Petersburgh Town Board Action – Petersburgh Goes Digital

by Alex Brooks
Petersburgh Supervisor Peter Schaaphok said a website for the Town is in the works and he expects it to be on-line in a week or two. It will be at www.Petersburgh.org. The Town is also working on getting broadband internet access for all Town departments and Town email addresses for all Town officials.
Dave Miller said Cody Goodermote had brought to his attention Google’s fiber-optic program, which provides funding from its philanthropic arm for installation of fiber optic cables to bring broadband internet access to under served communities. Miller said he is filling out a form on behalf of the Town to apply for such funding. Citizens of local groups can also nominate the Town or support the Town’s application by going to www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/ and click the button that says “get involved.” You must have a google account to do this, but you can set one up for free.
Amendments To Right To Farm Law
Amendments to the Town’s 1992 Right to Farm Law which have been discussed and debated for nearly two years were approved by the Town Board this month.
One of the new provisions is a two acre minimum for subsistence farming. Someone with less than two acres who wants to raise farm animals for non-commercial purposes may apply to the Planning Board for a waiver to allow it. There are no fees for such applications.
The only kinds of farming regulated under the law are elevated cage poultry and commercial pig operations. These require Planning Board approval. The applications fee is $250, and the annual inspection fee is $100. The Code Enforcement Officer may make unannounced inspections of these once they are in operation to determine if they are in compliance with the terms of the Planning Board’s approval.
Violations of this law are punishable by a fine of $100 to $500, and each week that an operation remains in violation is an additional offense.
Revisions To 1993 Garbage Law
Having at last completed revisions to the 1992 farming law, the Board started in updating the 1993 garbage law. The law said that garbage haulers picking up and hauling garbage in Petersburgh need to have a license from the Town. Since the Town doesn’t issue licenses to haulers and has no intention of doing so, these provisions will be deleted. Everyone should note, though, that this same law provides for a $1,000 fine for anyone caught dumping garbage in Town, which remains in effect.
Once the revised wording of the garbage law has been worked out, there will be a public hearing on the revisions.
PVMCC
Susan Nelsen reported that the User Agreement between the PVMCC and the Town of Petersburgh governing use of the Veterans Memorial Hall has been signed. Current activities include the monthly Music & Art Program and daily programs for yoga and the Veterans Café. The PVMCC is planning youth programming for the April vacation. A grant application has been submitted to the Stewart’s Foundation for funding to support youth programs.
Other Matters
Supervisor Peter Schaaphok  said he had talked with County officials about the mistake on the County tax bills involving the Petersburgh Fire District and found that although the overall Fire District tax levy was misstated on the bills, the amount of taxes collected was correct. The Fire District does not have to figure out what to do with excess revenue, because there was none.
The Board scheduled a joint meeting with the Berlin Town Board for Monday, February 22, at 7 pm in the Petersburgh Town Hall.