Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes Halcott Grange
April 23, 2018, 7:15 pm
Present: Town Supervisor Alan White, Council members Yukari Day, Alan Reynolds, Judy DiBenedetto, Highway Superintendent Russell Bouton, Town Clerk Patricia Warfield, Planning Board Chair Nancy Reynolds Public: David Grossman Absent: Councilwoman Innes Kasanof
Opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Before the public hearing was called to order, Supervisor White asked for a moment of silence to pay respect to Anton Kasanof, a long time resident, past Town Supervisor and Town Justice, who made many contributions to our community.
Public Hearing on Subdivision Revisions: Supervisor White called the hearing to order at 7:15pm, and opened the hearing for comment and /or discussionof the subdivision revisions. Supervisor White asked Board members if they had any comments or additional thoughts; having none he then asked Planning Board Chair Nancy Reynolds if she had any other comments, and her comment was that the changes looked good as is. Supervisor White discussed that the changes were relatively minor, the only one of a more substantial impact is the change back to the way it used to read, only one principal residence per parcel. With no further comment , from the Board, SupervisorWhite then opened the floor for public comment. David Grossman commented that he thought the subdivision changes were consistant with resposible developement practices, even though it put some more restrictions on large landowners. Supervisor White closed the Public Hearing at 7:22pm.
The Regular Town Board Meeting opened at 7:32 with Approval of the minutes of the March 26, 2018 meeting: Motion to approve by Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto, 2nd by Councilwoman Yukari Day, Councilman Alan Reynolds: aye, Supervisor Alan White: aye.
Emergency Planning (A) Fire Truck Building. Bob VanValkenburgh is now the Fleischmanns Fire Chief. Supervisor White feels this may create an opportunity to get a focus on an issue of concern for Halcott. In the case of a major flood or major storm emergency, emergency services cannot get to our Town. One of our long range goals as a Town should be to find a way to have a satellite building for the Fleischmanns fire department to house at least one piece of equipment here. This would also ensure a favorable ISO rating should the Fleischmanns fire department choose to relocate in the future to a new location more than 5 miles from Halcott. When the Crosby farm was being transfered to the city, the Town was gifted a site that could be used to put that kind of a building on. When Bob VanValkenburgh became chief, Supervisor White discussed priorities for Halcott and that it is time to think about moving forward with this project. The first step in this process will be to invite Senator George Amadore to come to Town to look at the site and look at the issue of maintaining some connection to the Fleischmanns Fire Department in the case of a major storm, so Supervisor White has invited the Senator to come to Town on May 4th. The Senate has access to discretionary funds, if you let your Senator know your needs, they may be able to help with funding if the opportunity comes around. In addition, the Senator’s office has a grant writer who can work with us on this project. Bob VanValkenburgh is working on a cost estimate which is in the vicinity of $150-$200,000.00 for a bare bones structure. There are many question to still be answered such as who owns the structure, who will operate it, how to cover operating costs. Supervisor White feels that it should not be the intent of the Town to create a fire department, but rather create a funding opportunity to put up a satellite structure for the Fleischmanns Fire Department in our Town. This is the first step in starting a conversation, with no commitments being made in the short term. (A) County Mitigation Plan. Greene County has been working on an All Hazards Mitigation Plan. They are finished and are looking for Towns to do an adoption. Supervisor White has invited Dan King from the emergency office to come to the next Town Board meeting to discuss the Mitigation Plan with the Board. (C ) 911 Communications. A Halcott resident tried making an emergency call which was misdirected. There was a flaw found in the system, which was fixed. Supervisor White asked Councilman Alan Reynolds to invite Emergency Services Director John Ferrell to the May Town Board Meeting.
Highway Superintendent’s Report: (A) Chips Funding. Halcott will receive $38,942.95 in CHIPS money, $8,888.63 under the Pave-NY program, as well as $7,787.31 under the Extreme Winter Recovery program. Highway Superintendent Bouton reported to the Board that Elk Creek Road, and the bottom of Johnson Hollow are up for topping, and there are 2 spots on DiNicola Rd. and Townsend Hollow Rd. that are so soft they are almost impassable. Supervisor White asked if Superintendent Bouton could come up with a more formal plan for road repair and maintenance for the next meeting with the intent to get an early start on the road work for an early reimbursement.(B) The Highway Department has been trying to broom the sand from the roads, as weather allows. Superintendent Bouton has a watertank to use in an emergency, and is still looking to purchase a 1,000 gallon tank and pump for the Highway Department.
Voucher vote: General Abstract #G0408 – vouchers #057 – 066 = $41,007.99. Highway Abstract #H0408 – vouchers #067 – 070 = $3,238.52. Motion to pay bills by Councilwoman Yukari Day, 2nd by Councilman Alan Reynolds, Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto: aye, Supervisor Alan White: aye.
Clerk’s Report: 1 Certificate of Occupancy Search: $25.00, Billy Haynes (dumpster fee) (Feb. & March): $200.00, Garbage Tickets (5) @ $9.00 each: $45.00. The Town collected and disbursed $270.00 for the month of March.
Public Comment: David Grossman asked the Board to consider for future public hearings, that a red line version of the matter to be discussed be posted for 30 days, making it easier for residents who do not live in Halcott full time, to be part of the process. He also stated that he felt the community in terms of the long term planning has been very reasonable in realizing that there has to be a balance between maintaining our beauty as we have it with economic viability. He and his father have owned their property for 17 years and he has started thinking about how to utilize that process.
Next Meeting: Regular Meeting Monday, May 21, 2018, 7:15 p.m.
Motion to Adjourn at 7:45 p.m. by Councilwoman Judy DiBenedetto, 2nd by Councilman Alan Reynolds, Councilwoman Yukari Day: aye, Supervisor Alan White: aye.
