by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls Village Board meeting began by opening a public hearing on the new zoning law. Mayor Borge noted that the Zoning Code has not been updated since 1977. [private]Ted Kolankowski from Barton & Loguidice said he and Village officials have been working on the Zoning update for three years and “we are just about at the finish line.”
The piece of it that generated conversation at this meeting was the section about keeping chickens in back yards. A woman who is interested in buying a house on the corner of Main Street and Richmond Ave said she would like to keep chickens and whether or not they are allowed might affect her decision about buying the house. Kolankowski read the section on keeping chickens in the current draft – they are allowed, but no more than 6, and no roosters, and there are setbacks from property lines and various requirements about how they are kept.
Dennis Casey spoke in favor of chickens – he said various neighbors of his have kept chickens in the Village, and it has never been a problem. Deb Alter and Ramon McMillan submitted a letter in favor of allowing backyard chickens in the Village. No one spoke against keeping chickens, but Trustee Bob Downing predicted, “it’s going to be a mess” when people are keeping chickens and the Village has the responsibility to make sure they are kept in accordance with the strictures of the Zoning law.
Mayor Borge said normally, after the public hearing had been held, the Village Board would take a vote on the zoning update, but he said because two of the Village trustees were absent, he wanted to table it, so it could be voted on next month by the full Board. Another public hearing on the zoning update will be held prior to next month’s meeting.
Update On Water Issues Mayor Borge said the concrete was poured for the base of the full-capacity filtration system the day of the meeting. That filtration plant is expected to be ready by the end of December – it has been delayed a bit by Calgon’s manufacturing of the filtration units being a bit behind schedule. Borge said discussions with Saint-Gobain and Honeywell about reimbursing the Village for its PFOA-related expenses are ongoing, and he hopes to have an agreement to present to the Village Board by the September meeting.
Borge said the landfill has been declared a “P-site,” which means it is a potential State Superfund site and this designation makes funds available to do investigations and remediation on the site.
The Mayor also said both Saint-Gobain and Honeywell are doing soil sampling all around their facilities and they would like to do sampling on a number of surrounding properties that do not belong to them. They will be asking the property owners for permission to do sampling, and Mayor Borge urged homeowners to give permission, so that the information gathered about where the contamination is can be as comprehensive as possible.
Mayor Borge said Brown’s Brewery is applying for a grant to help them with an expansion plan, and they asked him to send a letter of support and he wrote the letter and sent it out. He said the planned expansion would involve a $3 million investment in renovations and equipment, and would create 20 new jobs. Mayor Borge said DEC will require a disinfection process for water released from the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and grants are available to study disinfection systems and plan for implementation. The Board agreed to pay MRB Engineering $2,000 to prepare and submit an application for a $37,500 grant for this purpose.
Rich DeGuida and Michelle Baines from MRB Engineering were at this meeting to describe their progress, as they did the night before at the Town Meeting, on plans for expansion of the Village water system to various parts of the Town. They in fact identified 18 different possible service areas, going as far south as the Stewarts Shop on Routes 7 and 22, and as far north and west as Buskirk. The Mayor explained that the Village had asked MRB to look at all possibilities, and reminded the taxpayers that this study is being paid for by New York State, not the Village or Town. They will not be able to build out to all of the service areas in the near future – the amount of money involved would be too great. The first project will probably go south along Route 22 to the Central School, and perhaps take in some offshoots along the way, and perhaps also make improvements to some of the existing water infrastructure. Setting the priorities for which areas will be done in the first phase will be the subject of meetings at the end of this month between MRB, the Town, the Village, and State officials. MRB needs to define a project by the end of the month so it can be submitted to the State Environmental Facilities Corporation for funding.
Kevin Allard asked why no service area was proposed for the Hill Road area, since the water expansion was being planned as far afield as Buskirk. Michelle Baines from MRB said Hill Road was not included because of considerations about its elevation, but it could be added if the Village or Town directed MRB to do so.
9/11 Commemoration Mayor Borge said the Hoosick Falls Fire Department is planning an event on Sunday, September 11 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attack. There will be a ceremony at the Fire Station at 4 pm, then a parade from there to Wood Park, and another ceremony at Wood Park, after which the Community Band will play. The Village Board gave permission for the Parade down Main Street, and for the use of Wood Park for this event.
Police Chief Ashe listed the categories of the 109 calls the police responded to the last month. He said two of his police officers were assaulted last month, and the suspect fled the area. He was found in Tennessee and brought back here to face charges.
Ashe said he would like Police Matron Missy Davock to serve as the police officer for the court for four hours a week, and the Village Board agreed to that.
Code Enforcement Officer Mark Surdam said the number of violation notices he issued this month was less than previous months because he is following up notices he previously sent out to make sure that things are being corrected after he issues a violation notice.
He also said he believes apartments are turning over from one tenant to the next without the required inspection, and he hopes to raise landlord awareness of that requirement.
He also said Oak Mitsui wants to demolish the building at its former plant on First Street. He said considering the history of that property he wants to “touch base with DEC” to see what precautions should be taken to be sure no toxic materials are released during the demolition process. “We want to make sure the lot is clean when they are done.” He noted that it is a five acre lot in a prime location in the village and the hope would be to get it clean so that someone else could build on it in the future.
The Board opened bids for two trucks that they want to purchase. One was a used dump truck, and there was only one bid. Delurey Sales and Service offered a 2005 International with a plow on it for $48,795, and the Board approved the purchase of that truck.
The Village also sought to purchase a pickup truck. They received two bids, but one was no good because it did not provide the information requested, and a second was fine until it was retracted at the last minute. The Board agreed to seek new bids for the pickup truck.
Trustee Kevin O’Malley said Cumberland Farms went before the Planning Board in July and their proposal to take down the Elks Building was approved, subject to several conditions designed to screen the new parking lot from view to some extent with trees and brickwork. O’Malley said the demolition could happen at any time in the next year – it might not happen right away[/private]