Stephentown To Review Land Use Regs

by David Flint
Following a moment of silence in respect for Martin Luther King, a public hearing was held prior to the regular Stephentown Town Board meeting on Monday, January 17 regarding proposed Local Law #1 of 2011 on Fee Reimbursement. The intent of the law, as Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt put it, is to solidify and spell out existing provisions of the Town’s land use and subdivision regulations that require reimbursement to the Town for legal and engineering fees incurred in the process of reviewing and approving plans and designs of developers by the Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. The new law makes clear that developers or applicants for subdivision approval must reimburse the Town for all reasonable and necessary engineering and legal expenses incurred in connection with review, inspection and acceptance of their plans. Applicants will be required, as a condition of approval, to deposit up front a specified sum of money with the Town to be placed in an escrow account. Vouchers from lawyers and engineers will be paid out of the escrow funds with the approval of the Town Board that they are reasonable and necessary. Additional sums may be required as necessary to replenish the escrow account.
Councilman PJ Roder expressed some concern about driving developers away, but Eckhardt said the law was no different from such laws in surrounding towns and that the Town Board would still retain the responsibility to determine that the charges are reasonable.
In the regular meeting that followed, however, Eckhardt moved to table passage of the law until the February meeting in order to give the Board a little more time to review and digest the wording of the law. The rest of the Board agreed and the law was tabled. In the meantime anyone interested in its provisions can get a copy from the Town Clerk.
Committee Proposed To Review Land Use Regulations
When passed, the new law on Fee Reimbursement will become an addendum to the Town’s Land Use Regulations. Eckhardt said that at their workshop meeting earlier this month the Board had come to the consensus that it is time to review and update those regulations to be consonant with new building codes. To do that they propose to establish a committee that would include interested residents as well as Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector Dean Herrick and his Deputy and members from the Planning and Zoning Boards. Eckhardt said the formal process would start in February or March and he hoped to have the revision complete by the end of the year or in January of next year.
Following that, the Board intends that the committee would get started on a longer range plan that might be called a Master Plan for the Town. Eckhardt said that the local laws established in 1991 setting forth the Land Use and Subdivision Regulations had served the Town well but now it was time to adopt a vision for the next five to twenty years regarding business, industry, enterprise and housing. Councilman William Jennings noted that a lot of people pass through the Town every day but we are giving them no opportunity to stop here. Eckhardt agreed saying that the Town is indeed located at an important crossroads position that should afford opportunity to grow businesses. The Town Board, he said, could act as a catalyst or clearing house for potential businesses. Eckhardt encouraged any business people or residents who have an idea for what they would like to see happen in Stephentown in the future to contact any Town Board member about volunteering to serve on the committee.
Planning Board Vacancy
The Board passed a resolution acknowledging the resignation of Freling Smith from the Planning Board effective January 5. Smith has now been appointed a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. In another resolution the Board authorized the Town Clerk to advertise for the position, which expires at the end of 2014. Resumes and letters of interest should be submitted by February 18.
New Furnace Needed
Jennings reported that the boiler in the Town Hall was leaking and the circulation pump was making noises. A Legenbauer service person found on Saturday that the pump was dead and the 1997 boiler was cracked. The pump was replaced with a temporary one and a sealant placed in the system slowed the leak, but the furnace will have to be replaced soon. Eckhardt said there is money in the contingency account that can be used for this.
Malfunctioning Street Lights
Street lights at both ends of Brown’s Road were reported to be out or malfunctioning. Residents mentioned other lights that blink on and off or go out as a car approaches. Eckhardt said this has been found to occur when bright headlights trip the sensor in the street light causing it to go out. He said this is a problem that needs to be corrected by NYSEG  by adjusting the sensor. Anyone who knows of malfunctioning street lights should report it to the Town Clerk or a Board member so that the problem can be fixed.
Funds Transfer
Since it is necessary at this time of year to increase and decrease certain accounts within the General and Highway Funds to balance the funds for the previous year, the Board passed a resolution authorizing the Town Supervisor to transfer funds within accounts in order to balance and close the books for 2010. An itemized report of these transfers will be due at the February Town Board meeting.
Deposits & Spending
The Town Clerk reported she had turned over the sum of $391.90 to the Supervisor for the month of December. The distribution from the office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund to the Town was $2,368. The Transfer Station deposited a total of $8,946. Sale of recycling bags at the Transfer Station accounted for $7,490 of this amount and about $4,000 was collected in the last week of December as word got out that the fee for bags was set to rise from $1 to $2 starting January 1.
The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $25,857.09 from the General Account and $16,002.48 from the Highway Account.
The Board set their next Workshop meeting for Monday, February 14, at 7 pm and their next regular meeting for Monday, February 21, also at 7 pm..