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DRAFT Regular Meeting April 12, 2004 Charlton Town Board Saratoga County New York After the pledge to the flag,
the invocation was given by Town Clerk Gail Hanchar. At the regular meeting of the
Town Board of Charlton, Saratoga County, New York, held at 7:30 P.M. at the Charlton
Town Hall, called to order by Supervisor Acunto, there were present: Councilman
Alan Grattidge Councilman
Robert Lippiello Councilman
Dorothy Mitchell Councilman
Sandra Verola Supervisor
Ferdinand Acunto Motion made by Councilman
Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Lippiello that the minutes of the March 8,
2004 Town Board Meeting and the March 29, 2004 Agenda Meeting be accepted as
received: Approved:
Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes ABSTRACT OF CLAIMS: The total of the bills
approved at the Agenda Meeting was $19,011.27. Corrections from March
Abstract: Voucher #1201 to The Gazette
Newspapers of $18.27 for a legal notice for the salt shed was changed from
Highway Street Administration A-5010.4 to Legislative A-1010.4. Voucher #1206 to Laura Linder
of $92.50 for a Kodak 25’ remote extension cord and a Logan Super View Slide
Sorter was changed from Historian Equipment A-7510.2 to Historian Contractual
A-7510.4. Voucher #1208 for $135.00 -
The vendor was changed from Galway Senior Fund Trip to Town of Galway. Voucher #1209 to Brookside
Museum of $25.00 for Annual Membership was changed from Library Contractual
A-7410.4 to Historian Contractual A-7510.4. Voucher #1212 to The New York
Planning Federation was pulled for double payment. Voucher #1218 to Marge Dennis
was pulled for more documentation. Voucher #1283 to Curtis
Lumber of $11.96 for park entrance signs was changed from Machinery DA-5130.4
to Traffic Control A-3310.4. Voucher #1298 to The Safety
Warehouse of $98.73 for flares was changed from DA-5130.2 to Large Machinery
DA-5130.4. Voucher #1321 to Carlton
Ellms for NYS Planning Federation Meeting was changed from a total of $266.77
to $259.70. Voucher #1329 to Deborah
Herrin for Comprehensive Plan supplies was changed from a total of $61.23 to
$59.98. Voucher #1330 to Deborah
Herrin for NYS Planning Federation Meeting was changed from a total of $237.76
to $224.00. Prepaid bills added to the
abstract: NYSEG
of $58.14 Niagara
Mohawk of $205.45 Verizon
of $40.06, $50.56, $145.86, $81.03 US
Postal Service of $148.00, $37.00, $74.00 The total for the month of
March changed from $60,243.00 to $60,613.79. Motion made by Councilman
Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola, A Motion to accept the corrections to
the March Abstract of Claims, be approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes TOWN CLERK’S REPORT: Gail Hanchar read the Town
Clerk’s Report. She reported taking in
$115.40. Motion made by Councilman
Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola.
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
(Agenda Items): No comments. SUPERVISOR’S REPORT AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS: March revenue and
expenditures: General Fund – Expenditures
of $95,756.48. Revenue of $4,822.83. Highway Fund – Expenditures
of $45,039.2. Revenue of $60,637.85. Water District #1 –
Expenditures of $10,094.21. Revenue of
$1,116.69. Water District #2 –
Expenditures of $168.88. Revenue of
$4.76. Major expenditures: General Fund – Legislative
Contractual (Newsletter) of $1,520.38, Supervisor’s Contractual (Computer
Materials and Association of Towns expenses) of $1,520.53, Law Contractual of
$11,640.00 (Legal fees for Article 78 proceeding), Buildings Contractual and
Capital Improvements of $1,761.96 and $589.87, Police Contractual of $1,113.53,
Contractual Agreement with Department of the Aging of $1,257.00, Library
Contractual of $12,451.25 and Environmental Contractual of $2,263.86 (for
dunks). Highway Fund – Maintenance of
Roads Contractual of $1,181.19, Machinery Contractual of $5,451.46 and Snow
Removal Contractual of $8,195.92. Water – Water Distribution of
$6,965.74 (for freeze up on Desmond lateral) Major revenue: Highway – Sales Tax
Distribution of $60,052.00 There was a question about
the video done at the Comprehensive Plan Workshop. Counsel’s advice is that we put it under lock and key or destroy
it. Steve Caine – This was a
young man, who in his enthusiasm, was trying to do something good. It has not been shown to anybody. I will bring it by tomorrow. There was a request for a
speed reduction on Crooked Street. We
did discuss it at the Agenda Meeting and said we would wait for added
information. Gail has not received any
additional information. We will pass a
resolution tonight. We had a request for
increased patrols by police agencies on Cook Road. I wrote a memo to the Charlton Police, Sheriff’s Department and
the State Police at our sub-station for added patrols. Supervisor Acunto stated that
he had an exit interview with the auditor.
