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Hoosick Town Board Action

April 14, 2016 By eastwickpress

A Possible Buyer For Former WCW Building

by Deb Alter

Supervisor Mark Surdam told the Hoosick Town Board at their April 11 session about a meeting he attended in Troy with Village Mayor David Borge to support prospective buyers of 1 Mechanic Street (the old WCW building). [private]The building is currently owned by Rensselaer County, so Surdam and Borge and the buyers met with County Executive Kathy Jimino, County Attorney Steve Pechenik, and other County officials to work out arrangements for a possible sale. Rick Tinkham of Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate was also in attendance. He described it as “a very productive meeting.”  Supervisor Surdam said he and Mayor Borge are excited about the prospect of the 1 Mechanic St. property having new ownership and being back on the tax rolls.

Solar Installations

Deputy Supervisor Jeff Wysocki reported on the progress of the Solar Committee, which has been meeting on the first Wednesday of each month. They are still waiting for New York State to issue its promised “Unified Plan” so that they can use it as a guide for crafting Hoosick’s solar zoning laws. So far the Hoosick Solar Committee has issued two preliminary reports, and they are still looking at things like decommissioning plans, setbacks, screening, solar and no-solar zones, and other solar-related concerns. They have defined three different solar installation categories: Residential (less than 20,000 kilowatts), Large Commercial (20,000-200,000 kW), and Solar Farms (more than 200,000 kW). They have also met with Bill Johnson and Tom Vallone of the Hoosick Local Development Corporation to get their input, especially on decommissioning plans. They hope to have a final proposal ready sometime in May.

The Board also discussed a Commercial Solar PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) program. They passed a motion (three votes for, one against, and one abstention) to allow Town Attorney Schopf to draft a proposal and enter into negotiations on the Town’s behalf  with the developers of the two solar projects already in the works. The Town is not sure if they have any leverage with these two projects, since they have already been approved.

Schopf will also be working on creating a standard PILOT Program for any future commercial solar projects in the Town of Hoosick. He said that he was basing his numbers on what other communities who are instituting such programs are doing. The PILOT will be based on kilowatts rather than acreage. There was some discussion about whether or not there should be different PILOT programs for solar projects that directly benefit the Village or Town (i.e., the school project on the Wysocki Farm), and those that don’t. Councilman Eric Sheffer felt that a PILOT program might put roadblocks in the way, as there are already other barriers that discourage solar developers. He said that the Board needed to be more educated before moving forward with a PILOT program.

Brighten Energies, LLC will be making an educational/informational presentation at a Special Meeting on Tuesday, May 3 at 6 pm at the HAYC3 Armory. The presentation will include an explanation of community solar projects.

Village Landfill Solar Installation

As concerns have been expressed about the zoning approval process for the Hoosick Falls Solar Garden on the former landfill site, Supervisor Surdam has been discussing it with members of the town Zoning Board, Steve Erby of Monolith Solar, and Hoosick Falls Mayor David Borge.

A building permit for the installation was issued by the previous Building Inspector, and questions have been raised about whether Monolith should have put the project before the Zoning Board before proceeding with the it. Because the zoning laws are vague both at the State and local levels, the process for approval of the Village’s solar farm have been questioned. There is a difference of opinion about how the permitting process should have been handled. In the past, solar projects did not need to go through the Zoning Board, they only needed a building permit. But that was when the installations were considerably smaller. The building permit was issued based on that past practice. However, the existing zoning laws regarding solar were originally written for personal-use solar installations, before large solar arrays began to become more commonplace, so it is unclear how they apply to large commercial installations. Town and Village attorneys and officials are working on sorting it out. The project will most likely have to go through the zoning and SEQR processes for approval.

Supervisor’s Report

The Supervisor reported on a conference call he had with Mayor Borge, the Village Water Department, and the Engineering Firm MRB to discuss the idea of expanding the Municipal Water and Sewer into the Town. The idea for expansion is a result of many conversations, including ones with NYS Director of Operations Jim Malatras, as a means of getting clean water to people in the Town whose wells are contaminated with PFOA. Hoosick Falls Schools Superintendent Ken Facin has expressed an interest in having Village water and sewer going to the school.

The Board passed a motion to work cooperatively with the Village of Hoosick Falls to study the feasibility of expanding the Municipal Water System into areas of the Town whose private wells have been affected the most by the PFOA contamination and are within reasonable distance of the existing system, and also expansion of the sewer line south on Route 22 to the Hoosick Falls Central School.

Supervisor Surdam also reported on a meeting he had with with NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) officers about financing such an expansion. Mayor Borge and Supervisor Surdam met in Albany with EFC President and CEO Sabrina Ty, EFC Engineer Tim Burns, EFC Council Maureen Coleman, EFC Deputy Director of Finance Audra Nowosielski, and NYS Bureau of Water Supply Protection Design Engineer Michael Montysko. A number of options are available to the Town. Financing for such projects usually involves a combination of grants and low- or no-interest financing. With the Village already working with MRB Engineering, if everything fell into place, the Town could be ready for the next round of applications, which would be this time next year, allowing enough time to properly put a project application together. EFC and NYS Bureau of Water Supply Protection did commit to assign people who are very familiar with the process to work with the Town. Many things go into scoring such an application, the key things being community need and community support, as well as having engineering plans ready.

