August 11, 2009
Minutes of the regular Town
Board Meeting held Tuesday, August 11, 2009, at 7:00 PM, at the Keene Town
Hall. The following Town Board
Members were present: William B.
Ferebee, Supervisor, Paul R. Martin, Robert M. Biesemeyer, Marcy A. Neville and
Lawrence Jaques, Members of Council.
Also present were: 3
residents, Debra Whitson, Town Attorney, Bruce Reed, Highway Superintendent and
Ellen Estes, Town Clerk.
The Chairman, Mr. Ferebee,
called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and invited everyone present to join in
the Pledge of Allegiance.
Resolution No. 150 –
09
Mr. Biesemeyer offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the Minutes for the Town Board Meeting held
Tuesday, July 14th, be accepted as presented. This resolution was seconded by Mr.
Martin.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Privilege of the floor was
offered. There were no updates,
comments or questions.
Mr. Ferebee gave a brief update
on the Verizon cell tower project.
He said in Keene, the tower
is up and Verizon is working on the equipment. He said the workmen say service could be ready by the end of
the month, but Verizon still says it will be ready by the end of the summer.
He said that VerizonÕs
permit application for Keene Valley still has not been submitted to the APA.
Next, Mr. Ferebee gave an
update on the Water District #2 project.
Mr. Ferebee said he is
meeting tomorrow with the forester to mark the trees that need to be removed
and then he will meet with the affected landowners.
He said the pre-construction
meeting will be held on Thursday, at 11:00 AM, at the Town Hall saying that
Rural Development will be attending.
He said the construction companies intend to start construction on
Monday.
He said the trees at the
tank site have been cleared and the area stumped.
Mr. Martin spoke of the new
pump house and the possible need for manifolds for new houses that may be built
nearby.
Mr. Ferebee said a new
shutoff will be installed for every parcel in the district even if there is not
one there now.
Mr. Martin said if the
sidewalk in front of the Cliffhanger Cafˇ is going to narrow down to 3 feet
wide, that is unacceptable.
Mr. Biesemeyer and Ms.
Neville indicated they couldnÕt remember what the plans called for.
Mr. Biesemeyer said the
meetings had been held and it would be too hard now to change plans.
Mr. Martin said the
pedestrian should be the first consideration and parking second. He said that curbing provides minimal
protection, but felt the Board should consider adding it to the plans from
Segards south to Trails End Road.
Mr. Jaques said the plans
canÕt be changed now.
Mr. Martin strongly
suggested it be checked out with the contractor.
Mr. Biesemeyer pointed out that
there is still the landownersÕ involvement.
Mr. Ferebee said there will
be designated parking in front of the Keene Valley Congregational Church and
the Nature Conservancy.
There was a brief discussion
regarding the right-of-way.
The next discussion was the
Old Mountain Road matter.
Mr. Ferebee said he asked
Ms. Whitson to look into whether the Town could rescind the qualified
abandonment after adopting it and also if the State could decide to enforce
Section 212 if the Town opted to do a qualified abandonment.
Ms. Whitson answered that if
the Town does a 205-2 qualified abandonment that it can be rescinded and also
that even if the Town does the qualified abandonment she canÕt see that the
State couldnÕt still do go through with a Section 212 closing.
Mr. Biesemeyer said he felt
the 205-2 was a good idea because it has been suggested by the Town Attorney.
Mr. Jaques said he felt it
was the right thing to do since it will relieve the Town of the obligation to
maintain the road.
Mr. Ferebee said itÕs a way
of not giving up the right-of-way.
Mr. Reed said it wouldnÕt
stop someone from suing the Town saying that if someone cut their foot at the
airport, the Town could be sued.
Ms. Whitson suggested
signage be posted at both ends of the road.
Mr. Ferebee said that he
understands that the adjoining landowners, who may suffer injustice or
hardship, (in this case, Tom Martin at NYS DEC and Ed Palen) must be notified
by written notice, signed by the Highway Superintendent, 20 days prior to a
Public Hearing.
Ms. Whitson explained the
steps that would need to be followed starting with the Town Superintendent and
Town Board adopting a resolution stating that the road has not been used by 2
or more vehicles daily for the past 2 years, not including horseback or pedestrians
and followed by notification to the landowners for public hearing.
The Board felt they would
like to get started, asking Ms. Whitson to compose that letter.
Resolution No. 151 –
09
Ms. Neville offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
It appearing to the Town
Supervisor and the Town Board that in the preceding two years, the Old Mountain
Road has not been usually traveled on the greater part thereof by more than two
vehicles daily (in addition to pedestrians and persons on horseback), and further
It appearing to the
Superintendent of Highways, who was present at the meeting, that a qualified
abandonment of the Old Mountain Road is proper and will not cause injustice or
hardship to the owner or occupant of any lands adjoining the roadway (namely,
Ed and Teresa Palen and the State of New York),
Be it resolved, that the
Keene Town Board is in favor of pursuing qualified abandonment of the Old
Mountain Road pursuant to Highway Law section 205 (b), and does hereby request
that the Town Highway Superintendent cause a public hearing to be held on
twenty days written notice to the owners and occupants of adjoining lands as
contemplated in the aforesaid statute.