We have gotten a clean assessment with no concerns. There were some comments during the
interview which will require that we have an executive session to discuss some
personnel matters on how we should look at some of the concerns about the way
we are doing some things. They are very
minor. COMMUNICATIONS: Supervisor Acunto stated that
he was requested to write a letter to John Mesick formally notifying him of
termination of our contract. He has
responded to my letter, “This is to acknowledge receipt of your March 17 letter. I concur with the content and have no objections
to the termination of the contract. I
regret that our efforts on the Town Hall project did not prove more fruitful
but hope that you shall ultimately achieve your goals”. We received a notice from NYS
Department of Transportation telling us that they have reduced the speed limit
on Consaul Road in West Charlton. This
came as a result of a request from the Town of Galway for a reduction on their
end. What the Department of
Transportation saw fit to do was to extend it into Charlton. It is now 45 MPH the entire length. There was a correspondence
from Deborah Herrin regarding the Corbin property on Maple Avenue. Each Town Board member has a packet of
material that was submitted from Deborah.
Supervisor Acunto also sent a memo to Bob VanVranken. He suggested we have Bob here at our Agenda
Meeting on April 26 to discuss this matter.
Everyone agreed. We received a letter from a resident regarding the possible
operation of a dog kennel and the need for a permit. The letter has been distributed to the Board. Supervisor Acunto – There is
enough documentation here that I feel we should direct the Zoning Administrator
to look into the matter and make a report and either use the office of the Town
Attorney and others to see what direction we should be going in. The other issue that is in the cover letter
makes reference to a court matter. The
position of the Town Board is not to get involved in court matters. You do have the option of pursuing that with
Judge Bascom. Councilman Verola – It seems
to me that this would be a matter for the Zoning Board of Appeals, not for the
Town Board. Supervisor Acunto –
Definitely but I think the procedure should be that we start with the Zoning
Administrator to make an investigation and determination and then, at some
point, he may or may not decide to turn it over to the Zoning Board of
Appeals. We will leave that decision up
to him. The Board agreed. Resident – The only reason
we contacted you and the Town Board about it was because we were under the
impression that the previous zoning administrator, Leslie Tasse, had looked
into this and then it just didn’t get anywhere. I’m not really sure what exactly happened with it then. All we know is that the situation has not
gotten any better in a 1 year or 1½ years.
We mentioned in the letter that the noise problem had a modest
improvement. Since we wrote the letter,
that is not the case. Those dogs barked
for 3 ½ hours yesterday because our
neighbor was not there and I was outside.
That is the situation we are living in right now. We don’t think anyone should have to live
this way. We don’t know who else to go
to at this point. We are familiar with
the zoning ordinance and the definition of a kennel. It is four adult dogs.
Our neighbor has eight adult dogs.
Imagine eight grown dogs barking at you all day long, whether you are
outside, sometimes when you are inside.
You can’t have people over. You
basically become a prisoner of your own house because you don’t want to go
outside. The only reason we brought up
the court case is because we want you to be aware that we have been very
patient and we have tried constructive means to reach a resolution. We don’t want to be here tonight. Supervisor Acunto – I have
copied Lee Bramer our Animal Control Officer who is in the back of the
room. Fred gave a copy to Dave
LaFountain. Dave asked to review the
material and he will get back to the resident. Lee Bramer – I have been
contacted on different occasions by a resident regarding the dogs
barking. I have contacted the party
with the dogs on different occasions.
At different times, A resident has personally contacted the owner. That was one of the things that was asked by
Judge Bascom. He asked that the two
parties develop a dialogue between themselves to see if they could get it
resolved. I’m not sure how far they got
with that. Supervisor Acunto – I suggest
that you share any information you can with Dave as he does his investigation. Resident – We have tried to call her. We have tried everything.
We want nothing more than to get along with our neighbors. We aren’t out to create a hostile
situation. We have called and left
messages. It really hasn’t helped
things. Yesterday when she wasn’t home
and she left the dogs out, when she was instructed not to, there was no one to
call. We were stuck and they were
outside. Tom Nadoraski – We don’t want to call Lee, especially on Easter
Sunday, to come out and handle a situation. Lee – Actually, if I don’t
hear the dogs barking it is hard for me to do a lot. The only way I could help out would be to verify I am hearing
dogs bark and we could do something about it.
They do have the option of making out a complaint that we can serve in
court. We received a communication
from Estella in regard to the Veteran’s Honor Roll Board. She has compiled a list of 83 more names,
some dating back to World War I. We
definitely need to do an addition to that board. She is working with Ron and has a meeting with him tomorrow
morning to see what needs to be done to have that ready for Memorial Day. We received a thank you note
from the Charlton Snowmobile Club thanking us for allowing them to use our
property for part of their trail. ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER: Lee reported that there have
been a few dead wildlife pickups this month.
He had a couple of calls regarding dogs barking or dogs being
loose. Dead birds will be take up to the
county to be tested. The dog
enumeration progress is continuing. ASSESSMENT REVIEW BOARD: Grievance Day is May 25. ASSESSORS: Marge Dennis – I wanted to
let the Board know where we are in the update process or revaluation. We are on an annual reval. program. We had Bob Hilbert come in from Appraisal
Consultants. They did a trending of our
role, which means they took last year’s assessment and they trended by
different neighborhoods and different styles between 6 and 8 ½ %. To some people that may seem high. At that time he also did a comparable sales
analysis, so there are two numbers to work off of. His trending number, when I tested it against market, was low and
tested against the sales, it was still low.
