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Donations and Resignations Make for Good Theatre at Putnam Valley Town Board Meeting
PV Students praised for their efforts on PV Performing Arts stage
by Edward Paul Greiff
One never knows which drama mask the Putnam Valley Town Board will be wearing, comedy or tragedy, at their monthly meetings. At their April 16, 2008 meeting they took turns wearing both. Town Supervisor Bob Tendy set the tone for the meeting with his opening comments and a quotation from the poet EE Cummings called It's Spring.
He congratulated the 100 Putnam Valley High School students who produced an outstanding rendition of West Side Story. "The kids were amazing and were as good as any Broadway show," added Councilwoman Priscilla Keresey.
Tendy further commented on the generosity of Val Santucci who, when asked if he could help with a Bocce Ball court for the Senior Center, said yes. And over the weekend there appeared a completely finished regulation Bocce Ball court at the Senior Center at no cost to the Town; a donation from Mr. Santucci. But the donation was not greeted with unanimous praise. One resident question the motivation of Mr. Santucci in donating the court to the Town.
Another freebie for the Town is going to be a copy of the one-thousand page Peekskill Hollow Road Improvement Design Report in the County's possession. Normally a copy costs approximately $400 but the County said they would provide the Town with a free copy if they ask. A Resolution was passed waiving the fees and a copy will be maintained at Town hall for the public's viewing.
A "do the right thing" bit of legislation carried over from last week had to do with a request from Rose Hill Cemetery to waive a $1,500 Arborist's fee as required by the Town's Tree Law. The Town's Tree Law requires all trees that are six inches or greater in diameter, as measured at chest height, to be identified and marked before a tree cutting permit can be issued. Rose Hill needs to clear cut approximately five acres in order to prepare the land for the services they are in business to provide - burying bodies. Unfortunately the Tree Law does not have a provision for cemeteries and treats them the same as any other request. Town Attorney Bill Zutt raised a red flag on the Board's attempt to grant a waiver to the cemetery, saying that they might not be able to do so because of the way the Town's Tree Law is written. Upon further research he determined that the Planning Board has the right to grant such a request and the matter has been turned over to them.
Town Attorney Zutt was also able to help the Town "do the right thing" on another matter carried over from last week by coming up with a Resolution that allows the Town Board to temporarily waive the renewal building permit fees required under Section 165-86 of the Town Code. The new Resolution allows renewal permit fees to be waived until such time that a Certificate of Occupancy is issued at which time all applicable fees would be paid.
Carl Sandberg, representing Putnam Valley's Environmental Commission, and Walt Thompson representing the County's Keep Putnam Beautiful teamed up and provided a one-two punch for citizens to get involved in volunteering to clean up litter on any County or Town Road. Mr. Sandberg praised the Girl Scouts for their excellent job they did the previous week in cleaning up Oscawana Lake Road from Morrissey Drive to Oregon Corners.
Walt Thompson made available a "Keep Putnam Beautiful" brochure that explains littering is a "Quality of Life" crime and in Putnam County a violation of the law carries a fine up to $1,000 plus jail time. Thompson emphasized that individuals or companies can have a positive impact on litter by becoming involved in one of their programs: Adopt-a-Highway, Adopt-a-Spot, Beautiful Trash Cans, Litter-grabbers, and Take-A-Bag-For-A-Walk. For more information on these programs contact Keep Putnam Beautiful, 40 Gleneida Ave. Carmel, NY 10512, or E-mail walt.thompson@ putnamcountyny.com.
The Town Board accepted with regrets two resignations from two women who have served the Town: Thea Moeller from Parks & Recreation and Lisa Delfino from the Historical Society.
Don Lawrence said that Ms. Delfino will be missed and that during her short stay she breathed new life into the Historical Society and expanded their horizons. Unfortunately family matters require her resignation and she will be leaving as of May 1. Replacing her as the new Director will be Kelly Howard.
Thea Moeller has been an integral part of the Parks & Recreation Department for more years than anyone wants to admit. You name it, she has done it for the department. She is remembered best for her recent efforts to launch the Sunset Series in the Park with its concerts, movies, star shows, and family camp outs. She's brought it to a high level that is going to be hard to match. The Board expressed their sad regrets and accepted her resignation. Ms. Moeller is moving on to become the Recreation Director at a locale assisted living home for seniors.
This sad drama becomes sadder when you listen to Captain Sheryl Keating's PV Volunteer Ambulance Corps report and their having to respond to ten motor vehicle accidents where eight of them were on the Taconic State Parkway, one a fatal accident. In all they responded to 56 calls for the month of March and 121 calls year to date.
Fire Chief Louie Luongo reported that the PV Volunteer Fire Department responded to 36 incidents for the month of March and 112 year-to-date. Chief Luongo reported that a large contingency of Putnam Valley Fire Fighters were attending a FAST training session in Westchester. FAST (Fire Assistance Team) is used when another fire fighter goes down and needs to be rescued.
During the Public Comment period Patty Villanova challenged the Town Board by asking, if it was legally permitted, would they [the Board] support a Town Referendum regarding the funding for a new Putnam Valley Fire House. She asked each one individually and they all said they would. She explained her rationale is the Town just doesn't have the money in these economic tight times to build a new Fire House. She also questioned where the Town would get the money to renovate the existing Fire House when it is turned over to the Town to become part of the Town Hall facility. Ms. Villanova did not question the need for improved facilities, only where the money is coming from.
Two requests made by Town Supervisor Bob Tendy asked the Town Board to authorize his signing two litigation contracts. The first was with attorney David Gordon at the rate of $150 per hour to proceed with litigation against Alex Kaspar for alleged Town Code violations. The other contract is to be with attorney Robert Lousardi at a rate of $125 per hour for litigation against other residents also allegedly in violation of the Town Code. No mention was made as to exactly what laws were being violated nor was any financial cap placed on either attorney's contract.
Upon hearing of the Town's intentions to pursue litigation Mr. Kaspar said, "Enough is enough. I am going to sell the entire 450 acres to developers or whoever wants it." He said that he has put the property, consisting of five separate parcels totaling approximately 450 acres, on the market. He said he would sell individual parcels and make them subject to the buyer receiving approvals.
Entergy Corporation was asked by FEMA to place a second siren in Lake Peekskill. Entergy was about to install a fifty-foot pole and siren when the Town informed them they must file a plan and get it approved by the Town's Planning Board.
A resolution was also passed to pursue obtaining grant monies to facilitate energy conservation in Town Hall.
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