Neighbors Opposing Motocross Track Re-Opening Ask Town To Intervene
by Alex Brooks
A contingent of neighbors were at the Hoosick Town Board meeting on Monday July 8 to ask the Town to intervene in what appears to be a revival of a motocross track in West Hoosick.
The track operated for several years about 12 years ago and has been closed for eleven years or so, according to the neighbors, but work is being done now to refurbish it, and it looks like it may soon be back in operation.
David Delurey who lives on Tate Road, said 100% of the neighbors oppose it, because it has already been shown that the track management is unable to control the noise and the dust generated by the motorbikes.
Sue Stradinger, also of Tate Road, said “We’ve been through a lot with this dirt bike track in the past.” She said when neighbors complained about noise and dust when the track first opened, track managers said they would spray the track with water to keep down dust, and create buffers to block the noise, but neither were effective. Stradinger said when the track was in operation the noise was “deafening” and the dust so thick it would collect on your arm if you sat outside.
Stradinger, who was the Town Clerk at the time, said the track was never approved by the Town Board or the Planning Board. She said there were two deaths at the track, and it closed after the second death occurred. She also said that the Town Rescue Squad had to make many trips to the site when it was in operation.
Stradinger said the people organizing the revival of the track are saying it’s not a business and it’s just for personal use, but she said it is a large scale project and there are many people involved. She said “This is not for personal use.”
Stradinger also said she lost the sale of her house at one point because of the track. A buyer who was all set to buy the house backed out as soon as they saw the dirt bike track nearby. More generally, Stradinger said she had done some research, and she said studies have shown that there has been significant depreciation of property values within a 2 mile radius of dirt bike tracks. She closed by appealing to the Town Board – “Please, help us out here.”
The land where the track is located is owned by James and Karyl-Lynn Desrosiers. The neighbors reported that the revival is being organized by Desrosiers’ son Eric.
Jamie Ziehm of Higher Ground Farm also spoke, saying it looks like the work that is being done up there is “almost complete,” and she is concerned that the track is going to be up and running within a few weeks. She stressed the need for the Town to act quickly. She said she went through the Planning Board process and did everything the right way when opening her business, and she has made a major investment in that business, and now it is threatened by a large scale operation claiming to be nothing more than personal use. She said on one recent day there were twenty-two trucks working up there, and she feels it strains credulity to say that’s just personal use. Ziehm said, “my business requires peace and quiet,” and if the track becomes fully operational, she is going to have to move her business somewhere else.
Several of the neighbors mentioned that the bike track has posted a GoFundMe page to raise money for rebuilding the track, and that the page says if you pay you can ride. They said that sounds like a business.
Town Attorney Jonathan Schopf said he had reviewed all the e-mails sent by the neighbors, and reviewed the Town Zoning law, and looked at the track’s GoFundMe page, and he came to the conclusion that the track is a commercial use, is not exempt from the Town Zoning Law, and is in violation of that law. He said the Town should have its Zoning Officer issue a stop-work order as soon as possible. He also said if more than an acre of ground is being disturbed without any permits, that is also a violation subject to DEC enforcement action.
Some of the neighbors asked what happens if the Town sends a stop-work order and the track operators ignore it. Schopf outlined further legal measures the Town can take which would compel compliance.
Planning Board
Daryl Cipperly has submitted his resignation from the Planning Board, which leaves only four members on a seven member board. That means the Board can still get a quorum if all four of them show up, but if one member can’t make it, the Board is unable to take any action. The Planning Board has been seeking new members for quite some time, so this seems to be more than a temporary problem. The Board is considering making the Planning Board a five person board so as to reduce the recruitment problem, and asked Town Attorney Schopf to research how that would be done. The Board also discussed starting to pay Planning Board members, but was not ready to move forward with that yet. In the meantime, the Town is actively seeking someone willing to serve on the Planning Board, for immediate appointment.
The Town is also trying to support the Planning Board and Zoning Board more effectively, and to that end has scheduled a training session for members of those two boards for Monday July 29 at 6 pm in the Town offices at the Armory.
