Woodstock Town Board Meeting, July 8, 2008

A serious lightning strike on the waste water treatment plant on June 30, causing extensive damage to pumps, the generator and ultra violet equipment for treating wastewater was apparently repaired with such dispatch that residents were not aware of the problem until Supervisor Jeff Moran informed the public at the July 8 meeting of the town board. Moran praised water/sewer superintendent Kevin Hunter and his department for the successful effort to contain the damage and get the plant operating in a timely fashion. Highway superintendent Mike Reynolds was also thanked for the resources he brought to allay the crisis. It is expected that insurance will cover the costs of the repairs.

Action on three topics; expanded parking on the Comeau; hiring an arborist to study the health and condition of several trees on the Comeau property, including a bitternut hickory described as in serious decline; and possibly adding ten or fifteen feet to the existing 75 foot high radio tower attached to the main town office building to enhance emergency communications, were all deferred until legal opinion can be obtained from Steve Barshov, the counsel engaged by the Town to defend the Comeau conservation easement. The easement, approved in a 2003 referendum, has dragged through court for almost five years. The town board by such deference honored the concern of councilman Chris Collins that any action on the Comeau might harm the Town's prospect of seeing the Woodstock Land Conservancy eventually enabled to enforce the terms of such easement.

With respect to improving emergency communications, in response to a question by councilwoman Liz Simonson, Moran quoted Jeff Staley, manager of the Town's municipal communication tower on California Quarry, as saying that facility is "ready to go" for attaching an antenna to serve the emergency needs of the Town. Collins, however, felt that there was "too much controversy" with the Quarry tower to consider using it for emergency communications. Representatives from Fire District Company 4 (Zena) have reported to Town officials on the extremely poor emergency communications in their area of the town. The matter will not be pursued until word from Barshov.

The eight giant white pine trees that had threatened neighbors' houses adjacent the Comeau property, and which were felled only after much contention culminating in a 3-2 vote at a meeting earlier this year, spawned another lengthy discussion concerning their disposal. Twenty minutes of debate resulted in a motion barely carried to authorize the highway superintendent, Mike Reynolds, to remove them, Collins and Wenk voting nay.

Another lengthy discussion on fees for use of town buildings followed, initiated by resident Cassia Berman's request for special consideration for her use of town buildings to conduct exercise classes. Berman, effective July 1, was to be charged $10.00 per hour, already a reduced rate because of her extensive use of town facilities. Opinion ranged from Collin's suggestion that Berman be "grandmothered" to the old rate of $5.00 per hour, to Moran's insistence that since "ultimately it is the taxpayers who pay to heat and maintain these buildings" users should be required to kick in more to defray the costs. Wenk, observing, "one of the wonderful things about a town board is that we can pick and choose," joined Collins in recommending the $5.00 rate. Dickering ensued, with Councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum recommending $7.50, Simonson $7.00. Resident Joan Schwartzberg asked the board how they could make a decision based on Berman's "hardship" without knowing what she charged for her classes. When asked, Berman reported she charged $15.00 per person, $12.55 if they purchased four lessons in advance, and that "generally" she had an average of four people in each class. Collins, feeling that the questions to Berman had become invasive, asked members of the press to show "sensitivity" in their reporting on a deliberation that was being broadcast live on public access television and streamed on the web. The conversation then meandered to a Simonson reminder that the board could declare Berman's classes a "town sponsored event" and charge her nothing. A motion offered by Moran and seconded by Rosenblum to charge $7.50 with the provision Berman offer free instruction to people receiving social services, or recommended by Family of Woodstock, or are employees of the Town was defeated. Over their nays a subsequent motion offered by Collins and seconded by Wenk carried to charge Berman $6.00 per hour until the end of the year. Another entity also seeking a break on the user fee did not attend the meeting.

Collins introduced a discussion concerning section 5Y of the Woodstock Zoning Law, which prohibits the display of merchandise between a structure and the curb or street, and which earlier this year had the Town in knots when launching the Farm Festival. Evidently conflating 5Y with a section of the law concerned with signage, Collins cited what he felt was clumsy and selective enforcement of the ban on sandwich boards. Moran brought the issue back to his understanding that 5Y was intended to reduce visual clutter and preserve pedestrian access on the town's sidewalks. Wenk used the moment to decry bicyclers using the sidewalks. A very round-about discussion finally ended in the idea to consult with various planning officials and resources before taking an action.

It was reported that at some point the town board will schedule a public hearing on a redacted water emergency plan, a document constructed by town officials involved with emergency response to disasters. According to Moran state law requires such a hearing.

