April 12, 2006

A regular meeting of the Jewett Town Board was held on April 12, 2006. Supervisor Michael Flaherty called the meeting to order at 7PM. Present were Board members Thomas Hitchcock, Charles Kutcher and Harry T. Wilson.

Also present were Superintendent of Highways Robert Mallory, Attorney for the Town Tal G. Rappleyea, Building Inspector Tom Cross and Assessor Georgette Krauss, town residents Jane Bostrom, Werner Pscherer, Rene Van Schaack and associates and the town clerk.

Minutes of the March 8, 2006 regular meeting were accepted on a motion by Kutcher, 2 nd by Flaherty and carried.

Minutes of the March 14, 2006 workshop were accepted on a motion by Wilson, 2 nd by Hitchcock and carried.

The Supervisor's monthly report was given to the Board. Bank statements were made available for review.

The Board received the monthly written report from the building inspector. He has sent out letters on unsafe buildings and received several positive replies.

The owner of the deck on 23C has asked for an extension until August. She has a contractor but he will be doing other work on the property before he can fix the deck. The building inspector asked her for a letter to confirm when the work will be done. The Board was in agreement to granting the extension. .

Supervisor Flaherty made a motion to accept the building inspector's report, 2 nd by Councilman Kutcher and carried.

The zoning officer's monthly report was given to the Board. The zoning officer was not present. The Board requested another column be added to the report with the physical addresses.

The town attorney informed the Board that Mr. Rappleyea has gotten an attorney to help him with the certificate for non-conforming use and the junkyard permit application. Once he is approved he can then comply by putting up a fence.

Mr. Steinherr's case has been adjourned until April 24 th and he now has only three unregistered cars on his property.

Attorney Rappleyea reported on the Matthews property. He had to make application in Clinton County. He has received a letter of consent from Mr. Matthews with the condition that no Mustang cars or motors be removed. Councilman Wilson suggested an inventory be done before anything is removed.

There is also a large amount of garbage on the property. Supervisor Flaherty will contact the necessary agencies to proceed with the clean up.

Supervisor Flaherty made a motion to accept the zoning officers report, 2 nd by Hitchcock and carried.

Assessor Krauss addressed the Board. The tentative roll has been completed. The roll shows an average market value increase of 13.4% and a total increase (including new construction) of approximately 16%. In some instances vacant land may go up 26%. The roll will be available May 1 and notices to taxpayers will go out shortly thereafter.

Based upon a recent court decision, a letter was sent to Assessors, by NYSEG, requesting that the elimination of special district assessment on NYSEG property. “The assessor believed the court decision related to garbage, water and sewer districts. The only special district in Jewett is a fire district. The Office of Real Property Services indicated that it was not within the power of the Assessor to make a determination as to which properties benefit from a special district assessment and the matter should be referred to the Town Board, who, in consultation with the Town Attorney, should make the decision.”

The Town Attorney in his memo to the assessor indicated “that the two cases which NYSEG cited are very distinguishable from our situation in Jewett since we only have fire districts.”

“In our case we only have fire districts. Clearly the power lines, poles, transformers etc are subject to catching on fire and would require the service of the fire fighters to come and put the fire our.”

“Thus, my recommendation is that the cases do not apply to Jewett's situation and the fire district taxes.”

Councilman Wilson made a motion to accept the recommendation of the Attorney relative to the special district in the town, 2 nd by Councilman Kutcher and carried.

Councilman Hitchcock made a motion to accept the assessors report, 2 nd by Councilman Wilson and carried.

Rene Van Schaack and two members of his staff addressed the Board.

Mr. Van Schaack is the Executive Director for Greene County Soil & Water Conservation.

. He said “we've been working on doing stream management planning with NYC since 1996. We have helped to complete stream management plans on the Batavia Kill, which has been done for the entire watershed, the Westkill in Lexington, the Stoney Clove in Hunter and part of Shandaken and we have to do the Schoharie, which includes the Eastkill.”

“Since we started this work we've contracted with NYC for about $12 million dollars. We've also brought in about $4 million from the Army Corps of Engineer, Department of State, DEC, SEMO and the Wildlife Foundation.”

“Our goal right now is to get the Schoharie and Eastkill stream management plans done by the spring of 2007.”

Packets of information were given to Board members and a copy is available in the town clerk's office.

