Board Meeting
MARCH 11, 2009
A regular meeting of the Jewett Town Board was held on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Supervisor Michael Flaherty called the meeting to order at 7 P.M. Present were Board members Steve Jacobs, Michael McCrary, JR Quackenbush and Elaine Warfield.
Also present were Superintendent of Highways Robert Mallory, Zoning Officer William Dwyer, Town residents David Kessler and Paul LaPierre, newspaper reporter Mike Ryan and the town clerk.
A moment of silence was observed in memory of Planning Board Chairwoman Jane Bostrom.
Keith Abrams gave a presentation on small scale, residential wind turbines. The Board is considering installing a wind turbine. The turbines are made in the USA. There is a 5 year warranty and they are maintenance free for 20 years. The approximate cost on a 50 foot tower is $22,000 before rebates or any available grants. The turbine would be located behind the highway garage.
Councilman McCrary made a motion, 2nd by Councilman Jacobs and carried accepting the minutes of the February 11, 2009 regular meeting.
The Supervisor’s financial report for February was given to the Board.
The zoning officer gave his monthly written report.
Superintendent Mallory said the bid for a new pick-up truck as been placed in the paper. The Town will be receiving FEMA funds for the December 2008 storm. The amount has yet to be determined.
Paul LaPierre addressed theBoard on what he considers damage done by ongoing logging operations on Deming Road.
Mr. LaPierre, “The road is seriously damaged now and the only thing I see in the permit is a performance bond between the landowner and the logger. There is no bond between the town and the logger. We have no recourse.”
Superintendent Mallory, “Deming Road was a mess last fall and is on the schedule for repair this summer. I have shut down the logging operations until further notice. I will speak with the forest ranger about this.”
The Board discussed the following action; Attorney Rappleyea will be asked to redo the portion of the zoning law pertaining to timber harvesting to read: a minimum bond of $5,000 on new permits and all permits will run one year from date of issuance, pictures will be taken before and after each project, County and State agencies will be notified when logging concerns the use of their roads.
The Town will advertise for bids to replace the metal roof on the highway garage.
An energy audit has been completed by NYSERTA and a report will be forthcoming.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County is conduction an experiment with grass pellet stoves and would like to provide one to the town. Jewett is one of 4 towns asked to participate. There is a three year commitment. The Board will consider the offer.
Councilman Jacobs made a motion, 2nd by Councilman McCrary and carried to accept the January financial statements. Bank statements were made available for review.
Councilwoman Warfield and Councilman Jacobs audited the bills prior to the meeting. Councilwoman Warfield made a motion to accept the audit. Councilman Jacobs 2nd the motion and Board members voted aye.
The general fund was $30,531.09 on abstract #3, claim numbers 53 to 69. The highway fund was $17,431.39 on abstract #3, claim numbers 29 to 46.
Councilmen McCrary and Quackenbush will be the audit committee for April, May and June.
The year-end update for 2008 has been completed and sent to the State Comptroller’s office.
The DEP is purchasing a conservation easement of 85.8 acres on Merwin Street. The Town has a 120 day comment period to review and respond to the acquisition.
Councilwoman Warfield made a motion, 2nd by Councilman McCrary and carried to adopt Resolution #10. The Resolution is entitled: “RESOLUTION OF OPPOSITION TO NEW YORK STATE SENATE BILL 56 and ASSEMBLY BILL 156 FOR 2009 WHICH AMENDS PUBLIC LANDS LAW AND REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW TO REDUCE STATE PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES (PILOTs) AND FREEZE PAYMENTS FOR TAXES ON STATE OWNED LANDS.”
