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June 11, 2007 Town of Rhinebeck
Town Board Minutes
PRESENT:
Supervisor Steve Block
Councilman Dod Crane
Councilman Paul
Niedercorn
Councilwoman Ellen
Silverstein
Councilwoman Linda Souers
Counsel Warren Replansky
At 6:47 the
Supervisor opened this meeting.
Announcements:
The Town Board is accepting applications from Rhinecliff residents interested
in serving on the Hamlet Advisory Council. Please call town hall
at 876-3409 or
(mailto:sgblock@aol.com)
for an application.
The subcommittee planning the 3rd annual Rhinecliff Waterfront Day is
seeking volunteers to help oversee the many activities for that day,
Sunday, August 11. Interested residents should send an email to Rhonda
Hammond at _Ajhlive@aol.com
The Rhinebeck Community Pool at the Thompson-Mazzarella Park
is now open weekends from 1pm to 7pm.
Enrollment for all summer programs is still open; please register at
the pool during weekends or call Kari Wolfe at 943-9526.
Town Hall summer hours are now in effect Monday through Friday from 8am to
3pm and will continue through the months of June, July and August.
Hudson Valley Blood Services will hold a blood drive at town hall, June15th from 3pm -8:30 pm.
Many thanks to
the community volunteers, Waterfront Committee members and Daytop for all
their hard word last Saturday to beautify the dock and park in
Rhinecliff.
Dutchess
County Department of Public Works will begin bridge rehabilitation on Mill Road in July
that will be completed by the fall. A
detour route will be put in place. Call
486-2925 for further details or questions.
Linda Souers
thanked Bob Fitzpatrick and Dan Rushton, 2 highway employees and 4 state
highway employees for putting in the kayak dock. They did a great job.
Old Business:
1. Considering additional work
needed to complete repairs at the town
dock in Rhinecliff resulting from the April storm. Linda reported that Ray could put together
a plan of action for landscaping, further stone work, grass and repaired
concrete block that shifted during the storm.
Federal and State agencies said repairs bringing it back to original
state could be reimbursed if over $57.500.
We need to discuss what our costs will be. She prefers to leave this up to Morris and
Associates. Linda motioned and Dod
seconded to authorize Morris and Associates to access work and give the Town
Board an estimate. All were in
favor.
2. Supervisor
Block would like the Board to come up with collaboration ideas with the
school district and the village and discuss at our July 23rd Town
Board meeting.
3. Extending
the current moratorium: Warren can draft a new
local law for the June workshop meeting on the 25th. The current moratorium law does not cover
that much; only the PRD, PUD, gas stations, auto services, major subdivisions
and adult uses. He said Pine Plains
proceeds with applications to the Planning Board but doesn’t finalize anything
until the new Comp Plan is adopted.
The Planning Board is not in favor of that concept; it muddies the
water and is not an efficient use of time.
According to Warren
major subdivisions should be 5 or more lots. The Board needs to tell me what
they want in this new extension. Steve
would like to restrict commercial development in the new law. Warren doesn’t see the
point in having the applicant proceed when site plan cannot be approved;
Linda agreed. Warren could provide the Town Board with a
more liberalized variance proposal and then you would examine the existing
Comprehensive Plan. If developer came
in for big box store now that developer would have to adhere to new law when
it comes into affect.
Sally Mazzarella
suggested making River Road
a heritage area or estate area. She
suggested asking the Planning Board for their input, she feels the variance
procedure becomes a political issue which creates problems and with regard to
commercial proposals maybe we should look at proposed square footage. Ellen asked if under the current law a big
box could come in and Sally replied it takes at least a year. Warren
suggested limiting commercial development to 8,000 square feet for the gross
floor area.
Steve Mensch
feels there is another side to the argument about making application before
the Comp Plan is finalized. The
property he just purchased would be a burden to keep extending the
moratorium. Steve Block wants to
release the Comp Plan and the Zoning Law simultaneously. Hopefully by late summer or early fall the
document will be made public and then public hearings will be held in
November.
4. Rhinecliff Advisory Council report on
parking and speed limits in the Hamlet.
Mark Browne feels that with the steep and curvy roads the speed limits
needs to be reduced. The Committee
requests the Town Board to commence the process to reduce speed limits in and
around Rhinecliff.
David Anthone
said the Advisory Committee is also requesting the Board to extend the NO
PARKING to include the section of Grinnell to the railroad parking lot which
would result in NO PARKING along the entire south side of Shatzell. Also continue with north side parking along
Shatzell from Kelly/Charles to railroad with respect to necessary
setbacks. North side parking should be
2-hour parking from 9 am – 3 pm. The commuters are abusing the available
parking.
