TOWN BOARD MEETING, TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE, MAY 21, 2018
The town board meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Mount Hope was held at the Mount Hope Town Hall on May 21, 2018 at 7:30pm with the following present: Supervisor Chad Volpe, Councilman Matt Howell, Councilman Brian Carey, Councilman Jim Jennings, Councilman Dominick Cambareri and Town Clerk Kathleen Myers.
OFFICIALS PRESENT: P. Rickard: Police Chief, D. Bavoso: Attorney, D. Hassenmayer: Highway Supt.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Supervisor Volpe called the meeting to order at 7:30pm & asked audience to silence cell phones. Supervisor Volpe called for a moment of silence to honor Albert Hassenmayer and Adrienne Butvinik.
MOTION TO ACCEPT PRIOR MEETING MINUTES:
MOTION offered Councilman Cambareri 2ndCouncilman Jennings that the minutes of the May 7, 2018 meeting are accepted as submitted. All in favor: Howell, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
(Councilman Carey entered meeting room after this vote.)
CORRESPONDENCE:
- Supervisor office budget modification
- Tax collector bond for approval
- Supervisor’s report for April 2018
- Complaint re: 1641 Route 211 West
- Complaint re: Bull Road
- Complaint re: Sagamore Drive
- from HV Water Co re: flushing mains on May 16, 2018
- Otisville fire department April 2018 financials
- Otisville Fire Co. monthly report for March 2018
- 2017 Annual Report
- Police dept. monthly report for March 2018
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Howellreported the next Master Plan meeting is 6/28 at 5pm at town hall.
Councilman Carey reported that little league is going good. Summer recreation interviews for counselors are tomorrow and Wednesday.
Councilman Cambarerinoted the master plan meeting. Now is the time we go over the zoning code portion and public input is needed.
Councilman Jennings planning board met on the 16thto discuss the solar farm on Finchville. The village discussed the roof on the fire house rec hall and doors.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT:
Supt. Hassenmayer reported they are still cleaning up trees from last week and Sunday night. As of the end of today, we got everything cleaned up on the roads. They were black topping and patching the roads that got beat up this winter. Hope to resume on Thursday. Supervisor Volpe reported we have a new AC unit. Supt. Hassenmayer was on roof today. He reported that where the unit sat there’s a riser in the roof. They just put a new panel over that. This unit is much smaller. There was no real roof modification to speak of. Supervisor Volpe asked him if he met with the other guy from the roof. Supt. Hassenmayer stated he had a conversation with Steve Dodd this morning. Supervisor asked if he met with the guy that warrantied the roof. Supt. Hassenmayer stated that he has come a couple times un-announced but has not met with him yet. Supervisor Volpe added in Tuesday’s storm he and Julie went out. He thanked highway, police department, Otisville fire and Howells fire. Every other road they went down had someone manning it. A ton of trees went down. Highway department went out in groups of 2 and we were dispatching them one after another. By 6:25pm we had every tree that could possibly open up a roadway that didn’t have wires going through it. Hats off to every department that helped. We had a request from our highway department on Guymard Turnpike – we don’t traditionally go into someone else’s territory – but Guymard had to be shut down and there was no place to turn around. He reached out to Gary Spears. He said they would be out all night. We were proactive and took care of it. We had them shut down Guymard on their side of the bridge. Supt. Hassenmayer: Guymard is the only road that remained closed after Tuesday.
POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Rickard reported the speed trailer has been out for about 2 weeks. The 2 locations that its been at – the average speed has been below the speed limit.
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POLICE DEPARTMENT cont.:
Chief Rickard reported right now it is out on Greenville Turnpike. People have requested it – so we are booked now for about 3 or 4 weeks. He reported that all the officers went through active shooter training at Otisville Elementary last Wednesday & Thursday. We were also there with the state police that sent people.
That training went well. Councilman Carey asked how many cars went up 211 last week. Chief stated: 11,036. The average speed limit was 29.5. Highest speed recorded was 57. By the park the highest speed recorded was 84. Supervisor Volpe what the #’s were for Finchville. Chief: 3,899. They will keep moving it around.
