by Kieron Kramer
Experience can empower or it can enslave. It keeps you from repeating your mistakes, it guides you when approaching a new task and it informs you of what can be done or it can wall you in. So breadth of experience is most important. Without breadth of experience one can be locked into a narrow solution of a problem and not be able to, as the saying goes, think outside the box. And so well-meaning, intelligent people who share the same goals can espouse completely opposite points of view, as was the case in the New Lebanon Town Board meeting on Monday, March 9, when the Board discussed the next step in the possible purchase by the Town of the CeramTek building for use as a municipal building.
Board Member Bruce Baldwin summarized four meetings that took place since February 4. Taking part in some of these meetings were representatives from the Lebanon Valley Protective Association and the New Lebanon School District and Doug Clark of Clark Engineering as well as Baldwin and the Building committee. Because the deadline was missed to apply for a federal and NYS funded $25,000 grant for a shared services feasibility study, Baldwin suggested that the Town, the Fire Department and the School District should do the feasibility study which would include the structural integrity of the building and testing for and solution of any environmental problems. He maintained that the Town would need to find out what issues need to be addressed, including what requirements there are for the Fire Department and the School District to share in the facility, before the Town could make an offer to CeramTek. He made a motion that the Board hire Clark Engineering to do the feasibility study for $10,000.
Board Member Monte Wasch and Town Attorney Jason Shaw responded almost immediately. Wasch asked why the Town should spend $10,000 on a study before the Town even knows if the building is obtainable. Shaw suggested that the Town get an appraisal and make an offer including “all kinds of contingencies, like the results of the feasibility study.”
But Baldwin and Doug Clark, who had made a presentation on the demolition of the assembly room of the current Town Hall, couldn’t see it right away. Steeped in the problems of involving the School District and the Fire Company, whose needs are not yet known specifically, and having the desire to “kick start” the project, they argued that the feasibility study must be done first and right away. Baldwin felt urgency in getting the Fire Department and School Board on board because each of the three entities would be eligible for a $200,000 shared services grant and the School could get State Education money as well. Clark thought that an appraisal could not be obtained because there are no comparable properties to use to set the market price. He asked if the offer would be the assessed value, which is $750,000.
“You are going about it backwards,” Shaw said. “As a public entity we have the obligation to the taxpayers to make an offer that is justified.” First consult with an appraiser to develop a fair, but lowball, offer based on market conditions, he advised. Wasch agreed. Based on his experience on the NYC EPA during the construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the West Side of Manhattan, he said that the Town could spend 1 times the purchase price to renovate the building, so he would definitely want to see an appraisal first. When Clark insisted that there are no comparables to do an appraisal, Shaw said, “We just went through that (referring to the tax certiorari litigation with CeramTek that required appraisals from both sides). I do this every day; this is my job!” He then explained how it works. Suggesting that the Town hire the appraiser that CeramTek used for the tax certiorari suit because it was a lowball appraisal in CeramTek’s interest at that time, the Town could then make an offer with contingencies, including the result of the feasibility/structural/ environmental study that will be done after an offer is accepted. If Ceramtek accepts the offer and the roof needs to be replaced, that cost would be deducted from the offering price. If asbestos or lead has to be removed that cost would be deducted from the offering price and so on. Although the appraisal done by CeramTek two years ago is out of date and a new appraisal would have to be made, Shaw said, you might be able to guess on an offering price by taking that appraisal and deducting 25% because of the economic downturn since then. “The building has been on the market for a long time; you might be surprised at the size of the offer that is acceptable,” Shaw said.
Of course, CeramTek might not accept the offer with contingencies or might have contingencies of their own. Or the feasibility study would show the project to be unfeasible. Or the whole project might be too expensive anyway. Or the School District and the Protective Association might back out. Presumably, a contingency could be included that New Lebanon be able to find two other entities to share the facility. With all the complicated variables, there is no predicting whether buying CeramTek or renovating the current Town Hall or building a new one elsewhere might be best without going through the project and responding flexibly as you go along.
The nice thing about this extended discussion was that everyone seemed to be on the same page when it was over. The Building Committee plans to meet on April 1 at 7 pm in the Legion Hall with the Town Attorney and the real estate agent for CeramTek, after having met with an appraiser. And Doug Clark, whose engineering firm consults regularly with the Planning Board to review documents and does other work for the Town under contract said that there was no need to pay for the work he has done on the project so far, some of the copying costs can be charged back when the proposed study is approved.
Doug Clark presented the specifications for the demolition of the condemned assembly room of the Town Hall. This project includes three phases. First is the cutting away of the assembly room from the main building to a width of two feet and disconnecting the water service that runs through the assembly room and closing the exposed gable wall to the elements. The Town Hall will be without water for two days. Second, the building will be demolished and the debris carted to Canaan. According to Clark, Bernie Kelleher from the County has looked at the building and “indicated they would be willing to tackle the work.” The County has a large excavator to use that would cost the Town $300 a day with operator, and the County would supply roll-offs. The third phase, the renovation of the gable wall, would be completed later, once the Town has decided about the future of the building.