Warren
explained that it is a formidable task to change speed limits but he will
research the process and report back to the Board. Kathy Kinsella would use stronger language
at the bump out on Shatzell to include no drop-offs or stopping.
Linda said
Richard Kopyscianski recommended verifying all existing law. Warren
said that has already been done through General Code. After much discussion Dod suggested
October 1st date for Kathy to inventory signs and Warren to draft a proposal for the Town
Board to look at. Warren reiterated that he needs an accurate
description from Kathy before proceeding with a local law draft.
Sally
Mazzarella thinks the Board should solicit all the help they can get. It is extremely difficult to change speed
limits. County
Planning, County Public Works
and some legislators would be a great start.
Andrew Sheppard stated that for three years we have been hearing how
difficult it is, lets get started.
5. Presentation of the Master Plan for the Thompson-Mazzarella Park
Bob
Ellsworth, Chairman of Park Committee said they are here tonight to present
The Thompson-Mazzarella Park Master Plan and have the Town accept it and
defer the SEQRA to the Planning Board.
On June 20th at the Village Hall we are holding a public
meeting to present our plan. He then
introduced Dave Miller from the L.A. Group.
Dave stated the original goals were to develop a phased Master Plan,
handicapped accessibility, improve existing structures and facilities,
preserve open space, protect critical environmental areas, and interpret
educational, historic and cultural resources.
We have created a new entrance per the State D.O.T. guidelines. The site distance needs to be improved to the
library entrance torn down for safety sake.
The existing parking lot will be re-configured and there will be
another one serving the basketball courts and skate board facilities. We will maintain the playground but expand
it into a shaded area. The sunken area
behind the playground will be a volleyball court with an amphitheatre
setting. South of the tennis courts we
are proposing a new concession stand and storage facility. The existing little league field remains with
a possible dog park alongside the outfield fencing. Full size soccer field, 2 new little league
fields and two proposed sites for a community center are shown on the drawing.
It is not this Committee’s task to
locate the Community Center. We will develop 3 layers of trails. There will be some unique opportunities to
go off trail by both the Rhinebeck and Landsman Kils.
Steve Block
pointed out that the archeology finds have been where the soccer is
proposed. Is there another
location? Chris Linder thinks the
soccer field can just be moved over a little.
By September we should have a better idea as to where we can put
fields. Art Pritchard help to organize
the CLS students visiting the dig site today on their annual field day at the
recreation center.
Mr. Miller
pointed out that the infrastructure needs to be done first. New water lines will be necessary and the
existing driveway will be removed. The park amenities total $890,000. With the sport fields, trails, maintenance
building, concession stand, signage, etc the cost will be $1.2 million.
Arthur
Kaufmann is very disturbed there is no mention of lawn bowling in this plan. He presented 200 signatures who fell
Rhinebeck does not have recreation for older adults. There is not one facility at this park for
senior citizens. Linda Souers pointed
out there are certainly areas in the park that all ages can use: pool, dog park, and trails. David Anthone recommended horseshoeing for
the older generation. Cynthia Philip
suggested croquet. Andrew Sheppard
thinks the dog park behind the outfield fence is disturbing and could create havoc
for young outfielders during games.
Sally Mazzarella stated it is important to remember that emphasis is
passive and active recreation and education.
When the dig started we stopped planning several areas such as chess,
lawn bowling and bocce ball courts.
They were all put aside until the archeology reports are
finalized. There will be
modifications.
Steve would like to move and accept this
tentative plan but would prefer to wait until after the June 20th
public meeting. Art Pritchard says
this needs to move along. We are not
looking for approval tonight just acceptance to start the process. He has spoken with Dr. Linder and only the
soccer field area is rich for the dig.
Warren wants to include a Community Center
then the Planning Board can review.
They are a more appropriate agency to handle this. Sally said this is different because
Recreation is a right. Warren wonders where the
Planning Board jurisdiction comes in.
If there is no Community Center in this proposal how can they look at
the application? Sally wants the Town
to be a model for residents who must follow Planning Board process. This is a Type I and doesn’t need full EAF
Mary Myerson
thinks the placement of the skateboard park near the Library is
inconsiderate. Too much noise. She also wants trees replaced that were
taken down several years ago.
Bob Ellsworth
reminded the public about the June 20th meeting at Village Hall. He also said the DOT wants the library
access road closed with the new entrance road having a connector road over to
the library. The line of sight is
better at the new location.
Warren suggested after the public meeting
next week, we can meet with the Planning Board and move forward with the
informal process. We need the consensus
of that Board.
New Business:
Kay Verrilli
asked if there was any progress on the Landsman
Kill request for a connector loop to their horse trails over the landfill.
Warren
said a park must be created and then not for profit can be assigned to take
care of certain areas. He doesn’t have
his files with him tonight but will research.
