News That Matters » “the wall”

PV Work Session & Combo 2/11/09

dawnpowell — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:57:24 +0000

PV Work Session and Combo School Meeting – 2/11/09

There was a short work session, so that the Town Board could go to a meeting at the high school about shared services.

There were a few topics raised at the work session, which was videotaped.

Town Attorney William Zutt would like to see incentive zoning in the town. This is the means whereby a developer can do things that are not in line with current zoning in exchange for giving something to the town. A developer can, for example, build four stories in return for a small park. Perhaps there will be a ball field at Fieldstone (Living Springs). That idea might be related to the combo meeting at the school – sports fields use, needs, and public opinion. Town Board member Wendy Whetsel raised some concerns about allowing overrides to zoning. I am grateful for that.

Mr. Zutt would also like an updated map that reflects the Floradan zoning change. That was the Town Board’s change that was not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Now if we are saying that we are changing the zoning code any time soon so that it will conform to the Comprehensive Plan, why would we spend the taxpayers’ money to update the zoning map, when it would change again soon?

An aside – I did not go to this week’ wordsmiths meeting. I don’t know if they met and they are not talking. There is no public record about it.

Back to the work session – Roaring Brook will talk about boat tags and storage. This was delayed because the district budget was spent by September last year.

Mr. Robert Tendy told us that the County has now reimbursed the Town for the money spent on “the wall.” And that he has pressed the DEC to pursue the Super Station to remove the underground tanks. I still find myself wondering about the Town uncovering a buried tank, and then just covering it right up again. I’m also wondering, if there is litigation, and the county has now shouldered the expense, who sues whom? If the DEC forces the station out of business, wouldn’t that just mean that the county will have to remove those tanks anyway? Isn’t that what they have been trying to avoid? Also, the county’s Peekskill Hollow Road plan identifies some other areas where there may be underground oil tanks. Is Mr. Tendy pressing to have those located and removed or is this business the only one about which Mr. Tendy is concerned? And one more question, Mr. Tendy thinks it isn’t right that the taxes haven’t been paid on that property, but wasn’t he telling us that he wants to provide a place to live for the people at Crofts Corners who also haven’t paid their taxes?

What they did not bring up was my appointment as ad hoc to the Planning Board. Gee, I was surprised. There is still a notice posted of the opening. The Board is still ad hoc less. And Mr. Tendy hasn’t called me to tell me that he is appointing me.

Then we all went to the combo meeting. It was a tentative beginning, but a good idea. More public participation will be helpful, and better advance notice will help. I am sure that there will be a lot of useful ideas on this topic. I was struck by the demeanor of the Town Board contrasted with the School Board. The School Board seemed essentially devoid of politics. It was noteworthy.

County Legislator Vinnie Tamagna was there. It is an election year. We haven’t seen much of him over the last couple of years.

First up was a discussion of athletic fields. Noteworthy was the fact that it hadn’t seemed to occur to the Town that the taxpayers have no responsibility to provide fields to private out-of-town groups. An examination of our needs is really in order. While the fields are in full use, a lot of that use is not school or town. They will be looking into setting priorities, and will report back.

The school is looking for a location to store and wash trucks. Mr. Tendy told us that the Town will be providing truck storage for the county.

Garbage was brought up, but no one had any ideas. This is a topic that needs more discussion.
There is more that we can do with recycling and hazardous waste removal.

There will be future meetings. Watch for them. Your input is needed on this subject. If state and federal aid are cut to the extent seems likely, we need to deliver services more effectively.

The Town Board meeting is Wednesday at 7PM.

PV – out with the old, in with the old

dawnpowell — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:05:56 +0000

2009 Putnam Valley Reorganization – January 5, 2009
I remember going to a Carmelo reorganization meeting in the snow once. This time I didn’t venture out, and it didn’t look like anyone else did. Almost no one went out in the snow for the Carmelo meeting either. Luckily, since Mr. Tendy talks to the camera, you will feel like you were in the room.

There wasn’t much reason to. Few surprises. Everything old is new again, or it’s just old.
Status quo.