His comparable sales was high. I
went in and learned how to do the mass appraisal evaluations in our program system,
the RPS 4. In doing that I ran the
whole town again. The other assessors
and I agreed that one of our problems was the land values. Last year for a two-acre primary site, a
buildable parcel of 2 acres, the assessment was $27,000.00. This year for 2004, our primary site is
$40,000.00. That is supported by the
market. What it has done is taken a
level of value for land sales which are all over the place and we have tried to
see where it falls and $40,000.00 is pretty much where it falls for a buildable
two-acre parcel. We didn’t touch
residual values or any of the excess land values. They are still the same and they are on a (could not understand)
scale value, so the next 10 acres is at $1,500.00, the next 25 acres is at
$800.00 and it goes on like that. We
didn’t touch those values. To let the
town people be aware, we are looking at about a 20% on average increase in
value over last year. That means that
some people are going up, maybe more, and some people are going up less. It is never an exact science. Some people may not have been assessed
properly last year. We had a very, very
low turn out for our Grievance Day considering the fact that we jumped our values
so high. Everyone must have been
comfortable. I had a lot of people say
they were not complaining because they had appraisals on their property that
were higher than what we had assessed them for. Our ratio, which is our sales ratio for last years roll, and I
did an analysis, is at 79% which means that for the sales we are 79% assessed
of what they are selling for. Councilman Grattidge – But
that isn’t our equalization rate? Marge Dennis – No. What we had last year in 2003, we have a 5%
leeway. If we are within 5% of what the
State’s numbers are for our equalization rate, what they think it should be,
they let us go. We tweeked by last
year. We were concern that if we just
did the (could not understand) minimum of 8%, which would have kept people
happy in the town and they wouldn’t bombard our office, we had a good chance that
we would not get 100% equalization rate.
When I did the numbers, we weren’t and I looked at the analysis and we
weren’t going to make it. We were just
too far away. We were only at 79% of
our ratio. I want to let the Town Board
know so that when you get your phone calls, and we will be bombarded in this
office and Grievance Day will be very busy this year, everyone is going to be
increased. The Hilbert Company just did
residential properties. What we did, we
did the town because we had problems with our land values. Councilman Grattidge – When
you send out notices, you will also put on there how it affects their total
taxes? Marge Dennis – Not
necessarily. We have an obligation on
an annual reval. program to send out change of assessment notices which will
not have that. We debated about whether
or not to do the impact statements, which is what you are speaking of. Because we are so far into it, we have to
get these mailings out before May 1 and I am still working on the numbers right
now. I had to go in and look at ones
that were coming in at a percentage higher.
If they were over a 30% increase I wanted to go see why and see if the
comps made sense and what was going on. I am not doing individual appraisals
but I am looking at those properties to see if there is a reason. Maybe there was a house that was going
through renovations and we had it lower for that reason and now it kicks in at
today’s market value. I am looking at a
lot of properties because of that. If
we did the impact, I don’t know if we could get the impact statements out on
time. Councilman Grattidge – But
the impact statements are the ones that people are going to read and compute.
People will understand the values are all going up equally. Your taxes, theoretically, should stay the
same. Without the impact statement,
people will only see a 20% increase in their assessment and assume that their
taxes are going up 20%, which in most cases shouldn’t be the case. Their taxes should stay relatively the same
in comparison to the previous year. It
is just a suggestion that you will save yourself a lot of heartache if we can
somehow give people an idea of where they are going to be with their taxes. Marge Dennis – I understand
and I don’t necessarily disagree with you.
I am just looking at the time constraints that we are under. Councilman Grattidge – When
are you changing the rolls? Marge Dennis – The roles are
due at the County on Thursday at lunch time.
Vicki and I have been debating on how to present this to the public. The
impact statements do sound like they make the most sense but they are also very
confusing because they don’t include the exemptions. When you put the impact statements out there and they don’t take
into consideration the exemptions on the property, that is also confusing
because we are increasing them but we don’t know what exemptions they are going
to get because we don’t know what the Senior STAR Exemption will be for next
year. This year it was $50,000.00. Basic STAR is $30,000.00. There are Agricultural Exemptions. None of that is included. Councilman Grattidge – You
are basically going to send out notices to every property in town that shows
that their assessment is going to change anywhere from 20 – 30%. Marge Dennis – Anywhere from
nothing to whatever. I had some that
changed 163% because they were vacant parcels last year and now they are
improved. Councilman Grattidge –
Somewhere along the line people have to understand how it is going to affect
the bottom line, which is their taxes. Marge Dennis – I don’t
disagree. I am just trying to figure
out how to get that out there. Councilman Grattidge - They
can’t go on the same notices as change of assessment? I thought we had one notice last year. Marge Dennis – One of the
problems is that on our computer we don’t have impact statements available to
us. We have to get the state to come in
and load them up, which we can. Councilman Grattidge – That
isn‘t part of the consultants work? Marge Dennis – The
consultants are out of it at this point in time. Supervisor Acunto – Alan
raises a good point. Could we try and
do an informational meeting? That isn’t
going to get the biggest play because you aren’t going to get to everybody. Councilman Verola – I think
an informational meeting would be a good idea.
I think if people are interested, they will come. I think it is important enough to do that. Marge Dennis - We will have something in the newsletter
about the reval. and the notices and the role being available May 1. Councilman Grattidge – How
about putting in an insert when you mail out the change of assessment that
reads something along the line that as a general rule (could not understand) if
you fall into that bracket your taxes should stay relatively the same. Marge Dennis – That is
assuming that the budgets don’t change.
