Councilwoman Warns Philipstown Residents: Post House Numbers Or Face Violations

East Mountain Road North paving started; will finish in spring

by Nancy Wareham Gordon

At the January 3 Philipstown Town Board Meeting, Councilwoman Betty Budney made a plea to all residents to safeguard the community, by conforming to the Town’s E-911 regulations and properly posting house numbers.

Philipstown residents should post their house numbers at the end of their private driveways, so that emergency services (e.g., fire, police and ambulance corps) can pinpoint the exact location of their house. Failure to properly post house numbers could lead to a crucial delay in response time. "Within 15 minutes or less," said the Councilwoman, "it can mean the difference between life and death".

Councilwoman Budney told the audience, "It is very important that you put your numbers up. It is now a violation. It has been a year and 9 months, since we went on line with E-911". Budney said that Town residents not in compliance would receive violations. The Village of Cold Spring has already issued violations to its residents lacking house numbers.

Councilwoman Budney said the best way to comply with the Town’s E-911 regulations is to post house numbers that are at least 3 inches tall and reflective. The numbers should be posted and visible from both directions of the entry road.

Budney explained that while an unnamed private road with only two houses on it does not need to be named, its two homeowners must label both house numbers at the entrance to the road. If a third house were added, the private road would need to be named.

If the street signs, especially for private roads, are missing, one should contact Councilwoman Budney, either at 265-3508, or the Town Hall at 265-3329. One may also call the Town Highway Department at 265-3530.

The Councilwoman said that emergency professionals could have difficulty finding a house with numbers posted only on the building itself, especially if the numbers are obscured by shrubbery.

Budney said that another problem occurs when house numbers are only posted on a mailbox, which might be located across the street from the driveway. This could result in confusion and delay of a rapid response in an emergency.

Supervisor William Mazzuca commented, "I know a lot of us think that the fire company and the ambulance corps who respond are local people who know where these roads are; however, keep in mind that we do have other ambulance corps responding, now, who might not be as familiar with our roads."

The paving of East Mountain Road North is now a reality, announced Councilman Al Hosmer, who reported that 1.5 miles of blacktop paving had been completed out of a total 3.5 miles on East Mountain Road, North.

When questioned, Supervisor Mazzuca said, "Everything has been completed as planned by this point. The rest of the East Mountain Road North paving is to start again, as planned, in the spring 2002." This would include paving of the steepest sections of the road. Supervisor Mazzuca said that the delay of the paving this fall due to legal action, which has since been resolved in the Town’s favor, would not mean redoing the road preparation work already completed.

In other matters, Jordan Dale, Executive Director of Surprise Lake Camp, invited the Town Board to attend and co-sponsor the Surprise Lake Camp’s 100th Anniversary Community Picnic, to be held on Sunday, May 19, 2002. "We are very proud to be part of the Town of Philipstown, and it would mean a lot to us if the Town would be the co-sponsor of this event," said Mr. Dale.

According to the camp, the Cold Spring/Garrison Chamber of Commerce has already agreed to also co-sponsor the event, and expects the Historical Society to do the same. Sponsorship would only mean that the Camp could use the Town’s name in publicity materials. Supervisor Mazzuca said that Board members had agreed to co-sponsor the event.

The Town Board also agreed to act as a sponsor for Manitoga/The Russell Wright Design Center, located on Route 9D in Garrison, should their grant for a new visitor center and educational facility be funded. The resolution states that Manitoga "would assume full responsibility to raise the required project and management costs of the grant".

Supervisor Mazzuca announced that the next Comprehensive Plan Special Board Workshop would be held Wednesday, January 16 in the Town Hall at 7:30 PM. Another Comprehensive Plan Special Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 22nd, also in the Town Hall at 7:30 PM. Mazzuca reminded the public that the next Comprehensive Board Special Plan Informational Forum, sponsored by the Philipstown Town Board, would be held prior to the Town Board’s regular monthly meeting on February 7 in the Town Hall at 7:00 PM. Chip Place, Chairperson of the Infrastructure Work Group, will give a presentation on infrastructure issues.

Supervisor Mazzuca also read the Code Administration Annual Report for 2001, as follows: Building Permits Issued-250; New House Starts-35; Certificates of Occupancy Issued-243; Field Inspections Performed-771; Driveway Permits Issued-24; Alarm Permits Issued-3; Planning Board Application Processed-13; Zoning Board Applications Processed—15; Municipal Searches Processed-285; Complaints Investigated-130; Violation Notices Sent-53; Permit Renewals-97; Wetland Applications Processed-34; and Telephone Calls Received-2,290.

At the Reorganization Meeting held prior to the regular monthly meeting, Councilman Richard Shea was warmly welcomed to the Philipstown Town Board by Supervisor Mazzuca. One of the major purposes of the Reorganization Meeting was for Supervisor Mazzuca to assign the Philipstown Town Board Committee and Liaison Appointments to all Board members for the year 2002.

The members of the Highway Committee now include Councilman Al Hosmer and Councilwoman Betty Budney. Supervisor Mazzuca named Councilman Ande Merante to the Planning Board Committee and the ZBA Committee. The Land & Building Committee is comprised of Councilwoman Budney and Councilman Shea. Councilman Hosmer was assigned to the Wetlands Committee and Supervisor Mazzuca and Councilman Hosmer will serve together on the Economic Development Committee. The Finance Committee duties are to be shared by Councilman Hosmer and Councilwoman Budney.

Councilwoman Budney is to head the following Committees: Shared Services, Signs & Streets, and Recreation. She was also assigned the role of Board Liaison to the Village of Cold Spring. Councilman Merante will serve as the Board Liaison to the Village of Nelsonville. He was assigned with Councilman Shea to the role of Board Liaison to the Continental Village Property Owners Association (CVPOA). Board Liaison to the Haldane and Garrison Schools was assigned to Councilman Hosmer and Councilman Shea. The last Board Liaison appointment was for Councilman Shea and Councilman Hosmer to serve as Board Liaisons to the Fire Companies.

In all, 44 individual resolutions were presented and unanimously adopted by the Board at the Reorganization Meeting. There were only a few changes from the previous year, including the designation of the M&T Bank as the Town’s official depository bank. Stan Houghton resigned from his previous appointment as a member of the Advisory Board of the Continental Village Water District, and was appointed as a Town employee in the position as an Assistant Water Treatment Officer for the CVWD. The only salaries of Town employees to increase from last year to this year were for the hourly wages of the part-time stenographers and part-time clerks.

In closing the Reorganization Meeting, Supervisor Mazzuca announced that there were two vacancies: one for a Recreation & Parks Director, which was advertised in the PCN&R, and another for a Wetlands Advisory Committee member. Interested parties should send their resumes to Town Hall, 238 Main Street in Cold Spring, addressed to Councilwoman Betty Budney for the Recreation & Parks Director position and to Supervisor Mazzuca for the Wetlands Advisory Committee position.

The next regularly scheduled Philipstown Town Board meeting will be held on Thursday, February 7, in the Town Hall at 8 pm, immediately following the Comprehensive Plan Special Board’s Infrastructure presentation at 7 pm.