| Germantown Times |
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As promised Jerry
From: "jerry smith" To: "Roy Brown" Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 4:51 PM Subject: April meeting Roy: As you will no doubt have heard we had an "interesting" board meeting in your absence. I am leaving next week for two weeks in England to visit with our new grandson, but will be back for the April board meeting. There are a number of items I would like to see on the April agenda and I would appreciate if you would treat this email as a formal request for their inclusion. I include the item together with a commentary that should be included with the agenda as it is made available on the town's web site. 1. Moratorium. At the town board meting on March 17, Rezoning Committee Chairman, Joel Craig, proposed that the town introduce a 12 month moratorium on the approval of major subdivisions and developments. Town Attorney Shaw suggested a 6 month time span which could be renewed as necessary. Councilperson Smith made a proposal to this effect which was supported by Councilperson Craig. Councilpersons Lamberta and Snyder opposed the motion and it thereby failed to pass. In view of the importance of this matter to the town's future development, Councilperson Smith is requesting that the board reconsider the matter. At the town workshop on March 6, it was suggested that a meeting be arranged with Mr. Henry Terranova to explain developments in town which could affect his proposed development. Any further developments will be reported to the board. 2. Town Junk Law. The Rezoning Committee has determined that the issue of a town junk ordinance is more the province of the town board than itself and has suggested that the board and Zoning Enforcement Officer draft the appropriate language. Attached is a draft junk law prepared by the town's safety committee in 2006 which the board is invited to give preliminary consideration. It is suggested that a town work shop is scheduled to consider the draft in detail prior to adoption by the board. 3. Police Department policies and procedures. A draft of a proposed manual was circulated to the board under cover of a letter dated February 25 from Commissioner Roger Rekow. Preliminary consideration of the manual by the town board is invited. In view of the importance of this document to public safety, the board will be invited to give the public an opportunity to participate in this review at a public workshop. New procedures for background checks on police department employees are under development, and the Town Police Commissioners will be invited to report on progress to the board. The board will also be invited to consider how these new procedures may be used when hiring any new employees by the town. 4. Ambulance Service. NDP Emergency Medical Service (NDP) wrote to Supervisor Brown on March 6 requesting a letter of support for NDP to further extend service into Columbia County north of their existing area of operation. A report of the supervisor's response will be made, and the opportunity taken to bring the board up to date with likely cost increases when the current contract with NDP expires at the end of 2008. 5. Germantown's 300th Anniversary. At the town workshop on March 6, Dorothy Montague offered to help put together a group of residents to coordinate a town wide effort to plan Germantown's 300th anniversary in 2010. The History Committee, the Park Commission, plus other town bodies, both official and volunteer, were referenced as able to contribute to this effort. The board will be invited to establish this coordinating committee, nominate co- chairs and determine a date for the committee to report to the board on progress. 6. Developments in the Arts. Councilmen Craig and Smith have had initial discussions with local residents familiar with the promotion of arts in the area. The intention is to see how the town can help local artists bring their interests to the attention of the town and to surrounding districts. The importance of the arts to the Hudson Valley is unquestioned, and how the town can be involved might be a further topic for a town workshop. Any further developments will be reported to the board. 7. Committee Reports. a) Ethics Committee: At the March meeting the Ethics Committee was instructed to completely update the town's ethics law, taking into full account available drafts from the Association of Towns and all advisories issued by the NY State Ethics Commission. A report on progress will be made. b) Councilperson Smith reported at the March meeting that he had been charged with developing a Hazard Mitigation Plan for the town, and would be shortly contacting people to sit on a committee for this purpose. A report on developments will be made. We leave on Wednesday next but I would be happy to discuss this with you before then. Jerry |
March 20, 2008 Dear Supervisor Brown and all Town Board Members I have brought up this issue before with no success, but after the meeting held on March 17th I feel that I must restate my case in favor of monthly Workshop meetings, and ask for your serious consideration. The Town of Germantown faces many issues about which there are many questions that need to have some exploration. These issues do not have a right and wrong side; they do not have simple answers; they do not lend themselves to partisan ideology; they will have a profound impact on the residents of Germantown. The answers to these questions require thoughtful discussion, an examination of points of view and some reference to the consequences of actions—or non-action. Each Board member should participate in this process as a responsibility of the position. The Supervisor and the Board Members have equal voting power, so all should be equally informed, as much as possible. Jerry Smith has been requesting an expanded Agenda, with information provided prior to the meeting as a way to be better informed. With respect, I disagree. My own governmental experience indicates to me that not only adequate information is necessary. As well as an