You can’t tell people that it’s not going to change because you already
know the school district is going up 4.6% or 4.7% for Burnt Hills. I don’t know about Galway. So we know that the rate for your taxes will
go up. Councilman Grattidge – How
many properties do we have in town? Marge Dennis – 1,925 Councilman Grattidge – So
that 1,925 phone calls you will get. Marge Dennis – If we could
put in a cover letter……….I’m not ruling out the impact statement. I’m still working on how much these numbers
have jumped. I’m still in shock. Councilman Grattidge – You
need some kind of statement in that that explains it. Even if it is generic, if it doesn’t explain each individual one. Marge Dennis – I don’t know
if people are going to understand without actually seeing the numbers. I’ll have to think about putting a cover
letter with that or just send the impact statements out. The impact statements are the best way to
alert the public but they are also misleading because they don’t take into
consideration exemptions. Councilman Verola – Maybe
this mailing followed up with a meeting where people can ask questions and get
answers. Marge Dennis – The mailing
would have to be out so people get them by May 1st. We like to get them out the same time the tentative roll is
coming out. Supervisor Acunto –You will
be getting them out the week of the 26th. Councilman Grattidge – You’d
have to have an information meeting before Grievance Day. Councilman Verola – You could
put a notice in with the mailing when the meeting will be. Marge Dennis – Just so
everybody realizes that it does make a big difference, it would be helpful to
be able to get people so they don’t have to call our office. One of the other things that will be on this
is that they have every opportunity to come in and discuss it with us. If people want to share information they
have about their property, which people tend to, they are welcome to come in
and discuss it with one of the assessors.
We will schedule appoints with them prior to Grievance Day. That is the first method that they have to
grieve that assessment that they are receiving. That will be in the letter that they can discuss their property
assessment with us. If they aren’t
satisfied still, they can go to Grievance Day. Supervisor Acunto – In that
same letter can we not put in summarizing what you just said? Can you reduce that to something that will
fit? Marge Dennis – I can. I will talk with the other assessors. I am not opposed to the impact statements at
all. I just don’t know how we can get them out. If we can get them out that is great. If we can do something in a letter or cover page that would be
helpful. I can’t say to anybody that
even if they were flat that their taxes would not go up. Supervisor Acunto – That is
beyond anybody’s control. The school
budgets (could not understand). Nobody
can call that shot today. Marge Dennis – When they come
to me and they say they want to sell their land and they can’t afford to live
here, what would you like me to tell them? Supervisor Acunto – I would
think seriously about an insert in that notice. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: Steve Caine – Since the last
Town Board Meeting: The Comprehensive Plan
Steering Committee has received from our consultant the first drafts of a
Charlton Demographics Summary and the March 6 Visioning Workshop Summary. The committee has asked our consultant to
review the Visioning Summary’s raw data to create another draft that more
clearly highlights its main themes and in a way that “tracks” better and is
more coherent and understandable to the average citizen. When that is done, we will place it and the
demographic data on the town website.
These sections will eventually be incorporated into the early sections
of the final, recommended Plan document. The demographic study shows
that between 1990 and 2000 our population did not change, actually it went down
by 30 people, but the number of households went up by 9.9%, the number of
single female households went up by 14.7% and the percentage of the population
over 65 went up 13.2%. I think it is
safe to say, forces are at work since 2000 that have resulted in further
changes in our town’s demographics. The Steering Committee
created a survey subcommittee, composed of Deborah Herrin, Maria McCulloch, Jim
Leupold and Midge Dube to refine the format and content of the town-wide
written survey. They spent many hours
dedicated to the task and have done an outstanding job. The entire committee over the period of two
meetings and two waves of e-mail exchanges and telephone conversation has
thoroughly discussed the document and has now reached closure on the final
product. The survey will be mailed to
every household in Charlton this month.
We will be looking to receive all responses back from townspeople no
later than May 22. We have also received the
first drafts of GIS Maps that have been produced by our consultant. A subcommittee of Deborah Herrin, Dave
Adams, Marv Schorr and Christy Schrader will be reviewing them to ensure they
are as accurate as possible. The following townspeople provided great assistance to the work of
the committee by digging up and forwarding valuable information that was needed
by the consultant to accurately write the plan sections describing our
town. We owe a debt of gratitude to:
Deborah Herrin, Lynda Battenhausen, Jim Leupold, Sally Ellms, Bill Heilman,
John Morgan, Laura Linder and Gail Hanchar. The Committee has also asked
volunteer Jim Leupold to head up a subcommittee to explore the possible value
and scope of a water study that would be done in addition to and be a
complimentary supplement to the work contracted for the CPSC. I believe there may be more discussion on this
topic later in the meeting. The Committee is still
discussing whether we want to contract for a Community Image Preference Survey, which is currently funded as an
option in our budget. Discussions
to date have clarified what the issues are.
Now we need to determine whether the survey would sufficiently add value
to the work of the committee and have the potential to make the cost worth the
potential benefits to Charlton. As you can tell, we are using
a broad range of methods to obtain the views of our entire community. Every
town, including Charlton, is also made up of distinct population sectors that
are vital to the overall community and make the town what it is. Because of this, the Planning Committee is
now going to focus on obtaining the views of four distinct Charlton
groups: farmers, business
owners/managers, Charlton seniors and Charlton teenagers. Our consultants are going to be meeting with
Charlton farmers and business people on May 3.
