CLERMONT TOWN BOARD
MARCH 7, 2011
The Clermont Town Board held their regular meeting on Monday, March 7, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. at the Town Hall. Those in attendance were Supervisor Raymond Staats, Councilwoman Dianne O’Neal, Councilman Robert Desmond, Councilman Richard Jones and Councilwoman Nancy Moore. Others present were Desiree Webber Animal Control Officer and five residents.
MINUTES:
- The minutes of the January 15th review and audit of town books were approved by a motion made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.
- The minutes of the public hearing held on February 7, 2011 to adopt Local Law No. 1 and Local Law No. 2 of 2011 were approved by a motion made by Councilwoman O’Neal, seconded by Councilman Jones. All in favor. So carried.
- The minutes of the February 7, 2011 meeting were approved by a motion made by Councilman Jones, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal. All in favor. So carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- The Town Clerks presented a check to the Supervisor for the General fund in the amount of $2,074.00 and for Trust and Agency in the amount of $1000.00. A motion was made to accept the Town Clerk’s report by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All in favor. So carried.
- The Supervisor read a press release regarding the Ice storm of March 6th and March 7th. There will be warming stations open in the Kinderhook and Niverville Fire Stations. Overnight accommodations are available at Taconic Hills School for those displaced due to power outages. Clermont has very few power outages but there are some roads closed due to high water.
- The Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, April 23rd from 12:00 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. on the town grounds.
- Chairman Larsen said that the Zoning Board meeting has been changed to Wednesday, March 30th at 7:30 P.M. All applicants are aware of this change.
- At last months meeting there was discussion about the minutes being posted prior to approval. We will continue to post the minutes after they are approved. The Zoning Board minutes should be posted on the website as other minutes are.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
- TOWN PROPERTY: Councilman Jones would like to incorporate the existing farm road on the town property as a driveway and hiking trail. He would talk to Randy Hough of DEC to see if some action can be taken. Councilman Desmond does not think anything should be done until we have approval for funds from DEC for the remediation. There was discussion about the cost to the town if we were to undertake this before approval. The Supervisor suggested that Councilman Jones contact DEC and bring the information back to the Board.
- SCHOOL TAXES: Councilman Jones reported on an article in the paper relating to Superintendents salaries in Red Hook, Pine Plains and Germantown schools. The Governor is proposing caps to these salaries.
- HIGHWAY GARAGE WINDOWS: Councilwoman O’Neal reported that the windows for the garage have been ordered and seek reimbursement from the grant. Supervisor Staats and Councilwoman O’Neal have met about construction and repair projects for this year. There were funds budgeted for painting of St. Luke’s Church, however there have been shingles coming off the south side of the roof. They would like to have someone look at the roof to make a determination if we need to address whether to repair or replace the roof.
- STORM WINDOWS AND INSULATION: Councilwoman O’Neal has been researching storm windows for the Academy and insulation for the Town Hall. She will be seeking a grant from Berkshire Taconic Foundation to help defray some of the budgeted costs.
- TOUSEY WINERY: Councilman Desmond mentioned that there was another article in the Register Star about Tousey Winery at Blue Roof Market located in Clermont.
- RECREATION FEES: Councilman Desmond spoke about the discussion last month on the Germantown Park facility. The town contributes to the Germantown Park Commission for use of the Germantown facility. Councilwoman Moore stated that Germantown has a summer camp program, but they also have swimming, picnic and playground facilities, which are used by our residents. There was discussion about the use of the Bard College facilities and costs associated with that use. We have reduced the budget figure for this year and can look at this for next year’s budget and we do receive reimbursement from the State. Councilman Desmond would like to look at full benefit that we get from Germantown. Councilman Jones took an estimate on certain town roads and there are few kids using the program. Councilwoman Moore would like to know how the family swimming pass works.
Supervisor Staats said we should get about $500.00 back from the state.
