Stephentown Town Board Action – Music Festival Returns

by David Flint
The Bella Terra music and arts festival is returning to Stephentown. The Festival attracted some 1,500 patrons over four days and nights last August and also some complaints afterward from residents upset over the continuous loud noise resounding through the valley into the morning hours. At the Stephentown Town Board meeting on Monday evening, Bella Terra Owner and Executive Producer Jeffrey Schneider spoke to the Board to announce the return of the Festival on August 18-21 and to assure them and residents that every effort will be made to minimize the noise. The festival will be scaled back to three days of music; a number of audio techniques will be used to reduce the volume, and the music will end earlier each night. “We are really interested in trying to make this an event that meshes with your community,” Schneider said.
Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt recalled that the huge crowd last year was good for business in the Town, and he praised Schneider’s group for coordinating things ahead of time and working well with Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer Dean Herrick, the Fire Department and the County Health Department. Residents’ concerns, he said, had to do with the noise and how late in the night it went on. He thanked Schneider for addressing these problems and asked him to again work with Herrick on arrangements and safety and provide their plans for the hours of operation.
Schneider said this year there would be discount prices at less than half the regular price for Stephentown residents – $40 for the weekend, $30 for two days and $20 for a single day and no charge for children age 16 and under. A photo ID and proof of residency will be required. Schneider said he would coordinate with the Town Board on appropriate proof of residency since some Stephentown residents have postal addresses of Averill Park, East Nassau or New Lebanon.
According to an information sheet handed out by Schneider, medical staff will coordinate a response plan with local fire and EMS, all food and beverage vendors will need to be authorized and routinely inspected by the County Health Department and a licensed and bonded security company will conduct searches of persons and vehicles entering the event.
A Subway On The Corner?
Eckhardt reported on the possibility of a Subway sandwich shop coming to Stephentown. The Board has received a letter from Bob Davis of Hoags Corners informing them that he has purchased the building near the Route 43/22 intersection formerly occupied by Valley Electronics and is contemplating opening up a Subway shop there. When open, he wrote, it could mean up to eight jobs. The letter will be passed on to Dean Herrick to look into zoning and other considerations and begin whatever permitting process might be necessary. But Eckhardt said it was exciting news that someone is looking to open a new business in town. “It’s what we’re looking for – commerce – because commerce brings jobs and jobs bring revenue for the Town.”
Emergency Response Getting To Be More Of A Problem
Peter Colombo of Fawn Ridge complained of slow response time to a medical emergency at his residence on July 5. He said he called 911, waited 20 minutes and called again but was told no one was responding from the Stephentown Fire Station. He said he had to wait 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive from Pittsfield and then it was another 45 minutes to get to Berkshire Medical Center. “Why no response from Stephentown,” he asked.
Councilman Bill Jennings, who is also an EMT, Treasurer of the Fire Department and Secretary of the Board of Fire Commissioners, responded that despite the best efforts of the volunteers on the Rescue Squad, who typically respond to 25 to 30 calls a month, it happens that about once or twice a month the required two people are not available to respond to a call. The protocol for an emergency in the Town is for the County Dispatcher to call Stephentown first, and then if there is no response after three minutes they will automatically call the next available appropriate ambulance squad. In Colombo’s case, because he requested that the person be taken to Berkshire Medical Center, they called one of the two ambulance companies in Pittsfield. If he had wanted to go to Albany Medical Center they would probably have called Empire or Mohawk Ambulance out of Brunswick or Castleton. Jennings said the Pittsfield companies are usually very prompt and efficient. Why it took 45 minutes to arrive he did not know but said information could be had from Rensselaer County Dispatch.
Responding to medical emergencies is getting to be more of a problem in the rural towns, Jennings said, especially on holiday weekends. He said that last year the County worked out an agreement with Empire Ambulance Service to have a paid crew standing by in the Tsatsawassa Fire House but there was insufficient business there to justify that. Subsequently they moved to Berlin but had to give up on that, too. Getting good paid service out here is a real problem and no good solution is in sight, he said. He added that many times in the last couple of years the Dispatcher has had to call one town ambulance squad after another going down the list through four or five towns before getting a response. More volunteers are needed, he said, but they are hard to get because members are required to have and maintain a lot of training and most people don’t want to get up in the middle of the night to respond to a call.
Beacon Power
Eckhardt reported that there was a big turnout up the road from the Town Hall on July 12 for Beacon Power’s celebration of the completion of their frequency regulation plant. Quite a few people from Stephentown were there along with other people from all over the world. Eckhardt, who was one of the speakers at the celebration, found it to be an interesting event about fascinating technology that he thought might perhaps not be completely proven yet. The flywheel technology provides one solution to the problem of how to store electric power, which becomes more crucial as we move toward “green” energy. The real issue for Beacon, he said, is how to make money from it given that the first plant cost $50 million or more to build and how to sell this new technology to shareholders.
Robinson Hollow Way
Victor Weber of Robinson Hollow Way asked about the status of the process of turning over that road to the Town. Eckhardt replied that he is still working with the Town’s attorney trying to get all the paperwork together. He noted that it took 20 years to get Nora Way converted to Nora Lane, a Town road. Weber said his group had first made their request back in 1988.
Weber reported that the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had put up a sign at the end of the road indicating that it was a “public right of way” to get to the Taconic Crest Trail. Board members commented that maybe DEC ought to do their share of maintaining this public right of way before they put their sign up.
Madden Road Mess Approaching Cleanup
Eckhardt said that Dean Herrick had tried to contact the Bank of America, owner of record of 51 Madden Road, reported on earlier as an eyesore and health risk, but had received no response. The County Health Department subsequently gave the Bank a 30 day deadline to get the place cleaned up or the County and Town would do it and submit a bill. The Bank then responded that they had a contractor lined up and they would clean it up soon. So far, Eckhardt said, nothing has been done, but at least it’s on the record that cleanup is at their expense. Herrick and the County, he said, would supervise the job.
Dog Report?
Councilman Chris Demick reported that it was a quiet month on the Dog Control front. “We had two cat calls though,” he said. Eckhardt asked Lynne Burns if she was officially the Animal Control Officer or the Dog Control Officer. Burns said she was Dog Control only but could refer residents to rescue centers for stray cats.
Deposits & Spending
The Town Clerk reported she had turned over the sum of $852.09 to the Supervisor for the month of June. The distribution from the office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund to the Town was $1,301.61. The Transfer Station deposited a total of $5,587.
The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $12,109.56 from the General Account and $54,711.49 from the Highway Account.
The Board set their next regular meeting for Monday, August 15, at 7 pm.