Rick Smith (B/U Guy Mitchell) is coordinating the farmers’ meeting. Dean Durst (BU Doug Flynn) is coordinating
the business meeting. Seniors and
teenagers are meeting on June 7. Midge
Dube (BU Peggy Gains) is coordinating the senior’s meeting. Andrea Herrin and Jenna Smith are
coordinating the teenager meeting. We
are using the Burnt Hills Spotlight, The Daily Gazette and the Town Newsletter
and Website to publicize the meetings.
We are looking for 10-15 citizens to participate in each focus group
session. As you can see, a lot of
committee members are dedicating a great deal of their personal time and energy
to this important project. Hats-off
also goes to you, the Town Board, as well.
The support the Town Board has provided and your willingness to make
this an open, democratic and grass roots based process is greatly
appreciated!! CONSTABLES: For the month of March there
were 31 patrols, answered 3 911 calls,
covered 2,673 miles, issued 36 and no accidents. They are looking for some money to purchase bullets for target
practice for re-certification. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
COMMISSION: The Roadside Clean Up will be
Saturday, May 1 from 8:00 A.M. until Noon.
The Town provides trash bags and safety vests. The Highway Garage will be the base of the operation. (Changed tape) If other groups want to get involved, they can contact Marv
Schorr. The free Tree and Shrub Give
Away will also be May 1 from Noon until 1:30 P.M. That will also be at the Highway Garage on a first come, first
serve basis. Everyone can choose four
items. EMERGENCY PLANNING
COMMITTEE: The three fire chiefs and
Councilman Verola met. They are in the
process of listing the hazards that may occur in Charlton and trying to focus
on how to prevent those. They are
identifying areas that are potentially problematic. They will be meeting again next month. They would like to keep this group small in the interest of
getting things done. They will be
calling more people from different areas of the town with different expertise
to give them input as needed. HIGHWAY: The Bulk Item Pick Up will be
held the last two weeks in April. April
19 – 23 they will be picking up items south of Charlton Road. April 26 – April 30 they will be picking up
items north of Charlton Road. We are
trying to hold it to five items. Brush and leaf pick up will
be until the end of the month or however long it takes to get them all picked
up. Ron and the Town Board toured
the town roads last week. Roads that
are scheduled for reconstruction this summer are Newman Road, upper Division
Street, Jolly Road and they will try and do Dawson Road and stretch the money
as far as they can make it go. Work will begin on Featherbed
Lane once it dries up. They will get it
back in shape this year. There just
isn’t a lot of money left. If we can do
something with it, we will do something with it. It needs some ditching and
stuff like that. HISTORIAN: Laura stated the importance
of looking back to where we have been as we look around us to see what is going
on around us and how to use that experience to realize that the heritage of
this community is one that we have something to be proud about. There are ways to use this heritage for our
future of this town that is to the benefit of all of us and the Comprehensive
Plan is working with those ideas in mind.
We can’t do those things if we can’t explain ourselves well as to what
we are, what we look like and how we want to remain. Laura said she works at a state level, a county level and a local
level. In her capacities she gets to
see how we are observed by those around us and how we are acting among
ourselves right here. She encouraged us
to spend more time looking at those who are looking at us from outside as we
are taking a look at the way we want to continue the future here. Laura sat with the Archives Strategic
Planning Board of New York State last month.
She was asked to serve on a panel to help them to determine a strategic
plan state-wide for the next three years.
Kathy Marchione also is a member of this panel. Laura and Kathy also sit on
the Annual Archives Capital Region Dinner Committee. Laura also served as an area
representative interviewing the candidates for the position of Schenectady
County Historian. It is a new position
with a salary of $41,000.00. Laura will be attending a
meeting of the Association of Public Historians of NYS Conference in Silver
Bay. Training sessions will be held. The 25th
Conference of New York State History is planned for Saratoga Springs the second
weekend in June. May 1st will be
Ballston Spa’s Annual Heritage Day.
Rick Reynolds will be taking a group of students from the Burnt Hills
Ballston Lake Middle School to re-enact a baseball game from the 1850’s as part
of that day. Brookside Museum is opening
an exhibit about the springs of Saratoga.
It will open on May 27. Laura attended a presentation
on the Cappiello property on Route 50.
She feels that we need to have a Comprehensive Plan that really
describes Charlton if we want to maintain our community. They are coming in all around us. This involves things like the SEQR form that
needs to be filled out by our Planning Board and all these subdivisions we are
doing. If you look at the GIS Map of
archeologically sensitive land in this community, a great deal of Charlton is
in that category. Are we doing any of
those archeological searches of the land?
Laura attended a program done
by the Chambers of Commerce on Tech Valley.
We are part of Tech Valley. All 17 counties from Westchester
to Montreal have all joined together in a coalition. A power point presentation is given by the leaders of the Albany,
Troy and Schenectady Chambers of Commerce.
This last month we burned
down a house in town and tore down a barn.
Did anyone go and photograph that?
