Woodstock Town Board Meeting July 15, 2008

This article appeared in the Townsman, July 17, 2008 edition

A resolution introduced by Supervisor Jeff Moran to establish a capital fund to process a community projects appropriation in the amount of $5000.00 offered to the Town by Assemblyman Kevin Cahill for the purpose of "constructing a suitable memorial honoring the legacy of Woodstock activist Jane Van De Bogart" raised questions from members of the Woodstock town board. "I loved Jane dearly," said councilwoman Liz Simonson, but went on to question the nature of such a memorial and to raise the question of who should be memorialized. "Why not Billy Van Kleeck?" she asked as an example of the difficulty in making such a decision.

Van De Bogart was a member of the Woodstock town board back in the 1970s and early '80s, and before her death earlier this year also known for her involvement in many social causes including Women In Black, a organization advocating peace, and also as one of the prime organizers of the Town's annual Martin Luther King celebration. Van Kleeck was a long time volunteer fireman, fire commissioner and chairman of the Woodstock ethics board before his death this past July 4.

Ideas for how to properly use the grant ranged from planting a tree to placing a plaque. It was finally agreed to adopt the resolution and decide on a proper way of using it at some later date.

Senator Bonacic's appropriation of $10,000 toward energy saving improvements to the supervisor's cottage was accepted with less discussion.

A resolution to authorize the highway superintendent Mike Reynolds to coordinate with the Ulster County Department of Bridges and Highways and Michael Williams, owner of PhotoSensualis, the retail-gallery business that has moved into the former Not Fade Away location on Rock City Road, to install a sidewalk from the Mountain View parking lot to the north end of the building, install two pedestrian cross walks and close off to pedestrians the undersized sidewalk between the building and the street also raised some questions. Simonson wondered if the County was "bamboozling" the Town into sharing the expense for the improvements, and saw "no real justification for being pushed around." After Moran offered a detailed explanation of the unsafe conditions the board voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.

Moran's suggestion, first floated several meetings ago, that the Town look seriously into the prospect of buying the Elna Ferrite building on the Bearsville Flats, a 18,000 square feet structure big enough to house all the Town offices, police department, dispatch service and justice court received a boost in a letter to the board from Police Chief Harry Baldwin. Baldwin, who last year favored the renovation of the Town Hall, explained that at that time the Elna Ferrite building was not under consideration, and that because of its size and ample parking it was a far more suitable location for the Town departments. Baldwin claimed to be speaking for an "overwhelming" majority of police/dispatch employees. Simonson expressed wariness at the Town taking on another building, citing the great expense of all the Town's buildings for energy costs, and pointing out it would very likely only get worse in the future. Moran agreed, but pointed out that with all the Town services re-located to Elna Ferrite the Town could then one by one renovate the vacated Town Hall and Comeau offices and maintain them as public spaces much less costly to heat and cool. The supervisor promised to have a more fleshed out proposal in the near future.

Councilman Jay Wenk's proposal that two members of the town board make personal visits to sixteen residences in the Bearsville development to explain to the homeowners the danger their more than twenty-five years old underground oil tanks pose to the aquifer that feeds the municipal water supply was met with a cool response by other board members. Councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum thought it was much smarter to put the residents into direct contact with contractors who could discuss the specific costs of addressing the problem. Councilman Chris Collins was more comfortable with sending the residents a letter. Simonson thought Wenk should network with the New York State Rural Water Association for ideas on addressing the problem, and thought it was unfair to single out the residents with the visits recommended by Wenk. Wenk finally decided take the board's comments back to his sub-committee consisting of George ("Jerry") Washington, Craig Barber and Janine Mower.

Wenk didn't get much further with his proposal to adopt a resolution commanding Town employees and asking private motorists not to idle their vehicles for more than one minute. Wenk had served on the town board in 1992 when a similar resolution was unanimously adopted, "but sadly has not been enforced since," said Wenk. His new resolution would also cause printed reminders to be handed out by police and "volunteers" to motorists idling more than one minute. "That's just going to cause more litter," commented Moran, who just earlier during the meeting had heard a couple of complaints from attendees about rampant littering on the roadways. "I'm not crazy about the printed notices," Simonson agreed. Rosenblum had problems with wording in Wenk's resolution, which incidentally was not on the agenda or available to the public. After much discussion it was agreed that Moran and Rosenblum would bring up the issue of idling with the police department, who seemed to be the main idlers, according to Wenk.

Moran's repeatedly discussed proposal to expand parking on the upper Comeau inched forward past the concerns of Collins that such steps may negatively affect the Comeau easement now in litigation, with Simonson agreeing to work with town employees toward coming up with a plan, including "design elements" for the expansion. Paul Shultis Jr's speech to the board, "Soccer players are coming. It's up to you to provide a safe environment for our kids. If you don't expand the parking people will park on the road, and that is dangerous," seemed to have effect. Shultis is involved with the children's soccer program.

The town board approved minutes from past meetings, accepted budget transfers, accepted the town clerk's report, and approved payment of bills amounting to $99,453.75. Terrie Reynolds was appointed to the Woodstock ethics board. The Skate Park Task Force was given an additional sixty days (until the end of September) to make their recommendation with regard to a skate park facility. Russel Richadson from the Indie Program gave the board a big thank you for its support and monetary contribution to the program that uses non-tradition methods to educate children and maintain their interest in schooling. Town clerk Jacky Earley was not at the meeting, which did not break up until 11:35 PM.