understanding of the context of that information, there must be an opportunity for Board members to have open discussion of the issues before them. I believe the only way is to conduct regularly scheduled workshop meetings, perhaps the week before the regular Public Meeting, that the whole Town Board participates in. When the issue requires it, Department Heads or Committee Chairs may be invited to attend to provide information or insight. This is not hard to do. There is a benefit to the public since it would make the decision making process more open. However, the greatest benefit is to the Town Board members themselves who will never have to find themselves confronted by mystifying Agenda items. They will never find themselves voting for or against an issue that has not been discussed and explained or clarified. They will have the advantage of other’s ideas and perhaps, on occasion, new information that might change or modify their views. They might find themselves convinced by new evidence that they are truly right, not just probably right. They will be less likely to be blind-sided by some circumstance that they hadn’t known about. Resolutions can be honed through consensus to be worded better or more accurately. An organized opportunity to discuss the business before them is so valuable! Please consider this again. Imagine the April meeting—already somewhat loaded with pithy issues—opening with a Board that has already had a thorough discussion of what lies before them. Maybe they will have a fully developed consensus on some tough questions: Priceless! Sincerely Kay Abraham President, Germantown Democratic Organization |
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Roy Brown was away, consequently, Joan Snyder as acting Supervisor chaired the meeting. The usual business of the meetings, approval of the minutes of the previous meeting and the approval of the audited bills, was followed by a short Executive Session. When the meeting opened again the Chair asked for Communications to the Board. Charlene said there were none. However Jerry Smith said he had written a letter to the Board which he felt should be included in the report. He was concerned about the whole procedure of “approving the audited bills”, saying he was requesting the establishment of a different, more comprehensive system for doing this. He would like to have a complete financial statement of transactions to be considered, not just a list of bills for approval, in order for the Board members to have a complete picture of what’s being paid and what’s being delayed or postponed or denied. He also feels that the agenda does not provide the background or context for issues to be voted on and there is not opportunity to discuss important things before the Board. He compares the material provided to the Town Board members to what the School Board gives its Board members as being inadequate. He suggests that materials for the meeting should be mailed to the Board members prior to the meetings. He then asks for discussion about what he has communicated to the Board. Joan Snyder says that the Town Board has never discussed things that come up in the Communications to the Board. Jerry cites Open Public Forum (or Roundtable, as some refer to it) held on March 6th, listing several issues that should be addressed by the Board such as the Ethics Code, the proposed moratorium on major subdivisions and developments, the 400th and 300th anniversary celebrations, the Police Manual, etc. When will these things be discussed? Joan says all Board members have access to the agenda and any materials they need and it would be costly to mail such things when it can be picked up at the Town Hall easily. Jerry asks about his proposal for a monthly financial report: Can we discuss it? No, says Joan, this will not be done at this meeting. Next was Reports from Department Heads. Sewer Department: George Sharpe Jr. not in attendance Maintenance Dept: Anthony Cidras not in attendance Highway Dept: Jerry Smith read Rich Jenning’s report: The LOADER is IN!! There had lots of rain and minor flooding over the past weeks. Dept. clearing culverts, ditches and will be trimming brush and trees along certain roads. They are preparing for Roadside clean-up in April on the School break. Cub Scouts and othe groups will be assisting. Asks Town Board for approx $1,600. for replacement of brakes on old truck. Jerry Smith moves approval; passed unanimously. Police Department: Roger Rekow Reports: 265.5 hrs of patrol work in Februasry. 1 Assist Motorist, 1 Larceny, 1 Criminal Mischif, 1 dog complaint, 2 Trespass, and 1 Warrant served. Waiting for final approval of Police Manual Park Commission: Mike George reports that the committee is meeting. They are meeting with Bill Muirhead about a 5 year plan to refurbish the Park & sportsfields. Town-wide Community Garage Sale day is May 17th They will have stuff in the parking area near the Activities building to participate and serve as a fund raiser for the Parks to be used for equipment. They are reviewing the policies for use of the facilities, and planning for the 4th of July event. They are under discussion with the Little League about the use of the ball fields. They will be issuing new sponsorship signs at the ball fields. They are setting up a few basketball courts in parking areas with the technical advice from Anaconda. Economic Development Committee: Corrine Curry reports; She has gone into the Central House renovated property and found it to be an excellent job –windows now in and architectural elements such as the tin ceilings are being restored. It will be a big asset for Germantown when it’s finished. They will be meeting at 10AM next Wednesday the 19th at Town Hall. All are welcome. Keep Farming: Charles Abraham absent, wife Kay delivered a pack of material about the meeting in Germantown on March 29th to the Town Board. REZoning Committee: Joel reported on their meeting of March 3rd., summarizing that meeting (see my notes on that meeting) and advising the Town Board that the committee was recommending a 12 month