Did anyone go into that building and record what that house was like? That property is now gone. How does that affect each of us as a member
of this community? It is an
archeological site as far as the state is concerned. There are other properties in the community that are coming up
for this kind of work. If we don’t
gather that information now, it is gone. On Saturday May 8th
flags will be placed on the veteran’s graves in town. We will start at 9:15 A.M. at Jeremiah Smith
Cemetery. This is our 13th
year of doing this as a community with the Burnt Hills Ballston Lake Middle
School. In 1992 when we started this as
one of our 200th Anniversary projects, we ordered 6 dozen
flags. We are now ordering 26 dozen
flags to mark the graves of veterans.
We have about 30 people that come out and help. Laura displayed a book by
Russell Shorto, “The Island at the Center of the World”. It takes the history of New York State back
to the Dutch settlers who settled here in 1609. During the last 30 years the Dutch records were translated and
published in this book. In this book it sets the stage for the founding
settlers of Charlton to be able to go out and found the public school system of
New York State and the system of government we have with John Taylor and the
house of representatives, etc. Doris Stauffer, Mary Kadlecek
and Laura have put together an article about Charlton and it’s Historic
District which will appear in The Mohawk Valley Magazine. HISTORIC DISTRICT
COMMISSION: Doris Stauffer - The Historic
District has been very quiet. There has
been no activity in the last couple of months in regard to zoning. We are getting ready for a grant
meeting. We would also like to set up a
meeting with the Town Board at some point at your convenience because we feel
as though we need more communication.
If you would think about that and let me know what day, I would be very
happy to get the members of the commission together. LIBRARY: Councilman Lippiello gave the
Board members copy of the Annual Report.
Over the past several years circulation has jumped by 53%, new cards
were issued at an increase of 90%, programs that have been run since 2001 have
increased 248% and attendance is up 110%. A Long Range Planning Committee has
been established to begin looking at where they may need to be in the future. PARK COMMITTEE: They are getting ready for
spring and summer. Councilman Lippiello
stated that the drainage that Ron put on the side of the baseball field seems
to help. They will try and drain the
area behind the backstop near the tennis courts. Councilman Grattidge said that someone asked him about a softball
team using the baseball field for practice and games. Anyone using the field will need to complete and application
specifying when they would like to use the park and provide an insurance
certificate. PLANNING BOARD: At the last Planning Board
meeting a number of people brought up some issues in regard to potential
wetlands that are currently not on the “official” wetlands map. One was in regard to the Grabo property and
the sale of the horse barn and a subdivision of that property and Grabo
property further up the road where they were subdividing four building lots
from their homestead. They were asked to have somebody take a look at it and
determine the extent of the wetlands that were actually there. They will hear the application for the
Schweizer subdivision on Route 67 at the April 19 Planning Board Meeting at
7:00 P.M. Councilman Lippiello said he
would appreciate getting the minutes.
The location of the property under discussion needs to be included in
the minutes. RECORDS ADVISORY BOARD: Later in the meeting a
resolution will be passed in support of the elimination of the sunset provision
of the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund and the Cultural
Education Fund. TOWN HALL: They have been having a
number of meetings with local residents that have special knowledge. They are still interviewing potential
architects/draftsmen. We hope to be
moving forward soon on some design work.
An architect from Albany who has dealt with historic renovations
presented a slide show to the Town Board.
He was involved in renovating the opera house in Troy. He has had a lot of municipal experience. He has given the town a proposal. WATER: A sub-committee of the
Comprehensive Plan is being formed to look at ground water and the possibility
of a ground water survey to determine where there is ground water, how much of
it there is and how quickly it replenishes itself. Jim Leupold is on that subcommittee. They are looking at a couple of companies who deal with
this. Jim Leupold – Other than
meeting with those two companies and coming up with a list of questions to find
out what might be of interest to us as a town, I think our main interest is
protecting the existing ground water supply to make sure that nothing happens
to that in terms of the community as a whole such as pollution or
diversion. There is still a lot of work
that needs to be done to find out what kinds of questions we really need
answered. If the Board has any
additional things that they would like to see us pursue, let me know. Councilman Lippiello – How do
you see that tying in with the whole Comprehensive Plan? Jim Leupold – Nothing has
cost us anything so far. We are looking
to come up with a list of differences that these two companies would provide
for us, along with the cost associated with each of those different items. Based on our sub-committee, we would decide
what is important to us as a community and then make a recommendation to the
Board of what we think would be worthwhile in terms of spending money towards. Deborah Herrin – One of the
things that I think is really important to consider right now is that with all
the GIS work that is being done as part of the Comprehensive Planning process
of mapping that has been done already of the faults and elevations and some
very, very high level water studies that have been done in the past and some of
the work that has been done through the Army Corp of Engineers, all the
surrounding southern Saratoga County municipalities have they have done some detailed aquifer studies
of all the towns surrounding us.
Between that and the work that is being done right now it makes a lot of
sense to look at this right now because of the work that has been done around
us and the foundation that has been laid by the Comprehensive Plan. I felt this was a critical time to look at
this because of some of the reading I have been doing on (could not understand)
water. It is one of the key
environmental constraints that I feel we have, not only in terms of future
growth of the town, but also in ensuring that the existing people continue to
live here in a healthy and productive way.
