Public Hearing On Pipeline Will Be Held On March 23
By David Flint
Discussion of Kinder Morgan’s proposed fracked gas pipeline again took up much of the Town Board meeting. Sandy Nathan, a leader of the opposition movement, provided the Board with copies of resolutions from Schoharie County and the Town of Davenport in Delaware County. [private]The Schoharie Board of Supervisors professed to be “appalled” at the conditional approval given by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Constitution Pipeline, a line that will connect with Northeast Energy Direct pipeline proposed by Kinder Morgan to run through Stephentown. She also provided a Highway Department law enacted by the Town of Davenport that puts strict requirements on heavy machinery coming into the town.
Domenick Carlino objected at this point that these documents concern other places and “is none of our business.” He noted that heavy equipment use the roads now and it’s not a problem, nor would be fracked gas coming from Pennsylvania.
Jim Higgins spoke up reminding people of the public hearing scheduled for March 23 and suggesting that the Board provide two mikes so that everyone who wants to speak can be heard easily. Eckhardt said the hearing will be from 7 to 9 pm at the Fire Hall and the number of people attending will determine how long each person gets to speak. People will be asked to identify themselves and where they live. Preference will be given to residents of Stephentown.
Kinder Morgan, he said, is essentially asking Stephentown to be a host community for their pipeline. He hoped that they will “give consideration” to our concerns, though they haven’t been all that considerate so far.
Eckhardt said that he and Councilman Bill Jennings, along with the Town Supervisors of Nassau and Schodack, had met with the County Executive, Deputy Executive, County Attorneys, a representative from Congressman Gibson’s office and a representative from the County Environmental Management Council. At a two hour meeting they discussed all the issues that have been surfacing about the proposed pipeline. The three towns have agreed to band together to coordinate what is going on and what should be the appropriate response from the Towns. David Fleming of the Town of Nassau is drafting a list of common concerns that will be put in the form of a letter to Congressman Gibson and New York’s two Senators. It is believed that they will have more clout in dealing with FERC.
Billy Hammersmith said that it will be an uphill battle because, unlike with the Constitution Pipeline where taking of land by eminent domain is a big issue, the land through Nassau, Schodack and Stephentown is largely owned by National Grid. Scott Menhinick challenged this, saying that private property in Stephentown will be much in play. Councilman PJ Roder backed this up saying that he believes a document from Kinder Morgan shows some 60% of land needed in Rensselaer County is in private hands, and about 40% in Stephentown.
Nathan said Congressman Gibson has been asked to intervene with FERC to push the date for their decision on the issuance of Certificate of Convenience and Necessity back from September in order to allow those affected more time to compile information for the scoping meeting on things that need to be protected. These things include historical place. rare species, fragile ecosystems, etc. Eckhardt said that he understands that Gibson’s office has in fact asked that the decision be pushed back to November.
Tough Winter
About one third of the Stephentown Highway Department’s bills audited at Monday’s Town Board meeting was for on-road diesel fuel – $9,512.65 for 3,616 gallons. “That’s a lot of fuel for one month,” commented Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt. Fortunately, he added, we didn’t have to pay the fuel prices of last year, which were almost a dollar more per gallon. In fact the bill for on-road diesel fuel at this time last year was close – $9,387.05. But that was for only 2,434 gallons.
The brutal winter this year has not only caused a huge consumption of fuel. It has been really hard on trucks and machinery. The bills last year at this time for parts was $3,283. This year they totaled $9,273.
Help For Veterans
Domenick Carlino, speaking for the Veterans of Stephentown organization, said that they had sent a letter to the Board asking for some additional help for the upkeep of the Veterans Park. The Veterans now receive $1,500 a year from the Town but they had to spend $1,325 of that last year just for mowing and trimming. He said the Veterans took in $6,000 altogether last year but expenses amounted to over $8,000.
Eckhardt said the Board expected to discuss the request at their next Workshop meeting and, “We’ll see what we can do.”
Other Business
The Board’s contract with ERCSWMA for trash removal ends in October. Jennings said that Board will be seeking a new contract, either with ERCSWMA or with some other company. The process starts this spring and a decision is expected sometime this summer. Public comments are welcome.
The Board is still working on transferring some of the recently acquired land across the road from the Town Hall to the Library. Surveying is being done. A negative declaration of Environmental Impact will be needed for the SEQR process required whenever a town changes a lot line.
The Highway Department has received an initial payment of $94,000 from FEMA. The closing amount will be received after an audit is done.
Councilman Roder is heading up a Master Plan Review Committee which is expected to start meetings on March 30.
An Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, April 4 at 11 am at the Stephentown Memorial Library.
Deposits & Spending
The Town Clerk turned over the sum of $187.50 to the Supervisor for the month of February. The distribution from the office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund has not yet been reported. The Transfer Station deposited a total $2,703.
The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $18,830.58 from the General Fund and $28,254.52 from the Highway Account.
The Board set a public hearing on the Gas Pipeline at the Fire Hall for Monday, March 23, their next workshop meeting for Wednesday, April 15, and their next regular meeting for Monday, April 20, all meetings to start at 7 pm.[/private]