This article appeared in the Townsman, January 15 edition
The Woodstock town board's public hearing on a proposed franchise renewal with Time-Warner cable company seemed to be headed toward a repeat of the much heard concern that the agreement didn't provide enough funding for the public access studio, but then collided into the concerns of a cohort from upper Mink Hollow Road decrying the lack of cable service to that area.
The hearing began with Richard Spool, long time public access channel volunteer, appealing for a better facility, claiming it was necessary to attract more users, particularly youth. His comments were echoed by Russel Richarson, director of the Onteora School District Indy Program, who said he would like to see a speedy resolution so that the new educational channel, which will soon broadcast into the school district municipalities of Hurley, Olive and Shandaken, will also be seen in Woodstock. Time Warner has stated that it will not send the signal into Woodstock without first a signed renewal. Dee Dee Halleck, public access television activist, praised the efforts put into the studio by volunteers, but still found the facility lacking. Ellen Povill, also a station volunteer, urged the board not to rush into an agreement, hoping that further negotiations will result in the Town getting a better studio. There were some calls for an audit of Time Warner's books to ensure the Town had been receiving all the franchise fees it is entitled to. Station volunteer Gordon Wemp advised the board to "Be specific about what you want. Time Warner is not holding us hostage; we are holding ourselves hostage. Get on with it."
David Nelson Epstein, an Onteroa teacher who has been active with video arts programs for youth, asked the board to resolve the issue quickly so that students could have their productions seen in Woodstock. "It is not the eleventh hour, it is now the fourteenth hour."
The discussion took a dramatic detour when Mink Hollow Road resident Bill Dubilier complained "We desperately want cable," and insisted on an agreement that would bring service to his remote location. Federal law mandates cable service to areas where at least 35 potential hook-ups exist. The proposed agreement under consideration reduces that number to 20, but it is unclear if that would qualify sparsely populated upper Mink Hollow Road for service. Other areas in the town not served include upper Hutchin Hill Road, West Saugerties Road, upper Silver Hollow Road and the Shady side of Meads Mountain Road.
After hearing Dubilier's passionate plea councilwoman Liz Simonson, who has served on the town board for eleven years, and councilman Jay Wenk became militant, Simonson saying, "We should be tough negotiators and demand service for the whole town." Wenk went so far to say, "We must hold their [Time Warner] feet to the fire and defy the law as much as we can."
Supervisor Jeff Moran expressed his opinion that asking for service extension may be more important than seeking public access funding. Simonson at first appeared to agree, but then quickly added that public access television was also important as was auditing Time Warner. The hearing was recessed after the board seemed to agree that consultant services would probably be necessary. No time line was offered and it is unclear how long it will be before Woodstock receives the educational channel broadcast from Onteora.
The public portion of the town board meeting had begun at 7:40 PM, when long time resident and volunteer fireman Jim Hansen was recognized during the public-be-heard segment. Hansen presented the board with a petition signed by 96 residents (he claimed two more petitions were also circulated but not in his hand) calling upon the town board to "do everything possible to assure Ametek [former Rotron] that it is welcome in the community." Hansen was reacting to a discussion entertained by the town board several weeks ago that had given a public platform to several individuals unhappy that some components manufactured by Ametek are used in military equipment. Their hope had been that the town board would pressure Ametek to reconsider its business plan. "To give Rotron [Ametek] a hard time at a time like this is ridiculous," said Hansen, citing the number of jobs (estimated at around 400) provided by the company and also the fact that Ametek staffs and operates the town's emergency medical response team during its working hours. "We are advised to think globally and act locally," said Hansen. "The operative word is 'think.'" Councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum in a letter to the editor had already distanced herself from the proposal to pressure Ametek.
In other business, David Gross was reappointed to the Woodstock Environmental Commission, with councilman Chris Collins abstaining in the vote. Ann Brandt was reappointed by a unanimous vote. Long time member and chairperson Mary Burke was denied reappointment in favor of Michael Veitch, with councilwoman Terrie Rosenblum voting nay. A new chair was not appointed. Jim Dougherty, Joan Krotenberg and Toby Heilbruhn were appointed to the ethics board, replacing the two members that had been unceremoniously dumped, and Terri Reynolds who apparently failed in her bid for re-appointment.
By a unanimous vote the Town of Woodstock will not honor the County's request to be a co-applicant in support of a Local Government Efficiency Grant Program, intended to "support the purchase and installation of an Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVL)" in all municipal and county vehicles. Moran expressed continuing dissatisfaction with the County's handling of the take over of the elections process, which had added a considerable expense to the Town's election budget. In an amusing side bar, considering that Simonson has been working several years on a project to "green" the Town's fleet of vehicles, she "guessed" the number of Town-owned to be around 25. The Town fleet consists of 41 vehicles.
A meeting was scheduled for Monday, January 26 at 3:00 PM to discuss with the Town's land use attorney Drayton Grant the process for "legitimizing" the three hundred foot tower on top of Overlook Mountain. The tower lost its utility status, and therefore its exemption from the zoning prohibition, when it ceased broadcasting a television signal. "We got a tower that ain't coming down," averred Simonson, who hopes that legalizing the tower will entice cell phone service providers to the facility and send a signal to the western areas of the township not currently served. Simonson said obstructing cell service installation on the tower was the zoning revision in 2005, prohibiting such array in elevations 1200 feet above sea level (the tower in question is approximately 3000 feet above sea level), forgetting that her amendment to the zoning law in 1998 prohibited such array in zoning districts designated R-8, which was and is the designation of the tower's parcel. There is no study confirming that the tower would provide service of any significance to the western areas of the town, except for a report submitted by the tower owner.
On Tuesday, January 27 at 4:30 PM at the Town Offices there will be discussion on councilman Chris Collins' progress with the comprehensive plan.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the town board will be on January 20.
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