Controversy Over A Wood Chipping Mill In Stephentown

Stop Work Order Stayed
by David Flint
Mark Frankel of East Road asked why a wood chipping business on Jones Road is still operating after a stop work order was served on it. Frankel and others at the meeting pointed out that the mill is in an R-1 Residential zone and is operating noisily seven days a week and is detrimental to the neighborhood. Moreover, they said, nobody knows where the logs are coming from and New York State law prohibits moving wood from one area to another. They worried about ticks and other invasive insects. They wanted it stopped now, not six month from now. Frankel said that neighbors are considering hiring an attorney. He noted that a similar illegal operation was going on

Zach Leonard (l) and Dave Smith, owners of ZanD Wood Shaving stand in the shed where the shavings are stored before shipping. (David Flint photo)

in Berlin and it took the Town six months to get rid of it. He thought it had migrated up to Petersburgh.
Code Enforcement Officer Dean Herrick acknowledged that he did issue a stop work order but said the owners have filed an appeal with the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The owners, he said, contend that their operation is an agricultural use because they sell their wood chips to farmers, so it is covered under the Right to Farm Law. Herrick said that according to the General Municipal Law his stop work order is stayed until the appeal is heard. The ZBA, he said, has the matter on their agenda for their next meeting which is Thursday, December 3.
Frankel said that if the owners wanted to gain the good will of their neighbors they would have stopped operating under the cease work order until the ZBA made a decision on their appeal.
Brian Baker said people have the right to appeal rulings of the Code Enforcement Officer to the ZBA but the public also has the right to attend and voice their concerns. He thought the issue appears to revolve around what does and does not constitute an ancillary use for agricultural purposes. Baker said the December 3 meeting is not a public hearing but is open to the public and residents can make their voices heard. He recalled a similar controversy some years ago when there was a proposal to use the Giumarra barn in North Stephentown for a wood pellet factory. It was put forward as an agricultural ancillary use but, according to Baker, the proposal was “defeated.”
The company operating the wood chip mill is Z And D Wood Shavings Co. The owners, Zach Leonard from Hancock and Dave Smith from Clarksburg, contacted later at the mill, said they are in the business of producing wood shavings for use as

A view of the ZanD Wood Shaving Company with the shavings shed on the right. (David Flint photo)