We are dependent on what is in the ground for most of the town. Steve Caine - The person who
really brought this to our attention was Albert LaRue. He started the ball rolling by mentioning a
study that was done many, many years ago looking for natural gas here. In that
study they also found out a lot about the lay of the water. This is a very finite resource under the
ground around us. The study itself
would only be technical in nature – where the water is, how much is there and
where the areas of recharge are. What
you do with that information in the end, the Comprehensive Planning Committee
may be making some recommendation to the Town Board. We would make sure when the two companies come in that the
comparison that is given to you is apples to apples. Councilman Verola – Could you
give us the names of the two companies you are working with? Steve Caine – Sterling
Environmental in Latham and Alpha Geo Sciences in Albany. The Water District Fee
Schedule was discussed. Councilman Lippiello – I had
comments from residents concerning the connection fee from the main and from
the curb box. The connection from the
main was $470.00 and from the curb box was $300.00. There are people in the water district have been paying their
bond and ad valorem money since the district was put in and they are not using
the water. It is our understanding that
the bond covered the cost of the meter,
pigtails and any inspections that were done when the water district was
put in. I would like to suggest that
those fees from the main or from the box for property that is not already in
the water district and have not paid water taxes, that those two fees be
applied for them. Those people who have
paid toward a water district and have been paying the ad valorem but have not
been taking advantage of using the water not be assessed those fees. They, in a sense, have paid for it since the
district was put in. Councilman Verola –There must
have been some kind of contract when the district was put in that would have
told what was included. Councilman Lippiello - Those
people who hooked up when the district was put in got their meters and the hook
up was done at that time. It was
included in the cost of the bond. Councilman Grattidge – That
equipment had basically been purchased through the bond. I have no problem with omitting Extension #2
which runs through Main Street and any curb box that is on existing Water
District #1. That means that they have
already paid for that equipment and the same with Extension #2 which is the
bond that came up through Main Street and went back down Swaggertown. Anyone who has adjacent land that hooks into
the water system, those fees will pertain to them and any additional people
that either extend into the district or add on. Councilman Lippiello – I
suggest that we adopt the Water District Fee Schedule with the change that any
existing property in District #1 and Extension #2 be exempt from the fee for
the connection from the main and the connection from the curb box. Motion made by Councilman
Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge, A Motion to adopt the water fees
as proposed on the sheet the Board has, be approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Councilman Lippiello passed
out several new forms that the town will be using. The Application for Metered Water will be a receipt for John and
Kathy showing that the resident has paid for whatever the service is they were
applying for. The second form is a
receipt for Lawn/Irrigation Permit, Restoration for Service, Curb Box Cap
Replacement and Curb Box Riser.
Councilman Grattidge said that he thought that we weren’t going to
charge for a lawn irrigation permit.
Councilman Lippiello said that after further discussion with John and
Dennis, they felt that sometimes those water heads are put in a position that
sometimes can be clipped by a plow and so that we don’t become responsible for
them, Dennis suggested we look at them when they are put in and make sure none
of the heads are within that range, so that was added. Supervisor Acunto asked what we were going
to do about existing lawn irrigation systems.
It was decided we can’t do anything about those. Councilman Lippiello also passed out information
regarding updates containing specific equipment that will be used so that when
someone is added into the water district and they have a contractor to do that,
they will be given this page showing the hook up system and specs. with names
and model numbers so they are in compliance with the other equipment in the
district. Councilman Lippiello – John
got the report back from the company that did the inspection of the tank. It appears that we are in pretty good shape
for a couple of years. ZBA: It has been very quiet. A couple of months ago the county had an
informational meeting for ZBA people.
They are planning on having more meetings to give board members help in
better understanding the role they have.
The State will be mandating members to meet requirements. ZONING: For the month of March there
were 4 new permits issued, 2 renewals, 1 CO and collected $865.00. Stewarts is applying for a permit to make
some changes. They will be updating
their (could not understand) ground water system. Councilman Grattidge – They
had some problems with the old gas tanks that were in the ground from the
previous owner. Dave La Fountain – They had a
temporary building and they want to put up a substantially larger one. There will be wiring and things in the
ground that will require a permit.
