by David Flint
A new law proposed for Stephentown provides for appointing Alternate Members for both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The Stephentown Town Board presented it at a public hearing on Monday, May 16. According to the proposed law, the Alternate Member(s) would be appointed by the Town Board for a term of two years. They would serve whenever regular members are absent or unable to participate on an application or matter before the respective board. They would be required to complete all training required of regular members, with the cost of the training provided by the Town, and required also to attend all meetings, if possible, and to stay up to date on matters before the board to which they are appointed.
If a regular member were unable to participate because of a conflict of interest, the Alternate would be substituted automatically and would continue to serve until the matter is resolved. The Alternate would also be seated automatically whenever less than five regular members are in attendance at any meeting but would be seated for that meeting only. In any case, when a substitution is made, the Alternate Member would possess all the powers and responsibilities of a Regular Member and be subject to all applicable provisions of existing state and local laws or resolutions.
In the regular meeting that followed, Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt moved to table the enactment of the law until the June meeting in order to allow the Board and the public a bit more time to consider it.
Jobs Available
The Board also had before them a resolution to advertise for these positions, along with expected vacancies for the position of Court Clerk and ZBA Secretary. Deborah Coppola, who has been serving in the latter two positions, expects to be leaving the area and will resign, probably by the end of July. The Board decided to table this resolution also since they had tabled the enactment of the Alternate Member law. So the positions will be advertised next month presumably. In the meantime, Eckhardt said that people who are interested in these positions could go ahead and send in their resumés or letters of interest. The Court Clerk position currently pays $8,755 and the ZBA Secretary pays $1,545. Eckhardt noted that Coppola also designed the Town’s very effective website (townofstephentown.org), and functions as webmaster. So that position will also be coming vacant. The webmaster position is currently not a paid position, but Eckhardt said the Board would be looking to see what other towns are doing in this respect.
Madden Road Mess
Rick McClave brought to the Board’s attention a situation on Madden Road that he considered not only a disgusting eyesore but also a health hazard. A house just north of the National Grid power
lines has piles of garbage strewn about the deck and all across the yard. McClave said the problem started about four years ago when the property changed hands. Now there are rats in the area where there were never any before. High winds a couple of weeks ago blew some of the garbage and trash all about the neighborhood. The house has been vacated since last November. McClave said he knows that Code Enforcement Office Dean Herrick had been to the site several times and the County Health Department, too, but nothing has been done. He now requested that the Town Board do what they can to put pressure on the Health Department to get the site cleaned up before hot weather sets in and creates a more severe health hazard.
Other neighbors confirmed the extent of the mess, one saying that ducks in their pond across the road had died because of debris and garbage that had been blown into it. Another said that a truck that had been parked there filled with garbage had been used recently to haul away metal and anything else salable but the garbage had been dumped out onto the property.
Eckhardt responded that he and Dean Herrick would speak with the Town’s attorney, inform him of what has been done up to now about the situation and find out how to proceed from here under the law to get the place cleaned up.
Sime’s Complaint
Richard Sime, a member of the ZBA whose property on O’Dell Road was castigated as a junkyard by Brian Baker at the last meeting, complained that he had been singled out for criticism whereas the Board casts a blind eye on many other not so nice properties in Town. Sime said that just because a property looks good it doesn’t mean it is good, and if he was to be singled out, he wanted everything brought out in the open, whether it’s hidden, buried under buildings or whatever. In particular he mentioned the property adjoining his O’Dell Road property where a house and barn were torn down and a double-wide put up but no debris was taken away. He asked the Board what the law was on backfilling such debris that might have lead paint and who knows what mixed in.
Eckhardt replied that the Board was simply trying to improve things with an update on the land use regulations. Baker’s comments were made in that context. Councilman Bill Jennings said that the Board’s interest was in making Stephentown a better place to live, and he and Eckhardt both affirmed that anyone in Town has a right to be heard on issues before the Board.
