Town Board
October 22, 2019
CLOSED SESSION
Interviews: Branding RFP
Litigation and negotiation: Town Attorney and Police Department
OPEN SESSION
1. PAS Assessment Software Upgrade
The board approved a resolution that set in motion the purchase of a software upgrade for the Assessor’s Department. The $42,500 cost will be in the 2020 budget. The software can “talk” to other town departments.
2. Getty Gas Station, 3700 Barger Street/Revised plan
(See Town Board, 1-3-2017.) While the ownership of the station remains unchanged, the planned convenience store will now be owned by Coco Farms which operates similar stores down county. Whereas the original special permit called for renovating the existing building and adding canopies to three islands with six pumps, the new owner wants to demolish the existing building, build a new one at a different location and with a different orientation on the site and add a fourth island for a total of eight pumps. The board was supportive of the change which it felt would be more attractive. In response to questions, the applicant said that there would be no service repair operations on the site. The applicant advised the board that the existing tanks had been removed and that he would check whether the DEC had closed out an earlier spill report.
The board voted to refer out the application for the amended special permit.
(For background, see proposed facilities at Staples Center and on Gomer Court.) The board is considering two possible local laws: one would be a one year moratorium on approving any of these facilities, including the two currently being reviewed by the Planning Board and the Zoning Board, while the Town Board considered a second local law that would regulate these types of facilities.
While generally supportive of these facilities, the sense of the board was that they needed to learn more about them, especially issues involving their safety, the extent to which local first responders had to be trained to deal with any incidents and why special training was necessary, and where the facilities should be permitted.
In addition to the two applications currently under review, Stewart Glass, the supervisor’s assistant noted that there has been interest in constructing similar facilities on two town owned parcels, neither of which was identified.
In explaining the rationale for the moratorium law, Town Attorney Abbate said it would give the board time it sit back and take a look at the issue, noting that currently the town did not have any procedures in place to regulate battery storage facilities. He added that the proposed moratorium law included an exemption for hardship cases that would be determined by the Town Board. A hardship would exist, he said, if the applicant could show that it had incurred substantial expenses to date or if construction had already started. Based on his research, Mr. Abbate said that Putnam Valley had enacted a one year moratorium
Noting that his application has been before the Zoning Board since July, the applicant for the Gomer Street facility appeared to oppose the moratorium that would put a hold on his application.
The proposed law regulating battery storage facilities is based on a NYSERDA model law that was published in July and would regulate three tiers of facilities, from home based storage facilities that would be an accessory to a solar system to larger facilities that did not have a solar component. The details of the proposed law were not discussed.
The board voted to refer out both laws and discussed the need to have a more formal presentation about battery storage facilities at a future date.
5. Selected miscellaneous resolutions
Granite Knolls: The board approved a $33,195 credit to Montesanto Brothers, the contractor for the facility.
Sewer pipeline inspection. The board approved an agreement with Fred Cook, Inc in the not-to-exceed amount of $13,400 to inspect and clean out selected sewer lines.
Hallocks Mill sewer extension district meetings. The meetings will be held on Saturday, Nov 2 from 1-3pm and on Monday, November 18 from 6-8pm. Both meetings will be held in the Nutrition Center in the ACCC. Although he voted for the meeting dates, Councilman Lachterman initially said that he thought the meetings should not be held until after Election Day
Sale of obsolete vehicle. The board authorized the sale of a 2000 Ford Suburban at auction.
CLOSED SESSION
Personnel: discussion of the employment history of a town employee.
NOTE: The next Town Board meeting will be November 12th.