Life is messy
Village of New Paltz trustees were asked at their March 10 meeting to determine that 34 Church Street is uninhabitable, but they balked. They didn’t feel that they had enough information to take that decisive an action. The request was made by building inspector Cory Wirthmann, who was alerted to the conditions by owner Kip Ruger. According to Wirthmann’s report, the conditions in one apartment have led to an infestation of pests and the presence of noxious odors that make it unsafe to live there, and in fact, other tenants have moved out as a result.
Why the mayor and other trustees hesitated is because the reported conditions appeared to have been caused by the actions of one tenant, rather than being the result of an unsafe structure or poor maintenance. They felt that it would be more appropriate for a judge to decide if the building was safe to occupy or not, although it appears that Wirthmann is confident that the law puts this decision in village board hands. While they agreed that there were issues that should be addressed, as Alexandra Wojcik said, “the remedy isn’t someone being evicted.” There was general agreement that there are probably other resources which could be used to help resolve this issue, but no one in the meeting felt that they were qualified to name or undertake next steps to arrange for that help.
Draft police reform report released
Following months of poring over documents and speaking with stakeholders, under pressure both from a short deadline and considerable scrutiny from community members, the draft of a report pursuant to gubernatorial Executive Order 203 has been posted to the Town of New Paltz’s website. Jennifer Berry, a member of the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, urged both town and village officials at their March 10 joint meeting to read the 43-page document carefully, because implementing their suggestions will take a lot of work.
Berry characterized this local report as “meatier than some,” with an aim toward a “holistic change in community ideology” around the idea of and approaches to policing, such as suggesting a wide range of approaches to sensitivity and diversity in town, village and school district governance.
Neil Bettez, the town’s supervisor, observed that the task was to provide recommendations — based on evidence — that the town council could implement. “We can’t tell the board of education or the village board what to do.” Bettez expressed hope that the report contains recommendations on which the town council specifically can take action.
A public forum on this draft report was scheduled to be held by committee members on the Ides of March, and then they will decide on any changes based on public input. The final version will be sent to the town council, who must ratify or adopt it by April 1. That happens to be a regular meeting day for the town board. Bettez later confirmed that it’s the supervisor’s preference to take this vote at a regular meeting, rather than a special one, or even during a joint meeting with the village board, reasoning that regular town board meetings receive the most attention. It does not appear likely a final report could be sent early enough to be read and considered at the March 18 meeting.
Bettez also said that ratifying the report is “the easy part,” and compared it to signing for a certified letter, which is not the same as reading it. Implementing the recommendations in the final report will take more time and effort.
One hearing opened, another soon to be closed
Village of New Paltz trustees saw no action on two public hearings during the March 10 meeting. The first was a new hearing on a proposed short-term rental law; this has been discussed for many months, but because of substantial changes to the language, a new hearing was opened. In the new version, people who live in a building will be able to rent out the property regardless of the zone in which it’s located.
The other hearing is about making a portion of Huguenot Street one way all of the time. Feedback from neighbors has been mixed, and trustees signaled that there’s no agreement to move forward with the plan right now. However, they decided to hold off closing the hearing for another meeting.
Pandemic causes ripples in water system
Village of New Paltz taxpayers are on the hook to pay for work done to upgrade the municipal water system. The money to do the work was borrowed, under the assumption that revenue from selling water would more than cover the cost. However, the biggest water bill is for the college, and occupancy of the dorms there is running at 43%. Since the upgrades were largely necessary solely because there is a SUNY campus on the system, trustees are applying for SUNY impact aid to cover the debt service. The only other options, according to Mayor Rogers, are either hiking the rates charged for campus use quite a bit, or tack a 20% surcharge onto all water bills across the board.
One of the village reservoirs has a leak, and it could cost $300,000 to fix. That’s not good timing, considering the financial problems in the water district, but this is a repair that should be reimbursed from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. As part of the deal to help New Paltz become less dependent on buying water that city officials remove from this area — in order to be able to work on the Catskill Aqueduct — it was agreed that $2.6 million would be set aside for certain projects, and Rogers says that this one qualifies.