Joint Meeting

Surdam said that there had been a combination Planning, Zoning and Town Board meeting. It was well attended and productive. “This yearly meeting gives us an opportunity to discuss issues that come before the boards and solutions to the issues. We reviewed a number of updates and changes in providing information that have happened as a result of these meetings. In each meeting there has been a good back and forth discussion that I think will help make all the boards better,” said Surdam.

Recreation

The Town is working closely with the NYS DOH and DEC and following their recommendations for the pool water. The pool will open on schedule, and the usual full summer of swimming activities is planned.

Recreation Director Kaila Matatt is leaving. She has received a very special opportunity that she has decided to pursue. Board members agreed that although her time working for the Town as the Recreation Director has been short, her organizational skills, energy, enthusiasm and work ethic will be greatly missed.

Supervisor Surdam, Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland, and Matatt met last week to begin to put a plan together for the restructuring of recreation management. Suggestions included having Shiland and his staff continue to oversee general facility operations and maintenance. Scheduling, money, reporting, overseeing pool operations and management will be done by Janet DeLuca, who has filled this position in the past and is willing to do so again. A Swimming Program Coordinator who is a Water Safety Instructor (WSI) will work with and assist the pool manager to coordinate swimming lessons and all other pool activities.

The Pool Slide Fundraiser needs a project champion. The Board has started to raise funds for a slide, but  they need someone or some group to take on the project.

Lifeguard applications are being accepted for the 2016 season. Only a few openings remain. The appointment list will be ready for the May meeting. Applications are available from the Town Clerk’s Office or the Town Web Site.

Other Water Matters

The number of requests to have private well water tested has dropped off, although many wells are still on the list to be tested. The NYS DOH has begun going door to door requesting permission to obtain water samples. DOH continues to update the map showing the areas of detection and non-detection. To see the latest version of the map go to the Village Web Site.

The NYS DEC and DOH will be combining efforts to test soils in various locations throughout the Village and the Town in private yards where some have expressed a concern due to watering gardens or draining pools with water that had PFOA in it. The results of the initial round of testing will be used to help determine if there is a concern and if additional testing will be needed.

The NYS DOH is nearly ready to begin releasing results of blood testing to individuals who were tested. The Health Department will contact individuals to schedule an appointment at the Armory to discuss the results in person. They will also be expanding their hours at the HAYC3 Armory (to be announced).

Code Enforcement

Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer Fran Rogers has asked for a review, and maybe an update, of the fee section for building permits. This  is a part of Local law No. 2 of 1985 entitled, “A local Law Providing for the Administration and Enforcement of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.” Board members discussed this and decided that it would be a good time to review the whole law, since it is over 30 years old and New York State is in a transition period as well. The State is considering adopting the international codes (ICC) with a NYS supplement, so it makes sense for the Town to transition as well. There will be further discussion on this.

In Other Business:

• Both the North Hoosick and Hoosick Falls Fire Departments will hold open houses during the weekend of April 22-24, in an effort to raise awareness and recruit new members.

• Funds for the tree trimming around the pool area were approved in the amount of $4,975.

• The Route 22 Bridge Replacement in North Hoosick over the Walloomsac River and Factory Hill Road is scheduled to begin in the 2017 construction season. This is a State project.

• Councilperson Dave Sutton thanked the Hoosac School, Michelle Pilcher and Dee Lanzano for sprucing up the island at the intersection of Routes 7 and 22.

• Town Historian Phil Leonard presented his new board “Through the Camera’s Lens,” featuring current photographs of Hoosick and Hoosick Falls by Ellen Stempek Scott.

• Assessor Tony Rice reported that this was his busiest time of year. He is working on the tentative tax rolls, which are due next month. He agreed with Jim Martinez’s comments during the public comment section of the meeting that property values have not dropped, nor have sales slowed since, or because of, the water situation. That determination must be made based on actual sales, and there is no evidence that properties have been devalued, and there is no way to calculate that until this time next year. Rice said that there are 11 property sales pending right now.

• The Board passed a resolution to enter into membership in the NYS Municipal Workers Compensation Alliance Plan and to authorize Supervisor Surdam to execute the Plan’s charter document on behalf of the Town of Hoosick. This will save the Town a considerable amount of money.

• The 2015 AUD (Annual Update Document) Report was submitted as required prior to the April 1 deadline. This is the annual financial report submitted to the State.

• Penny Acree will be replacing Joe McDonald on the Zoning Board. There are two positions open on the Planning Board. Please contact any Board member or the Town Clerk if interested in serving.

The next regular Board Meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 9 at 7 pm in the HAYC3 Armory.[/private]

Filed Under: Front Page, Hoosick, Hoosick Falls, Local News

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