Councilwoman Keresey did object to appointing a different Chair to the Zoning Board without interviews. The rules of the Board, that the Board themselves make up and pass, and had just passed, say that there will be Board interviews. Mr. Tendy reprimanded Ms. Keresey for not looking at the reorganization edict before coming to the meeting.

Thanks to both Councilwomen for sticking up for the current Chair, even though it will be decided against them by the Republicans. Mr. Cinque is not actually a Republican, but he acts very much like one. Mr. Belefant, the current Chair, has brought the “communications” session of the zoning board meetings out of the back room. He has clarified the process, so that the basis for zoning decisions is more accessible to everyone.

Ms. Keresey did not press the point that these items should be discussed. Mr. Tendy said that the issues should be raised and questions asked and answered before the meeting. I think that discussion should be public. It helps everyone if they can see the process.

Were there interviews for the Ethics Board appointment?

In the whole process of tabling the motion, it seems that no one understood that if no new Chair is appointed, or new Board members, the law allows for the existing conditions to remain, for the sake of smooth transition. They should know that from all the tabling when the John Zarcone debate was going on.

But then, there is the question that was raised, if you second a motion for discussion, is it on the floor, or can you still table it?

There is still an opening on the Planning Board, so I’m going in!

They are appointing Bob Lusardi to act for the town with regard to the Rose Hills
Cemetery. Bill Zutt already took the liberty of asking him.

He also expressed his regard for Billy Lee Crowder. Mr. Crowder has left the Planning Board.
But Mr. Zutt will get to continue to work with him on the Tendy Zoning Code Committee. The members are Mike Raimondi, Bill Zutt, Billy Lee, Peter Belefant, Tom Carano, and Irv Flinn. No planner. He hasn’t been there for months.

They have appointed extra people to the CCE.
[Chapter 8, Article III, Section 21A of the town code.
The Commission shall consist of seven members. In addition, there may be appointed up to two members of the Commission who are between 16 and 21 years of age.]
This was established in 1998. Could someone please read it?

Mr. Tendy mentioned that Mr. Campo would become the ad hoc member of the zoning board, rather than a full member, because he takes extended vacations. Ms. Keresey raised the issue of attendance requirements, but Mr. Tendy says he will fulfill them.

Regarding the appointment of the water systems operators in Glenmar Gardens – is that above and beyond their existing jobs? Or is that to be subtracted from district funds and paid into their existing salaries? One job description at least, includes water operator. The resolution was unclear.

I’m kind of wondering how it works if the town uses a bank as one of its depositories and that bank has an application pending with the town. Who protects the townsfolk against abuse in that situation?

So we have returned peacefully to the past. The newspapers must like the good old days as much as …. who else likes the good old days? They have had nothing to say.

Salaries and Contracts
Confidential Aide $33,280
Director of Finance $64,615
Town Supervisor $70,000
Plus Chief Budget Officer $7,280
Town Board $13,000
Plus Deputy supervisor $1,000
Highway Superintendent $87,607
Town Clerk $58,899
Plus Registrar and Records management $728
Plus Tax Receiver $1112
Code Enforcement Officer $62,872.52
Plus Fire Prevention Inspector $5252
Plus Pump Station inspector $3850
Town Prosecutor $15,000
Engineer $18,000
MS – 4 no amount discussed
Director of Parks and Recreation $62,046.42
Deputy Highway Superintendent $62,452
Community Media Coordinator $52,000
Webmaster $6300
Plus $900 for equipment and maintenance
Dog Control and Code Enforcement $33,880
Kellard-Sessions for planning – no amount discussed
Hydroenvironmental Solutions – no amount discussed
Assessor $54,080
Town Justices $19,000

Part time, per hour
Building $15.20
Supervisor’s Office $12.50
Highway $15.20
Clerk $11.85, $13.50
Court $11.44

2008 – some reminiscing.
We’ve made it through a whole year, and it was worse than we thought it would be.

After a full, sort of full time, year of Mr. Tendy, it is interesting to hear what people are talking about. Mr. Tendy was, of course, a part time council member, before being elected as Supervisor. The “sort of” about the full time is that he has continued to practice law while being Supervisor. So he hasn’t really devoted himself to the job.