- G-TEL COMMUNICATIONS: Councilwoman Moore contacted the Germantown Telephone company and discussed the equipment issues. Most of the problems are coming from the non-fiber optic cable, which can be affected by such things as cold weather. They want people to call with any problems so that they can be fixed. Supervisor Staats would like to see the HBO and Cinemax on the new system. This is an issue.
- EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN: Councilwoman Moore reported that our plan is in place, but we are waiting to have training with the American Red Cross to open the shelter, however without the training, it may not be reimbursable. The Plan has been put on the website and copies will go the Fire Chief and both firehouses. The Supervisor will contact Bill Black, County Emergency Coordinator about training.
OLD BUSINESS:
- PLEASANTVALE ROAD BRIDGE: The contract to repair the bridge has been awarded to Colarusso’s.
- BALL FIELD: When the ground thaws the fencing will be moved from the Route 9 field to the new field. The Little League has contributed new benches. The Supervisor will donate putting up new dugouts at the site. Councilman Desmond asked if a parking area would be marked off. For now, parking would be on the grass.
NEW BUSINESS:
- BUDGET AMENDMENT: It was brought up in our audit that the proper funds should be set up for the Capital Highway Reserve and the transfers made from the General fund into the Highway Capital Reserve account. Resolution No. 39 of 2011 authorizes the transfer of funds into the Highway Capital Reserve from the General Appropriated Fund Balance in the amount of $100,000.00. A motion was made to approve Resolution No. 39 of 2011 by Councilwoman O’Neal, seconded by Councilman Desmond. All in favor. So carried.
- Supervisor Staats has been is authorized to invest idle money at the beginning of the year. He has investigated CD rates and the Kinderhook Bank has the highest rate at .9% for an eight month CD on a $400,000.00 investment. Councilman Desmond asked how much we will have for working budget. The Supervisor said there would be about $300,000.00 before any revenues come in.
- On the issues, which were brought up last month by Mr. Quintero, the ZBA minutes should be posted on the website; the parcel numbers should be entered into the Planning Board and Zoning Board minutes. Our attorney is looking into our zoning law regarding mining. There is no reference in the zoning about fill being brought onto a property. He will be looking into this. The Supervisor would like to keep the public comment period at the end of the meeting, rather than before and after the meeting, as this could take a lot of our time at the meetings.
- Supervisor did ask the County to put a vehicle counter on Commons Road, as was requested by a resident, but they wondered if the town wanted to close the bridge, which would be a reason to do a traffic count.
SUPERVISORS REPORT:
- WALMART PURCHASE: There has been no final decision on the purchase of the former Wal-Mart property but it does not look like the County will move forward with this. At present they are looking into purchasing the current Department of Social Services property which we have leased for twenty years. The purchase price is $1,300,000.00 to $2,000,000.00.
- PINE HAVEN NURSING HOME: The County was looking at the Ockawamick site for the nursing home. The sewer and water would have to be tied into the Village of Philmont’s water and sewer and they will not allow it. They are pursuing site development at the current nursing home site.
- COLUMBIA COUNTY COURT HOUSE: The bids will go out shortly and construction should start this year.
- COUNTY BUDGET: Cutbacks are predicted for next year’s county budget. Preliminary estimates call for a 12% increase next year due to unfunded mandates. Supervisor Staats is asking for input from town residents about the county budget. In order to reduce or eliminate an increase, the county would be looking at possible program cuts, department consolidations, department eliminations, layoffs, etc. Councilman Desmond appreciates the efforts to keep taxes down, but consider that the state is considering to put a 2% cap on town budgets and if you have a barebones budget one year and need to increase the next year, it could be a problem. There is also a way to override the cap by a two-thirds majority vote by the Board of Supervisors and the Town Boards.
- The Zoning Board of Appeals has changed their meeting date to Wednesday, March 30th at 7:30 P.M.
- The Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, April 23rd from 12:00 P.M. to1:30 P.M.
