Town Board Meeting - March

CLERMONT TOWN BOARD

MARCH 7, 2016

The Clermont Town Board held their regular meeting on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall. Those present were Supervisor Raymond Staats, Councilman Robert Desmond, Councilwoman Dawn Brownson, Councilman Evan Hempel and Councilman Kris Gildersleeve. There were also six residents present, as well as, Bruce Bohnsack and Peter Mercer of Hilltop Communications and Andrew Howard, Town Attorney.

Supervisor Staats opened the meeting with the salute to the flag. He introduced Bruce Bohnsack and Peter Mercer of Hilltop Communications to discuss the mapping of fiber in Clermont. Presently there are 50 miles of fiber, 80% coverage in the town, and the fifth phase is being worked on. The areas covered by fiber are capable of 100 megabits. Mr. Mercer explained that the costs of providing stations have been increasing. Supervisor Staats hears good things about the quality of the service, but also concerns from residents about pricing and having to have a phone line in order to have internet access. Mr. Mercer explained that this comes from the rural regulations and rural phone companies are able to provide the service with subsidies from the government and because of that the phone and internet are bundled. This helps to keep the costs down. You can get the internet service but it is would cost as much if not more. G-tel has tried to keep the rates low by bundling all the services. Councilman Desmond asked about the future of cable TV? Mr. Mercer explained that you can buy season shows but some still like the package service.

Our attorney, Andrew Howard, has reviewed the Proposed cable television franchise agreement from G-tel, for which a public hearing will be held next month. It is not an exclusive agreement, another provider could come in.

DEC REMEDIATION: Andy Howard has talked to Michael Mason of DEC regarding the questions about the citizen participation plan and was it conducted and what did it mean. He spoke with Kirk Moline of C.T. Male who was involved in the initial steps. The process was followed with a fact sheet and a public meeting invitation to the neighboring properties in 2008. Thereafter in 2010 there was another public hearing for finalizing plans, a Record of Decision was issued and from there the recent award made by DEC in January 2015. The participation plan does continue. The original plan became part of this process, which was done in July of 2006. Jennifer Phillips asked about additional notifications, due to the fact that property owners have changed. Andy recommends sending out additional mailings and updating the list and putting it on the website. Also, if someone requests to be on the list they could be added. This will give people information about the work that is going on and who to contact with concerns. Once the town is notified that fieldwork is going to begin, a notice could be sent out within thirty days.

Mr. Finta asked about the recent public hearing on the Matter of Monroe and if the public should have been notified. There was a proper public notice for that hearing. That was separate and distinct from this.

Jennifer Phillips does not want to be confrontational, but people felt like they were left out of the process and should have been notified.

Councilwoman Brownson asked what is the responsibility once the work begins. Andy Howard responded that the town is going to notify neighboring landowners and they will have the names of those to contact with concerns.

Councilman Desmond spoke about our plans about what we want to do. Once we have been notified by DEC when they are going to begin, Andy suggested being timely, be accurate and not send out incorrect information.

Councilman Desmond said that the board has listened to the comments and made some changes, maybe not all of the changes that were wanted but we have taken the comments into consideration.

Councilwoman Brownson asked that if we continue to have updates at monthly board meetings, put on website, do we need more contact with the landowners. Andy suggests that monthly updates at the meetings or if the time is going to be extended that some change that DEC has approved, then it would be proper to notify the adjoining landowners.

Jennifer Phillips said that documentation has been relatively hard to get and if this information can be on the website. Supervisor Staats said that the information that is public is available through FOIL. The town could also maintain an email list for those that would like to receive the information.

MINUTES: The minutes of the February 1st meeting were reviewed and a motion made to accept them by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Brownson. All in favor. So carried.

TOWN CLERK’S REPORT:

The Town Clerk presented checks to the Supervisor in the amount of $535.00 for the General Fund and $175.00 for Trust and Agency. A motion was made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Gildersleeve to accept the Town Clerk’s report. All in favor. So carried.

CORRESPONDENCE:

  • The Clerk informed the public regarding the 2016 political calendar.

Tuesday, April 19th – Presidential Primary – noon to 9 PM

Tuesday, June 28th –Federal Primary – noon to 9 PM.

Tuesday, September 13th – State and Local Primary - noon to 9 PM.

Tuesday, November 8th – General Election – 6 AM to 9 PM

The Board of Elections is also seeking people interested in becoming Election Inspectors on any or all of the above dates. There is some training involved, approximately two hours, held by the Board of Elections in Hudson. Contact the Town Clerk if interested at 518-537-6868.

  • The Town of Red Hook will have a public hearing on Tuesday, March 8th at 7:50 P.M. on amending the Zoning Law.
  • The Supervisor gave the Board the budget and revenue reports through February 29, 2016 for their review.
  • WEBSITE: Councilman Hempel will look into creating a List Serve so that emails can be sent out to those interested in what is coming up in town.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