moratorium on Major Sub-divisions and developments. The Comm. Has drafted a RFP seeking a professional planner to assist with the changes to the zoning and the land use map. The Comm. asks that there be an energy audit of Town facilities and that any new construction complies with LEED standards. They bounced some issues back to the Town Board such as Junk Laws, etc., to streamline their task. They are asking the Planning Board and the ZBA to identify specific concerns and any current problems so they can be addressed as soon as possible. Their next meeting is March 31 at 7 PM . They hope to look at local examples of historic and archeological significance. Jerry Smith says he has been assigned to a new committee; “Hazard Mitigation Plan” to be developed for Germantown. Needs help. Meeting on April 15th. Jerry asks about the new revised Police Manual. Why aren’t they approving it yet? Atty is reviewing it now, it should be up for approval in April TB meeting. Old Business: Two abandoned properties: Property at 4372 Rt 9G has been remedied. And needs the Code Enforcement Officer to certify it as OK. That will be done shortly. The other property at 462 South Road has not yet had any action taken on it even though the owners were given a time extension to do so. Discussion about the next steps to take. The town may go onto the property and take any action they decide is necessary for health and safety issues and place a lien on it for the cost. Any tax-delinquent property will be sold by the County and the town can collect the costs and the County gets the back taxes if it is sold for enough. Town risks losing money on the cost of remedying the property but it must be done. Motion made to do so in as economical way they can do it. Approved. Mike George is appointed to serve on the Columbia County Youth Advisory Board. The Ethics Committee had written to the Board regarding the necessity to review the current Code. The Ethics Committee was asked to revise the Code according to State standards, hopefully in time for the April Agenda. Jerry brings up the Quadracentennial and the 300th anniversary plans. Will the committee be set up? General conversations about the plans for that event. [The fact that Dorothy Montague had been asked to convene the committee at the Public Forum (Roundtable , March 6th had been forgotten,] See below. Supervisor’s Report: Joan read Roy’s notes that the Southern Columbia Towns have been in discussion with the Ambulance service providers. Cites town’s Roundtable meeting as successful, listing issues brought up : more publicity for town sponsored meetings, plan for the 300th & 400th anniversaries, Adoption of Comprehensive Plan, Grant applications to help town, Air Monitors sewerage costs, etc.,. Roy & the Germantown Fire Department made a presentation to school students about fire safety and the need for smoke alarms and planning for fire safety. He is working on a newsletter for distribution in April. April Town Board meeting will feature Recognition for certain deserving local folks. Public Comments: Sally Drummond asks why Board has not approved Comprehensive Plan. “ The Plan is a guide—pass it and then let the Rezoning committee gnaw on it, improve it, “ “That’s the hard part. Passing the CP is the easy part.” Joel & Jerry agree. Arthur Schiff asks if the proposed Police Manual is available for the public to see. Since it may be on the agenda in April to be voted on shouldn’t the public see it prior to that so they can make comments? Jerry says why not make it available? Atty says, no but they can FOIL it (make a formal legal request under the Freedom of Information Law) Why should anyone have to go through the formal process instead of just making it available? Joan says “its just a draft now” so shouldn’t just be released. Jerry opposes the idea that the public should have to make a formal request for this. Arthur brings up his issue about the Ethics Code and the efforts to bring it up to date. Doesn’t want town to just keep fixing it on a case by case basis. He cites State Law as basis to consider. (see his article about his Ethics Code complaint on his website www.germantowntimes.com). Joel assures him they will look at entire Code. However, the Town Law samples of ethics Codes don’t go into the kind of details or issues that the State Law does.This will be discussed in the future. Joan Snyder comments that the samples shown are not as detailed as the Code the Town already has. Ellen Epstein asks Board when do they plan to discuss the moratorium that has been formally proposed by the Rezoning Committee?.Joel says the Town ( or the Town Attorney ) should draft up a resolution before the April meeting so it can be acted on before the May meeting and unfortunately, maybe not even be approved until June, which Is an unacceptable delay in dealing with it. Attorney says it may not be ready for a resolution until July. Jerry makes a motion to request the Atty to draft a resolution for consideration at the April meeting. Atty says that a 6 month moratorium is more common. Joel says that 12 months is not uncommon when the whole zoning law is being revised. Jerry restates his motion to have a draft resolution ready for the next meeting. Joel & Jerry vote “yes” Grace Ann and Joan vote “no” Motion fails. Grace Ann asks Atty what about a referendum? “Is a moratorium fair to Germantown residents? Let’s have a plebicite to vote on the issue. Let’s give it to the people!” General disruption as many voices overlap speaking out regarding this statement. Atty says that State Law lays out a limited set of legitimate subjects that would allow for a referendum, binding or not. In general NY State Law expects such questions to be resolved by the elected officials. Who carry the responsibility for enacting laws. The Comprehensive Plan and Zoning issues do not qualify for referendum. Ellen comments that without a moratorium of major subdivisions and developments the town may get into legal trouble if they allow such actions while they are actively in the process of rezoning. It could mislead developers with