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1989-05-04 SPM91 The adjourned meeting of May 1st, 1989, reconvened on May 4th, 1989 at the Town Hall, 20 Middlebush Road, Town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York. Supervisor Paino opened the meeting at 7:30 P.M. Present: Irene Paino, Supervisor Vincent Farina, Councilman David Reis, Councilman Constance Smith, Councilwoman Robert Valdati, Councilman Elaine H. Snowden, Town Clerk Others Present: Thomas Wood, Attorney Joseph E. Paggi, Jr., Engineer The meeting started with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag followed by a moment of silent prayer for our residents and our Town. The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 3, 1989 and the Special Meeting of April 13th, 1989, having previously been forwarded to the Board Members, were placed before them for their consideration. MRS. SMITH moved that the minutes, be and they are hereby approved, as submitted by the Town Clerk. Seconded by Mr. Farina Motion Unanimously Carried Reports for the month of March were received from the Town Justices, Receiver of Taxes, Supervisor/Comptroller, Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator and the Hydrant Report for the months of March and April. MRS. SMITH moved to accept the Reports and place them on file. Seconded by Mr. Reis Motion Unanimously Carried Petitions & Communications --- The Town of Wappinger Planning Board forwarded communications relating to the Alpine Company on a positive declaration Notice of Intent to prepare the DEIS, Notice of Public Hearing and Consent that the Planning Board serve as Lead Agency. MRS. PAINO moved to accept the communications and place them on file. Seconded by Mr. Reis Motion Unanimously Carried 92 Notices of Public Hearing were received from the Town of Poughkeepsie and the Town of LaGrange on Zoning Ordinance Amendments. MR. REIS moved to accept these Notices and place them on file. Seconded by Mr. Farina Motion Unanimously Carried A petition was received from Charles May for expansion of the Mid -Point Sewer District and a request for discussion to include an adjoining parcel of 80 ± acres along Route 376. Mr. Paggi explained that there are two alternate decisions that can be made; one is if the D.E.C. will allow that much of a discharge into the stream and whether or not the District will allow it to be extended as a tenant or if the boundaries are extended. This will be a Town Board issue but prior to that, the D.E.C. has to convince us that they will allow for the expansion. Mrs. Paino added that a work: shop was held on this petition a few weeks ago and it was mentioned to Mr. May that the area would probably be included in the super district. Mr. May will keep us informed when the D.E.C. has completed their review of the stream and its capacities and gives him a report. Nick Johnson, resident of that area requested that the Town provide him with any correspondence relating to this matter. The residents have asked him to represent them as they are very concerned about the matter. They don't necessarily object to an expansion as long as it doesn't affect the homeowners of that district. MR. REIS moved to receive the petition and place it on file. Seconded by Mr. Valdati Motion Unanimously Carried A letter was received from Thomas Bartush, Hearthstone Drive regarding illegal dumping and suggesting that a street light be placed at the dead end to deter the perpetrators. Mrs. Paino noted that she had spoken to Mr. Bartush about the dumping and Ken Croshier did go out with his men and clean up the debris that was left. In view of the constant complaints received on dumping and littering and observing it while driving the Town roads, Mrs. Paino spoke to the Zoning Administrator about procuring such a law prohibiting such activity. Mr. Levenson did provide her with a sample law from the Town of Onandaga and this has been turned over to the Attorney. MRS. PAINO moved to authorize the Attorney to prepare a similar Local Law for the Town Board to consider. Seconded by Mr. Reis Motion Unanimously Carried 93 In regard to a street light being placed at the dead end, this may or may not help the situation but it can be discussed at a work shop. Mrs. Paino requested the Town Clerk to write to Mr. Bartush thanking him for his letter and indicate that he will be notified of a future work shop to discuss a street light. A letter was received from Jerome Cauda who had complained of dumping along Ketchamtown Road which included items such as large appliances, bed springs, etc. The Highway Department was made aware of this and promptly cleared the area. Mr. Cauda sent a note of appreciation of Mr. Croshier, explaining that if he complained, he was certainly going to express his thanks when they helped the situation. MR. FARINA moved to accept the letter, place it on file and thank Ken Croshier and the highway employees for cleaning the area. Seconded by Mr. Valdati Motion Unanimously Carried Our Assessor, Tom Logan, wrote to the Board informing them of various proposed state legislation which could prove costly to the Town and suggesting that the Board register their