VILLAGE OF OTISVILLE:
Trustee Loeven reported that 2 members of their ZBA attended Orange Municipal Planning Federation training last month. Their feedback, she would like to pass on to the comprehensive plan committee. The emphasis was on 2 new things that have come into being that really need to be addressed in zoning. One being LED lighting. In their local law they address outdoor lighting in commercial areas but they don’t in residential areas because people have flood lights in their back yard. The LED lights apparently are causing some problems in communities where they are fairly close in proximity. The second one is for instituting a permitting process for charging stations for electric cars. Does the municipality want to have a bank of charging stations located somewhere & if not are you gonna allow the garages to have them & if so, what’s the permitting process? Supervisor Volpe filled out a grant for one of those but they said we didn’t have enough volume. She asked if Highland Avenue & Seybolt Avenue could be added to the list with Paul. Their issues are with early morning traffic and with tractor trailers. Chief Rickard added that the application for the detour has been accepted. Councilman Carey asked how the pancake breakfast went. She doesn’t know.
OTISVILLE FIRE:
Supervisor Volpe reported that the financials and the call report were received.
SUMMER RECREATION:
Supervisor Volpe reported the interviews for counselors will be tomorrow and Wednesday. This is the largest amount of applications they’ve had to date. There are 86 kids registered for camp. We have 10 for the AM and 11 for the PM.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CLASS:
This was posted on the board today. It is coming up. This is done by the state and the class will be at the senior center – teaches you what to do if you lose power and other emergencies. The class is free & there will be handouts.
PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #4-2018 ‘CREATING A MORATORIUM OF OPENING, SITING, MAINTENANCE & OPERATION OF COMMERCIAL SOLAR USES IN THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE’:
Supervisor Volpe noted that we have not yet received the comments back from the county for this law. Councilman Howell asked if there’s a time limit for the county to respond. Atty. Bavoso stated 30 days. Councilman Howell asked the effective date of the law. Bavoso: the day we hear from Orange County.
RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT LOCAL LAW #4-2018 ‘CREATING A MORATORIUM OF OPENING, SITING, MAINTENANCE & OPERATION OF COMMERCIAL SOLAR USES IN THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE’:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2ndCouncilman Howell to approve Local Law #4-2018 Creating a Moratorium of Opening, Siting, Maintenance & Operation of Commercial Solar in the Town of Mount Hope subject to receiving comments from the County of Orange. (See law at end of minutes). All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
2017 ANNUAL REPORT:
Supervisor Volpe noted that the 2017 ANNUAL REPORT has been received and has been filed with the State Comptroller’s office.
RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT THE TAX COLLECTOR BOND:
MOTION offered by Councilman Carey 2ndCouncilman Howell to approve the 2018 Tax Collector Bond in the amount of $1,600,000.00. (on file in Town Clerk’s office) All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE SUPERVISOR’S REPORT FOR APRIL 2018:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2ndCouncilman Jennings to approve the Supervisor’s report for April 2018 as submitted. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
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MOTION TO APPROVE SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE BUDGET MODIFICATION:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2ndCouncilman Howell to approve the following modification:
Increase unclassified revenue A2770 by $20,495.00 AND
Increase buildings contractual A1620.4 by $20,495.00. (DASNY reimbursement)
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
MOTION TO APPROVE HIRING CORY BAKER FOR THE MAINTENANCE POSITION:
MOTION offered by Councilman Cambareri 2ndCouncilman Howell to approve hiring Cory Baker as a maintenance person for 1040 hours at $15.00 per hour. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
EAGLE SCOUT – JAMES GERSBECK:
Councilman Carey asked James Gersbeck to explain his project. James explained that he’s from Troop 1 in the Otisville area. His project was for the Howells fire district to put up the boundary signs. The old signs had the numbers on them from before 911 was stated – some were missing some were hit by cars. He replaced 18-19 signs. At this time, Supervisor Volpe presented James with a Certificate of Achievement for the completion of his Eagle Scout project.