However, DEP and other New York City officials have been slow in paying their bills since the pandemic hit a year ago. Rogers said that there is about $400,000 that is “long overdue” to village accounts. That hasn’t kept them from asking for their own payments, though: there is an outstanding water bill of about $40,000 and city officials would like to get paid. A letter is being sent to point out the precarious fiscal position that the water district is now in, and how much easier it would be to pay that bill if that $400,000 was paid first.
Village budget ready for review
The tentative Village of New Paltz budget has been posted online and trustees have scheduled a hearing for March 24. The tentative budget, for the fiscal year beginning June 1, shows cuts across the board with a zero percent increase.
Plan to protect water sources
Local New Paltz officials have received funding to pay to develop a plan to protect drinking water sources in New Paltz, and a report on that process was given during the March 10 joint town-village meeting. With the help of several stakeholder representatives, goals were set that include keeping water affordable and sustainable in the community. They further created maps that identify the risks to local sources of water. For example, a county road runs near village reservoirs, and a spill or a concentration of road salt there could potentially impact that water. Likewise, there’s a gas station in the most sensitive area around wells that have been drilled at Moriello Park. These maps also show other variables, such as the flow direction and rate in a watershed and the presence of wetlands, as these can accelerate or buffer against contamination.
Once the work on assessing all the potential risks in completed, consultants will help develop specific plans based on an extensive list of options that include simple changes like establishing a critical environmental area, as well as more specific and detailed practices for issues such as nearby fueling stations. The final plan will include the costs to implement each aspect, as well as potential funding sources. From there, it would be up to local elected officials to implement the plan in whole or in part.
Pollinator idea takes root
After New Paltz town council members approved installing compost bins near the Community Center, residents have taken upon themselves deciding how to beautify the grassy square where they will be sited. They brought a proposal to the town board during the March 10 joint meeting, in which they will raise money to install a pollinator garden. The volunteers hope to expand those efforts in future years.
Annexation petition: process laid out to look at Moriello lands south of college
New Paltz village and town officials have agreed on how to consider a petition to annex a large tract into the village, just south of the college on Route 32. Attorney Michael Moriello is seeking that and a zoning designation of R-3, so that this Moriello family land can be used to build a complex to house 650, addressing a need for more housing in the area by creating a place that would be particularly appealing to students who might be living elsewhere in the community.
Land that’s now being farmed would not be built upon, Moriello said, in order to preserve the view. The two-story cottages would be more than 600 feet from the road and not rise above grade due to the slope of the land. A walking trail surrounding the development would be connected to the campus; nearly all residents of the adjacent Harvest Hills development, however, are opposed to adding a new way to safely access their neighborhood on foot or bicycle.
The self-described “farm boy” explained that county planning director Dennis Doyle has encouraged Moriello to find a way to build housing on this land. Several years ago there was a plan to create dormitories near here, in a bid that was rejected by town planners because of the tax breaks being sought. The New Paltz Apartments project will involve no request for one of these payment-in-lieu-of-taxes plans, Moriello said. What would be sought is a hookup to village water and sewer and Moriello seems amenable to paying for sewer system improvements as part of any agreement.
Annexation would require approval by the village board — since this land would be added to the village — as well as the town council. Approving the annexation doesn’t remove the land from the village, because every square inch of the village is also part of the Town of New Paltz. It could get wonky if one board votes in favor and the other doesn’t, by early indications suggest there is support in both bodies. Supervisor Neil Bettez spoke about how faced with a growing human population, building more developments like this is the best way to preserve open space. Deputy Mayor KT Tobin was pleased that this project would add some pedestrian and bicycle access within the village and would not result in any tax break.
Before any vote can be taken on annexing the property, though, a study of the environmental impact must be undertaken according to state law. This review is the same that is needed for the process before a planning board, and it’s now been decided that the village planning board will step in to provide this function. Rick Golden, the attorney for the village planning board, is also representing the town council in these proceedings. This would be a type 1 action under state environmental law, Golden said, and Moriello prefers to prepare an environmental impact statement rather than undergo the “extended environmental assessment form” process to reach agreements on how to mitigate or eliminate environmental issues. The scope of that statement will be decided in village planning board meetings, and only after that review is complete will an annexation hearing be held.
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