empty hopes and costly preparations. Grace Ann says she is just worried about Germantown jobs—all those carpenters and plumbers who will lose out if there is a moratorium. Larry Osgood reminds her that the moratorium is for MAJOR sub-divisions and developments, not for the ordinary construction of buildings and renovations that are common in Germantown. He asks bout the list of employees and the salaries paid that had been promised to be made public. He was told that the Town Clerk had it and he could get it from her. Jerry asks again if the draft of the revised Police Manual will be available and was told again that the only way for it to be released is through a FOIL request. How will anyone be able to make a comment on it before it’s on the Agenda if they can’t see what changes are proposed? He makes a motion to make the draft available to the public. Joel & Jerry vote “yes”, Grace Ann and Joan vote “no”. Motion Fails. Jerry asks the reason for the “nay” votes? Joan says “Foil it.” Dorothy Montague speaks, confused about her role as convener for the two anniversary committee. Do they want her or not. All those who were at the Roundtable (Public Forum) remembered (of Course!) that she had agreed to do it and were glad she will take it on. Meeting adjourned 8:48 PM Corrections, additions welcome |
takes place from noon to seven p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at the school. Voters will have the opportunity to speak at a public hearing on the budget at seven p.m. Wednesday, May 7, 2008, at the school. The new budget is $13.7 million, up $528,000 from this year. Inflation is driving most of the increase, particularly the cost of fuel for transportation and heating. However, there are increased costs for equipment including chairs, desks, computers and renovation of some classroom space. These funds are in addition to the amount regularly allotted for these purposes. The new budget contains a staffing increase of a half-position and two periods for the high school The district expects increased state of aid of about $200,000, after receiving no increase last year. Bill Knaust, business consultant to the district, said the goal has been to maintain a good program while keeping spending as reasonable as possible. Two board members, David Forman and Ralph DelPozzo, are up for re-election. They both have told The Independent they are running again. Nominating petitions are available at the school for anyone interested in running for the school board. Petitions must be signed by 25 qualified district voters and filed with the district clerk no later than April 21, 2008, at three p.m . The election is Tuesday, May 20, 2008, from noon to seven p.m. |
Dear Friends, Town Board Member Grace Ann Lamberta sent a letter to the Register-Star in which she repeated her thesis that the comprehensive Plan will be detrimental to all the carpenters, plumbers and electricians in town. She expressed the wish that we could keep our old plan and thereby save the town from economic hardship. "Germantown is not, and will not, be a destination community...We are a working class community of families and that's what we want to be." This is a letter I sent in response on behalf of he GDO. It should be in the paper Wednesday or Thursday. GDO Response to Lamberta letter to the editor: I am responding to Germantown Town Board member Lamberta’s letter asking for the Comprehensive Plan to be abandoned. She expresses the idea that the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan and the subsequent modification of the zoning laws will cause economic hardship on Germantown residents. I believe her concern is misplaced. The downturn in our economy is the prime cause for any increase in unemployment in our area. The inflation of gas and fuel oil prices, the incomprehensible cost of the Iraq war, the unregulated excess of investments in sub-prime lending, the drop in the value of the dollar—all these have a negative effect on our economy. It would seem improper to add the adoption of a Comprehensive Plan to this list of economic pressures. There is no evidence that the proposed Comprehensive Plan will have anything but a positive impact on the Town’ s economic health. By updating the Zoning laws to meet the challenges of the future our town will be a better place for homeowners and new businesses. Lamberta expresses belief that if we just kept our old, existing plan and kept our present zoning that all the good things we love about our town would simply continue on unchanged. Two realities contradict that view: One, the State of New York mandates that towns update their master plan periodically and adjust their zoning laws to reflect the community goals in the Comprehensive Plan. Two, It has been said before: you can plan for change or not, but change will come. Many times it comes faster than one expects, as has happened to some communities in our area, leaving them unprepared to deal with unanticipated major development proposals. For many reasons, Germantown has been spared any devastating intrusions by large developers, but it will be wise to equip the Planning Board and the ZBA with legislation that will enable them to respond with well-written powers for site review and clear standards for acceptable development. The Rezoning Committee is charged with developing new zoning laws that will embody the vision of our town that was expressed by the residents and subsequently reviewed and modified by the questions and suggestions of the Town Board, the Planning Board and the ZBA. This process has been done so far with a great amount of input from all points of view. The Rezoning Committee has dedicated and experienced members. The process is open to the public. The process will not result in unemployment but rather will promote better growth and controlled development—just what the residents of Germantown want. It may not be a “destination” town but the residents deserve to have what they have said they want: a thoughtful plan for the town’s future and zoning laws that work toward that goal. Kay Abraham, GDO....etc |