New Lebanon Town Board Action – Town Hall Project Defeated At Polls

by David Flint
The New Lebanon Town Hall project has gone down to defeat for a second time. In a referendum on Saturday residents voted 191 to 128 to reject the proposal to finance $435,000 for the construction and restoration of the Town Hall building in Lebanon Springs. In the June 29 referendum to authorize up to $815,000 for the project, the vote was 182 to 88. Neither vote drew a very large turnout. About 18% voted in June and 23% on Saturday.
The project came up for discussion at the New Lebanon Town Board meeting on Monday. Comments from residents included the conviction that people did not like the location of the building, that it was not easily accessible, was dangerous getting in and out from the highway, had limited parking, no expansion possibilities, a septic system that needs work, and people just did not believe it was wise to invest that amount of money in an old building.
Town Clerk Colleen Teal replied that, “It may not be the greatest site, but we own it.” Councilman Doug Clark agreed saying that development of a new site would be much more expensive. The basic structure of the building, he said, was sound, especially in comparison with the Fire Department building or the Midtown Mall building which some had suggested as possible sites for a new Town Hall. Responding to those who advocated for a completely new and “green” building, he argued that the “greenest” building is a fixed up existing building. He said he wished he knew more precisely what the big issue was. Councilman K.B. Chittenden said he would like to have access to the list of those who voted. This comment caused quite a bit of hooting and hollering until Chittenden made clear that he wasn’t concerned with how individuals voted but would like to know who voted so the Board could do a sort of survey or exit interview to determine what their concerns were.
Doug Banker said that the Town Hall Committee had spent a lot of time analyzing different options and developing what they believed was the most cost effective solution, and now were at a loss as to what to do next. He suggested the Board should put together a new committee and try again. He urged citizens with new ideas to get involved and come up with a new plan over the next six months.
Clark and Town Supervisor Meg Robertson agreed saying they would pull back, reevaluate and regroup. Trina Porte, who was on the Committee for one year, applauded the Board’s willingness to rethink the problem in light of the second failed vote. She said there were a lot of alternatives, and she urged the Board to put more emphasis on seeking federal grant money.
Chatham Rescue Takes Over At Year End
As was announced recently by the Lebanon Valley Protective Association, that organization is turning over all emergency medical services to Chatham Rescue as of December 31, 2010 and will no longer operate an ambulance out of the fire department. Councilman Chittenden confirmed that the Chatham Rescue Squad, Inc. is ready to take over. The transfer will take place at 7 pm on December 31. Supervisor Robertson said that attorneys are working out the details of the Memorandum of Understanding and the contract. They should be completed and ready for signing in the next couple weeks and she needed authorization to sign them. The Board unanimously (4-0, Councilman Allen Livermore being absent) passed a resolution granting this authorization.
Donna Smith asked why the Town lost their own ambulance service. Robertson explained that the ambulance was connected to the volunteer Fire Department and so by law could not charge for services. The Town could have taken it over, but it would have cost $400,000 a year. A committee appointed by the Board interviewed several ambulance services including the Valatie Rescue Squad and North Dutchess Paramedics as well as Chatham Rescue. The latter was already covering part of Canaan, and they are now in the process of purchasing a building on Route 295 only 4 miles from Route 22. They plan to hire local people who are familiar with the area to staff that station. The price to the Town is expected to be reasonable, in the vicinity of $168,000 a year. The contract will be negotiated on a yearly basis and requires an agreement of satisfaction. Robertson said she was confident the arrangement would work out well.
New Dog Control Law
Following a public hearing that produced no public comment, the Board approved a new dog control law whereby the Town takes over all licensing responsibilities formerly held by the State Department of Agriculture & Markets. License fees, currently $7.50 annually for spayed dogs and $15.50 for unspayed dogs, will be established from time to time by resolution of the Town Board. The new law provides also for an optional reduced fee three-year license running concurrently with a rabies vaccination certificate.
New Backhoe
Highway Superintendent Jeffrey Winestock reported that the Town’s 2006 backhoe has 2,000 hours of use on it and “has issues.” He said there was an opportunity to purchase a new one on state contract for about $68,000 with a trade-in allowance of $30,000. There would be no payment until 2012. Payments would start at $14,000 per year and reduce to $10,000 per year for the last five years. Councilman Bruce Baldwin noted that the frame on the existing backhoe is rusty and it would be smart to get rid of it before the issues that Winestock mentioned become costly. He recommended approval which the Board did grant by unanimous resolution.
Councilman Clark agreed but wanted to see the Town do more in the way of capital planning with better records kept on equipment depreciation, current value, trade-in value, lease payments, budget planning for reserves and 5-year projections. The Highway Department, he said, was better at this than some other departments but there was room for improvement. He noted that the State can provide templates and spreadsheets for asset planning.
