Stephentown Residents Favor Two-Way Provost Road

by David Flint
It’s been six years since the Stephentown Town Board restricted Provost Road to one-way traffic. Now it appears that the Town is about make it a two-way road again. At a public hearing on Monday prior to the regular Board meeting, everyone who spoke was in favor of returning the road to two-way. The major proponent for making it one-way had been Cindy Raymann, proprietor of A Dog’s Best Friend kennel and dog training facility, and it was reported that she had died in the past week. Several people reported that the biggest problem was that despite the one-way signs many people were driving the wrong way, taking the road as a short cut from Route 22 to Route 43 and thus causing a hazardous condition for drivers coming from the opposite direction and expecting no oncoming traffic.
Rik McClave, Assistant Chief in the Stephentown Fire Department, pointed out that all the GPS systems show the road as a cutoff road and they don’t show it as one-way. McClave said the Fire Department has on many occasions had to use Provost Road as a detour when accidents occur at the Route 22/43 intersection. The need to direct traffic up a one-way road, he said, puts the Department in jeopardy.
Bill Jennings reported that the Board of Commissioners of the Stephentown Fire District had also recently passed a resolution advocating that the road be opened to two-way traffic. The big problem, he said, was the intersection at Routes 22 and 43 which is not square and causes many accidents. Attempts to get the State to fix that situation have been unsuccessful. Two-way traffic on Provost Road would, he said, relieve some of the congestion at the intersection and make it a bit safer.
Highway Superintendent Aldy Goodermote said he believed the road should not have been made one-way. It would not require much more maintenance as a two-way road. Asked about paving the road, he said that given the existing economic situation in the State, that is not likely to happen in the next couple of years.
Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt said the Board can enact a local law to change the traffic back to two-way or to annul the law passed in 2004. This could happen at the Town Board meeting in September.
Grange Hall Road Property Purchase
Eckhardt thanked those who provided input at the public hearing last week regarding the possible purchase of the property situated between the Town Garage and the Stephentown Memorial Library. Eckhardt has contacted the Town’s attorney and is in the process of determining the specific asking price. If it is too high, he said, the process would “come to a screeching halt.” The Town’s attorney has recommended that if the Town Board decides to pursue this matter, it should go to the public in a referendum.
Hannaford Account
The Board passed a resolution to establish an account at Hannaford Markets to enable the Youth Commission to purchase supplies. Monthly limits will be set. There will be one authorized person on the account and two authorized cards. Councilman PJ Roder said this will make things convenient for the Youth Commission and eliminate the need for the Town to write and process four or five checks each month
Replacement For Deborah Angley
The Board passed a motion to acknowledge the resignation of Deborah Angley as Chairman of the Youth Commission and as Deputy Town Clerk effective the end of this month. Angley is freeing up time to pursue other interests. They also passed a resolution to appoint Lyle Gallup on an interim basis to the position of Deputy Town Clerk and another resolution to authorize advertisements to fill both positions to the end of the year. They will be advertised again at that time along with other Town positions and appointments for next year made in January.
Councilman Roder reported that the Youth Commission concluded their very successful Summer Camp last week with a visit from the Fire Department. Officers awarded prizes to participants in the Safety Poster Contest and gave the kids an opportunity to operate a fire hose.  Roder thanked the Stephentown Memorial Library for assisting with the Summer Camp program and the Berlin School District for providing the use of the former Stephentown Elementary School.
Transfer Station
Roder reported that Matt Curley, Executive Director of ERCSWMA, had provided information on solid waste management in 30 towns in New York comparable to Stephentown. Roder said that in comparison the Town appears to be doing well in most respects but they are losing money on bag fees. The Town currently charges only one dollar for a large trash bag whereas the average is three dollars, and some are charging as much as $5.50. Reacting to comments from some in the audience that raising fees would result in more dumping on the roadsides, Roder said the Board would be careful not to raise them too high, but he pointed out that the taxpayer pays one way or the other.