MOTION TO AUDIT THE CLAIMS:
MOTION offered Councilman Cambareri 2ndCouncilman Howell to approve the following bills (Abstract 10):
GENERAL A: #276-301 $63,416.20
GENERAL B: #59-64 $15,579.89
HIGHWAY: #76-80 $31,320.80
SEWER: #44-45 $ 2,074.72
All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Alison Millerspoke re: Old School Community Center. Last meeting Matt had asked if there was any feedback from the CDBG that we applied for on their behalf. May 17thwas the site visit. The director and assistant from the community development office, a couple town supervisors, a legislator, Diane was there, Ike Palmer was there. It was very positive. They won’t know anything until October. They were impressed with our vision. Diane added that of all the site visits she’s ever been to this was the 1sttime she’s seen the enthusiasm about the visit. It was positive. Councilman Carey wanted to acknowledge that May 26this the 1 year anniversary for the building. Mrs. Miller thanked the town for putting in the application. We appreciate it.
Diane Loevennoted the seniors have a trip on May 29th. She also noted the services for Adrienne Butvinik are tomorrow at Temple Beth Shalom in Florida NY at 12:30pm. Burial will be in Saddlebrook.
Brian Monahanexplained the building/capital project is going to start this summer. We were a little shocked that we were getting one of our projects back from the state. Typical lead time for the state is about 42-50 weeks to actually get something approved at the state education department. We are doing some work in our buildings; tile removal at our elementary & intermediate building. We’re also removing the outside slate tile and going with a new system. We’re going from zero ‘r’ value to about 16 ‘r’ value. We are happy to have the Town of Mount Hope at the Otisville building for the summer camp. We’re looking at the same schedule as last year. He thanked the town for all their help with one of the worst winters. He thanked Dean for the phone calls. He thanked the police for their presence in the mornings and afternoons.
BOARD COMMENTS:
Councilman Cambarerithanked Troop 1 for their support for James. He put a lot of hard work into this project and he’s glad they came to acknowledge it.
Councilman Carey expressed the same as Dominick.
Councilman Howellstated to James Gersbeck “very good job with your presentation. Your public speaking was good.” He asked Supt. Hassenmayer about the drainage in the area of Spruce, Ledge and County Route 18 – some of the basins are not draining quickly enough. Can you look into this? Supt. Hassenmayer will check to make sure they are cleaned at the end – they all lead out to a county ditch. If that’s backed up, he will notify the county. Howell: hopefully the notification will get them there sooner. Councilman Howell asked the police chief if there has been an increase in the # of break-ins for cars -like 3 or 4 years ago when we had them. Chief: no but all the break-ins were on the Sullivan County side. The guys are keeping an eye out. Lock your cars at night.
Supervisor Volpe asked Troop 1 if they will be doing the parking for Community Day this year. Brian Monahan stated yes. Supervisor noted that Kuhl’s solar in Mamakating has been axed and is off the table.
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MOTION TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION:
MOTION offered by Councilman Carey 2ndCouncilman Howell to enter into executive session at 8:02pm to discuss a tax certiorari. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
MOTION TO RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell 2ndCouncilman Carey to reconvene the regular meeting from executive session at 8:14pm. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN IN THIS EXECUTIVE SESSION. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
MOTION TO AUTHORIZE ATTORNEY TO SIGN JUDGEMENT FOR TAX CERTIORARI:
MOTION offered by Councilman Howell 2ndCouncilman Cambareri to authorize Attorney Glen Plotsky to sign the judgement with regard to an ongoing tax certiorari with Dragon Springs. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING:
MOTION offered Councilman Carey 2ndCouncilman Howell to adjourn the meeting at 8:14pm. All in favor: Howell, Carey, Volpe, Jennings, Cambareri; carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 4, 2018 at 7:30pm at Town Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen A. Myers, RMC
Town Clerk
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LOCAL LAW NO. 4 OF 2018
A LOCAL LAW CREATING A MORATORIUM OF
OPENING, SITING, MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION
OF COMMERCIAL SOLAR USES IN THE TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE,
ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK
Section 1. Purpose. It is recognized that there are some uses which, because of their very nature, are recognized as having potentially serious, negative operational characteristics while having potential benefit to the local citizenry and society at large; that such operational characteristics may be deleterious to the health, welfare, enjoyment and well-being of the citizens of the Town of Mount Hope and those who live within the Town; and that the concentration of such activities can and does adversely and seriously impact and potentially endanger adjacent areas also. It is recognized that it is necessary to insure that these uses will not contribute to the blighting or downgrading of neighborhoods. It is further recognized that because the Town of Mount Hope is a small residential town, the proliferation of such uses could dangerously affect the welfare of the entire community and a regulation is required in order to prevent such endangering. Commercial solar uses and the operational characteristics of such uses are this kind of use.