opinion with our elected officials in Albany. MRS. PAINO moved to forward a letter to our representatives in Albany indicating that if they plan to proceed with a law that calls for revaluation of real property every three years, they should also provide that the State bears the cost. Seconded by Mr. Farina Motion Unanimously Carried Mr. Farina referred to excerpts from Mr. Logan's letter on various exemptions from real property taxes and noted that the point Mr. Logan is making is that he is not opposed to exemptions to help people out but the state legislates these exemptions making them the "good guys", but the towns have to figure out how to make up the shortfall for the exemptions the state put on the towns. So Mr. Logan feels that if the state is taking the credit then they should come up with a check to the towns to pay the bill. 94 Several reports and recommendations were received from the Engineer to the Town. The first was in regard to the Bojman drainage problem on Valley Road which was discussed by the Board at a work shop. In his report the Engineer calculated the cost to solve the problem at $9,500 MRS. PAINO moved to authorize the Engineer to prepare the specifications to let the project out to bid. Seconded by Mrs. Smith Motion Unanimously Carried The second report was in regard to a $600 credit on the contract for the Recreation Buildings at Robinson Lane due to the deletion of a countertop from said contract. It appears that there was some indecision on this item, so this will be done on their own. Other work noton the original contract amounted'to $160, leaving a credit of $440. MRS. SMITH moved to accept the $440 credit from the contractor due to the deletion of the countertop for the Recreation Building at Robinson Lane. Seconded by Mr. Farina Motion Unanimously Carried Mr. Paggi reported his recommendations on a proposed Town Salt Storage Facility which he felt should be available for the Town Board and the Highway Superintendent to discuss at budget time. MRS. PAINO moved to accept the Engineer's report and place it on file for future discussion. Seconded by Mr. Reis Motion Unanimously Carried The last report was notification of a scheduled field test for Pizzagalli Booster Station at the I.B.M. site on Myers Corners Road at 9:30 A.M. on Thursday May 11, 1989. Correspondence was received from the Recreation Commission requesting permission to expend $1,549.00 from the Schlathaus Fund to improve the lighting on the flag at the Park and install extra circuits for the Christmas Tree. MR. REIS moved to grant permission to the Recreation Commission to expend the monies from the Schlathaus Fund, as requested. Seconded by Mrs. Smith Motion Unanimously Carried 95 Mr. Farina noted that this fund is going to start running down since some of the revenues will stop and he felt the Recreation Commission should plan ahead and budget for these items rather than drain this fund. The Principal of the Myers Corners Elementary School, Justine Winters, wrote to the Board requesting permission to hold a "Myers Run Against Drugs" on May 6, 1989. Mrs. Snowden had spoken to her previously and suggested that she alert all emergency agencies and inform them of this event. MRS. PAINO moved to write to Ms. Winters informing her of these recommendations and commending them for organizing and continuing this annual event. Seconded by Mr. Valdati Motion Unanimously Carried Mr. Reis asked that they also request a Certificate of Insurance so this is on file. Herman Osten wrote to the Board requesting that they adopt an Ordinance to erect "No Littering" signs along Town and County roads. This has already been taken care of and the Attorney was authorized to prepare a Local Law for this purpose. It was requested that a letter be sent to Mr. Osten informing him of the Board's action. A request was received from the Wappinger Central School District to use eight of the Town's voting machines for their annual School Budget Vote on May 24th, 1989. MRS. SMITH moved to grant permission to the Wappinger School District to use eight of the Town's voting machines for the School Budget Vote on May 24th, 1989. Seconded by Mr. Reis Motion Unanimously Carried Committee Reports --- Councilman Valdati, Safety, reported that he had calls from residents of the Sucich Place area complaining of rock throwing near the White Gate Condo area. MR. VALDATI requested that a letter be sent to Detective Carl Amburgey for extra patrol by the Vandalism Patrol after school hours and on Saturdays to try to put a stop to rock throwing in that area. Seconded by Mrs. Paino Motion Unanimously Carried 96 Councilman Reis had no reports for this meeting. Councilman Farina, Cable, reported that Mr. Erichsen has informed the Town Board that expanded basic cable has added another channel, which is Channel 15 which is Cable NBC, mainly public affairs with a financial report. Also Cable 6 has been nominated for the second year in a row for an Ace award which is for Cable excellence. Mr. Farina felt this news was very encouraging since it was only over a year ago that Mr. Cortellino and Mr. Farina were having a hard time with U.S. Cablevision in