Town Tidbits
February 2006
The New Year is now upon us and along with it came many changes in our Town Government. As a result of the election, the Town Board now has two new council members as well as a new Supervisor. The Town has not had two council members replaced at the same time since the mid
1950’s, much less with a change of supervisor thrown into the pot. We are optimistic, progressive change is good. The entire Town benefits from knowledgeable and independent thinkers as well as maintaining an element of continuity on the Board that is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of Government. The Board can now move on toward addressing the issues facing our Town and with conducting its business.
Due to conflict of interest issues with an elected councilman also being employed by the Village, Darryl submitted a letter to the Board on Dec. 30th stating that he was not taking the council position and that he would run again after he retired from his position with the Village. With my vacancy and then Darryl’s, we started out the year with a three-member board, leaving the public without the proper representation they deserve and expect with a full board. We all agreed that trying to function as a three-member board was certainly not in the best interest of the public.
After much deliberation by the Board on filling my vacancy, it was decided that Randy Palmateer was the most qualified and experienced applicant to fill the position. Even though Darryl’s seat would not have become a vacancy until after January 30th, he decided to take his Oath of Office on January 18th and took his seat on the Board for that meeting.
The conflict issue is much more complicated and confusing than we could have imagined. The situation is constantly changing. We will try to keep you informed as events unfold. In any event, this issue needs to be resolved so that we can move on with our business and get to work.
In the meantime, I stand behind my principles of an open and accountable Government and keeping the public informed. Since Bob has already covered news in his “Councilman’s Corner” this month, there is no need to re-invent the wheel or to provide duplicate information. Therefore, I am simply providing more detailed information and items that were not mentioned by Bob. Hopefully next month we’ll both have more time so we won’t have to race to meet the newsletter deadline. We will fill you in with more information on where we are heading and what we are starting to work on.
JOINT YOUTH COMMISSION
The Northville-Northampton Joint Youth Commission is planning a Skating Party /Hot Dog Roast at the School February 5th from 1-4 pm. This is a great opportunity to get the family together. There are 3 Ski Trips planned: Oak Mountain Feb. 4th, West Mountain Feb. 23rd, and Gore Mountain on March 25th. A minimum of 10 people is needed to sign up in order for the buses to run. For more information and deposit dates, please contact Molly at 863-8764. Sign-up sheets are available at Town Hall. The next meeting will held on Tuesday, Jan 24th at 7:00 pm at the Bradt Building, we will begin working on the 2006-07 budget.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
The Planning Board has presented the Town Board with the draft Comprehensive Plan. A public hearing on the draft plan is scheduled for February 23rd, 7:00 pm at Town Hall. The public is encouraged to participate in this planning process and to offer their input. The revised plan should be up on our website soon and the public can bring a blank CD to Town Hall to have a copy made.
DELANEY PROJECT
The Town has received a notice of incomplete application from the APA on Delaney ‘s Crushed Stone Site proposed expansion of their mining operations. Once Delaney has submitted the required information and the application is deemed complete, Tim Delaney has offered to conduct a public presentation on the proposed project. We anticipate that sometime in February and will keep you informed as to the progress. The Town, Planning Board and the public will have an opportunity to comment to the APA when the application is deemed complete.
VACANCIES
We have vacancies on various Boards (Planning, Zoning); we will begin interviewing applicants soon to fill these positions.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
-Special Town Board meeting February 2nd, 7:00 pm
-Joint Village /Town tentative date February 9th, 7:00 pm
-Town Board Regular monthly meeting, February 15th, 7:00 pm
Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing, February 23rd, 7:00 pm
-Hudson River Regulating District –1st meeting to gather information for revising its rules & regulations for permit system, January 31st, 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Northville Central School.