Before we can issue permit, it will have to be reviewed by the ZBA. Dave has received complaints about junk
cars. They are documenting the reports
and taking pictures. You are only
permitted one unregistered vehicle outside a building for 30 days. Maggie Schmidt – The
Stewart’s case was originally a special exception case. The original case was heard by the Town
Board and then years later the ZBA heard the second case when they had an
extension put on and, if I remember correctly, I think that went to the Town
Board first, too. You might want to
make sure you know if it has to come to you first and then pass it on to us if
you choose to or if it just comes to us. Dave La Fountain – The
Ordinance specifically says it goes to the Town Board for review and then they
decide whether they are going to hear it or pass it on. I thought that was just in the case of a new
application. In this case, it is a
change to an existing permit that the ZBA already has jurisdiction over so I
was going to give it right to them. The Board decided that any
paperwork in regard to this particular issue on that property would go directly
to the ZBA. RESOLUTIONS: Motion made by Councilman
Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola that Resolution #63, A RESOLUTION
AMENDING RESOLUTION #31, D6, SENTENCE 4 OF THE
ORGANIZATIONAL RESOLUTIONS OF THE YEAR 2004, be approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Motion made by Councilman
Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge that Resolution #64, A RESOLUTION
AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF A LINE TRACER FOR WATER DISTRICTS #1 AND #2 FROM
VELLANO BROTHERS INC., LATHAM, NEW YORK, be approved: Supervisor Acunto stated that
John had gotten three quotes. John did
not want the low bidder but the company that is local and the second lowest
bidder. Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Motion made by Councilman
Lippiello, seconded by Councilman Grattidge that Resolution #65, A RESOLUTION, ORDER AND
DETERMINATION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF CHARLTON, SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW
YORK, ESTABLISHING EXTENSION NO. 5 TO CHARLTON WATER DISTRICT NO. 1 PURSUANT TO
THE AUTHORITY CONTAINED IN ARTICLE 12-A OF THE TOWN LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW
YORK, be approved: Supervisor Acunto asked if
the Town Clerk had received any notice of petition on this because it was
subject to permission referendum. Gail
stated that she did not receive any notice. Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Motion made by Councilman
Mitchell, seconded by Councilman Grattidge that Resolution #66, A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR
THE ELIMINATION OF THE SUNSET PROVISIONS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS
MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT FUND (LGRMIF) AND THE CULTURAL EDUCATION FUND (CEF), be
approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Motion made by Councilman
Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola that Resolution #67, A RESOLUTION OPPOSING
PROPOSED STATE LEGISLATION (SENATE BILL #S6056 AND ASSEMBLY BILL #A9556), be
approved: Supervisor Acunto – There is
a Senate and Assembly Bill in Albany ready for action that would really impact
the amount of money that municipalities receive from the Justice Court
Fund. What this bill is about is that
if a traffic ticket is reduced in local court, most often when it is reduced a
major portion of that money would come back to the town. This bill stops that from happening. It basically says that any vehicle and
traffic ticket reduced from its original charge, no matter what the fine would
be, all of the money would go to the State of New York and the town would
receive none. It would have a major
impact, not only on Charlton, but on every other municipality in this county
and in the state. This portion of the
bill has been “Christmas treed” as part of the pistol permit application fee
and other things that are with it. This
is a resolution that would show our opposition to the legislation. Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes Motion made by Councilman
Grattidge, seconded by Councilman Verola that Resolution #68, A RESOLUTION
REQUESTING A SPEED REDUCTION ON CROOKED STREET, be approved: Approved: Councilman Grattidge Yes Councilman Lippiello Yes Councilman Mitchell Yes Councilman Verola Yes Supervisor Acunto Yes COUNCILMAN REPORTS: Councilman Lippiello – The
other day I came in to talk to you and your office was busy. Sometimes things that we as Board members or
as people coming from the Town to talk to you, sometimes that discussion really
deserve privacy with you. It just
doesn’t seem like there is anywhere in this building where you can sit down and
talk in private. I know we are looking
at eventually moving down the road but if there were somewhere where people
could come in who have a question for you, they should have the privacy of
talking to you on a one to one basis as well as us as Town Board members. Sometimes things we need to talk about with
you deserve to be kept in private – personnel matters and things like
that. I am wondering if there is anything
we might be able to squeeze out of a room in here. Councilman Verola – I wonder
if in Gail’s office where the computer is for ENCON, that is not used on an
every day basis. That computer could be
moved. Supervisor Acunto – You are
talking about bringing the bookkeeper downstairs. Councilman Verola – Only
because I have heard the same kinds of concerns expressed from other people in
town. I have heard it a lot. It is very congested in your office. Supervisor Acunto – To say
the least, with the new equipment that is going up there. Councilman Lippiello – Maybe
it is something we need to think about. Supervisor Acunto – Several
years ago there was a cubicle of temporary walls and we had the constables and
the zoning administrator in a corner of this room. Dave La Fountain – Not the
constables, just the zoning officers. Supervisor Acunto – We may
want to think about bringing those walls back down and moving the zoning
administrator out into this area. Dave La Fountain – There are
time when people will come in to discuss things with us that need to be in
confidence as well (could not understand). Supervisor Acunto – If that
became the situation, that would be on a Tuesday night. You could still share the office space for
privacy if Kathy came down here. Councilman Grattidge – Let’s
try and schedule some meetings on the days when Kathy isn’t there. She is only there Monday, Thursday and
Friday so come in on Tuesday and Wednesday. Councilman Verola – That
still doesn’t address the issue of the room and the congestion up there. I think that is an issue also. If there is a way to move people
around----we are getting tight in this town hall. I think the idea of the partitions is good one. Councilman Verola – Nothing
more at this time. Councilman Grattidge – The
last couple of weeks there were some articles in the paper about a paving scam
going on in the area. A fellow on the
corner got “sucked in”. This man sells
a product of crushed shale that costs him next to nothing. He sells it for the cost of blacktop. It came to a head when they did a driveway
in West Glenville. They did a small
area that I estimated wouldn’t cost any more than $500.00. He charged them $1,950.00. The Glenville Police did arrest them. They asked for people that had been taken
advantage of to call. There were over
24 calls on Wednesday. Don’t hire
people that come knocking at your door.
Get more than one estimate. Use
a reliable contractor. The man had a
white dump truck and the salesman was driving a white pick up truck. His last name was Hodgkins out of Halfmoon. The State has come out with a Storm Water Management Plan that they are requiring all the towns to be involved in. It is something that Ron and Alan have been following. |