Referendum On New Leb Town Hall Renovation To Be Held Sooner Than Expected

by Phillip Zema
Depending on which estimate is accepted, it will cost between $500k-650k to renovate the New Lebanon Town Hall building. The project itself requires a public referendum, but this event will happen much sooner than originally anticipated. The Town is in the process of applying for a $75k United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant. The grant’s deadline, however, is in early July, and the money cannot be awarded unless a referendum passes. The referendum was originally slated for August, but because of the deadline, it must be held on June 29.
As stated by Councilman Bruce Baldwin and Doug Banker, a member of the Town Hall Restoration Committee, the new deadline may be detrimental to the project. As emphasized by both men, the new deadline leaves the Town with little time to sell the project to the community. Furthermore, the grant application requires that the project’s bond amount be set at $815k, roughly $200k-$300k higher than the project’s estimated cost. Although the Town Hall Committee and Board agreed that the renovation project would not be this expensive, many feared the public would be repulsed by such a high figure. The Town, however, is not obligated to spend all of this money, and likely will not. Several Town Hall committee members feared there was little time to explain this situation to the community.
Doug Banker said that if the referendum failed, it would not completely doom the project. Yet he added that a failed referendum could be toxic. In the past when similar referendums fail, they often never get passed. On the other hand, the Town could delay the referendum, but by doing so, it would forego any chance of receiving the grant this year. Councilman Doug Clark said that there’s a good chance the Town would receive this grant – the Town would likely know within the week whether the award was certain. The monetary award, however, hinges on whether the referendum passes.
There was debate over how much the project would cost. In February, an architect priced the project at $512k. Banker claimed that most of this project could be funded without a significant, or any, tax increase because grants and Town reserves would cover much of the cost. Clark feared that the estimate ignored expensive administrative and transaction costs like engineers’ fees and so the cost could be substantially higher. He added that despite these concerns, the Town needed a municipal center, as the American Legion Hall may not always be available. Clark and Supervisor Meg Robertson were adamant that the project should be as publicly transparent as possible and that it is imperative for the community to be aware of each expense.
Baldwin was worried that the community would be skeptical of the $815k bond albeit the project would be much cheaper. Deputy Supervisor Monty Wasch commended the Town Hall Committee and was confident the project would not cost $815k. He claimed that even if the project cost $400k or $200k, as long as some Town money was spent, some people would reject it. Both he and Baldwin stressed the need to inform the public about the grant and the project’s true cost. It was also mentioned that a grant would pay for most of the Hall’s kitchen appliances. Furthermore, once the State passes its budget, the Town could be eligible for an annual $30k grant.
The Board decided to go ahead with the June 29 referendum. It will be held at the Immaculate Conception Meeting Hall located at 732 U.S. Rt. 20 from 12 to 9 pm. There will be public information meetings on June 15 and 28, and each will be at 7 pm at the American Legion Hall. Information about the project is available on the Town’s website at www.townofnewlebanon.com/town hall project.htm.
Flooding Might Be Abated
Because of ineffective culverts and beaver dams, there has been widespread flooding around Rt. 20 and Canaan Road. Last month, the DEC reportedly said that the area is protected wetlands, and so nothing can be done about the problem. Barbara Rue asked whether the Town was able to change the DEC’s mind. After discussing the issue with the DEC, Clark and Robertson reported that the problem was fixable; they were informed by the DEC that as long as residential homes and municipal roads were jeopardized, the Town could intervene. Accordingly, the Town submitted a permit that would allow the culverts to be replaced.
Disgruntled
Also at last month’s meeting, Robert Mittnight, Jr. and J.J. Smith informed the Board that they were disgruntled with the Town’s ZBA. They claimed another lawsuit may be lurking in the future. On Monday, they asked whether the Board made any decisions about their concerns. Robertson replied that she had not reached any conclusions but would deeply investigate the issue.
Mittnight was upset that the ZBA keeps claiming his property functions as a truck terminal. Reportedly, he was told that unless he complied with zoning laws, he might be taken to court. He believed, however, there was no Town code indicating that his residency served as a truck terminal. Mittnight asked the Town to postpone the ZBA’s actions until the issue was properly resolved. Councilman KB Chittenden read the new zoning law’s definition of a truck terminal, and Smith and Mittnight were adamant that the property did not meet the definition. Neither Chittenden nor the Board took any official stance on the issue.
New Ambulance Service?
The Town may be close to hiring a new ambulance service. Recently, a joint committee composed of Canaan and New Lebanon town officials interviewed several ambulance rescue squads. While several squads looked promising, the Chatham Rescue Squad said that it could provide ambulance services for Canaan and New Lebanon. A number of facts and figures still need to be discussed, but it looks like the Chatham Rescue Squad is the front runner. The Town has until January 1 to hire a new squad. If a permanent ambulance service is not established by January 1, the Board will fund the Lebanon Valley Protective Association’s ambulance squad on a quarterly basis or until a permanent service can be provided.
The Board passed a resolution to change the speed limit of Adam’s Crossing Road from 45 to 30 mph. They also passed a motion to set up two school bus stop signs. While it was agreed people drive too recklessly on the road, both Clark and Highway Superintendent Jeff Winestock worried that the signs, which could be expensive, would not have the desired deterrent effect. Unless the road was heavily patrolled, many people would simply ignore the signs. Despite these concerns, the resolutions passed unanimously.
In closing, several amendments were made to the new zoning re-write regulations. The Board officially approved an amendment that would allow Robert Mittnight, Jr.’s property to be considered commercial/residential. Back in January, Mittnight was concerned that the zoning re-writes would destroy the investments he made to his land. Accordingly, the amendments, in effect, protect his investments from being compromised.