New Lebanon Town Board Action – The Robert Mittnight Jr. Court Case

by Thaddeus Flint
When the New Lebanon Town Board meeting was called to order on March 14 and the privilege of the floor turned over to the public Robert  Mittnight Jr. addressed the Town Board in regard to his seemingly endless saga of zoning problems which began in 2004.  Mittnight Jr. stated that his attorney advised him to come to the Board meeting to see if there was any possibility that reasonable reconciliation could be worked out between him and the Town of New Lebanon without the two parties incurring even more legal fees. He pointed out that he would probably be going to jail in thirty days if a solution could not be found and that such action would most likely lead him into financial ruin, which would be in nobody‘s interest.  Mittnight had hoped to comply with the court order by building a structure which could be used to house the equipment and building materials he was being ordered to remove, but his applications to the zoning board for building permits were denied because he was in violation of “having materials needing to be removed.”  That he could have then removed them to the structure he would build did not seem to matter. “That’s a Catch-22!” exclaimed a member of the public.
Council Member Doug Clark pointed out that the matter was now in the hands of the court and that the Town could no longer intervene unless the court decided to drop the case.  Mittnight Jr. was also advised to speak with his attorney about getting an extension to the order of February 15 which demanded he comply with zoning regulation by April 15.
Mrs. JJ Johnson then addressed the Board in regard to the appointment of John Dax to the Zoning Board. Johnson pointed out that while other appointments to the Zoning Board were made after a procedure of vacancy advertisement, letters of interest and interviews, the appointment of  Dax was made with apparently no advertisement at all. Johnson said she doubted both the legality and the ethicality of such an appointment. She doubted also that the Town would be getting the most qualified individuals without advertising the openings.  “What if there is Joe Zoning Expert down the road there?  How are you ever going to know if you don’t put it out there?” she asked.
Council Member Clark maintained that it is totally within the discretion of the Town Board to make appointments and that the “procedure” was more a guideline to help the Board make its decision.
Donna Smith then inquired into the details of a Certificate of Deposit (CD) which the town currently maintains at the Kinderhook Bank with a current value of $202,654.31. Town Supervisor Meg Robertson explained that the CD was kept as a means of holding Town funds which were not immediately needed in such a way as to allow them to earn interest.  There is also no financial risk involved as Certificates of Deposit with a value of under $300,000 are FDIC insured.   Supervisor Robertson pointed out that while the current interest rate at Kinderhook Bank is an infinitesimal .3548%, the situation is pretty much the same at most other banks and that the Town is constantly checking interest rates at competing institutions in order to find one in which it would most benefit.
Rocky Brown asked the Board who is allowed to serve on the Town’s Ethics Board.  The Board replied that the only basic requirements were that the member would need to be a resident of the Town of New Lebanon and yet not be a member of the Town Board itself.  There is no requirement that states that the Ethics Board member needs to be either a taxpayer or a voter.
With the conclusion of the public floor, the Town Board announced the bids received for the sale of a surplus 2004 Ford F550 truck.  The winning bid of $17,590 was almost three thousand dollars more than the next highest bid.  Could this be true?  Or was it a mistake?  “We called and verified it” said Council Member Bruce Baldwin. The highest bid was accepted unanimously.
Town Highway Superintendent Jeff Winestock then addressed the Board about flood damage which occurred the weekend of March 12 and 13 on Shaker Road at the Shaker Museum.  According to Superintendent Winestock, the flood of July 2009 caused debris to form an obstruction in one of the original Shaker stone aqueducts. Only a small amount of water can now pass under Shaker Road.  During periods of heavy rain on Sunday the run-off flowed into a drainage ditch on the north side of the road. The ditch, not designed to handle large and continuous amounts of water, eroded and overflowed damaging the road surface and bed.
Baldwin pointed out that the Shaker Museum had previously been advised of the problem.  They have yet to remedy the situation.  “It has, once again, resulted in major road degradation,” he said. Baldwin proposed that a motion be made that the Town Attorney contact the Shaker Museum to point out that New Lebanon will be expecting that some or all of the funding for the repair of Shaker road will be the responsibility of the Shaker Museum and that some kind of agreement between the two parties be reached. The resolution was passed.
Town Supervisor Robertson then publicly thanked Highway Superintendent Winestock and the other Town Highway employees for the quality of their work this winter.  “I certainly appreciate and extend a big heart-felt thanks for all the work that you and your crew have done,” she said.
Finally, Code Enforcement Officer Kent Pratt addressed the Board in regard to the energy audit recently conducted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on the Town Garage and the Town Hall. An independent contractor came to New Lebanon and checked the buildings for ways in which energy could be better utilized or conserved through such things as insulation, better doors and windows and perhaps more efficient water heaters and air conditioners. A report will be prepared and forwarded to the Town in two to four weeks outlining their findings and suggestions. Should the Town follow any of the recommendations detailed in the audit, the $200 charge by NYSERDA would be returned to the Town. The audit is free for any interested small business with fewer than one hundred employees and also to non-profit organizations.  Town Supervisor Robertson asked if anything out of the ordinary was found.  “No,” replied Pratt, “It’s all normal stuff.  Everything is outdated.”
Dog Law: Ho-Hum
The March 14 meeting had opened with a public hearing on the proposed dog law amendment.   None of the public seemed to have any interest in dog law amendments, and so the public hearing closed three minutes later with no comments whatsoever. “Is that good or what?” asked Town Supervisor Margaret Robertson.