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Cold Spring Village Trustees Tackle Water Issues, Both Liquid and Frozen, at Weekly Workshop
by Michelle Woods
Pursuant to a lawsuit underway against the Cold Spring Café on Main Street, stemming from a fall on ice from water drains on the property, the Cold Spring Village Board of Trustees at their February 27, 2007 weekly workshop discussed bringing the issue of iced-over water runoffs to property owners' attention. The Trustees noted that the problem was particularly acute on Main Street, Mayor Anthony Phillips calling it "notorious" for this issue, and stated that residents should maintain drainpipes and keep them from freezing. It was decided that the Village's next newsletter should also contain information about materials, such as calcium chloride and sand, that residents could use to de-ice sidewalks in front of their properties, rather than rock salt which can damage sidewalks. Trustee Karen Dunn asked whether the Village Code stated when sidewalks should be cleared after a snow storm, and the Mayor informed the Board that the Code states they should be cleared 4-6 hours after the end of snow fall, which he noted was "a reasonable amount of time." It was also noted that the projected sidewalk restoration on Main Street would clear up the issue, as drainage will be placed underneath the sidewalks.
The Board discussed the maintenance of brooks in the Village. The Mayor asked whether a 36 inch pipe should be placed over Margaret's Brook, because maintenance had fallen to the Village even though the Brook is probably the property of residents on the East side of Church Street and the West side of Garden Street (according to a surveyor's opinion in the early part of last century). Trustee Dunn suggested holding a public workshop for the homeowners to discuss whether they wanted a pipe to go in or whether they would want to accept responsibility for maintaining their own part of the brook. Trustee Philip Heffernan, noting that "open water courses are valuable" additions to properties, thought a workshop "could be a chance to have people face the issue squarely." He also said that property owners "don't feel any stewardship for" for the brook, because they don't know they own it. The Mayor agreed, also stating that the pipe would be a "considerable expense" to the Village and said that the Village would contact homeowners and arrange for a workshop to be held in March or April.
Following a complaint about soil erosion in Springbrook, the Board discussed the on-going issue of increased water flow from the new construction at Haldane School. Though a new catch basin was built alongside the original catch basin on Route 9D to aid the proper flow of water, the Board felt that this was not working sufficiently because the original pipes are too narrow to cope with the increased amount of water. The Mayor noted that the Village had written several times to the Board of Education and the DEC, and that the DEC had fined Haldane School twice for not addressing the issue. The Village had also held discussions with the engineers of the Haldane project and had been "assured" that it was being dealt with, but that there is still no agreement as to who is responsible for the "additional water." The Board also discussed the problematic drainage at the corner of Craigside Drive and 9D, Heffernan describing the result as "lake 9D." It was agreed that there would need to be further discussions with the school about bearing some responsibility for costs to remediate the issue. The Mayor warned that the Village may "have to do battle" with the school to persuade them to address the issue.
The Mayor presented to the Board an easement provided by the Ant-Ant Corporation to ratify a right-of-way to the Village on Foundry Pond Road, The 20ft easement would allow the Village access to the Foundry Dam. The Board agreed to the easement subject to a final draft resolution.
In other business, the Mayor said that Village Attorney Stephen Tomann will be contacting Verizon for restitution, following its unauthorized pruning of trees on Main Street. Verizon is allowed to clear branches within a 2ft radius around cables and wires but had overstepped this without consent from the Village.
The Village Board meets in a weekly workshop every Tuesday at 7:30pm, except on the second Tuesday of the month when they meet at 7:30pm for their monthly meeting.
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