  • WELDER: Councilman Desmond reported that the highway department got the new welding machine and it is already being put to use..
  • COMMUNITY HOUSE: The chair lift has been put in the Community House by the Canaan Fellowship. The highway department will be putting in a railing.
  • AUDITING OF INVOICES: Councilman Desmond noted that the checks and balances of reviewing the invoices is working, as the Clerk reviews and the Board members all review before bills are paid. There was a recent instance where an error was caught.
  • WEBSITE: Evan has been looking into setting up the calendar for notifications and will look into setting it up for regularly scheduled meetings.
  • BURN RESTRICTION: Councilman Gildersleeve reminded the public that the DEC ban on open burning goes into effect March 16th.
  • GRANTS: Councilwoman Brownson has been looking into public grants that could be used for the remediation project, for the portion that we will have to pay. Iroquois does have a Community Grant but it would not apply because this is a municipal capital project. She also contacted Didi Barrett’s office and they will look into it for her. Terence DuValle at Columbia Land Conservancy will also help look for private money to fund our portion of the DEC project. Also Scenic Hudson and Hudson Valley Greenway will be looking into this.
  • EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN: Councilwoman Brownson will start reviewing the EPP with Tami Connolly, Chair of the Village Green Committee and Fred Gooderham, Fire Chief. It may involve calling in others, such as the Medical Officer and a Town representative.
  • HISTORIAN: Councilwoman Brownson has not met with the Historians of Livingston and Germantown lately, but there are several events coming up that she would like to undertake. The Path through History in June 18th and 19th and hold it at St. Luke’s Church for a few hours. The Hudson River Valley Ramble is held on weekends in September that we may want to do something, such as update the town’s history with having people show objects that they may have in family homes that relate to the town.
  • The Town Easter Egg Hunt is on March 19th from 2-3 PM. She also thanked the Clermont Fire Department for holding the roast beef dinner.
  • Councilwoman Brownson and Supervisor Staats paid a visit to resident Louise Ingham on the occasion of her 100th Birthday on February 8th. They presented her with a Certificate of Recognition, a copy of which will be attached to these minutes.

OLD BUSINESS:

  • DEC UPDATE: The bid for the Brownfield project has been awarded, bonding is in place, but it has not been made public yet. It is estimated to start late May or early June. The Department of Transportation needs a deposit in order to get the entrance started. There is another project that the contractor will be working on before coming to us.
  • BUDGET AND REVENUE REPORTS: The fund balance as of 12/31/14 was $656,157.59 and as of 12/31/15 it was $655,175.96, a difference of $981.63. We were very conservative in spending. We budgeted $64,000 to be used from the fund balance and only used $981.63.
  • WELDER: The welder has been received and the highway department is using it to repair a truck bed.
  • CHAIRLIFT: As was mentioned, the chairlift was installed in the Community House by the Canaan Fellowship. The town did have an electrician install the electric outlet needed and the highway department will install a railing.
  • WIRELESS INTERNET: The Highway department now has wireless service and we will be looking into getting a laptop.

NEW BUSINESS:

  • The Supervisor received a report of dumping on a property on Route 9G. The Supervisor will speak to our ZEO and contact the Sheriffs Department if this is illegal dumping.
  • DOT ENTRANCE: DOT in Poughkeepsie was contacted by a resident regarding the proposed entrance to the Brownfield project stating that work was being done without a permit. DOT contacted the Supervisor and he had our engineer call them to advise them that no work is being done and that this is going through the proper channels. Morris Associates, in cooperation with the DEC, is in the process of getting a permit.
  • PUBLIC HEARING: A public hearing will be held on Monday, April 4th at 6:45 P.M. to hear the information regarding re-awarding the Cable Franchise Agreement to Hilltop Communications. A motion was made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Gildersleeve to hold the public hearing. All in favor. So carried.

SUPERVISORS REPORT:

  • The Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, March 19th from 2-3 P.M.
  • The Supervisor thanked the highway department and the Town Clerk for contacting National Grid regarding the outdoor lighting and putting up the railing.
  • He also reported that with the primaries and general election this year is going to be very costly for the County. The County highway department has been able to save money this winter.
  • There are several County buildings that are in need of work and money has been budgeted for this infrastructure. If anyone has any questions about the county business, notify Supervisor Staats and he will get an answer for you.

ABSTRACTS:

A motion was made by Councilman Desmond to approve Trust and Agency abstract #2, voucher #2 in the amount of $336.00, seconded by Councilman Gildersleeve. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made by Councilwoman Brownson to approve Highway Abstract #3, vouchers #16-32, in the amount of $12,399.38, seconded by Councilman Gildersleeve. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made by Councilman Hempel to approve General Abstract #3, vouchers #42-80 in the amount of $9,692.53, seconded by Councilman Gildersleeve. All in favor. So Carried.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS:

  • Jennifer Phillips: Ms. Phillips asked if the original requests for proposals for the DEC project which would show what she is looking for as to seeding, sloping and if this document would be available. The Supervisor does not have a copy of it but will get this.
  • The Town Clerk does have election registration forms and absentee ballots available.
  • Jennifer asked how the list of adjoining landowners would be made up. The Town Clerk and Councilwoman Brownson will work on this.

At the beginning of the year, we spoke about replacing John Fieser, building inspector/ZEO, who is temporarily appointed until April 1st. The board would like anyone who is certified to apply for the position and then the board will hold interviews of all applicants. John will also stay on until a replacement is found and to help in the transition.

A motion was made to extend the temporary appointment of John Fieser, building inspector to July 5th until we can advertise for a replacement by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilman Gildersleeve. All in favor. So carried.

A motion was made to adjourn at 8:20 P.M. by Councilman Gildersleeve, seconded by Councilman Desmond.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Helen Shannon, RMC

Town Clerk

　

　

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