Minutes of September 23, 2013 Germantown Town Board meeting, held at the GermantownTown Hall, Germantown, NY, commencing at 7:00pm

Present:Supervisor Roy Brown

Councilwoman Joan Snyder

Councilman Joel Craig

Councilman Don Westmore

Not Present:Councilman Michael Mortenson

Recorded by:Town Clerk Charlene Diehl

Supervisor Brown opened the meeting and led the Pledge to the Flag.

Motion to approve the Augustmeeting minuteswas made by CouncilwomanSnyder and seconded by Councilman Craig, with all in favor and none opposed.

Motion to approve paying audited bills made by Councilwoman Snyderand seconded by Councilman Craig.

Supervisor Brown:AyeCouncilwoman Snyder:Aye

Councilman Craig:AyeCouncilman Westmore:Aye

Communication – reported by Town Clerk

-nothing to report

Department Updates

Highway Department – reported by Councilman Westmore

-finished roadside mowing and cutting dead limbs and hangers from right of ways;

-on October 23rd the state is coming to take out the Anchorage dock for the winter;

-the crew will go back to winter hours on September 30th;

-Town Hall parking lot and the Anchorage parking lot were striped.

Police Department – reported by Roger Rekow

-145.75 hours were logged in for August.

Park Patrols:Cheviot –42 times, Anchorage – 41 times, School – 35 times,

PalatinePark – 38 times, DalesBridge – 30 times

Sewer – reported by George Sharpe Jr.

-Average flow for the month was 22,000 gallons per day;

-4 ‘Call Before you Dig’ requests were received for the month;

-the DEC inspected the wet weather and maintenance plan Mr. Sharpe drafted and approved it.

Councilman Craig asked about disposable wipes clogging sewer lines and causing problems and Mr. Sharpe said the filters at the plant catch most of them.

History Department - reported by Sue Raab

-requested the History Department’s phone number be put on the town website;

-would like a snow barrier put up around the archeological dig sites;

-requested transport on October 2nd from the school to the Parsonage for Palatine Heritage Day.

Parks & Maintenance – reported by Supervisor Brown

-tilled beach sand and both ball fields;

-built benches for the 9/11 memorial and the village;

-lake treatment was done;

-changed UV filters;

-helped prepare the park for the Apple Fest;

-prepared fields for soccer.

Supervisor Brown said that representatives from JRT, the company handling the lake clean up, couldn’t make the board meeting and he will reschedule with them to discuss lake options.

ColumbiaCountyEnvironmental Management – presented by Ellen Epstein

-Meeting on November 16th from 10:00am-12:00pm at the ActivitiesBuilding at which DEC will give a summary presentation of natural resources in Germantown;

-Meeting at Columbia Greene by DEC regarding restoration efforts along the Hudson River on September 24th.

Mrs. Epstein reported the Environmental Management Committee is working on identifying potential hazard areas in towns to help first responders. She hasn’t yet spoken with the fire department and asked Supervisor Brown to help identify some of the sites for a database the county is creating.

Supervisor Brown said there is a council in the county who works with all the fire chiefs in the municipalities and that they would be happy to work with Mrs. Epstein’s group.

Sidewalk Project: continuing to move forward with the project. There was a meeting in Albany on the 19th in Albany.

Economic Development – presented by Supervisor Brown

-Kiosks are up and being used – postings can be delivered to Town Hall or Gtel;

-The rack cards are filled weekly;

-Maps will be placed in kiosks soon which will mention local businesses;

-A new 10-mile bike path route has been added;

-Thanks to the Bank of Greene County for their contribution toward the benches in town;

-New Welcome to Germantown signs are being made and will be put up when done.

Parks Commission – presented by Andrea Dunn

-Apple Fest and the Kayak run were held the past Saturday;

-October 3rd will be a sub sale;

-October 26th is the Halloween event with the school and there will be a parade as well – more information will be posted;

-December 7th is the date for the Holiday Walk and Tree Lighting this year;

-More volunteers are needed for the Parks Commission.

Councilman Westmore said the Greenway folks were pleased that Germantown participated in the kayak run.