Complaints About The Assessor
A few months back New Lebanon’s Zoning Enforcement Officer, Stanley Koloski, came under fire from a group of residents who claimed he was irascible and “a tyrant.” As of January both zoning and code enforcement will be combined in one position under Kent Pratt. Now it was the Assessor’s turn to take the flak. After complaints from senior citizens that they had lost their STAR exemptions without any warning from Craig Surprise, Councilman Baldwin reported that he had met with the Assessor “and got yelled at.” Baldwin noted that he had in fact hired Surprise 15 or 20 years ago but said that, “You really have to push to get a good explanation from him.” He also felt it was not right that Surprise would get upset just because he was attempting to clarify some issues for citizens of the Town.
What Baldwin did find out is that there is a lot of confusion regarding STAR, Enhanced STAR, the Senior Exemption and a taxpayer’s primary residence. Since people can be automatically dropped from STAR after ten years, and if you are dropped, there will be no refund unless you go to Grievance in May, he advised everyone to keep track of their eligibility.
Highway Superintendent Winestock said that people should not be told they have to know all about STAR and watch their eligibility because that should be the responsibility of the Assessor. He went on to complain that a number of residents have had run-ins and been treated shabbily by the Assessor, but many are afraid, he said, to come forward because they fear having their assessments raised. As Highway Superintendent, he said, if people have problems with his work, he tries to talk with them and work out a solution because he understands that he works for them and they pay his salary. He urged the Board not to “sit back and let him [the Assessor] terrorize the community.”
One resident also complained that he had indeed been threatened with having his assessment raised if he hired a lawyer to contest decisions of the Assessor.
Councilman Clark said he would not get involved with assessments but he wanted professional Town government. If someone feels they have been treated unprofessionally by the Assessor, he urged them to put it in writing and send it to him.
NYSERDA Workshop
Councilman Clark reported on a meeting with a representative from NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) intended to provide information on applying for energy grants for the Town Hall project. Although that project has been rejected, Clark said that NYSERDA also has programs for existing municipal and residential buildings. Clark said NYSERDA will provide free energy audits that are much more useful and extensive than previously and include air infiltration blower tests. The NYSERDA representative said she would be willing to hold an information session in New Lebanon. The Board asked Clark to set up a meeting open to all residents for Tuesday, January 25, at 7 pm.
Website Update
Town Clerk Teal reported that the software currently used for the Town’s website (townofnewlebanon.com) is no longer supported. She said the website could be redone and migrated to new software, WordPress, for $1,400. She said the new software would allow other Town employees to participate in updating their sections of the website and would also eliminate some of the browser compatibility and PDF problems she has had with the current website. “We’ll be able to add more content with less hassle,” she said. The Board approved the expenditure.
Sign Law Amendment
The Board set a public hearing for January 10 at 6:45 pm regarding an amendment to the sign law. The need for the amendment became apparent when the Hannaford Company applied for a variance, and it turned out that under the new zoning regulations the ZBA had no authority to grant the variance. The amendment will allow the Planning Board to refer an applicant to the ZBA to secure a sign variance.
Records Management Agreement With LVHS
Teal reported that the Town Attorney Sonya Smelyansky had concerns about the agreement with the Lebanon Valley Historical Society to take possession of and maintain old Town records that are no longer being used. Smelyansky was concerned about insurance, about whether stipulations on their care were properly spelled out and about the procedure for the Town to retrieve the records at some time. Teal said this was a misunderstanding about the type of records involved. She said they are old records that the Town will loan permanently to the Historical Society and would never need to take back. Teal said it makes sense that the Historical Society take care of these records and she did not want to burden the Society with unnecessary stipulations, but she wanted to make sure that the Town Attorney was OK with the agreement.
Mobile Home Park License Renewals
The Board renewed licenses for four mobile home parks, Sherman’s, Hanson’s, Adam’s Crossing and Cornerstone. Renewal for the Tazmutt Mobile Home Park (formerly Kinderhook Creek) was held up as that park has changed hands, there has been no license for at least two years and there is substantial work still going on there. The Ski Lodge mobile home park has not yet submitted an application for renewal.
Position Interviews
The Board set aside an hour prior to the End of Year meeting on December 27 to interview applicants for Town positions. Two attorneys will be interviewed for the Town Attorney job, along with two applicants for Town Constable and one applicant for a seat on the Planning Board.
Audit of Bills
The Board audited and approved bills in the amount of $67,225.92 for the General Account and $70,051.67 for the Highway Account.
Upcoming Meetings
The Board scheduled the End of Year meeting for Monday, December 27, at 7 pm, the Organizational Meeting for Monday, January 3, at 7 pm, the next regular meeting for Monday, January 10, at 7 pm, preceded by a public hearing on the Sign Law, and the Audit meeting for Tuesday, January 11, at 3 pm.