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Draft Natural Resource Plan Submitted to Philipstown Board
FEMA called to help with hundreds of thousands in damage to town says Highway Superintendent Chirico
by Maria Theodore Leiter
A draft of the recommendations submitted by one of the subcommittees of the Comprehensive Plan Special Board was presented at the May 3, 2007 meeting of the Philipstown Town Board. Andy Chmar, who chaired the Subcommittee of Natural Resources, outlined the major recommendations made by his committee.
"The purpose of this plan is to establish and guide an efficient and effective way to protect and manage Philipstown's natural resources according to the goals of the Philipstown Comprehensive Plan adopted March 9, 2006," states the executive summary. The report was a year and a half in the making.
Councilman Richard Shea, who chaired the first half of the meeting in the absence of Supervisor William Mazzuca, thanked the committee members for their long-term commitment to the town.
The plan focused on four resource functions, explained Chmar. They are Ground and Surface Water, Biodiversity, Community Character and Outdoor Recreation. The crux of the proposal, which will be made available through the Town Clerk's office, can be boiled down to the following five recommendations: adopt an Open Space index; designate the Conservation Advisory Council as a Conservation Board; hire a natural resource review officer; establish a Community Preservation fund for the purposes of purchasing Open Space; enact changes in zoning and land use codes and promote education and outreach programs to protect resources.
Making the CAC into a board would give it the ability to review any development application, not just the ones submitted by the permitting boards. It would require that the Planning and Zoning Boards and Code Enforcement officer respond in writing to the concerns raised by the Conservation Board prior to approving applications.
Chmar explained that the CAC should first establish an Open Space index to be adopted by the Town Board. The index would identify and prioritize environmentally sensitive parcels recommended for purchase by the Town.
The Community Preservation Fund would be established through the use of a graduated real estate transfer tax that would be paid by the sellers of local properties. The Town Board is already considering this measure, which would first require them to get approval from Albany to put such a referendum before the public.
Among the calls for action, the plan recommends taking steps to protect ridgelines that are not included within state parks or already protected areas. There are also suggestions intended to protect community character, through improving public access to the river, protecting viewsheds, significant trees, stonewalls, historic and cultural sites and working farms, in addition to ideas for protecting surface and groundwater through reduction of pesticides, outreach and education, addressing failing septic systems and intermunicipal agreements with neighboring towns.
Recreation concerns include recommendations to partner with sports organizations to provide better access to fishing resources, work with the DEC, OSI, Scenic Hudson and New York State Parks to open up lands for hunting, establishing connecting trail corridors, and encouraging proper maintenance of fields and meadows.
The Town Board is currently reviewing the report. In addition to Chmar, the committee included Rich Anderson, Eric Lind, Fred Koontz, Marlo Kovacs and Jerry Rubino.
Another aspect of our environment, the weather, was also the subject of discussion at the meeting when Mr. And Mrs. Repetto, homeowners on Albany Post Road, addressed the Board regarding the damage done to their driveway by the recent storm. Mr. Repetto began his presentation by commending the Highway Department for their outstanding response during the storm. He then showed pictures of his property and asked whether the Town could do something to at least reroute the water that comes from the town road away from private properties. He was joined by some of his neighbors who had similar issues. One neighbor said that he was stranded in his home for two days because the excessive runoff collapsed a part of his driveway, separating him from the main road by a gaping crater.
Highway Superintendent Roger Chirico was on hand to address their concerns and to update the Town Board on the extensive problems that the storm caused all over town. Chirico told the homeowner that even though the Town was not supposed to get involved with repairing private roads or driveways, if that homeowner was ever stranded that way again, he should call the Highway Department and they would find a way to get him off of his property.
The Board agreed to set up a workshop with the homeowners on Albany Post Road to review the matter and to see if they could come up with a solution.
Chirico explained that representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency had been to town and surveyed the damage done and that all the paperwork had been submitted on behalf of the property owners who contacted him. Because the County Executive declared a state of emergency, homeowners and businesses who suffered damage from the storm were eligible for federal aid. He also estimated that the Town itself would need close to $915,000 to repair the damage that was done to local roads and bridges. He also advised that there was still time for residents who have not already submitted applications to do so by calling his office.
Chirico also requested a resolution authorizing a 5 ton weight limit on Indian Brook Road from Route 9 to Route 9D. He explained that the storm had damaged guard walls along the road that made it very dangerous. He is waiting for FEMA money to begin repairs on the road.
"If we don't hear from FEMA [soon] we will have to close the road indefinitely," he warned. "I don't like to close the road, but before someone gets hurt, we've got to do what we have to do."
Robert Hutchison, who resides on Old West Point Road, submitted a petition signed by eight residents on that road who wished to have it added to the resolution. He explained that excessively heavy trucks have been traveling down the road and that these trucks do a lot of damage to the road when it is saturated. Chirico agreed that the weight was an issue when the road was saturated, but warned that the weight limit did not apply to local deliveries, such as was the case with the trucks he described. Shea suggested that the Town could work on a warning system to alert truck drivers when it was not safe to travel on the roads. The Board amended the resolution to include Old West Point Road. The resolution was unanimously adopted.
Supervisor Mazzuca joined the meeting after the first hour. At that point, the Board scheduled a public hearing on a proposed law to cover filming in the Town of Philipstown. The new law is being recommended by the Town Clerk. Currently, those who wish to film scenes for movies, television or other commercial endeavors in town would be lumped under the parade permit laws. The new law would specifically address film making. The hearing was scheduled for May 16 at 7pm.
The Board tabled the awarding of the bid for painting the Town Hall at the request of Mazzuca. He explained that the Town had not yet received final approval of the relevant state grant, but he expected they would by next month.
The Board approved two honorary resolutions for Placito "Parge" Sgro and Philip Schatzle, thanking them for their military service and for their continued service through local Veteran's organizations. The gentlemen were honored at a special dinner the previous Saturday, where the resolutions were already presented.
The final agenda item kept the meeting going for several hours. Kara Bickham and others addressed the board regarding the matter of the library referendum, which is currently in litigation.
Bickham read a statement, which began, "First, I would like to state for the record that I have no affiliation with the library. I am not on their Board of Directors. I am not a member of the Friends of the Butterfield Library. I never signed the petition to have the library's referendum put on the ballot in November. I am on no special, targeted mailing lists. And yet when I went to vote on November 7th, I had adequate information to vote my conscience about Proposition 414. To get this information for the election, I did the same thing I do every year. I read the newspaper." She outlined the various places in the paper where she read about aspects of the election. "No one is forced to educate themselves about the issues and candidates prior to an election," she continued. "You don't have to bother. That is your right. But your right not to bother does not supersede my right to vote." She went on to express her frustration at the Town Board's actions in opting to view the results of the referendum as nullified.
Several others also expressed similar outrage and asked the Board to explain themselves.
At the request of one resident, Mazzuca explained the process that led to the attorney being consulted, which resulted in his expressing the opinion that the election was null and void because of a defect in the legal notification. The Supervisor said that he had had reservations in the week leading up to the election, because there were no informational meetings being held at the library. He said that the Town Board adopted the budget with $125,000 for the library because he had been assured by the President that even if passed, the increase would not be in effect until 2008.
He also said that it was not his idea to speak about the attorney's letter at a closed session, but the Butterfield's Board. They insisted on discussing the issue in executive session. He also explained that he had to abide by the advice of his attorney, since he represented 10,000 people in the town, not just those who voted in the referendum.
There were also two residents who spoke in favor of the Board's decision. While emotions were heated, many of the speakers thanked the Board for staying so late to hear their concerns.
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