bedding for farm animals. They said that before setting up their mill they spoke with neighbors and no one expressed opposition. They stated that they do not operate before 8 am or past 5 pm and never on weekends. They did acknowledge that the mill was operating one Saturday when they were testing out the milling machine. They said they are doing everything they can to reduce noise and have spent over a thousand dollars on strip curtains, insulation and other noise barriers. If neighbors come up with an acceptable decibel level, they pledged to make every effort to meet or exceed their standard. They contended that they could not shut down pending the ZBA decision because they have over $100,000 invested in the plant and they have payments to make.
With sawmills going out of business, Leonard said that wood shavings for animal bedding is sorely needed by farmers and is in great demand. Store prices at more than $6 for a 3-cubic foot bag are prohibitive for already hard-pressed farmers, and he noted that those shavings are coming out of Canada. Z And D’s price for their locally produced product is $10 for 27 cubic feet. They said all their log suppliers are local people such as Terry Sykes and they are selling shavings to local farmers in Berlin, Hancock and Eagle Bridge. Also, in setting up their plant they said they have tried to buy everything locally. “This is a farming community,” Smith said. “We didn’t want to make anyone angry. We’re not here to be in a riff with anybody.” Smith added he was disappointed that none of the neighbors had approached them with their concerns about noise but instead had gone directly to the Code Enforcement Officer.
Another Decrease In Tax Levy
The Stephentown Town Board at their meeting on Monday adopted a Budget for 2010 that for the second year in a row results in a decrease in the tax levy. Although the Fire District portion of the Budget calls for a 5.6% increase in the amount to be raised by tax, the budget for the Town’s General Fund and Highway Fund calls for 4% and 3% decreases respectively, resulting in a bottom line tax levy decrease of 1.7%. Town Supervisor Tom Sherman pointed out that last year, too, there were decreases of 10% in the tax levy for the General Fund and 3% for the Highway Fund.
General Fund spending has been cut by 3.3%; Highway spending is up 4.9%. The Town Board and Town Supervisor get no raises but the Highway Superintendent gets a 6.1% raise and other Town employees generally get a 3% raise. The position of Clerk to the Highway Superintendent has been eliminated saving $1,500. The positions of Deputy Code Enforcement Officer and Deputy Zoning Officer have been reinstated with a combined salary of $3,090.
The Youth Commission will receive $7,073, a 17% increase to pay for the new Tween program. The Stephentown Seniors will receive $13,000, the same as in the current year. The Stephentown Memorial Library will receive $1,884, a 4.6% increase. The contribution to the Heritage Center reverts to the regular amount of $6,500 following special increases the past two years for special needs to maintain the building. The total budget, including the Fire District, is $1,388,003. Revenue to the Town and Fire District is projected to be down in 2010 by 4.1%. To keep the tax levy down, the Board has allocated $108,129 from the unexpended fund balance, $50,139 more than in the current year.
Pease Road Bridge
Jim Cummings asked what was happening with the Pease Road bridge. Cummings said “Bridges save lives. If emergency crews can’t move, it jeopardizes the health, safety and welfare of our citizens.” He added that taxpayers are paying to maintain the road and yet can’t use the bridge. He wanted to know if the Town could produce the “red flag” documents to show that the bridge was legally closed. Sherman responded that he was not aware of the existence of the red flag documents but he had spoken with an official at the State Department of Transportation and that a date would be set this week for him and his staff to come out and inspect the bridge. He said the Board would determine the cost to reopen the bridge and let the people decide.
Francis Liebenow who lives on Pease Road said he would like the bridge to remain closed but he also questioned what benefit it would be to the Town to reopen it. He said the traffic would be mostly from out of town, bypassing all the local businesses and causing greatly increased maintenance on the gravel road. Another person responded that only townspeople would know about the shortcut between Route 22 and Route 43, not travelers from out of town, so reopening the bridge would not cause a bypass of local businesses. This statement, however, was met with murmurs of disbelief.
Some thought that the bridge must be safe because extremely heavy trucks carrying windmill parts were able to use it recently. Highway Superintendent Aldey Goodermote pointed out, however, that the bridge had been temporarily augmented and reinforced in such a manner that the weight of the trucks was never actually on the bridge itself. The steel planks and other materials that were used have now been removed.
Use of Stephentown School Property Still Being Studied
Councilman Larry Eckhardt reported that he and Councilmen Chris Demick, PJ Roder and Mark Prescott had attended another meeting of the BCS Study Group considering what use to make of the now vacant school building and property. The most recent meeting was attended also by two realtors asking questions about what the Town wanted. One said there was someone who might be interested in buying the building if the Town was interested in purchasing the playground, fields and basketball court. “A lot of ideas have been thrown in the pot and stirred,” Eckhardt said, “and it’s still cooking, but not all the ingredients are in yet.” He said before the Board decides to spend any taxpayer dollars they want to find out more specifically what townspeople think is needed and what they can afford. So a questionnaire will be sent out soon to all Town residents. The Town must also determine how whatever action they take fits into the Town’s vision for what they want to be 20 years down the road. Eckhardt said the property was an integral part of the community and his biggest concern was letting it get away, but if the Town owned the building it could prove to be a serious liability. Private ownership, he said, would not be faced with the same upgrading and maintenance requirements as would public ownership. Eckhardt said the last thing both the Town and the School District want to see is the building boarded up and abandoned. He believes the Town has the first right of refusal if the School District decides to sell the property.
Supervisor’s Announcements
In an Underwriting Survey, the Town’s insurance agency gave the Town a “clean bill of health” and had no recommendations to make regarding safety of the public buildings and environment.
The Town Board received an engrossed resolution from the Rensselaer County Legislature “commending individuals and institutions for their timely response to the July 2009 flooding and for their selfless service.” The cover letter signed by Legislators Stan Brownell and Lester Goodermote stated, “The willingness of your staff to pull together and give their time, talents and assistance made the difference and resulted in normalcy being restored in a short time. Please share this resolution with your staff and convey our appreciation of the outstanding work they do in providing a good quality of life for the residents and travelers within our county.”
Beacon Power sent invitations to Town officials and board members to attend the official groundbreaking of the “nation’s first 20-megawatt flywheel-based frequency regulation plant.” The groundbreaking will take place on Thursday, November 19, at 99 Grange Hall Road.
Resolutions Passed
In addition to adopting the 2010 Budget, The Board passed the following resolutions:
• Authorizing the Town Clerk to advertise for a Town Highway Mechanic or Mechanical Equipment Operator to replace a Highway employee who is retiring.
• Authorizing the Town Clerk to advertise for all appointed positions with their salary that are expiring or vacant at the end of December.
• Authorizing the Town Clerk to advertise for a Town Hall cleaning person.
• Authorizing the Town Supervisor to sign the 2009-2011 union contract with Highway Department employees who are now members of the United Public Service Employees Union.
• Requesting sealed bids for materials for Town road work, due in the Town Clerk’s Office by 7 pm, Tuesday, December 15.
• Setting up two types of service for the Highway Superintendent since that position is not covered under the Highway Employees Union Contract. Full-Time status earns full salary as approved by the annual Town Budget, with benefits other than salary in accordance with the Highway Employees Union Contract. Part-Time status earns half salary as approved by the annual budget and no benefits per the Highway Employees contract.
Deposits & Spending
The Town Clerk reported she had deposited a total of $7,267 and turned over the sum of $739.27 to the Supervisor for the month of October. The distribution from the office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund to the town was $3,070 for the month of September and $3,010 for the month of October.
The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $37,740.60 from the General Account and $25,056.19 from the Highway Account.
The Board set their next regular meeting for Monday, December 21, at 7 pm.