Local News

by Alex Elvin

The Planning Board meeting on Monday, May 19, included two orders of business and a casual discussion of the ongoing Time Warner cable work around town. At 16 minutes, it was the Board’s longest meeting so far this year.

Lot Line Adjustments

Rodney Michael, a former Planning Board member and owner of RDM Surveying Consultants in Troy, submitted an application to redefine a parcel of land on Route 2 owned by Mark Gavin but long occupied by the home of James and Deborah Bettie.

Now that the Betties are planning to sell their home, Michael said, they have chosen to work with Gavin to redefine the property boundary. The new boundary will make it so the Betties’ house is not on Gavin’s property.

“Basically this goes back to a story of bad lawyering – of writing descriptions and not knowing what they were writing,” Michael said. The new application will redefine and further describe the Gavin property “so that there is never ever a question about where the westerly line of Gavin was.”

The two parties “couldn’t be happier” about the agreement, Michael said. “I just wish more people could come to that way of thinking instead of having fights and debates and all the rest of that stuff.”

The Board unanimously accepted the application for review, and Planning Board Chairman Thomas Withcuskey set a public hearing for June 16 at 6:50 pm.

Cable Work Moving Along

Diverging from the meeting’s agenda, Michael asked about the progress of TV cable work around Blue Factory Road, where he lives. Although the Planning Board is not directly involved in the work, Withcuskey explained that Time Warner has finished surveying poles and wires in town to determine if any adjustments are needed. Verizon and National Grid will make those adjustments, he said.

Withcuskey was unaware of a timeframe for the rest of the project but noted that “Time Warner got their stuff done pretty quickly” this winter. He added that the Town’s main lines “are pretty much up to code,” but that more work might be needed on the smaller roads.

Further updates on the progress of the work will likely be given by Town Supervisor Frank Higgins during the monthly Town Board meetings, Withcuskey said.

Horses On Kautz Hollow Road

Richard Lundy presented new documents related to his application for a horseback riding business on his property on Kautz Hollow Road. Most of his property, including his house, is in Pittstown, but the barn, from which the horseback riding business will be run and where the horses are stabled, is in Grafton. The Board had approved his application last April, but Lundy had decided not to pursue it right away.

The new documents Lundy presented included registrations for each of his many dogs, a contract with Averill Park Septic Service in Averill Park to have portable toilets on the property and approval from the Town of Pittstown to put up a sign directing traffic to the property. Withcuskey said he had spoken with Pittstown Supervisor Edwin King, who had no issues with the proposal.

Lundy must still present certificates of CPR and first aid training for himself and the two others who will lead the rides, and he expected to do so by Friday. He plans to set up a Facebook page in the near future with information about the rides.

The next Planning Board meeting will be June 16 at 7 pm, preceded by a public hearing at 6:50 on the Beattie lot line adjustment.