contract two months ago, but neither Town Attorney Kevin Engel nor Councilman Bill Seel could recall receiving it, and no one at the meeting could produce a copy. Councilman Dick Snyder had a proposed contract, but no one was sure if it was the latest version. Meanwhile, Engel had sent the Ambulance Squad a sample contract that he had obtained from the Association of Towns.
Teresa deWaal said they had reviewed that and found it problematic because it was for an ambulance that had taxing authority.
Another problem is that Engel found an advisory opinion from the State Comptroller from 1982 saying that town boards should not enter into contracts for ambulance service lasting longer than their term of office, which in this case is 2 years. The ambulance squad is trying to get a 5 year loan to purchase the new ambulance. If their funding is guaranteed for only two years, that could pose problems for securing the loan and perhaps even in making the payments if Town funding were later to be cut. Peter Schaaphok said it would be very unlikely that a future Board would cut the funding. However, others pointed out that without the guarantee, it might be difficult or impossible to get the loan.
Kevin Engel said he would contact the State Comptroller’s office and see if they had advice on how to handle it. All resolved to “get on the same page” and work out the terms of the contract.
The Town Board indicated that they are ready to go forward with a cable contract with Charter Cable. Those present who have cable said the service has been pretty good lately, and now that they have the service man’s cell phone number, they are feeling more confident about the company’s response to problems. Town Clerk Barbara Snyder said she would contact the company representative to prepare paperwork for the contract agreement.
Star Ridge Way
Brandon deWaal and his attorney, Sal Ferlazzo, again brought up the question of having the Town take over Star Ridge Way as a Town road. Star Ridge Way serves five houses, and is currently still owned by the project developers, Michael and Joan Buzerak. The Buzeraks came to the Town Board some five years ago asking to have the Town take over the road. The issue at that time hinged on the original Planning Board approval of the project, which stipulated that the road would remain private. A resident of the subdivision summarized the action at that time this way, “The Town Board referred it to the Planning Board, and the Planning Board had a tie vote on it.”
Attorney Ferlazzo said, “We know it’s discretionary. We are simply asking if the residents were to undertake the expense of bringing the road up to Town standards, would you be willing to take it over. The only impediment to that would be language in the original proposal that said the road would remain in private hands, but that does not have to be controlling.”
The Board made no response on the spot but agreed to consider it.
Highway Report
Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said the plows are on the trucks and the crew is ready for snow. He said the new truck approved for purchase at last month’s meeting has been ordered and should be arriving here by midwinter.
Miscellaneous
Town Librarian Sharon Hodges said renovations to the Library basement are just about complete and they are ordering furniture. She expects to have an open house to show the new lower level to the public on January 21, but the date is not definite yet.
Bill Seel said the broken valve in the water pipe going into the Post Office, which has been a topic of discussion at Town Board meetings for some time now, has been repaired by Brandon deWaal.