Lew Sharp questioned how much money the Town was saving by eliminating the Monday hours at the Transfer Station. Roder said it saves the Town $6,000 a year. Eckhardt noted that when the Board made the decision this past winter there was not much comment about it. Monday was always the slowest day at the Transfer Station. But as the weather got warmer people began complaining that it was too long a time to hold trash at home from Saturday to Wednesday. He suggested the Board might want to consider special summer hours or maybe having Sunday hours as Berlin does.
Road Signs Wrong
Beverley McClave raised the issue again of inaccurate road signs, especially the one that indicates “Knapps Road” which she said should be “Knapp Road.”  McClave has said in the past that the road has always been Knapp Road and the State had no right to change it to Knapps Road. Long time residents on that road, she said, are upset with the inaccurate designation. She asked that the Board look into this situation and pass a law if need be to correct it. Lew Sharp pointed out that another road sign nearby reads “Wyomanock Street” when it should be “Wyomanock Road.”
Hammersmith Donates Baptist Cemetery Sign
Billy Hammersmith brought to the Board a donation for the Stephentown Historical Society from himself and his wife Lisa and son Tony in memory of his father, William Hammersmith, who passed away last Friday. Billy’s father had just days before his death come across the sign for the old Baptist Cemetery on Cemetery Hill Road which is now known simply as the Stephentown Cemetery. He found it in a property that the Hammersmiths had purchased on Watson Road in Cherry Plain, probably stashed there by a cemetery trustee when the name of the cemetery was changed. Hammersmith felt it should be returned to the Town of Stephentown.
Early Retirement Incentive
Eckhardt offered a resolution to adopt a State law that would allow the Town to offer an early retirement incentive for Town employees this year. Eligibility would require an employee be age 55 with 25 years of service. The law stipulates, too, that any employees granted early retirement may not be replaced. Eckhardt did not believe any of the Highway Department employees would be eligible but thought the Town by passing it would be covered as having followed through with a provision allowed by the State. Highway Superintendent Goodermote also did not believe anyone was eligible and even if they were he said his Department could not afford to let anyone go without replacing them. After some discussion it was decided that it made no sense to pass such a provision that the Town has no intention of using. So the Board ended up voting unanimously against the resolution.
ZBA Do-Over
Dick Brickett brought up the issue of the Article 78 proceeding against the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) regarding Howard Commander’s proposed Motocross Sports Park off of Webster Hill Road. Eckhardt said the Board met at a special meeting on August 3 to hire attorney Craig Crist to defend the ZBA. The parties who brought the Article 78 charged that the ZBA had not carried out their proceedings properly. At the court hearing, the attorney for Commander agreed that work would be stopped and that they would start over with the ZBA. “So we are doing a do-over,” Eckhardt said. “The ZBA starts at square one with the applicant, and we will have an attorney paid for by the applicant.” He added that the ZBA would also refer the matter to the Planning Board for their review and possibly also for their approval.
Responding to a question as to why the issue did not go to the Planning Board from the start, Planning Board Member Lew Sharp said that the applicant was only asking for a zoning variance which did not need a site plan review or special permit or land subdivision. Sharp added, however, that there was need to follow the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the ZBA would need an attorney to help with that. Eckhardt said, too, that it is not just a simple zoning variance that is needed but a use variance and that, he said, “Is a bigger fish to fry.” Sharp commented that a change in zoning might also be needed and that, he said, could result in the matter falling back in the lap of the Town Board.
Budget Items Needed By September 20
Eckhardt reminded all Town departments and organizations that budget requests must be submitted to him by the next Town Board meeting on September 20.
Deposits & Spending
The Town Clerk reported she had turned over the sum of $270 to the Supervisor for the month of July. The distribution from the office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund to the town was $2,375.
The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $17,981.54 from the General Account and $32,000.57 from the Highway Account.
The Board set their next regular meeting for Monday, September 20, at 7 pm.