trying to get proper service for the residents. They should have been providing this service all along and the Town would not have had to haggle with them. Mrs. Smith reported that she was appointed to the County Greenway Committee and last Friday she testified in front of the Commission as to what she would like to see happen along the riverfront and she especially addressed the Reese Park Area. Resolutions --- Jack Railing wrote to the Board requesting water service from Central Wappinger Water Improvement Area for a single family dwelling unit for the Lands of John O'Neil. Our Engineer wrote in his report that he had no problem in granting this request. MRS. PAINO moved to grant the water connection, as requested by Mr. Railing. Seconded by Mrs. Smith Motion Unanimously Carried The next item for the Board's consideration was a Right -of -Way easement from John Montfort on Cedar Hill Road. The Attorney noted that the offer of dedication is being made subject to Town Board agreeing to the value of $24,500 which he verified with Mr. Logan who feels this is an appropriate value. The Highway Superintendent is recommending that it be accepted and he is already planning the guard rails which was a further condition of the gift. It was his recommendation that the deed be accepted and the Board pay the Attorney's fee of $250.00. MR. VALDATI moved to accept the deed from John Montfort and pay the $250,00 fee to his Attorney, Albert Roberts. Seconded by Mrs. Smith Motion Unanimously Carried 97 A vacancy exists on the Recreation Commission due to the expiration of Herbert Stoller's term on May 1st. The Recreation Commission informed the Board that they have three possible candidates for this position and they will forward the resumes as soon as they are received. MRS. PAINO moved to table the appointment to the Recreation Commission pending receipt of the resumes._ Seconded by Mr. Farina Motion Unanimously Carried The term of Thomas Logan, Assessor will expire in September of 1989 and since there are several seminars he will be expected to attend and arrangements have to be made ahead of time, it was recommended that his reappointment be placed before the Board at this time. The following resolution was offered by SUPERVISOR PAINO who moved its adoption: RESOLVED, that Thomas E. Logan be and he hereby is reappointed to the position of Sole Assessor of the Town of Wappinger and be it further RESOLVED, that the said Thomas E. Logan is hereby reappointed as the Sole Assessor for the Town of Wappinger for a term which will expire on the 30th day of September 1995. Seconded by: Councilman Reis Roll Call Vote: 5 Ayes 0 Nays Mrs. Paino reminded the Board that two vacancies exist on the Board of Architectural Review and recommended that anyone interested should come forward and the Town Board could consider appointments at the June meeting. Unfinished Business --- Several additional letters had been received from residents of Sucich Place regarding their drainage problem. These had previously been addressed at a work shop meeting and Mr. Paggi had explained that his recommendation in his report to the Board included solutions for both the west side and the east side of that road. At the last meeting a request was received from Paul Palmateer regarding extension of water service for the proposed subdivision on Montfort Road. Mr. Paggi requested that a letter be directed to Mr. Palmateer for clarification of the length of the extension and and responsibility for the installation. At this time no response has 98 been received from the applicant and no action could be taken. A Letter of Credit from G & S Properties had previously been placed before the Board and at that time the Engineer to the Town recommended that the amount be reduced due to completion of a portion of the work. This was referred back to the Planning Board for review and recommenda- tion which they have done and informed the Town Board that they recommend acceptance of the reduced Letter of Credit in the amount of $137,000. MRS. SMITH moved that they accept the re wlSed Letter of Credit in the amount of $137,000.00 from G & S Properties, per the recommendation of the Engineer to the Town. Seconded by Mr. Valdati Motion Unanimously Carried Mr. Farina requested that he be provided with a key to the office in the Town Hall that has been designated for the use of the Town Board Members. He has been informed that the phone is now installed and a desk is in place for their use, so the only thing missing is entry into the office. Mrs. Paino told him to ask her Secretary and she would have a key made for his use. Mrs. Smith said she also needed a key. Mr. Farina referred to a safety matter previously brought up by Mr. Reis relevant to the Route 9 -Old Hopewell Road intersection. The matter was referred to both the County and State Highway Agencies and in addition to a response from the State, a follow up was received from Mr. Grogan, Dutchess County Department of Public Works and it appears that they do recognize that part of the problem is due to the driveway being closed on Old Hopewell Road and he indicated that this was a temporary closure and the County is working with the State to figure out the best way to solve the problem. Barbara McCormack was recognized by the Chair and wanted to know why the Town gave a $2,000 gift to the Ketcham Gymnastic Team toward their trip to China. She believed that's against the New York State Constitution and the Municipal Law. Mrs. Paino referred this to the Attorney who said he had given the Board a memorandum indicating that if the program itself had been open to the residents of the Town then the Board could consider it as part of their recreation program and he was not aware that any determination had been made by the Board after he had rendered this opinion. 