The resolution read:
“WHEREAS, proposed Senate Bill 56 and Assembly Bill 156 for 2009 have been submitted to the State legislature which seek to amend the Public Lands law and Real Property Tax Law to reduce state payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) and freeze payments for taxes on state owned lands; and
WHEREAS, Section 1 of this bill amends Real Property Tax Law Section 544 to provide that all future payments made by the State pursuant to Article 5 of the Real Property Tax Law shall be equal to the amount paid during State fiscal year 2008-2009 after the taxable status date of such land, the payments made by the State shall be no greater than the tax owed on such land during the year in which they were initially taxable; and
WHEREAS, Section 2 of the Bill amends Public Lands Law Section 19 to permanently reduce payments to localities made pursuant to the Section by 6%; and
WHEREAS, the Bill freezes payment for taxes on State lands at the level paid during State fiscal year 2008-2009 and amends various Sections of the Public Lands Law to reduce payments in lieu of taxes by 6% from the scheduled amount; and
WHEREAS, Greene County and its Towns and Villages rely heavily on these State tax monies to provide for the health, safety, and general welfare and services to their residents; and
WHEREAS, payment by the State of New York of taxes on state owned lands and payments in lieu of taxes are an intricate component of the revenue needed by the County, Towns and villages within Greene County to provide these essential services; and
WHEREAS, should either of these Bills be enacted into law, it is estimated that approximately $8.5 million dollars shall be lost to municipalities throughout New York State and, Greene County, its Towns and Villages, will suffer crippling and dire economic and budgetary consequences necessitation the increase in local land taxes to fill the void; and
WHEREAS, the New York State Constitution provides for the payment of these taxes and, it is improper for the legislature and the government to enact legislation in conflict with the New York State Constitution;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Jewett strongly opposes the enactment of Senate Bill 56 and Assembly Bill 156 as part of the 2009 budget as the freeze on the payment of taxes for state owned lands and the reduction of PILOTs will have a sever and crippling impact upon Greene County, its Towns and villages and constituents, especially during this dire economic climate, and strongly urges the members of the Senate and Assembly not to pass such an unfair and irresponsible law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of this Board is hereby authorized and directed to immediately forward certified copies of this resolution to Governor David A. Patterson, New York State Senator James Seward and Assemblyman Peter Lopez.
ROLL CALL VOTE: AYE Flaherty, Jacobs, McCrary, Quackenbush and Warfield.
The Planning Board has changed its monthly meeting time from 7:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Discussion continues on reducing the number of planning board members from 7 to 5. There is also discussion on a new chairperson. Joan Kutcher will serve as chairperson until a decision is made. The next meeting will be April 23rd at the new time. The May meeting will return to the first Thursday of the month at the new 7 P.M. time.
The ambulance contract with the Town of Windham was signed by the Supervisor.
The Board continued discussion on the wind turbine.
Councilman Quackenbush, “I’m concerned about the height but I like the idea of it.”
Councilwoman Warfield, “I do to, but its only 20% we would be saving. Some of the rebates are iffy. It’s a very stringent process t; everything has to be exact ally on time to get those rebates. I’m concerned that we spend more than we think and for only 20%, to me that’s extreme.”
Supervisor Flaherty, “I was playing with the idea of doing it on the salt shed side. Based on whatever information we had and the ability of what it could put out it would more than pay the slat shed bills.”
Councilman McCrary, “It would pay for itself completely in 4 ½ to 5 years, with rebates.”
Supervisor Flaherty, “We wouldn’t even commit to a contract unless those rebates were guaranteed.” Councilwoman Warfield, “I thought that once you start the process that’s when you do the rebates. How do you know if you’re going to get them or not until you actually start?”
Supervisor Flaherty, “You get a signed commitment from the State that they are going to give it to you as soon as it’s completed. There’s no way we would rick taxpayers money for something. “
Councilman Quackenbush, “Personally, I love the idea of going as green as you can. I’m not crazy about the idea of this thing sticking out here and there.”
Supervisor Flaherty, “We can decide whether we want to do it as a community experiment. If everyone says we would like to have this then we have to go to work and create legislation.”
Councilman Quackenbush, “If we do it as a demonstration your basically encouraging people in Town to look into it.
Councilwoman Warfield, “Because I’ve looked at wind turbines for a while, I would personally wait awhile because it’s still in its infancy. Down the road they’re going to get more efficient and prices will eventually go down.”
Councilman Jacobs, “The recommendation is we put it out back but it would be too close to the property line.”
Councilman McCrary, “If our objective is to show that this is possible and if it can be tucked out of the sight, then whatever zoning ordinance we want to put up would have to have something in there that it can’t interfere with the view shed. It’s worth it as an investment. We don’t intend to approve of this for others until we see how it looks and how the public feels about it. But, until somebody has one how can you comment? My sole idea was that at the rate he quoted it pays itself off in 4 to 5 years. It’s there as a self liquidating demonstration. We do two things, in the long run we save money but in the short run we are doing something so that our people can take a look and see what it is.”