Section 2. Legislative Findings.
- The increase in state and federal support for non-petroleum based, renewable energy source uses, including the possibility of large solar energy generating facilities being proposed to be located within the County of Orange, provide a possibility for a significant increase of having a potential number of individuals, companies and/or property owners seeking to create, establish and/or operate commercial solar use facilities.
- The Town of Mount Hope Town Board has determined to conduct a study and evaluation to examine how to regulate such uses within the Town and what additional or alternative regulations need to be adopted in addition to or as an alternative to the existing Town Law in order to accomplish the state purposes of the Town Board.
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- This action is exempt under SEQR pursuant to 6 NYCRR Section 617.5(c)(30) as an action involving the adoption of a moratorium on land development or construction.
Section 3. Moratorium Imposed.
- For a period of six (6) months following date of adoption of this local law, no site plan shall be approved by action of the Planning Board and no other approvals, permits, or certificates of occupancy be granted by any board or officer of the Town for the opening, siting, maintenance and operation of any commercial solar uses. This Local Law shall be binding on the Building Inspector, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and every applicant or property owner in the Town.
- The purposes of this moratorium on commercial solar uses shall include commercial solar generating facilities; commercial solar farms; retail or wholesale businesses selling electricity generated by commercial solar generating facilities. Commercial solar uses shall not be limited to the aforesaid.
- This moratorium may be extended by two (2) additional periods of up to three (3) months each by resolution of the Town Board upon finding a necessity for such extension.
- During the period of the moratorium, the Town shall endeavor to complete a comprehensive set of regulations to apply to commercial solar uses or to ban same outright.
Section 4. Violation.
A violation of this law shall constitute a violation under the penal law. Any person convicted of violating this law shall be a violation and subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000.00 or Ninety (90) Days in jail or both. Each day a violation continues shall be considered a separate violation. In the event that a violation is committed by a business organization or corporation, the officers and/or directors of said business enterprise shall be personally liable for any such violations.
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Section 5. Supersession.
- Town Law Section 274-a is hereby amended and superseded in its application to the Town of Mount Hope by restricting the authority of the Planning Board to review and approve site plans with respect to commercial solar uses.
- Town Law Section 274-b is hereby amended and superseded in its application to the Town of Mount Hope by restricting the authority of the Planning Board to grant Special Use permits with respect to commercial solar uses.
- Town Law Section 274-c is hereby amended and superseded in its application to the Town of Mount Hope by restricting the authority of the Zoning Board of Appeals to grant use and/or area variances with respect to commercial solar uses.
Section 6. This Local Law shall take effect immediately.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE TO THE EXTENT THAT THIS LOCAL LAW MAY CONFLICT WITH APPLICABLE PORTIONS OF THE TOWN LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, IT IS THE STATED INTENTION OF THE TOWN TO EXERCISE ITS AUTHORITY TO SUPERSEDE AND AMEND, AS GRANTED UNDER THE MUNICIPAL HOME RULE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, SECTION 10. THE TOWN HEREBY PROVIDES NOTICE THAT IT IS EXERCISING ITS AUTHORITY TO SUPERSEDE AND AMEND PURSUANT TO MUNICIPAL HOME RULE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK SECTION 22.
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