99 Mrs. Paino said the Board discussed this during a work shop and decided to give them $2,000 and Mrs. Smith immediately differed with this statement noting that decisions were not made at work shops, they discuss the issue and take action at Town Board meetings. Furthermore, she did not agree to anything, she merely stated that $2,000 was a nice fugure when she was told the amount proposed. She wanted to point out that she would have liked to have found a way to give these people the money and they are proud of them but it has to be a legal way. She would rather give them $400 out of her own pocket than give them any monies illegally which was what was done since they did not have the opportunity to vote on it. Mrs. Paino reiterated that this was discussed at a work shop more than once and all present said it would be alright. The team was leaving within a few days and there was no time to act on the matter at a meeting. Mr. Reis interjected his opinion that Mrs. Smith agreed to it as long as it was done legally and the amount mentioned was alright with her. She vehemently denied this statement. Mrs. Paino added that it was money well spent which Mrs. Smith agreed with, however that did not change the fact that it was not voted on by the Board. Mr. Valdati recommended that in the future, items of this nature that require a legal Town Board vote, be given due process. Any resident, he said, has a perfect right to question their methodology if they do not vote on issues as a Board. According to the Attorney there were certain requirements that had to be met in order to qualify for the monies. This should be done with full Board effort, not by a single individual. Further discussion ensued and Mr. Farina agreed to a comment made by Mr. Reis that he had no objection to the number when it was mentioned at a work shop, however, at that time he did say that he wanted the lawyer's opinion. Mr. Reis retorted that they already had that. The point is, Mr. Farina added, that if Mr. Reis believed that all the Board Members agreed on giving this amount of money to this team, then why was it kept such a secret. When the money was given out the other Board Members were totally unaware that Mr. Reis had set up a media event. Mr. Reis claimed that when they discussed this, the Supervisor said if all agreed they would give them a check. Again Mrs. Smith pointed 100 out, how could they agree when there was no vote. Mr. Hirkala was recognized by the Chair and said he couldn't believe that an appropriation of public funds was made without a Town Board vote. He was told by Mrs. Paino that the monies were taken out of the recreation account and an informal vote was taken during a work shop meeting. As far as he was concerned, informal votes did not count and mean nothing. A formal vote is at a Town Board meeting and people of the Town are present and can ask questions on why the money is being spent. He thought it was terrible, ridiculous, unbelievable. New Business --- Councilman Valdati announced that he and County Legislator Roger Higgins will be available to meet with their constituents and address their questions and comments on June 7, 1989 at 7:30 P.M. at the Village Court. He encouraged all to attend whether they be new residents or ones who have been here many years, they will all be welcome. Mr. Farina announced that the Legislation Committee on Solid Waste is having a Public Hearing in Albany on May 11, 1989 at 10 A.M. He could not leave his employment to attend this Hearing, however, Councilwoman Smith has indicated that she may be available to attend. MR. FARINA moved to authorize Mrs. Smith to represent the Town of Wappinger at the Solid Waste Public Hearing in Albany on May 11, 1989 and her legitimate expenses and mileage will be a Town charge. Seconded by Mr. Valdati Motion Unanimously Carried Mrs. Paino had a request from a resident at 17 Nicole Drive for the placement of a sign, "Children At Play" due to the fact that there are many young children in the area. The resident asked that the sign be placed before a bend to alert drivers. MRS. PAINO moved to forward a letter to the Highway Superintendent notifying him of this request. Seconded by Mr. Reis Motion Unanimously Carried There was no other business to come before the Board. MRS. PAINO moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Reis and unanimously carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:12 P.M. Adj. from 5/1/89 to 5/4/89 .. ,,,,,,,.A1,, Elaine H. Snowden Town Clerk