|
Legislature Mulls $100,000 Feasibility Study for County Facilities
Cell Tower Proposal Prompts Putnam Lake Residents to Try to Move Cell Tower
by Margaret Sternberg
Sandwiched between two other committee meetings that were close to triple their normal length, the February 19, 2008 meeting of the Physical Services Committee moved briskly and efficiently through its agenda.
The Committee continued its initiative, started months before, to maximize use of vacated office space now that the court offices have moved into the new court building. Toward that end, the committee discussed floating a maximum $100,000 bond issue in order to conduct feasibility studies for improvements in county office buildings. A Request For Proposals will be issued by the county for the study, and the contractor with the lowest bid would be awarded the contract.
Focus of the study was intended to be, in the original discussions, the David D. Bruen County Office Building, and Legislator Dan Birmingham spent some time on the verbiage of the resolution attempting to ensure that the funds would be used primarily on the County office building and not on improvements to other buildings being used in ways that the Legislature does not approve.
Legislator Vinny Tamagna agreed, but noted that in some cases, such as the offices of the County Clerk and those of Social Services, the offices were located in several different areas, making easy access difficult for the public, and that monies might be expected to be used to find ways to consolidate those offices. Tamagna said that initial conversations regarding facilities had been "broad" and that the David Bruen Building would be the first - but not the only - building to be evaluated. He added that the Bruen building was in need not only of a feasibility study, but "an engineering and planning document, a space allocation and a needs assessment," ending that the building would need a commitment of "some funding."
The resolution, amended to read "the office building and building site," was approved in committee.
Waiting patiently through these discussions were a group of about ten residents from Putnam Lake, concerned about a proposal from Wireless Edge to erect a cell tower. Legislator Mary Conklin introduced the issue, noting that the tower's placement would be in a particularly scenic part of Putnam Lake and that "every person who looks out their window will see this tower."
Legislator Conklin suggested an alternative property off Brimstone Road that had, several years before, already been tested and approved as a cell tower site for Sprint. Agreeing that a cell tower was needed, Conklin said that the alternate site would not detract from the beauty and value of the homeowners' properties.
Conklin was aided by Real Property Tax Service Director George Michaud, who provided background and logistics of the alternate property and supported the proposal, saying the alternate site is higher and would provide better reception.
Legislator Birmingham raised the issue of revenue that might be generated from the cell tower and who might benefit from the monies, with many agreeing that revenue might be shared between the county and the town.
The March meeting of the Physical Services Committee will be posted on the PCNR's website as soon as it becomes available.
Providing local news, information and opinions from
Philipstown and Putnam Valley, NY
Encompassing the Villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville,
and the hamlet of Garrison, Putnam County, NY.
This site is a publication of The Putnam County News and Recorder, the source for news and information of the Philipstown
and Putnam Valley area. The PCN&R is 139
years old, published in hard copy every Wednesday, and circulated throughout Putnam
County, NY.
The PCN&R prints LEGAL NOTICES
for: Putnam County, The Town of Philipstown, The Town of Putnam Valley, Village of Cold Spring, Village of
Nelsonville, the Haldane Union Free School District and the Garrison Union Free School
District.
Deadline for printed press releases, advertisements and classifieds is Monday at noon for
Wednesday publication. This site is updated on an as-needed basis with a minimum update
weekly on Thursdays. For further information or to request a subscription to the paper, please
contact us with your name and mailing address at:
(845) 265-2468 PO Box 185, Cold Spring, NY 10516, or e-mail us at editor@pcnr.com
If you see an advertiser on line, tell them! | Click ads below
for larger version
System and Method for Display
Ads have a Patent Pending.
Click Here for More Information
|