Councilman Quackenbush, “I just think it’s a big responsibility to the Town. By taking a led you are almost encouraging people to go in that direction and you should be.”
Councilman McCrary, “But without testing it how do we know. What we’re doing is being pro-active for the community by testing it for them.”
Councilman Quackenbush, “I think we should have a law in place before we do this.”
Councilman McCrary, “We’re doing it in order to protect the populace before there’s a law in place so we can ascertain what the law should be.”
Councilman Quackenbush, “We should set the example of how it’s done.”
Councilman Quackenbush made a motion, 2nd by Councilman McCrary and carried to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 P.M.
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Patricia Merwin, Town Clerk RMC
TOWN OF JEWETT
PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES
MARCH 5, 2009
Agenda Item 1: Meeting called to order at 7:30 pm
Roll Call: Acting Chair: Joan Kutcher
Members: Gene Beers, Donna Bernard, Carol Muth, and Janet Nicholls
The Planning Board took a moment of silence to honor the memory of Jane Bostrom who had devoted eight to nine years of service as Chairperson, and several years prior to that as a PB member.
Agenda Item 2: Approval of Minutes of October 2, 2008 and November 6, 2008.
The minutes could not be approved as the Planning Board lacks a quorum that can approve them. Mrs. Kutcher asked the PB if there were any corrections that needed making; nobody found any. The minutes therefore must be accepted as is.
Agenda Item 3: Application for Boundary Line Adjustment for Charles & Denise Sangee and Carmine Iannace & Rita Gylyes for properties located at 5533 Route 23C and 5539 Route 23C respectively, Jewett, NY 12444; Tax Map Nos. 110.00-6-49 and 110.0-6-34, respectively. District: Rural Residential.
Mr. Joe Vanucchi was present to represent both parties. Ms. Laubmeier asked him to correct the tax map number mix-up on the application, which he did. The plats were spread out for Planning Board review. Mr. Vanucchi said these properties lie near the Town of Lexington border around the intersection of Route 23C and County Route 13 and these properties lie off a nearby private road, which he believes is called Sangee Road. One property line falls into the center of this sixty-foot (60') wide right of way and private road that borders the three hundred-feet (300') westerly side of the properties, which he pointed out in the small map in the upper corner of the plat. The shaded areas are the two sites. A dotted line represents the current property line. For whatever reason, Mr. Vanucchi said, Sangee to the south had built the house over the property line and also has his well on his neighbor's land. He now wants to trade land to the neighbors to bring the property up to code. The land swap will be the same amount, so the acreage does not change.
Mrs. Muth wondered if these are separate tax parcels, and Mr. Vanuchhi affirmed that they are. Mrs. Bernard inquired whether the septic system was within Sangee property line, and Mr. Vanucchi showed that the septic system was established in an area of the property that had never been subject to dispute. It was noted that all neighboring property owners are listed on the plat, which was also checked for correct parcel numbers. All payments to the Planning Board have been made.
Mrs. Muth commented that this case seems very straight forward; the Planning Board agreed. Mrs. Muth made the motion to approve the Application for Boundary Line Adjustment; Mr. Beers seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Mrs. Kutcher signed the plats and gave two plus the mylar copy to Mr. Vanucchi to file in Catskill. The PB kept three plats for the file.
Agenda Item 4: Application for Special Use Permit for Susan J. Kohan & Vincent D. Amoia for property located at 436 Ford Hill Road, Hunter, NY 12442, a single family residence on two acres; Tax Map No. 147.00-2-21.12; District: Rural Residential.
Mrs. Kohan wishes to establish a law office within a spare room of her home. She said that she is a real estate lawyer and that business is very slow right now. She practices alone, without a secretary, and does not anticipate needing an assistant. The Planning Board reviewed the content of her application. Mrs. Kutcher said that no problem exists with what Mrs. Kohan wants to do; the only thing needed yet is an indication of parking dimensions on the map that had been provided, because a business must show where areas of parking are located. This will not be problematic because the existing driveway is sufficient to accommodate seventy-five cars. The Town of Jewett regulations state that a professional office requires a parking area for every one hundred and fifty (150) square feet of office space. Mrs. Kohan calculated that her square footage would require the addition of two parking areas of approximately eighteen-feet (18') long by seven to nine-feet (7' to 9') wide to be illustrated on the application map. Mrs. Muth said that the dimensions of the driveway need to be listed too.