ABSTRACTS:
A motion was made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal to approve Capital Projects abstract #1, voucher #1, in the amount $626.00. All in favor. So carried.
A motion was made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal to approve Highway abstract #3, vouchers #27-38 in the amount of $11,083.87. All in favor. So carried.
A motion was made by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman Moore to approve General Fund abstract #3, vouchers #43-71 in the amount of $10,522.69. All in favor. So carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
- Judy Blessinger-Neary asked how citizens find out about what to do in the event of an emergency. Councilwoman Moore said that it has been posted on the website where they can read it or they can leave a message at the town hall or call a neighbor for information in the event of a disaster. She also asked how the budget was affected by the snow and ice storms we have had. The Supervisor stated that there is concern, as approximately 60% of our budget was spent in January and we may need additional funds by next fall. She also asked if the Board of Supervisors was ever going to address the school tax issue of allowing payments in more than one payment. Supervisor Staats will bring this up again but said that there were two issues that were of concern. The implementation costs was one issue due to restructuring of the system and concerns about cash flow problems for town and county receiving only half of the payments that they are used to receiving. She asked if the County was going to sell Wal-Mart, however, the Supervisor said we only put up a refundable deposit.
- Desiree Webber, Animal Control Officer: She has met with a representative of the Department of Agriculture for her yearly review. She asked for the town to decide on a predetermined amount of what the town is willing to pay for vet care assuming that at the end of the five days the owners of an injured animal have not been located. She thinks $500.00 would be a good basic amount. Councilman Desmond asked what would happen now if a dog were injured and we don’t have this in place. Desiree answered that the dog would receive either no care, or through the good will of the vet would get treatment, but that probably would not happen more than once. Councilman Desmond also asked what would happen if the care exceeded the set amount. Desiree would probably send out emails and request donations. Desiree will look into what other towns are doing. She also expressed concern that there is no longer a state database, which enabled her to look up by license number who owns a dog. This has been a concern since the state did away with the database. The New York State Town Clerk’s Association is hoping to develop a database now that Town Clerk’s are responsible for licensing dogs throughout the state. Desiree suggested that owners get a personal dog tag also to ensure that Animal Control officers can locate the owner. She has also suggested that we have an alternate shelter contract, suggesting Round Top Animal Hospital in Germantown. The rate is the same at $18.50 per day. A resolution will be prepared for next month. She is also developing a form for declination of non-ownership to be signed when a dog is picked up.
- Ray Quintero: Thanked the board for looking into items he mentioned at last months meeting. He asked if the town knows about development rights and who buys them. Councilwoman O’Neal stated that the landowner could separate out the right to develop land and put a restriction on the deed that the land cannot be developed. Some entities accept development rights as a gift called conservation easements on the land, such as the Columbia Land Conservancy and there are some entities that do purchase of development rights such as New York State and the USDA. Charlie Larsen said that most of the land involved is agricultural but it has to be developable land. Mr. Quintero asked if the landowners receive a reduction in their assessments because of the development rights. There is no reduction to the assessment because of the development rights. In some cases, property assessments could go up because it is more desirable to live near undevelopable land. Landowners are still eligible for the agricultural assessment.
- Charlie Larsen: He has been working with phone company and they are working with him. He also stated that his granddaughter enjoys the park program and it would cost more to send her to Bard College. She also wants to be with her friends who use the park. They also play soccer and little league at the Germantown facility. He is happy to hear that the Pleasantvale Road bridge will soon be fixed. A lot of the traffic is agricultural traffic using Commons Road, but there is some transient traffic. On the county highway budget, Charlie said all the highway departments did a good job all winter, but it may be that they could cut down on the sand and salt which is put down and the trips made to plow the roads. The state budget for Agriculture and Markets was cut from $14 million to $4 million in the last four years.
A motion was made to adjourn by Councilman Desmond, seconded by Councilwoman O’Neal at 8:27 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Helen Shannon, RMC
Town Clerk