Here are some highlights from the Town Board meeting of March 10, 2011.
Shenorock Park District Procedures In Place
Over two hours of rancorous comment by Shenorock residents did not bring the two sides closer to compromise in the feud about creating a park district for Lake Shenorock to build a swimming beach and bath house. Opponents say the $1.4 million project is a luxury that residents should not be taxed to fund, noting that cleaning the lake of muck is a far cheaper first step. Proponents of the project say most residents want the project and want the matter put to a vote. The Town Board would love to see a compromise, but that is extremely unlikely.
As reported previously, the Town Board in December rejected as "flawed" the first petition to create a Park District. The Town decided that the best procedure would be for the petition to reside with the Town Clerk for approximately 60 days. The Town Clerk will oversee the signing process, verifying that each signer is an owner of land within the boundaries of the proposed park district. This is not a head-count vote. For the petition to succeed, 51% of owners as well as 51% resident owners must sign the petition The percent is determined by assessed value.
Dog Park
A group of residents has offered to fund the fencing costs of a dog park on Town-owned land. Fencing is by far the most expensive cost involved in building a dog park. The Town Board asked the Parks and Rec department to draw up plans for the Board to consider. Councilman Harry Bolton is the liaison. The location of the proposed dog park is on land near the Highways Department garage.
Heritage Hills Water District
The Town of Somers, NY is thinking about acquiring the Heritage Hills Water and Sewer District from a private owner. The overwhelming consideration said Supervisor Murphy is whether the residents in that District would save money. The asking price for the plant and infrastructure is over $18 million. On the back of an envelope analysis, Richard Benedict, President of the Heritage Hills Society, thinks the deal makes sense because revenues are likely to grow. The service area includes the Heritage Hills condos, a shopping center, a school and any new homes built in the area, The Town will further study the financial issues involved using an outside consultant. The financial advisor for Somers is worried about lost property taxes as a municipal district is tax exempt. However, other water districts in Town already enjoy tax exempt status.
Prevailing Wage Law
In discussions about paving roads and repairing the library roof, Councilman Bolton commented that the prevailing wage causes the Town to spend significantly more money on work put out to bid.
Moment Of Silence
The Town Board observed a moment of silence to honor Joanne Garrity and Don Derr, both of whom passed away this month.
The video of the Town Board meeting is available at the Town's web site.
LINKS:
http://somersspectator.blogspot.com/2010/12/back-to-square-one-for-shenorock-lake.html
http://www.somersny.com/Pages/SomersNY_TownMtgVideos/TownBoard031011
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