Over the next 4 to 6 months the plan is to start with an outreach plan development program. A public meeting will be held the end of May or beginning of June. A direct mailing will be done to all the streamside landowners on the Schoharie and Eastkill main stems and all the tributaries. Data on vegetation along the streams is also gathered. A project advisory committee will be set up.

During the summer a stream inventory or walkover will be done with a GPS unit and a helicopter fly over will also be done to collect data.

As the project progresses the Board will be notified and information will be put in the newspaper.

Courtesy of the floor was opened. There were no comments from the public.

Bids were opened on the outfitting of the new international 2-wheel drive truck.

One bid was received from Zwack, Inc. for $38,625.00.

The Superintendent reviewed the bid. Councilman Hitchcock made a motion to accept the bid from Zwack, 2 nd by Councilman Wilson and carried.

The Board reviewed the amendment to the sub-division regulations on private roads and sign posting requirements.

Councilman Kutcher made a motion, 2 nd by Councilman Hitchcock and carried to schedule a public hearing on the amendments to the sub-division regulations for May 10 th at 7PM in the municipal building with the regular monthly meeting to follow.

Attorney Rappleyea passed out draft copies of a parking law and a litter or dumping control law for the Board to review and discuss at the May meeting.

Under old business:

DEP conservation easement was discussed. The easement is where Hesley Road and Goshen Street connect. Councilman Hitchcock expressed concern about too much land being bought by DEP and the effect it will have on future generations but he understands that ultimately it is the landowner's decision.

An engineer representing the Scott Wallet Co. came and examined the buildings and grounds. As soon as information is complied they will set up a meeting with the Board.

Bids on 6.9 acres of surplus land on Carr Road were opened. There was one bid from Saverio Accardi for $12,500.00.

Councilman Wilson made a motion, 2 nd by Councilman Kutcher and carried to accept the bid from Mr. Accardi.

DEP land acquisition renewal was discussed. The renewal includes the property that the municipal building is on. The Board would like time to examine the map.

This item was tabled.

Supervisor Flaherty made a motion, 2 nd by Councilman Kutcher and carried to appoint Laurie Hanenberg to the Board of Assessment Review for a 5-year term beginning this year.

Supervisor Flaherty informed the Board of the LTAP grant award of $30,000 to the Town. The grant is on infrastructure and comes from the CWC. The Supervisor was commended on the work he did to obtain the grant.

A motion was made by Supervisor Flaherty, 2 nd by Councilman Wilson and carried approving Resolution #7. This resolution rescinds Resolution #1 of 2006 removing former Councilman LaPierre's name as deputy supervisor and various committee positions and adding the Daily Mail as a second official newspaper.

ROLL CALL Aye 4 Flaherty, Hitchcock, Kutcher and Wilson.

Nay 0

Supervisor Flaherty will look into leasing a copy machine versus purchasing a new one and bring that information to the May meeting.

The finance committee of Councilmen Wilson and Kutcher audited the bills prior to the meeting.

Councilman Wilson made a motion recommending the Board approve the audit. Councilman Kutcher 2 nd the motion and all Board members voted Aye.

The general fund was $29,686.59 on abstract #4, claim numbers 64 to 96. The highway fund was $12,161.80 on abstract #4, claim numbers 48 to 68.

Councilman Kutcher reported that he is waiting for more information on different health insurance plans and hopes to have a spreadsheet for the Board to look at prior to the May meeting.

A constable at Colgate Lake was discussed. The pay would be approximately $14 per hour depending on the power given the individual. The job, including weekends, would be 5 days per week.

The web site was discussed. The Board would like someone in the Town to put something new on the site every week either informational or pictures.

The Board tabled this item and will discuss their ideas in detail at the May meeting.

Supervisor Flaherty made a motion, 2 nd by Councilman Kutcher and carried to go into executive session on personal matters.

Councilman Kutcher made a motion, 2 nd by Supervisor Flaherty and carried to come out of executive session.

No affirmative action was taken.

There being no further business the meeting as adjourned at 10:00 PM on a motion by Councilman Hitchcock, 2 nd by Councilman Kutcher and carried.

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Patricia Merwin Town Clerk

Planning Board

March 4, 2006

Roll Call: Chair: Jane Bostrom
Members: Janet Nicholls, Joan Kutcher, Carol Muth, Gene Beers and Paul Rosedale
Attorney: Tal Rappleyea

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm.