Because the total cost will not exceed $20,000, according to Clark, proposals will be solicited instead of entering into the formal bidding process. Baldwin said that even though the County was willing to do the demolition job, he wants local contractors to have the chance to bid on it too. They should be contacted, he said. Shaw said that the proposals need not be sealed, can be opened any time and can even be faxed. The due date for proposals is March 31 so contracts can be awarded at the April Board meeting. The first two phases will be completed in May.
Screening Plant
Highway Superintendent Jeff Winestock was at the meeting and proposed that the Town either purchase or lease to own a screening plant. Up to now, the Highway Department has been renting a screening plant at an annual cost of $6,000 to screen sand and stone from the gravel bank for which the Town has had a mining permit for 12 years. The upside of renting is that the Town does not have to maintain the screening plant. The downside is that the Town screening time is determined by the availability of the plant, that the Town pays a guy to do the screening and that it is expensive. A new screening plant would cost $41,500, Winestock said. A four year lease to own deal would cost $11,212.77 per year. He said that the machine could be sold for $20,000 after five years.
Since this is an obvious cost cutting idea, the Board was disposed to Winestock’s proposal. There is $30,000 available in the machinery line of the highway budget. Town Attorney Shaw said that since the cost of the screening plant, whether purchased or leased, is over $20,000 a formal bidding process must be undertaken. Winestock will develop for publication the specifications for a lease to own and for a purchase. Shaw added that because of the economic climate there might be a piece of equipment available that is in good shape. Deputy Supervisor Allen Livermore suggested that a bid request for a used screening plant be published as well. The Board voted unanimously to publish bid requests for a new screening plant, a leased to own plant and a used plant.
In other business the Board:
ź approved a letter written by Livermore to the Town of Canaan suggesting a consolidation of the justice courts for both towns;
ź discussed that the NYS DOT has objected to the Town signs for being unpermitted. Two signs are in place, one on Route 22 about mile north of Berkshire Farms and one on Route 20 near the Pittsfield, MA, line. The posts are in for a third sign, on Route 22 on the hill in Lebanon Springs. The Board was not disposed to back down. “They [the signs] are gems,” Supervisor Meg Robertson said.
ź heard from Kathy Murnane about an elderly couple who are living in a condemned trailer. Robertson said that they were being intimidated by their landlord not to complain about their living conditions. “It’s a sad state of affairs when this happens in our Town,” she said.
ź heard from Chuck Geraldi about a miscommunication with the Zoning Enforcement Officer Stan Koloski regarding campground zoning regulations. He has two campers on his property for private use only.
ź moved to set a thirty day waiting period for employees who opt to have their health insurance benefits bought out by the Town;
ź moved to turn the insurance buy out policy into a local law with a public hearing of the local law to be held before the May meeting;
ź moved to pay an employee who wanted a buy out in December but due to ambiguity in the process filed late;
ź clarified its policy on paying accumulated sick and personal days and then voted to pay the former Deputy Town Clerk a total of 11 sick days and 6 personal days;
ź heard concerns from the floor about the accountability of salaried Town employees regarding the time spent in their jobs and specifically about the new Deputy Town Clerk making up hours missed during the time that the Town Hall will be closed in late March;
ź heard that a New Lebanon senior has been victimized by a telephone scam artist. Supervisor Robertson suggested that the County Sheriff be informed of any suspicious phone solicitations.
ź heard a lengthy presentation by David Stocks, President of the Shaker Museum and Library describing the grants that organization will receive to renovate structures, study the Shaker waterworks system and move the public and educational programs from Old Chatham to Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village on Shaker Road. News of the Shaker Museum is available on their website – shakermuseumandlibrary.org. A link is available on the Town website – townofnewlebanon.com.
Ethics Procedures
The meeting was framed by ethics issues. A public hearing on amendments to the Town’s ethics local law was adjourned, to be continued at a later date when the ethics committee has had a chance to review the new procedures proposed in the amendment. Among other things the new procedures would authorize the ethics committee to write the complainant informing him or her of the determination of the case. Currently, the complainant must be informed by the Town Board in an executive session. Phil Brown attended this meeting and at the end asked for an executive session to inform him of the determination of his complaint. Two of the Board members present had not seen the determination so all parties agreed to delay the executive session until the April meeting.
A Public Hearing on the Town’s application for a Restore NY grant, to be used primarily to develop the Mid Town Mall, will be held at 6:45 pm before the April 13 Town Board meeting in the Legion Hall at 7 pm.