Northampton Town Tidbits
August 2006
By Supervisor Linda Kemper
Visit us at www.townofnorthampton.com
E-MAIL: nhpton1@frontiernet.net
RAIN, RAIN GO-AWAY
Enough is enough. Let’s hope Mother Nature will give us a break. After what seemed to be endless torrential downpours, flooding beginning on June 28th and record lake levels, I guess you can say that we were pretty “lucky” to miss the mass amount of damage that was caused by flooding in other areas. The largest amount of damage was to Lake property, docks, boats and personal property around the shoreline. Economically, the businesses also suffered. With most campsites and Boat launches closed, and unsafe lake conditions with the floating debris, many tourists were kept away on the biggest holiday of the year.
Thanks to Sheriff Lowrey, Wally from the Chamber of Commerce and other agencies that kept us updated on conditions, advisories and warnings. With their help, the Town was able to accurately give out information (and diffuse the incorrect press releases) to the heavy volume of callers and questions prior to the holiday weekend.
On a cheery note, the rain stopped long enough for the Northville “Doin’s”, parade and fireworks to carry on and to be a huge success. The cleanup of Lake debris is now underway. Think positive: How about building those piles now for the annual “Ring of Fire” on Labor Day? You won’t have to scrounge to find wood and haul it in, plenty of time to work on it and what a spectacular “Ring of Fire” around the entire Sacandaga Lake we will have to end the summer!
SUMMER RECREATION PROGRAM
The Joint Youth summer day camp began as scheduled on July 5th , with the exception of the beach remaining closed. We hope to have it open once the water goes down more. The Youth Commission is looking into the possibility of keeping the beach open later than usual in August.
CONGRATULATIONS BASEBALL CHAMPIONS
The summer baseball program has come to a close. The Northville/Northampton “Wee Men” Team won the exciting championship game on July 13th. Their league was composed of eight teams participating from the tri-county area. Way to go, guys, on a job well done!! Congratulations to all of the team, coaches, and all-stars. We’re proud of you. Thanks to the coaches and other volunteers for their patience, guidance and encouragement to help our youths achieve their goals. With their help, the boys were able to reap the exciting rewards of their hard work.
NEXTEL CELL TOWER UPDATE
The Cell Tower is up and once the cables are connected, it will be operating. Anticipated time for completion is approximately two weeks. Nextel has brought in a COW (cell tower on wheels) in order to provide immediate limited service to the area. I hear that coverage is good within the Village. Other carriers are applying to get on the tower, including EMS services
BOATERS SAFETY COURSE
The Great Sacandaga Lake Association is offering a boaters safety course at the Bradt Building, 412 S Main St, Northville on Saturday, August 12, 2006 from 8:30 am to 5:50 pm. This course is for ages 10 an up and is limited to 30 persons. There will be no charge, participants are asked to bring a lunch. Contact Justine Davidson at 661-5056 for information and to sign up.
DELANEY MINING PROJECT
The ZBA deemed the application for a special use permit complete. They have scheduled a public hearing on Tuesday, July 25th , at 7:00 pm. The application is available for review at Town Hall during regular business hours. Contact the Town Hall for more information. Interested persons are urged to attend and/or send written comments to the ZBA and DEC. If you have comments and concerns on dust, noise or any other mining issues, now is the time to be heard. Public comment will be received by the DEC until July 21st. The Town and Planning Board will also submit comments to the DEC.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
A Committee has been formed to begin reviewing and addressing the public comments received on the draft plan. This committee will meet weekly and report back to the board with their progress. Anticipated completion of any revisions or recommendations is expected in September. Special thanks to “Skip” Taylor for offering his assistance and time in sorting through all of the public comments and then organizing them into a single document with a much easier to read and sort format. Our Planning Board members deserve a lot of credit and thanks for the tremendous amount of time, energy and dedicated work that was put into the draft plan. The public comments and suggestions will be reviewed and used to “build” on their plan for our future.
VACANCIES ON BOARDS AND POSITIONS TO FILL
Vacancies still exist on the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. We have filled some positions, but we still have more to fill. The Town encourages the public to get actively involved with matters that affect the Town and our future. Planning ahead and having dedicated residents serving on our boards will help all of us do a better job for our community. Interested persons are asked to send a letter of interest to the Town Clerk.
SENIORS SEMINAR
The Office of the Aging will host a free seminar for Seniors “Planning For Your Future” on Thursday, July 20th from 5:30-8:30 pm at the Holiday Inn. Contact the OFA for more info.
THANK YOU
Thanks to Carl Sedon for trimming the shrubs and trees in the Town Park and Hope Valley Greenhouses for their help with providing us with the flowers in the box under the bell in front of the Bradt Building. Special thanks to Janet Rudd for helping me out and getting them planted into the box when she saw that they need a home.
NOTE: Our Town Board minutes are available on the web site.
UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS
-SVAN Sundays in Northville Waterfront Park 5-7 every Sunday
-July 25th, Town ZBA Public Hearing, Delaney Special Use application 7:00 pm
-July 26th, Town ZBA Variance request 7:00.
-July 23rd , ESPN Bass Fishing Tournament-Great Sacandaga Lake
-July 27th, “Art at the Inn”@ Inn At The Bridge 7-9 pm
-August 12th, Methodist Church Bazaar 9:00 a.m., Chicken Barbeque 4-7pm
-August 9th, Town Planning Board 7:00pm
-August 12th, Boaters Safety Course at Bradt Building 8:30 am to 5:50 pm
-August 16th, Regular Town Board Meeting-
-August 18-19, Rhode Island Bass Federation Tournament
-August 23rd, Town ZBA 7:00