Woodstock Town Board, January 6

This article appeared in the Townsman, January 8 edition

The annual organizational meeting of the Woodstock town board began with the announcement that receivers of water/sewer bills had been inadvertently overcharged, and that rate payers may either ask for a corrected bill, or if they make a payment then receive a credit toward their next bill due in late March. Higher rates, which had been scheduled for 2009, were mistakenly used to calculate the billing for the period beginning last September and ending November 30. The new rate became effective December 31, 2008. With that out of the way the board plunged into business that was completed in an hour and fifteen minutes.

The Townsman and the Woodstock Times again were designated the Town's official newspapers, meaning that legal notices of the Town will continue to be posted in both.

Pursuant to a complaint loudly publicized last month against Bank of America by Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and echoed by councilwoman Liz Simonson, Town moneys will be moved from that bank to TD BankNorth.

Several boilerplate resolutions were unanimously adopted, but one of the most routine of all, mileage reimbursement for use of private vehicles to conduct Town business lost Simonson's vote. She felt that the drop in gas prices made the 55 cents a mile too generous, and was not swayed by the argument that wear-and-tear on a vehicle should also be factors to consider.

Rules of Procedure adopted July 8, 2008 remain applicable for the year 2009.

Richard Heppner was appointed to another year as town historian, and will also serve on the Commission for Civic Design.

Tony Padalino was reappointed to the ZBA, his term to expire on 12/31/13. Howard Harris will remain as chairman.

The resolution to reappoint Teri Reynolds to the ethics board (EB) caused a severe hic cup. Since the summary dismissal of two members last December, Fran Breitkoph and Alison West, and with the December 31 expiration of Ms Reynolds' term the board now has only two sitting members. There are four applicants for the three vacant seats. Councilman Chris Collins, claiming that "very cloudy issues came up about the ethics board," and that the Reynolds appointment "could affect or exacerbate…conflicts within the ethics board," held out and finally prevailed in delaying any appointments until all the applicants had first been interviewed. There was considerable re-hashing of the sudden action on the part of Collins, Simonson and Jay Wenk that dismembered the EB last December, the tone of which could not auger hopes for a congenial town board in the coming year. Collins' foreboding was apparently based on a "minority report" sent to the town board from EB member Laurie Rosenberg. A Freedom of Information request was made for such letter.

Using the same logic, Mary Burke's reappointment to the environmental commission was also delayed until applicants could be interviewed for her vacant seat.

There were apparently no applicants for the vacant planning board seat, and Paul Shultis, Jr. was reappointed unanimously, his term to expire 12/31/15. Simonson had voted no when Shultis was first been appointed in 2002.

Mark Peritz will chair the planning board for the coming year.

The services of attorneys Rod Futerfas and Drayton Grant were retained at a rate of $150.00 per hour for the year 2009.

The Catskill Center for Photography, Maverick Concerts, Performing Arts of Woodstock, the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum, Woodstock Arts Board, the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, the Woodstock Historical Society, the Woodstock School of Art, the Woodstock Guild, Ars Choralis, and the Woodstock Poetry Society will each receive $200 from the Town. The organizations use the donation as proof of the community's support when seeking grants.

A very clumsily produced resolution made in the supervisor's absence at the December 30 year-end meeting that parked in a repair reserve the $186,600.00 received from sale of the California Quarry parcel to the Open Space Institute, which had been no one's intention, was rectified by the supervisor who persuaded all but Simonson to put it into a buildings reserve for the capital upgrade to town buildings. The former resolution was unanimously rescinded.

$12,000 was restored to the landfill repair reserve as established February 12, 2002. The remaining $30,000 had been appropriated last November to offset the 2009 tax levy.

Town board subcommittees were established.

Supervisor Jeff Moran will head the infrastructure subcommittee to oversee the proposed improvements to the Woodstock Town Hall. Moran will also liaise with the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Arts.

Councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum will liaise with members of the recreation commission, summer recreation program, library board and police department.

Councilman Chris Collins will continue to advise on the proposed comprehensive plan, the proposed wellhead protection overlay district amendment, the proposed wetland and watercourse amendment, and he will liaise with "the arts."

Councilwoman Liz Simonson continues on subcommittees to research alternatives to Town vehicles that contribute to green house gasses and global warming, to propose means and methods for replacement of polluting vehicles with 'greener' vehicles, to audit energy use of Town buildings, and to continue her endeavor to bring cell phone service to the western areas of the town.

Councilman Jay Wenk will continue to recommend courses of action to address the potential danger of buried fuel tanks, particularly in the area over the town aquifer, and liaise with the seniors.

The Town's lengthy procurement policy was re-established.

Supervisor Moran's appointment of councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum as deputy supervisor for all the year 2009 (there had been an understanding that each councilperson would serve in the role for six months, Simonson and Collins already having served their terms in 2008 and Rosenblum and Wenk expected to share 2009) was considered by Collins to be an "insult to Jay [Wenk]" and elicited Wenk's declaration, "I take offense," and on that note the meeting adjourned.