Pool Closing
Surdam said there was a shortage of certified lifeguards applying for positions at the pool this year, and as a result the pool was closed July 4 to 7 (in the middle of a heat wave, of course) because they didn’t have enough certified lifeguards to keep it open. He said they managed to get some kids certified over the weekend and they are OK now. He said the Town didn’t really have any choice but to close the pool, since they didn’t have required lifeguard coverage, but this is the first time in memory that a shortage of lifeguards has been a problem. He said they plan to offer a certification course next winter at Hoosac School’s pool, and the Board agree that lifeguards who sign up for pool duty will have the cost of the course paid by the Town (over two years) and also pay for the time spent taking the course. He said he hopes that by being pro-active, the town can avoid having this ever happen again in the future.
SAM Grant
The Board now has in hand drawings of the playground and pool renovation project drawn by CHA Associates (Clough Harbor) and associated information. Surdam said he is still seeking estimates for the cost of putting up three shade pavilions that are part of the project. The biggest remaining uncertainty is what to do about the kiddie splash pads planned for the pool area. The Town’s pool advisor, Tom Marciotta, has strongly advised the Town against getting splash pads that recycle the water because regulations for treating the water before sprinkling it out again are very stringent, and his experience has been that such systems are difficult and expensive to maintain. If the splash pads use fresh water and it runs off into the sewer, it can use a lot of water, which can get expensive if one is paying a certain price per gallon for municipal water.
Some splash pad features use more water than others, so one way to control water usage is to install features that use less water. Marciotta said the features specified on the CHA plans are “pretty extravagant.” To supply them all with water would cost about $45 per hour. Over a six hour day and a 75 day season, that would amount to a hefty annual water bill. Marciotta said since the features are not going full blast all day every day, actual usage is less. As a rule of thumb, he said they might estimate actual usage at 60% of full usage. The result might still be a water bill of $10,000 to $12,000 annually, which everybody thought was too much. The Board said they may ask the Village about discounting water used for this purpose, since it clearly serves Village residents as much or more than Town residents. They will also look into water features that use less water.
Chief Ashe
The meeting began with Hoosick Falls Police Chief Robert Ashe speaking to the Board about mischief in the area of the Town recreation area, at the tennis courts and playground. He said teenagers are hanging out there, intimidating people who want to use the swings or the tennis courts or basketball court, and sometimes using bad language or misusing the facilities. He said he and his Department can handle it, but he asked that new signage be put up stating the rules of those facilities, and he also suggested that the open hours of the park be revised from 7 am to 10 pm to 7 am to 9 pm. The Board agreed, and passed a motion to that effect. Chief Ashe also said call volume to his department has doubled, and arrests are up this year by 25-30%, and there has been an increase in juvenile arrests also. The Board was very supportive of Chief Ashe and thankful for his work, although when he said requests for response to locations outside the Village are also rising and the Town might want to reconsider a joint Village and Town police force, Surdam laughed and said, “OK, Thanks, Chief, you can go now.”
Mass Gathering Law
A Public Hearing was held on July 8 on a draft of the Mass Gathering Law. The Board agreed to include an exemption in the law for events sponsored by Any of the local Emergency Services organizations. Because of the need for this rewrite, the matter was tabled for a month and another Public Hearing will need to be held.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland said he has hired a company to put Town lettering on three of his trucks, at a cost of $900, and it should be completed soon. He said $24,832 in Emergency Winter Relief funding that the Town has been getting every year, which was cut from the budget this year, has been restored, so he doesn’t have a giant hole in his budget anymore. He also said the Cottrell Road Bridge was inspected a few weeks ago, and the engineers are not proposing any further restrictions, so that bridge is not crippled any more than it has been while the Town is waiting to get some kind of grant to replace it.
Supervisor Surdam said the survey given to the State for the Bath House Grant was rejected, and they said they need a full new survey. The company that did the limited surveying work said they can complete the full survey for $4,400 additional. This is apparently much less than another company would charge to do the full survey, because this company has already done part of the work. But Surdam said there is still over $12,000 owed to the Town under the terms of the grant, and it will not be paid unless this survey is completed, so the Town is better off the have the survey done. The Board felt the situation was infuriating, but approved having the survey done. Surdam said it has been a “nightmare project” from the beginning.
Town Attorney Jonathan Schopf said he has worked out a settlement of a tax certiorari suit with Catholic Charities, and presented to the Board for approval. They bought a two family house and renovated it, and are renting it out as an affordable house project. Because this is a not for profit, they contended that it should be tax exempt. The problem is that the Town felt the rents are not really below market. The settlement is that the Town would allow it to be exempt as long as the rents conformed to HUD guidelines for affordable housing. The Board approved the agreement.