Surprisingly to me, the increase in the library budget is a hot topic for conversation. I thought it flew below the radar, and no one would really care. There are a few reasons why it has achieved hot topic status in the deli-post office chatter. The economic crisis has not really missed anyone. Prices at the supermarket have gone up dramatically. Everyone scaled back over the holidays. Some people have been laid off, some people are afraid of layoffs. Businesses are affected, and some are closing. Pension funds are down. Almost all of us have noticed the problem. Mr. Tendy, however, did not. While all around us, towns were going back to the table to lower their budgets to 0% increases or decreases, Mr. Tendy and his board did not. They didn’t even try. Mr. Tendy felt that he had done well enough, and since the media was not going to give him the pounding that others got, he was finished.

Then, there were some who felt that they had done their best to cut down to 0% in their budgets, or better. Some contractors, affiliated organizations, and departments had made sincere efforts to pare down and cut back. They were not offended when the library came in with an increase. They were offended when the increase was increased. They felt like everyone should make the same effort to scale back, that everyone is living within the same economic climate.

Then, there is the rumor that the library has a reserve fund of $500,000. I have no knowledge of this, and I have not checked into it. Whether it is rumor or truth, ideas take hold in this town and people ask questions. If it is true, then they have a cushion that should help them get through the next year. If it is not, then the anger that this increase has spurred is creating its own reality.
I am surprised at the vehemence about this item. It did not change the percentage increase in the budget, but like the salary raises, taxpayers feel that they are being asked to streamline, and make do with less, but government and its affiliates are not, or at least not equally.

Symbolic actions are important, in addition to the nuts and bolts cutting and reorganizing. It shows a unity of purpose, and a solidarity to tough things out. My cock-eyed belief in the American people, and in our little microcosm of Putnam Valley, is that we can get through this together. We can make it. We can help each other, and we can solve the problems that we are having. When one group is seen as grabbing for themselves, rather than pulling together, it is resented.

I don’t know if the library did any of that, or what their needs are. The Board should have analyzed that, and presented their case well. There are lots of others who did not increase their requests and were content to get by this year. Perhaps the library had special needs that justified the second increase, but that has not been communicated.

And speaking of symbolism, there is that wall – another favorite topic. “The wall” will be the symbol of the Tendy doctrine for years to come. Indeed, it seems indestructible. It seems just a tad overbuilt, but then, I’m sure there was a lot of advice to the town that they should not proceed with it. I’m always a bit shocked by its scale when I happen through the corner. There was only a little piece of wall there before. It seemed to become a cause de célèbre for Mr. Tendy and Mr. Zutt. And Mr. Tendy seems to be harboring a real grudge toward the property owner. As I look at the rushing water, I wonder how that area can be modified, now that the wall has encroached on the stream, so that the channel is not narrowed, and the flow and depth of the stream are not increased.

And “the wall” was expensive. I wonder about the money. The county does provide relief to the town from those who owe taxes, and the town can declare a special tax levy, which they have done. But can the county fight that? Will the litigation show that the property owner was not at fault and not liable? Will we be paying for this for years to come? I acknowledge the argument that we are paying for it anyway, since we are county taxpayers. They have just changed the pocket from which the money will be taken.

I do, however, perceive this as a public project. I think there should have been a public solution. The storm damaged the wall. I think that FEMA should have helped repair it, because of the sewer line, because of the City of Peekskill water supply, and because of the DEC stream.

But it seems too large, too quick, too expensive, and unmindful of the natural features it was supposed to protect. And it seems shortsighted. What will happen when the garage is no longer there and the bridge is being rebuilt? What will happen when there is some attempt to repair the stream’s natural buffer, and there is a monstrous wall there?

Like Big Blue, our errors leave permanent scars. And so, “the wall” will be one of our reminders.

PS – I didn’t go out again in the ice, so the Wordsmiths had to get by without me last night. Their next 2 scheduled meetings will conflict with Town Board meetings.