By DOUG LaROCQUE
NYVT Media
NEW LEBANON – Some proposed changes to the town codes along with water and sewer for the so-called downtown area were the most prominent points of discussion before the New Lebanon Town Board at their February 11 meeting. A portion of that discussion hearkened back to last spring’s work on storage units and any possible expansion. On this day the main point of contention was signage.
The Zoning Re-write Committee had included language in their proposal limiting the number of signs each establishment could have, but Supervisor Tistrya Houghtling had concerns about impacts on legally existing signs approved under the town’s signage law. She indicated there were no locations that had an exorbitant amount of signs, and any new construction or expansion would be limited to existing signage or one new sign for new construction.
Another component that might be tweaked down the road is the size of any new building lots, whether it should be 20,000 square feet or 30,000 square feet. The concern here is whether a 20,000 square foot lot could accommodate water and septic that meet NYS Department of Health regulations.
The board heard arguments supporting both sides of the issue but also noted it might be good to wait on this until the fate of a proposal to create a water and sewer district along the U.S. Route 20 and NYS Route 22 corridor was decided. The board approved resolutions to make itself the lead agency in the first steps of the State Environmental Quality Review, so the feasibility studies could go forward. A unique provision of these proposals is that property or business owners in the corridor would not have to join the districts if they did not wish to do so.
Telecommunications code
A resolution concerning the construction of cell towers has been in the works since last spring and the town has a special consultant helping them draft the regulations. That process is making progress, with a public input meeting scheduled for March 5 at 6 p.m. This meeting will be live streamed as well.
Park and Pavilion changes
Supervisor Houghtling brought forth a proposal to reduce the number of park employees from three to two and make them hourly instead of salaried. She explained an increase in productivity is reasoning behind the change. The board is also looking for more information concerning a proposed electrical upgrade at the pavilion, particularly concerning inspection work. The board is looking to re-bid the work.
Ms. Houghtling is further looking at the installation of two new rides that would have wheelchair accessibility and still be usable by all. Also proposed is a sensory application area.
The January meeting opened with a presentation from the Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing and Conservation, an organization that works to bring the two concerns together with an eye toward housing development. At the time, the alliance said they planned to pick one town in the county to work with. At the February meeting, it was announced New Lebanon is the town they have picked. A February 19 online meeting is planned to discuss the next steps.
Also at the meeting:
*The board has authorized bids for the closure of the old landfill, due by February 28 and hopefully a firm will be chosen by the March meeting. The New York State Legislature has agreed to contribute up to $2.5 million to cover the cost of the closure
*Unfortunately, because of a variety of concerns, the ice-skating rink will not open this year. Hopefully these concerns can be ironed out over the summer to allow the rink to reopen next winter
*Is the town’s bi-annual tourism brochure worth the cost and effort? It’s an unanswered question at the moment and bears further inspection. In light of the fact this year’s 15,000 brochures are already printed it was decided to go ahead with this year’s distribution
*The April board meeting date has been changed to April 1 because two board members cannot make the regularly scheduled April 8 meeting
*The February meeting opened with a presentation to former council member Susan Tipograph for her 14 months of service to the town. Ms. Tipograph was defeated for a full-term on the board in the November election by Joanne Amlaw. Supervisor Houghtling presented Ms. Tipograph with a certificate of appreciation.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. at the town hall.