This resolution was seconded
by Mr. Biesemeyer.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
The verbiage for the
referendum was discussed.
Mr. Ferebee suggested
keeping it simple.
Mr. Biesemeyer suggested an
addendum on the side.
Mr. Jaques thought that
everything should be written into the vote.
Ms. Whitson suggested that
the Board draft their law and use that in the referendum.
The Board threw around ideas
of what they thought should be uses for the road following the abandonment.
Mr. Martin suggested
allowing motorized vehicles until December 15th.
(continued)
Ms. Whitson wanted the Board
to be aware that the publicity raised during this process could force DEC to
step in.
Many options for use were
mentioned, seasonal use for motorized vehicles, horseback, use of motorized
vehicles for local residents only, etc.
Enforcement was also briefly discussed.
It was agreed by the Board
to have Ms. Whitson draft a law which would allow for motorized vehicles to be
allowed on this road from September 15th to December 15th.
Ms. NevilleÕs concern was if
an ATV breaks a bridge, who would be responsible to fix it.
Mr. Jaques said he didnÕt
think there would be enough use to worry about it.
Mr. Biesemeyer and Mr.
Jaques said the law could be changed later.
Mr. Biesemeyer said he has
skied often on this road saying itÕs a great ski trail and that Ed Palen has
been very user friendly letting people park in his parking lot. He suggested that Mr. Palen be
contacted out of courtesy.
Mr. Jaques asked if there
was anything new on the Airport House project.
Mr. Ferebee said that
Christine Francis just brought in the plans and said if anyone wanted to look
at them, theyÕre here.
Mr. Jaques said he would
like to and said he would like to see this move along.
Resolution No. 152 –
09
Mr. Jaques offered a resolution
and moved its adoption. Be it
resolved, that the Town Board accept the Water Rent Reports for July as they
were presented and have them attached to these minutes. This resolution was seconded by Mr.
Biesemeyer.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Mr. Ferebee informed the
Board that a new boiler system was going to be necessary at the Community
Center.
He said that he would need
to write a request for proposal and get quotes.
He said what he needed to
know was whether the Board felt the system should be filled with
antifreeze. Everyone thought that
was best, Mr. Ferebee will have that included in the proposal.
Mr. Ferebee informed the
Board that there is a grant that will reimburse this purchase.
Ms. Neville asked if there
was any new information on new windows for the Town Hall.
Mr. Ferebee said he had a
quote of $7850 (installed price) from Windows By Brownell.
Mr. Biesemeyer and Ms.
Neville both thought this was a good price.
Ms. Neville said she would
like to see them installed before winter.
Resolution No. 153 –
09
Ms. Neville offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the
Town Board authorize moving ahead with the purchase and installation of new
windows for the Town Hall with Windows By Brownell at the quoted price of
$7850.00. This resolution was
seconded by Mr. Ferebee.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Resolution No. 154 – 09
Mr. Jaques offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the Town Board accept the SupervisorÕs Monthly
Financial Statement for July, as presented and place it on file with the Town
Clerk. This resolution was
seconded by Mr. Biesemeyer.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
Resolution No. 155 –
09
The Town Board adopted
Resolution No. 155 – 09, a Resolution Transferring Funds. This resolution, in its entirety, is attached
to and made a part of these minutes.
Resolution No. 156 –
09
The Town Board adopted
Resolution No. 156 – 09, a Resolution Amending 2009 Budget. This resolution, in its entirety, is
attached to and made a part of these minutes.
Resolution No. 157 –
09
Mr. Martin offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that the following bills were accepted for payment,
including those that were prepaid.
This resolution was seconded by Mr. Biesemeyer.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
General Fund bills No. G342 $ 1,593.98
No. G344 - G375 (skipped G343) 24,799.60
Highway Fund bills No. H112B 17,348.40
No. H113 – H126 (skipped H115) 13,842.83
Library Fund bills No.
L72 – L81 2,134.46
Water District #1 bills No.
K32 – K35
224.32
Water District #2 bills No.
KV40 – KV44
281.97
CPF – Water Dist. #2 No.
16 – 18 8,875.97
Resolution No. 158 –
09
Mr. Biesemeyer offered a
resolution and moved its adoption.
Be it resolved, that with all business having been transacted, this
meeting be adjourned. This
resolution was seconded by Mr. Jaques.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Ferebee: Yes
Mr. Martin: Yes
Mr. Biesemeyer: Yes
Ms. Neville: Yes
Mr. Jaques: Yes
The meeting was adjourned at
8:05 PM.
Ellen S. Estes, Town Clerk
August
14, 2009
William B. Ferebee,
Supervisor
Paul R. Martin,
Councilperson
Robert M. Biesemeyer,
Councilperson
Marcy A. Neville,
Councilperson
Lawrence Jaques,
Councilperson