The next step for Mrs. Kohan is a Public Hearing. Ms. Laubmeier gave Mrs. Kohan the paperwork for the Public Hearing, and explained how to post the sign, and said that the Planning Board needs the registered mailing receipts proving that she mailed notification of the Public Hearing to her neighbors. The Planning Board decided to set the date of its next meeting for April 23, 2009, because two members will not be able to make the April 2nd date. Ms. Laubmeier is to notify the paper and the webmaster of this change of date.
Agenda Item 5: Report from Greene County Planning Board Representative Gene Beers.
Mr. Beers said that the County Planning Board had not met recently either, as it lacked a quorum in past months also. Thus he had nothing to report.
Agenda Item 8: Report from Town Board liaison J.R. Quackenbush.
Mr. Quackenbush recently had a medical procedure and was ill tonight.
Agenda Item 12: Other Business
Mrs. Muth had information pertaining to online training for Planning Board members. The contact is Linda King who can be reached at (518) 473-3355 or linda.king@dos.state.ny.us
The Planning Board speculated whether MC Windham (Brittny Estates) would be prepared to move forward on its case by next month. No one has any information.
Mrs. Kutcher read aloud a letter received tonight from Mr. Anthony Bucca regarding Ms. Gail Scarey, who had installed a single family dwelling on the easterly side of a 2.75 acre parcel owned by Patricia and Wayne Koehler, Tax Map No. 112.00-3-37. The property lies off Goshen Street and is in the Rural Residential Zoning District. Apparently the residence was constructed prior to the establishment of Jewett's Zoning Laws. Ms. Scarey and the Koehlers wish to subdivide this property into a one acre and a one and three quarter acre parcels. This proposed subdivision of a non-complying parcel does not meet the zoning requirements of the Town of Jewett and cannot be done. Mrs. Kutcher said that this case does not even apply to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mrs. Bernard asked whether the people had a legal right to appeal the PB decision, and Mrs. Kutcher answered that no one has the right to seek further non-compliance out of a non-complying property even though the original parcel is grandfathered. Ms. Laubmeier is to send a letter of the PB decision to Mr. Bucca declining to entertain the application for subdivision of this notion for reasons of not making a non-complying property further non-compliant. A form letter was sought, but none was found.
Mr. Quackenbush had hoped to be present tonight to review with the Planning Board some of Mrs. Bostrom's last thoughts as to the direction it would take in the future. The Town Board had considered reducing the membership of the PB from seven to five members. With five members, the quorum reduces to three members. Mrs. Muth felt that the PB could not discuss that issue tonight. One PB member felt that it would be good to have a more even balance of men and women because of the different perspective each presents in problem solving. Another PB member thought that to the contrary, most needed are members from across the Route 296 "Mason-Dixon Line" of Jewett as there are areas of the township not adequately represented on the PB. Apparently this is true also for the Town Board; a greater representation of volunteers from all areas within the township would be welcome.
Mrs. Kutcher brought up discussion of the Chairperson position. She is willing to act as Chairperson for a time until a full time Chair can be found, but does not wish the position. There is a consensus by the other Planning Board members: no one wishes the job, and each has good reason, from serving on other boards to retirement. Mrs. Bernard, who is the "new kid on the block," suggested that perhaps a former member of the Planning Board would come forward. She considered that the open question of not having a permanent chairperson keeps the Planning Board at the seven member option. Mrs. Kutcher said that the Town Board is considering the question, and she will discuss what has been said tonight with Mr. Quackenbush.
Mrs. Bernard offered help and research to Mrs. Kutcher in any capacity she is able. Mrs. Kutcher said that windmills may become a huge topic for the Planning Board down the road and asked Mrs. Bernard to gather whatever information on them she can. Mr. Beers commented that ski slopes are looking into windmills, which are an evolving technology, and reminded the PB of its thirty-foot (30') height rule. Mrs. Nicholls remembered that Jewett's height restriction was to accommodate fire trucks. In addition to windmills, there may be other forms of alternative energy that the PB may wish to look into.
The last topic of other business was whether to move the meeting up to 7:00pm. Mrs. Muth made the motion to move the time of the Planning Board meetings up to 7:00pm; Mrs. Nicholls seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
The motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Beers, seconded by Mrs. Nicholls, and carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.
Respectfully,
Susan Laubmeier, Clerk
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Joan Kutcher, Acting Chair
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