New Lebanon Town Board Action – Grappling With The Town Hall Dilemma

by Alex Brooks
The Town of New Lebanon seems to be poised to take action on the knotty problem of what to do about a new Town Hall. The Board has looked at many alternatives, from buying the CeramTek building to doing something jointly with the Fire Company at the Mill Road site where the LVPA plans to build its new quarters, to building on the current LVPA site after they move, to re-using the site of the old Bouchard junk yard. All of these have proved to be expensive or problematic or both.
Councilman Bruce Baldwin in his presentation to the Board on the issue conveyed his sense of urgency about moving forward on it, saying, “We have to get this done. Period.” Baldwin reported that at the last Building Committee meeting they put together a conceptual plan for additions and renovations to the existing Town Hall in Lebanon Springs. They were assisted in this by consultations with David Holmes, an architect who volunteered to help out.
The Building Committee is now seeking to find an architect to carry the plans to a greater level of detail and to that end proposed that the Town Board authorize Clark Engineering to put together a “Request For Qualifications” to invite architectural firms to submit their qualifications to undertake this work. Baldwin proposed a committee of five to review the applications and choose three firms to be interviewed by the Town Board. The committee of five proposed by Baldwin was himself, Councilman Wasch, Doug Banker, Tony Murad and Kent Pratt. Trina Porte, from the audience, expressed an interest in joining this committee, but Baldwin said he didn’t want the committee to get any bigger because it would make it more difficult to get things done. The Board approved the five person committee as proposed.
Baldwin said, “I know there will be opposition, but we have to move forward.”  The American Legion building where the Board meets now is slated to be torn down. Baldwin said all the building committee has now is a sketch, and they need to get more detail to evaluate this option, but he expressed hope that this project could be completed for $600,000, and the building could be ready for occupancy in a year or so.
Shaker Museum And Library Renovations
David Stocks, President of the Shaker Museum and Library, came to speak to the Board about resolutions that need to be passed to implement two grant-funded renovation projects at the Museum’s Mt. Lebanon site. These grants are sponsored by the Town of New Lebanon, and the funds will pass through the Town’s accounts, but all the management of the grant will be done by the Museum. The big one is $600,000 for restoration and stabilization of the Great Stone Barn, and there is a smaller one for restoration of the Washhouse. Stocks said the Great Stone Barn is at risk of collapse, and said it is an “incredible engineering puzzle” trying to figure out how to get visitors in there safely. He said he expects to sign a contract with the architect, Robert Silman, in a week or two. He hopes to get the design and engineering done over the winter so that work can begin in the spring.
The resolutions prepared for the Town Board to pass were written by the New York State DOT, which is the granting agency. But Town Attorney Jason Shaw objected to the wording, which said that the Town is “appropriating” $600,000 for this purpose without mentioning that this is pass-through money, to be paid out only when it comes in. He asked Stocks if the Board could modify the language. Stocks said he would have to check with his contact at NYSDOT on the matter so the resolutions were tabled. The Board offered to hold a Special Meeting to pass these resolutions once the problem is worked out, if the Museum needs them done quickly. Stocks thanked them for the offer and said he would get back to the Board after he talks with DOT.
Stocks also told the Board that three interns from the National Park Service have been working this summer to document the landscaping and drainage system of the Shakers on the Mt. Lebanon property. While they were at this, one major component of the drainage system built by the Shakers became plugged up during the big rains in July, causing flooding and damage to Shaker Road. Stocks said he is now seeking contractors to clean it out without damaging the structure built by the Shakers.
Later in the meeting, after Stocks had left, Town Highway Superintendent Jeffrey Winestock expressed some concern about this situation. He said, “This is a major, major issue.” He said if we get another heavy rain we could lose Shaker Road and the cost to the Town could be enormous. He said, “It needs to be cleaned out immediately.” He noted that it has been almost two months since the July flooding, and it remains plugged up.
Flooding
There was extensive discussion about flooding in the area of Routes 20 and 22. Homeowners in the area say they are getting flooding in their yards where it never used to flood. One said he believed the cause is the remediation measures undertaken at the direction of DEC at the Bouchard junk yard. He said, “We can’t let DEC get away with what they’ve done.” He said they dug out gravel that used to absorb water and put in sand which doesn’t.
Members of the Town Board recalled that the last time that stream was cleaned out was in 1987, But Councilman KB Chittenden said he thought what they did in 1987 was mostly just clearing out trees and brush. More extensive work was done in the mid-70s, which he recalled was “quite a job.” He said that’s when they rip-rapped all the creeks. “That’s what it needs now,” said Chittenden.
Supervisor Meg Robertson said, “Keep the faith – we will work on this.” She said the current situation is not acceptable, and she will be talking to State officials to try to get something done about it. She said the Town has not yet been awarded any FEMA money but it is still possible that some will be forthcoming. The Board made budget transfers of $50,000 because of unanticipated expenses related to the July flooding.
Traffic Safety
Matt Larabee reported on his first meeting on the Columbia County Traffic Safety Council. He said  changes to the roads must get approval from State or County Highway officials, depending on what kind of road it is, and he explained the process. The Board later passed two resolutions seeking changes in the interests of safety.
One was to lower the speed limit on County Route 9 north of Route 20 from 55 to 40 miles per hour. On the section south of Route 20 the speed limit on that road is already 40 mph. The other request was that Route 20 have a double line (no passing zone) from the Congregational Church to Canaan Road. The reason for this request, said Councilman Monte Wasch, is that people turning onto Route 20 from Canaan Road sometimes find themselves staring straight into the headlights of a car that is passing on Rte. 20. These requests are to be considered by State DOT officials, which may be a lengthy process.
Other Matters
The work on the tennis and basketball courts was reported to be just about completed.
Councilman Baldwin said he will be meeting with Fairpoint about the Town’s phone system, and asked the Board if it would save money, would it be OK to have just one phone number and multiple voice mailboxes for the Town departments rather than separate phone numbers. The Board said if it would save money, that would be fine.
Supervisor Robertson reported that the RestoreNY funds for which the Town applied for the Midtown Mall, were not awarded. There is a possibility the Town could still get the grant in a subsequent round of funding.
Robertson appointed Councilman Chittenden as Deputy Town Supervisor.
The Board re-appointed Robert Weber to another five year term on the Board of Assessment Review.
The Board appointed Thaddeus Krolikowski, at his request, to one of the two vacancies on the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The Board accepted the resignation of Trina Porte from the Recreation Commission.