Sime also complained that the Board had not supported the ZBA, a Board for which it has not been easy to get volunteers, when it came under criticism last year, also from Brian Baker. Jennings replied that the Board was trying just to make the ZBA a well functioning viable organization and that they had done more in the last few months to help that Board than they had done in many years. Councilman PJ Roder added that the Board knows that serving on such boards is a thankless task and that they believed that the volunteers on the ZBA were doing a good job but it is not up to the Town Board to “police” comments that are made.
Round Mountain Road Slipping Into Ravine
Eckhardt reported that there is a spot on Round Mountain Road just past the National Grid power lines where it appears a portion of the uphill lane is washing out and sliding over the bank into a deep ravine. He said Highway Superintendent Aldy Goodermote had put down some trap rock as a temporary fix but had also contacted the Clough Harbour engineering firm for advice on how to stabilize the roadbed. They have agreed to come out, do some initial boring and provide consultation without charge. In the meantime, Eckhardt gave assurance that there is enough room on the road for fire and emergency vehicles to get by.
Youth Summer Program
Roder reported that the Youth Commission’s Summer Program would be held in the Town Hall and on the grounds of the Fire Hall and Muster Field. Eckhardt said that the Berlin School Board had approved the lease of the former Stephentown Elementary School for the Summer Program but the County Health Department had issued a prohibition on using the school building for anything. It seems that schools are supposed to have a water treatment system. Stephentown did not, but as long as the water tested OK the School District was able to get a waiver on that. When the building was closed, however, the waiver was cancelled. Rather than attempt to go through a lengthy bureaucratic tangle to get approval that might not be forthcoming anyway, the Board decided to use the Town’s own facilities. The swim program will be held as previously in New Lebanon with pick up and drop off at the Town Hall.
Land Use Update Committee
Jennings reported that the Land Use Regulations Review Committee will begin meeting probably this Thursday, May 19, at 7 pm in the Town Hall. The members are Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector Dean Herrick, his Deputy Owen Cassavaugh, Kevin Carpenter and Fred Haley from the community, Roland Barth representing the ZBA, PJ Roder and Bill Jennings from the Town Board and one member of the Planning Board not yet designated. It is expected the Committee will meet once a month to start and possibly more frequently later on.
Little Change In Equalization Rate
Eckhardt stated that the State Office of Real Property Services has come up with a tentative equalization rate for Stephentown of 29.0. This is just a slight drop from last year’s rate of 30.0. The rate had remained stable at 30 for three years after dropping steeply in previous years from 46.3 in 2004. A declining Equalization Rate indicates that market values are rising faster than assessed values.
Transfer Station Summer Hours
Councilman Mark Prescott reported that the Transfer Station will be open again on Mondays starting June 6 until Labor Day. The hours will be 3 to 7 pm. When Monday hours were eliminated last year people complained that in the heat of the summer, Saturday to Wednesday was too long to keep smelly garbage at home.
Paula Dibble asked what the situation was with ERCSWMA. Prescott replied that there had been some discussion with them about reducing costs but they had not gone smoothly. There may be further discussion but it appears that ERCSWMA wants to hold Stephentown to their contract until it expires in 2015. After that the Town may consider other options for trash disposal.
Thanks To Legenbauer
Councilman Roder expressed the gratitude of the Board to the Legenbauer Gas & Oil Company for their quick service in fixing the Town Hall furnace this past winter. Roder said they had to be called again for another problem a couple weeks later and they responded within 15 minutes, solved the problem and charged nothing.
Deposits & Spending
The Town Clerk reported she had turned over the sum of $503.13 to the Supervisor for the month of April. The distribution from the office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund to the Town was $2,190. The Transfer Station deposited a total of $6,528.
The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $22,018.83 from the General Account and $25,810.68 from the Highway Account.
The Board set their next regular meeting for Monday, June 20, at 7 pm.