Old Business

Supervisor Brown let the board know that the town could apply for grants for the Powder Mills Spring Pond Dam if they owned the property. After discussion with the town lawyer Supervisor Brown will follow up on the progress of the SEQR review before voting on it.

Supervisor Brown said after the public hearing on the zoning extension proposal he had not received any additional input from the community on the proposal and asked the board for a vote.

Motion to approve extending the zoning for Mixed Use Hamlet from Church Avenue to Hover Avenue was made by Councilman Westmore with a second by Councilwoman Snyder.

Supervisor Brown:AyeCouncilwoman Snyder:Aye

Councilman Craig:AyeCouncilman Westmore:Aye

Councilman Craig reminded the supervisor that the zoning map would need to be redone as well.

Supervisor Brown asked the board to adopt the police procedures for patrol rifles, and that a draft of the document has been available for their review.

Councilman Westmore said he had reviewed the draft of the training the officers received and he was impressed with the clarity and detailed nature of the conditions the weapons should and shouldn’t be used for.

Motion for the board to adopt the Police Department procedures for Patrol Rifle use was made by Councilwoman Snyder with a second by Councilman Westmore.

Supervisor Brown:AyeCouncilwoman Snyder:Aye

Councilman Craig:AyeCouncilman Westmore:Aye

New Business

Supervisor Brown said the board last month talked about the sidewalk project in relationship to the church on Church Avenue and obtaining the necessary right of way. The town has to do an eminent domain proceeding; even though the church is willing to turn the necessary property over to the town there is no identified legal owner. Because of the legal proceedings there will be additional fees, approximately $8,300. Mr. Brown is asking the board to approve a motion to do so with a not-to-exceed amount of $15,000.

Motion to approve a not-to-exceed amount of $15,000 toward acquiring the Church Avenue church property in order to put sidewalks to connect to Palatine Manor was made by Councilwoman Snyder with a second by Supervisor Brown.

Supervisor Brown:AyeCouncilwoman Snyder:Aye

Councilman Craig:AyeCouncilman Westmore:Aye

Councilman Craig asked if this money would fall under the part of the grant match and Supervisor Brown said that no, this would not qualify.

There is a new STAR exemption procedure, in which everyone but seniors should apply. There is information available about how to apply as well as a phone number to call for questions on the process which is posted outside the clerk’s office.

On October 30th there will be a Flu Clinic at the Town Hall from 9:30-11:00.

Supervisor Brown said he had received a complaint about a car being left for a few days in the hamlet area from a business owner. He suggests to people that if you’re not going to move your vehicle in 24 hours to park in the municipal lot. He asked the board what they wanted to do to address the issue and that the lawyer is looking into what can be enforced by the parking law.

Supervisors Report

-Supervisor Brown and the town lawyer met with the Fingar family regarding the kiosks they agreed to let the town place on their property and signed a right-of-way agreement so the town can maintain that piece of property and assume insurance liability as well.

-On September 11th there was a ceremony at the town’s 9/11 memorial which was a good event and it may become an annual event.

-The Apple Festival held the past weekend was successful and thanks to everyone who participated as well as the Sheriff’s Department and State Police. Special thanks to Anthony Cidras and Patrick Niebling for their hard work. Next year’s date is scheduled for September 20th.

Open to Public

Martin Overington said it was nice to see a small town festival like the Apple Festival and kudos to the town and everyone who helped out. He also thanked Supervisor Brown for his 8 years of service as supervisor.

Motion to go into Executive Session to discuss the discipline/termination of a town employee with the town lawyer was made by Councilman Craig with a second by Councilwoman Snyder.

Supervisor Brown:AyeCouncilwoman Snyder:Aye

Councilman Craig:AyeCouncilman Westmore:Aye

Motion to come out of Executive Session to discuss the discipline/termination of a town employee with the town lawyer was made by Councilwoman Snyder with a second by Councilman Westmore.

Supervisor Brown:AyeCouncilwoman Snyder:Aye

Councilman Craig:AyeCouncilman Westmore:Aye

Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Councilman Westmore with a second by Councilwoman Snyder, with all in favor and none opposed.

The next town board meeting is October 21 at 7:00pm.

Respectfully submitted,