Code Enforcement Is Expensive
by Thaddeus Flint
New Lebanon is looking at significantly larger legal bills than what was budgeted, as the Town begins to crack down on zoning and coding scofflaws, it was reported at the March Board meeting last Tuesday.
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“We are ramping up enforcement,” confirmed Town Supervisor Colleen Teal.
Attorney expenses was budgeted at $45,000 for 2017, already a steep increase over the $20,000 expenditure of 2016.
“We are budgeted around $4,000 a month,” said Teal. “This month is probably closer to $6,000 or $8,000, and that’s actually closer to what we are doing on a regular basis.”
The Supervisor said she thinks legal costs would begin to normalize towards that $4,000 mark again around August. However, there are no guarantees. And, with enforcement expected to increase as the new Code & Zoning Enforcement Officer Cissy Hernandez gets up to speed, it’s possible legal fees will increase as well.
“We are looking at quite a few decades of” no enforcement, said Teal, who recommends that New Lebanon “stick with” the new enforcement program.
“The Town has neglected this for so many years,” agreed Councilman Kevin Smith.
Councilman Mark Baumli is concerned the scofflaws who don’t want to conform to the Town’s rules, have “nothing but time” to drag cases out from one court date to the next, spending little to no money while New Lebanon is forced to pay expensive legal fees.
“When they are wasting people’s time and money, being paid for by the tax payers of New Lebanon, that bothers me,” said Baumli, who wants to eliminate endless extensions given. “If you can’t get your ducks in a row, that’s too bad.”
Smith pointed out one example of a case over signs. “This has been going on for months now. Months and months. And we have thousands of dollars into attorney’s fees which we can’t get back.”
Town Clerk Tistrya Houghtling advised having the attorney ask Judges for fines to begin much earlier in the process, instead of after months of extensions. The maximum fines, said Houghtling “are pretty high.”
“The judge is a taxpayer in Town,” added Baumli. They “know the longer they drag it out the more the Town attorney has to be there and the more they are spending the taxpayer’s dollars.”
The general consensus of the Board moving forward, was to keep cracking down on the scofflaws. But, at the same time, to ask the Town’s attorneys to try to get cases closed in a minimal amount of time. The enforcement will continue and the Board will revisit the subject in June to decide how to go forward into the second half of 2017.
Resident Johanna Johnson-Smith also brought up the safety of the Code Enforcement Officer. Hernandez, who is a woman, would probably find herself up against some “pretty aggressive” people, said Smith. In a Town where women hold the Supervisor, Town Clerk, Code Enforcement Officer, and a Judge position, the aggressive might want to think twice about who they display those aggressions to. Teal said she has already talked with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and they have pledged to offer any assistance needed to help Hernandez in her duties.
As New Lebanon spruces itself up, Supervisor Teal said she wants to look toward continued long term economic development. One plan is to launch an Economic Development Committee. New Lebanon already has a private Economic Development Committee, which, among several projects, is responsible for the New Lebanon Heritage Center. The Heritage Center is having a re-opening celebration at its expanded space next to the Post Office in the Valley Plaza Mall on March 25th.
“They are doing a phenomenal job,” said Teal, adding that the Town’s Economic Development Committee would not be competing with the private Committee. Teal said she would like to see “maybe one member sit on both boards.”
The Board also voted, with all in favor (Councilman Chuck Geraldi was absent) to purchase banner brackets to be used for New Lebanon’s 200th birthday celebration which will happen throughout most of 2018. Around 30 brackets will be installed on utility poles throughout the Town to display banners designed by Grow The Valley to promote the Town’s bicentennial. By paying for the brackets, the Town can continue to use them going forward. The expected bracket cost is around $3,000.
A proposed local law regulating solar uses, especially large solar farms that might want to locate in New Lebanon, is moving forward. The Board voted unanimously to name itself as the lead agency as part of the NYS Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). The proposed law will now be forwarded to the Town’s Planning Board and the Columbia County Planning Board for review. A Public Hearing was also scheduled for April 11 at 6:55 pm at the Town Hall.
As spring and summer approach, a proposal has been submitted to the Board for the use of Shatford Park by a new adult softball league. The cost would be around $15,000 to get the lighting at the ball field hooked back up. The idea is still very preliminary and the Board will wait for more information from the proposed league before going forward.
Music in the Park, however, is going forward. The Board voted unanimously to set up a Facebook page that will be used to promote the summer musical programs in the park. The Board also agreed to pay $341 to ASCAP to license the music played there.
The Board is also having the Town’s engineer submit proposals on possible upgrades and/or repairs to the basketball court and the pavilion at the park, as well as possible crosswalks as the Shaker Museum.
Announcements:
• A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Lukas family who lost everything in a fire at their home on February 27th. Reverend Randolph Lukas is a deacon at the Church of Our Saviour in Lebanon Springs.
• The New Lebanon Library is collecting “storied recipes”, which is exactly what it sounds like, recipes with a story behind them from local residents. The due date is June 1st, with the printed cookbook of these recipes expected in time for New Lebanon’s 200th anniversary in 2018.
• Residents who enjoy Board meetings will be in for a thrilling night on March 28th as four Boards—Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Board, Town Board, and the Conservation Advisory Council, all come together for a Quad-Board meeting at the Town Hall 6:30 pm. Seating might be limited as Board members will be taking up about half of the legal space in the hearing room. [/private]