by Thaddeus Flint
A disturbing report of animal abuse and theft was made public at the monthly Town Board meeting in New Lebanon Tuesday night.
According to resident Vivian Steinberg, a pig being raised on her property by local farmers on West Hill Road was found missing the morning of October 3. The area was marked with blood and, as neighbors reported hearing gun shots the night before, it is believed the pig was killed and taken away. A second pig was found with a knife wound to the neck.
[private]Steinberg said that her property has for years been invaded by trespassers. Attempts to block off one entrance with a large farm gate only resulted in the gate being smashed. The morning after the theft, Steinberg found evidence of ATV tracks and empty beer cans. The incident was reported to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department.
A second pig, a sow, then went missing in the night. This theft appears even more brazen in that the animal in question probably weighed around 600 pounds. Merely moving an animal of this size would require a number of individuals or some kind of lifting equipment. The value of the sow is estimated at over $1,000, which could classify the crime as Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony in New York State.
Steinberg said that she believes that the perpetrators could also be prosecuted for Felony aggravated cruelty to animals.
“Where I come from,” pointed out resident cattle farmer Cynthia Creech, who is originally from Tennessee, “it’s more than a felony. You can get shot for this.” Creech urged the Board to take the matter seriously. “It’s very disturbing,” she said.
In the meantime Steinberg is putting trespassers on notice that her property is now off limits to everyone except those with express permission to be on it. “Nothing has been as egregious as the theft of these animals,” she said. “The property is now going to be patrolled. I can make no exceptions.”
Anyone with information that could aid in the investigation of these incidents is urged to contact the Columbia County Sheriff’s office at 518-828-3344.
Regular Business
The rest of the meeting was largely concerned with choosing next year’s health care plan for Town employees. Bruce Rowlands, of the employee benefits consulting firm Rowlands & Barranca, was on hand to highlight some possible plans the Town might consider. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Town’s old plans will exist no longer as of January 2015.
The previous plan New Lebanon provided for its employees would now be considered one of the top tier health plans under the ACA’s rating system, or “platinum,” said Rowlands.
The Board was presented with a variety of options, but Rowlands explained that New Lebanon could provide the same level of protection with largely no increase to the taxpayers. Actually the new plans could be even better than the old ones. The old plan used an HMO and coverage was largely limited to the surrounding area. Rowlands said that by going with either Capital District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP) Platinum or Gold options those covered would have the option to obtain care from further afield as the plan is an EPO or Exclusive Provider Organization. EPOs are considered more flexible This is especially important should someone come down with a rare form of illness that would best be treated in a hospital elsewhere. Rowlands used Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan as an example.
Both plans appear quite good, as would be expected of Gold and Platinum rated plans. The Platinum would have a bit lower co-pays and deductibles. In 2014 the Town paid $75,292 for health care. The Town has three employees with family coverage, two employees with two person coverage and two part time employees with individual coverage that pay for health insurance themselves. If the Board decides on the Platinum plan the total cost would fall to about $74,949. If the Board decides on the Gold plan the Town could see a savings of almost $10,000 as total cost would be around $65,447. No decision was made during the public period of the meeting. The Board went into executive session later and was expected to discuss the matter further at that time.
A Non Protocol
The rest of the night’s agenda, an update on the possible sale of an unused Town gravel pit and the latest from Covenant Circle’s road to nowhere, were tabled until next month. The only real discussion came about when budget amendments were reviewed. Someone had accidently paid Staples instead of WB Mason for some office supplies for the Town Court totaling $379.90. Later it was found that WB Mason was still to be paid. Staples sent a check back for the credit. This being government, it means that one cannot simply put that money back into the account it came from. It has to go to an appropriation account and then an amendment made to move it back to the expense account. If WB Mason was paid before the budget amendment the account would have been overdrawn, even though the Town did have the money. Obviously this would irritate a lot of people, but the Town Supervisor, Mike Benson, seemed doubly irritated with the way all that happened. He has tried to set up a protocol when it comes to budget amendments, but it would appear that the protocol has not yet become protocol.
“There needs to be a paper trail,” said Benson. “This is the second time this has happened this year, and that is poor planning.”
Nobody else seemed as dismayed as the Supervisor over the $379.90. Planning Board Member Trina Porte noted that Benson’s reaction to the mistake was “weird” and “upsetting.”
It’s A Gas
The night wrapped up with more talk about the Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas Pipeline expansion that may or may not someday bring high pressure fracked gas through the Town on its way to points east and possibly further.
Resident Bruce Shenker, who has been organizing against the pipeline along with the group Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline (SNYFGP), presented the latest signatures on a petition against the project. Benson noted that many of the people who signed a petition against the pipeline were not even from the area. Shenker conceded that but pointed out that almost “a unanimous number” of residents who live along the pipeline’s path, “those that are most affected, are against it.”
SNYFGP is having a public meeting on the proposed expansion at the Town Hall on October 29. They feel that Kinder Morgan will never come to New Lebanon to talk to residents about the gas and the possible dangers that might come with it. SNYFGP continues to ask the Town Board to pass a symbolic resolution showing that the Town itself is against the project.
Benson announced that Kinder Morgan recently contacted him about setting up just the kind of meeting that SNYFGP, and the Town Board, would like to have – one that would show both sides of the story. Unfortunately, the dates so far have not worked out, but Benson said they were now “looking at dates in November.”
As for the resolution, Benson stated he is against symbolic resolutions. “Why don’t we take on Roe V. Wade while we are at it?” he asked.
“Because Roe V. Wade isn’t putting a pipeline through this Town,” replied Shenker.
Benson said the matter is a Federal one and should be handled there. Councilman Matt Larabee, however, proposed that a resolution be looked at only after Kinder Morgan comes and gives their side. A vote was taken and it was 3 to 1 with Benson the sole vote against. Councilman Bruce Baldwin was absent.
The next regular Town Board meeting will be Tuesday, November 11. Those who can’t wait that long for their local dose of governmental humdrum will be pleased to know that a Budget Workshop will be held on Monday, October 20,at 6 pm at the Town Hall.[/private]