The town board expressed no objection to the installation of a "peace pole" on the village green by private entities with the cooperation of the Woodstock Reformed Church. According to Moran the redwood pole will be about twelve feet high and inscribed with the word "peace" in no less than 180 languages. The dedication is scheduled for August 16. Wenk suggested that [president] Bush and [vice president] Cheney be invited to the installation "and then arrest them."

Wenk, in a 3-2 vote, Moran and councilwoman Rosenblum voting nay, finally prevailed in his six-month battle to adopt a town board policy on the agenda process. With Moran previously agreeing to add to the agenda any item requested by a board member the vote was anti-climatic, even if strung out by Simonson's reading Wenk's latest draft at the table before finally voting with the majority.

The supervisor revived discussion of the stalled Town Hall renovation project, budgeted for $1.6 million but having received bids for close to $2 million earlier this year. Moran reported discussions with low bidders resulted in bringing costs down to $1.8 million, still $200,000 above the authorized amount, "and not providing the quality of renovation originally conceived." Moran formally introduced "option B," the acquisition of the 18,000 square feet Elna Ferrite building on the Bearsville Flats. He expressed confidence that less money than would be spent renovating the Town Hall could purchase and renovate for municipal purposes the Elna Ferrite building. He emphasized its much better parking and the feasibility of moving all the municipal offices, not just police/dispatch/courts into its large space. He felt that Town employees were behind the idea. He also discussed an idea brought to him by Collins to arrange a forum where residents could weigh in on what to do with the Town's buildings. "Our Town," a local society that has met on several occasions to discuss town issues, was mentioned as one such forum. "But ultimately," said Moran, "the decision will lie with us."

Moran's "option B" was challenged by Simonson, first for his unsupported contention of the cost savings in purchasing and renovation Elna Ferrite, but also she objected to the idea of the Town buying yet another structure when the costs of maintaining and heating buildings was only going to "dramatically" increase in the coming years. Also, she was not ready to "throw down the toilet" the considerable amount of money already spent planning the Town Hall renovation.

Simonson appeared to have Collins's support for forging on with the renovation, Collins at one point almost offering a resolution for such effect. Wenk wondered if doing the renovation "piece meal" would be possible. Rosenblum, citing her recent arrival to the town board, wanted more assurance the renovation would serve the long-term interests of the town.

There appeared to be unanimous aversion to an idea floated last week in a local paper to create a "campus" of town offices on the Comeau property.

The discussion ended with an agreement that more information would be needed to arrive at a decision.

Other business saw the appointments of Ellen Altman to the telecommunications committee and Rosanne Haggerty to the ethics board. Kathleen Wilber's resignation from the summer recreation committee was accepted, the town board expressing its gratitude for her service. A mowing agreement was renewed with Hurley Lawn and Land, and C2G Environmental Consultants was given the job to remove and replace an oil tank at the wastewater treatment plant. Staff and rates of pay were established for the Woodstock summer recreation program. Mileage reimbursement for private vehicles used for town business was increased from $0.505 to $0.585 per mile. Trust and agency accounts were established, one to receive and disburse moneys from the Woodstock Reformed Church and private donors for maintenance and enhancements to the village green, and another to receive private donations for a proposed town-wide habitat mapping project. The June 27 deadline for a grant from the New York State Estuary Program to help fund the mapping project was missed. A resolution authorized dissemination and posting on the Town website a "Green Guide" prepared by the Woodstock environmental commission with much work performed by WEC member Megan Reynolds. The guide gives practical tips on energy and resource conservation. Collins advised the board on his progress with updating the Woodstock comprehensive plan, a new town-wide survey apparently now being considered.

In response to a question from Joan Schwartzberg the board was unable to confirm or deny rumors that the annual Volunteers Day celebration, in the recent past orchestrated by Sam Magarelli, would not occur in tandem with the annual fireworks display in August.

To correct the record, the town board did not vote to contribute $1000 to the Summer Indie Program, as was reported in a previous edition. It did at this meeting vote to contribute $500 to the program, which is supported by the Onteora School District, with the provision that children from Woodstock residing in the Saugerties and Kingston school districts would be eligible for enrolment.

The public portion of the meeting had opened at 7:30 PM after an executive session held for the purpose of interviewing candidates for the ethics board. After coming out of executive session supervisor Moran began the meeting with a remembrance of Billy Van Kleeck, who died July 4, and asked for a moment of silence. The meeting adjourned at 11:15 in the presence of the town clerk, the town videographer, two reporters and one member of the public.