Dod then asked
a procedural question – can we limit old business to what is published on the
agenda. The agenda needs to be managed
better. The Board is not adequately
prepared for some of these discussions.
Ad hoc discussions are time consuming. Linda doesn’t feel we can stop the
community from bringing up topics.
6. Nancy Kelly said the Planning Board is
having difficulty in deciding if potential archeology digs are
necessary. Pre historic research needs
to be concentrated on. We need this
information on paper. Craig Vogel
would be willing to meet at $25 per hour with Mr. Wanzer who knows where the potential
archeological areas are located. There
would be a $2,000 limit. Warren thinks Dr.
Linder has a document which has some Rhinebeck sites. Nancy
wants a more informal beginning step due to the age of this gentleman. We need to get this started. Steve said we need to gather data from Mr.
Wanzer and then have a professional edit that information. We need to capture his knowledge. Dod
suggested gathering the information and then we can determine what to do with
it. Paul motioned and Dod seconded to
authorize the interview to begin with a cap of $1,500 for Craig Vogel. All were in favor.
Vanderburgh Cove Sewer issue
Ed Tobin feels the same discussions keep repeating
themselves. He asked the Board to
please stop being so helpless and become problem solvers. We need a workable solution. The residents are keenly disappointed in
this Town Board. Fred Nagel suggested
the Town explore how Cove resident’s assessments can be reduced. We are getting no tax relief. He knows the BAR is a separate entity but
they need proof of our low value. The
Bio Clere units are twice as expensive the residents expected. There are alternatives; did the Town
Engineer reassess the sand filter system?
What has he looked at? We have
a big issue here and question if the Town is responsible for the collapse of
our system.
Steve Block is disappointed in our struggles. The new engineer did look at the old plans
and then we out to bid. When the bids
came in high you asked us to rebid, which we did twice. When the third results came in 10% lower we
were ready to go and then the residents hit us with a lawsuit. We absolutely cannot influence the
BAR. Both engineers have said the sand
filters are not good idea. Fred
questioned what wasn’t the reassessment of the sand filter system looked at
when the Bio Clere system price doubled?
Linda replied that 3 years ago the sand filter bid was $750,000. The life of the sand filter is shorter than
the Bio Clere. Now the bidding expenses and engineering costs are being
fronted by the Town. How can the Town
in good conscience spend more money on this project? Dod suggested that the engineers meet with
the homeowners. Warren doesn’t feel we should discuss this
at all since we are in serious litigation.
Dod pointed out that State law does not allow the Town to spread your
expenses to the entire Town. Special
districts must pay for their own expenses.
Mike Del Monaco feels the sand filter system should be reopened. Cluster communities used them all the time.
Steve said the DEC has stated that the existing system is living
on borrowed time. We want to improve
the system as quickly as possible. We
have laid out $250,000. We are not
looking to make anymore changes. Bring
us concrete evidence that the sand filter is viable.
7.Paul moved
with Ellen seconded to re-hire Rosemary Edwards-Pilch to serve as town
cemetery temporary laborer at an hourly rate of $10.50, no more than 40
hours per week, through the end of September, beginning
immediately. Motion carried
unanimously.
8. On motion from Paul and second from Linda the contract with the Red
Hook Bagel shop to operate the concession stand was modified by reducing
the amount due the town from $1000 to $660.
Unanimously approved.
9.
Paul motioned and Ellen seconded to accept the draft no-parking
law for Kalina Drive
and scheduling a public hearing at
6:50pm on June 25th.
All were in favor.
10. Paul motioned and Dod seconded to appoint substitute counsel
for the Planning Board when the attorney for the town is unavailable. Warren
has a conflict of interest at times.
It will be at same rate as Town Counsel. Motion carried unanimously.
11. Dod moved and Paul seconded to appoint Alex Rollin as technical consultant
to the Web site Committee to facilitate completion of the content
management system not to exceed $2,500, at $250 per day. All were in favor.
12. Ellen moved and Dod seconded to waive the road closure fee
for the Hutton Street Bride for July 1st music concert and August 11th,
Rhinecliff Days. All were in favor.
13. Paul motioned and Dod seconded to approve June 11th
disbursements, vouchers 576-645, and checks 2421-2466 for $108,851.50. Capital project H38 Park/Rec/Pool ABS 8,
vou 12-16, checks 2468-2471 for $15,046.08, and capital project H78 Cemetery
ABS 6, voucher 8 checks 2467 for $15,342.50.
All were in favor.
Adjournment
At 10:50 on motion from Dod and second from Paul this meeting was unanimously
adjourned.
Respectfully
submitted
Barbara
Cunningham
Town Clerk
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