Stephentown Town Board Action – A Property Dispute

by David Flint
A property dispute on Brainard Road that has come up at recent meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals was brought before the Stephentown Town Board at their regular monthly meeting on Monday. Attorney and surveyor Joanne Darcy Crum of the Albany law firm Lemery Greisler LLC, requested that a temporary Certificate of Occupancy (CO) granted to Henry Warner be revoked. [private]According to Crum, Warner, without having a survey done, built a house, a garage, a well and a partial septic system almost entirely on the property belonging to his neighbors, David and Tammy Gorman, Crum’s clients. A CO was granted in December 2011, and the Warners moved in. The Gormans, who own the strip of vacant land, realized only later in 2012 that the house had been built on their property. They had the land surveyed, and it became clear that the property line had been breached. Crum alleged that the Gormans had made several offers to reach some sort of settlement but had been rebuffed. She said that Code Enforcement Officer Dean Herrick, knowing that the house had been built on the Gormans’ property, had later renewed Warner’s Building Certificate. Crum and the Gormans have been meeting with the ZBA to try and get that decision reversed. Herrick has said in response to that effort that he had extended Warner’s Building Permit only to allow the parties time to reach some sort of agreement regarding the property encroachment.
Crum said that the temporary CO that Herrick granted should have expired last June. She now wanted the Town Board to enforce the local laws in the face of the fact that Warner is occupying a house without a septic system and no CO.
Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt responded that the Town Board has always tried to let Town officers do their jobs and only step in if they have legal advice that someone is not doing their job. He said that, depending on what the ZBA does at its next meeting and what legal advice the Town Board receives on this matter, the Town Board may have to intervene in some way. He said that, after the Board has had time to review the matter and has consulted with its attorney, they would also consider holding a special meeting on this matter sometime in the next few weeks.
Town Assessor Tom MacVeigh wondered now, “Who do I assess this house to?” No one was able to come up with a definite answer to this. Board Member Bill Jennings agreed that, “Tom’s in a tough situation.” But Joan MacVeigh offered that, “Probably nobody’s paying it anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
No Position On The SAFE Act
In response to a request made last month that the Board consider a resolution to declare unconstitutional and call for the repeal of the State gun law known as the SAFE Act, Eckhardt reported that the Board had discussed this at its workshop meeting. The consensus was that the Board believed it was not their place to say for the Town what they like or don’t like about what the State does. Eckhardt said that if residents personally feel strongly about any such issue, they should be sure to let their legislators and elected officials know. Personal letters, Eckhardt believed, would have more weight than a Town Board resolution. Board Member PJ Roder suggested that a community petition might also be an effective tool.
Land Use Regulations
Kevin Carpenter asked about the Economic Development Committee the Board had proposed setting up two years ago, Eckhardt said the Board wanted first to finish with revisions made to the Land Use Regulations. The Planning Board, he said, has been reviewing the proposed amendments and will be meeting this week on that. The Town Board can then hold a public hearing regarding the necessity for an Environmental Impact Statement.
Town Assessor Tom MacVeigh noted that regulations say that no property can be sold that is more than three times its width. How would that be enforced he wondered since the Board is not informed about all sales. He believed it should be addressed in the new Regulations and perhaps a provision be included that would require that someone, such as the Town Clerk, the Assessor or the Building Inspector, sign off on any land change. In the Town of Nassau, he said, every land sale has to go to the Planning Board.
Highway Department
Highway Superintendent Aldie Goodermote reported that the snow removal budget is “OK” despite the Department’s having to deal with 21 storms so far this winter.
Eckhardt reported that the diesel motor in the Highway Department’s 2004 Ford pickup truck has quit working. Replacing the motor was discussed but rejected as not feasible so the Board has authorized Goodermote to look around for a used pickup truck as an interim solution. Goodermote said eight years is about all you can expect out of a pickup truck in Highway Department use. In the meantime he is making do with the one ton truck with sander for his “getaround” truck.
The Board passed a resolution approving the purchase of a plow and sander with related equipment for the new 2014 International tandem axle truck purchased last month. The Board is “piggybacking” off an existing County bid from Zwack, Inc. of Stephentown. The Town Supervisor is authorized to contract with First Niagara Bank to pay the purchase price of $75,095 over a four year period.
Partial Assessments OK’d
The Board passed a resolution urging the Town Assessor to continue the practice of making partial assessments on properties with longstanding unfinished improvements. Although the County Legislature recently passed a resolution urging town assessors to cease this practice on newly built buildings, the Board and Stephentown’s sole Assessor, Tom MacVeigh, believe that they acted under pressure from developers. The Board feels that it would be more equitable for all taxpayers to continue the practice. Eckhardt gave the example of a builder six years into his project with a foundation dug but no completed building.  Why should the Town not be able to assess this property and get some partial revenue, he questioned.
Assessor “Retiring”
MacVeigh reported that he was successful in securing retirement pay for his 37 years of public service. He had been told back in 1976 that he was not eligible for the State Retirement System because he was only a part time official. That changed sometime in the 80s but he was never offered the opportunity to sign up. Now, after applying recently, he has been told he will be credited with 18½ years of service. But under the State’s arcane ways of doing things he will have to be out of office for 24 hours. Therefore, he informed the Board that he will be retiring on April 12, and he expects to be reinstated as Assessor on April 15.
Deposits & Spending
Eckhardt reported that he had received and deposited the 4th Quarter Sales Tax distribution from the County in the amount of $103,000.
The Town Clerk turned over the sum of $478.60 to the Supervisor for the month of February. The distribution from the Office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund to the Town was $1,455. The Transfer Station deposited a total of $3,484.
The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $15,731.82 from the General Account and $34,516.54 from the Highway Account.
The Board set their next regular meeting for Monday, April 15, at 7 pm.[/private]