Minutes of the Charlton Environmental Conservation Commission Meeting – January 30, 2007

1.   The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm with members Marv Schorr, Lane Jastrebski, Bob Killeen, Doug Ranaletto, and Teddi Smith in attendance.

2.   The minutes of the September 26, 2006 meeting were approved without change.

3.      There was a brief discussion of energy suppliers, uses and types available in Charlton.

4.      Household Hazardous Waste – An RFP for a Household Hazardous Waste collection has been issued. The concept is to use the Town of Milton Highway Department garage area rather than the county fairground (a paved area is desired for the collection area in case of spills) for the collection site. Supervisor Grattidge told us that the date has been set for August 11, 2007 with five towns taking part (Charlton, Galway, Ballston, Milton and Greenfield). The August date gets us a better price because it allows the company handling the material to do 5 area collections set for that date. Joe Miranda (Milton) will provide secretarial help on mailings and record keeping. Marv provided the latest article on hazwaste that will appear in the February Town Newsletter. He asked the members to think about possible future articles (Did you know…?).

5.      County Water Committee-Teddi reported that the committee has a Skidmore study on stream quality.

6.      Comprehensive Plan – Marv gave an update on the status of the draft plan. There is a final draft now available on the Town website (a limited number of hard copies are available from the Town Clerk). A public information meeting on the plan will be held on February 28, 2007 at 7 pm in the Charlton Freehold Church hall. There has been a great deal of public input and feed back on the plan during its development, so it is hoped that no significant opposition will arise. After the information meeting, any necessary changes resulting from feedback at the information meeting will be made and then the “final” plan will be submitted to the Town Board. The Board will then hold a formal public hearing on the plan. 

 7.  County EMC – Marv reported that there was no January meeting.

8.   Town Hall Update – Marv reported that work is progressing, but at a slow pace due to disputes between the building contactor (Schmidt & Schmidt) and the owners rep (Tony Wade) and architect.

9.   Charlton Seniors – Marv mentioned some of the upcoming programs and activities available for the seniors and other interested parties.

10.  The annual roadside cleanup and tree giveaway have been set for April 28, 2007. We will decide on the tree purchases at the next meeting when the order book should be available. The Town Board has allocated an increase in funds so that more trees can be purchased for this very popular activity. An article on these activities will appear in the February Town Newsletter.

11.  Crooked Street Development – Marv discussed the latest study related to the water supply for the project. He was asked by members of the Town Board to determine if additional water storage is required for the water district as a result of the development. He reviewed the 2003 Water Committee Report and the water usage data form Glenville billing since 1982 and determined that the additional storage tank offered by the developer is not needed at this time.

12.  Payton Subdivision - The Planning Board asked the ECC to review plans for subdividing this land, on the west side of Sacandaga Road, just north of Charlton Road, into two lots, one on the north side with an existing residence and the second on the south side with a new, proposed residence. An Army Corp of Engineers designated wetland area on the lot with the new residence would need to be crossed by a driveway from the road front on Sacandaga Road to the proposed residence. The locations of existing buildings are not shown on the map provided with the application and, further, it is not clear if the existing well shown in the wetland is the well that would serve the new residence. The existing well appears to be located just off Sacandaga Road, on the east front of the lot, quite far from the proposed location of the residence. Because of the difficulty in obtaining ACOE approval for disturbing wetlands, the ECC discussion centered around whether it would be necessary to cross the wetland if the boundary between the two properties were drawn slightly north of the proposed boundary so that the driveway could avoid the wetland. This boundary change would not need to be extended from Sacandaga Road on the east, to the western edge of the property, which is already slightly pie-shaped, but only far enough in from Sacandaga Road for the driveway to avoid the wetland. The ECC recommends that this be proposed. If that is not agreeable to the owner of the land, then the ECC recommends that the application should not be granted until a method for mitigating the disturbance of the wetland is agreed upon by the ACOE. The ACOE should be contacted by the owner to determine if offsets (construction of a new wetland with acreage greater than the disturbed, existing wetland) would be acceptable as a means of mitigating the wetland disturbance, or if the ACOE would require some other mitigation method. Even if, for some reason, the ACOE is not concerned with the disturbance of the wetland, the ECC believes that Charlton should not condone this action, and should require mitigation, either by moving the boundary as suggested, or by requiring an offset.    

   The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

M.M. Schorr, Chairman

cc: ECC members

Town Board members

Ray Black, Planning Board

Sue York, Planning Board