Agenda Item 2: Approval of Minutes of February 2, 2006.
After noting a few minor errors, Mrs. Nicholls made the motion to approve the minutes as corrected. Mr. Rosedale seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried.

Agenda Item 3: Application for Sketch Plan Review – Lars Peters of 62 Goshen Street, Jewett, NY, Tax Map No. 112.00-3-81; District: Rural Residential. No one appeared on this application.

Agenda Item 4: Review of Town Boundary overlap of Flora and George Dart, Route 23C, Lexington, NY, Tax Map No. 110.00-1-36.

After review of the problem, the Planning Board recommends that the small parcel removed from the Lexington parcel, which does not meet lot size requirements and is located in Jewett be combined with the adjoining parcel owned by the same owner. A memo to Georgette requesting the combination is to be prepared by Mrs. Dwyer.

Agenda Item 5: Application for Sketch Plan Review for Stanislaw Bobal and Joseph Barlik of Route 23C, Jewett, NY, Tax Map No. 130.00-1-? [part of Eisenburg subdivision of 130.00-1-13]; District Rural Residential. No one appeared on this application.

Members reviewed the plat and noted that the proposal includes constructing a road, which is shown as 14 feet wide. The Town Specifications require a road to be 50 feet wide. This would reduce the size of the proposed parcels and may require adjustments of the proposed lot lines in order to meet lot size requirements.

Agenda Item 7: Report from County Planning Board Representative.
Mr. Beers reported on the actions of the Greene County Planning Board meetings for both February and March 2006. He reported the review of a Used Car Dealership; a new Cunningham Fence store by the Bryant Shopping Center; a new Car Wash in that area; a new convenience store and gas station at the junction of Rtes 32A and 23B; and a new ATM in front of the bank on the main street in Athens.

Agenda Item 6: Review of the Town Board Revised Proposed Subdivision Amendment.
Mr. Rappleyea distributed copies of the revised wording identified as “final version 3” to the members. After review of the document, members discussed the term ‘all roads associated with the proposal’ in the second paragraph of Section 2. There were differing opinions as to whether ‘associated’ included access roads and whether it could be interpreted to mean just the roads included within the proposed subdivision. For purposes of clarification, members agreed to recommend the sentence read ‘all roads associated with the proposal, including connecting roads…’.
Mrs. Bostrom noted that SERQA stands for the name of the act and SEQR stands for the review process. Members agreed to recommend changing the wording ‘SEQRA review’ to SEQR in the fourth paragraph of Section 2.
Members discussed the procedure which would be required in order to ensure that only those parcels on the Section A2 private road are allowed to use it for access. It was determined the Zoning Enforcement Officer should be notified by the Planning Board of all roads approved under this section and that he maintain a list of these private roads to be referred to by the Building Inspector when a building permit application is received which indicates an additional parcel wishing to utilize this road.
During the review of the proposed amendments, the Planning Board realized that a major subdivision could be proposed on existing roads which do not meet Town Specifications and which would bear the burden of increased traffic from the major subdivision. Therefore, they recommend that the following paragraph be included in the regulations to ensure safe access to the subdivision.
K. “Except for those private roads which may receive the benefit of the exception set forth in paragraph A of this section, any existing unpaved private or public roads which are proposed to be utilized for access to any new subdivision must be brought into compliance by the developer with Town Specification set forth herein, including motor paving.”
This article will require a major subdivision developer to bring any access road up to compliance with Town Specifications in addition to all new proposed roads.
Additionally, Mrs. Bostrom reminded Mr. Rappleyea that ARTICLE IV, SECTION 5, PARAGRAPH D should be amended to allow an escrow account for the required inspection fee; and Mrs. Dwyer provided Mr. Rappleyea with a copy of the Public Hearing Sign Requirement amendment to be included with the presentation to the Town Board.
After review of the changes proposed, Mrs. Kutcher made the motion to accept the changes and recommend them to the Town Board. Mrs. Nicholls seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried. Mrs. Dwyer will prepare a memo to the Town Supervisor regarding these recommendations.

Agenda Item 8: Other Business: Mrs. Dwyer noted she will be away for the next meeting application deadline. She will be mailing a Preliminary Agenda with the minutes prior to her departure and preparing a final agenda when she returns.

There being no other business, Mr. Beers made the motion to close the meeting. Mrs. Nicholls seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and the meeting ended at 9:03 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ann Dwyer, Clerk
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Jane Bostrom, Chair