TOWN BOARD MEETING OF APR. 4

Councilman Peter DeVantier was absent from this meeting. The findings about the Willowemoc Motel were postponed until the next meeting, due to the absence of DeVantier, the hearing officer.

Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Correspondence: The roadside and O&W Rail Trail Litter Pluck will be held from Apr. 1 to Oct. 31. Litter Pluck transfer station coupons available at the town clerk’s office.

The LMCS Middle school was awarded a Healthier Generation grant from Sullivan 180. The Livingston Manor Library will hold a CPR certification course on Apr. 20, for ages 12 and up. Celebrate Earth Day on April 20 at the Livingston Manor Presbyterian Church. A thank you was received from the staff of Manor Ink for the town’s continued support of the paper. An adopt-a-road application was received from Daniel and Jennifer Harris at 150 Old Hunter Road. A letter from the Meadow Hill Community mobile home park stated that their tremendous loss of water was due to “sabotage.” Since the water did not go through the sewer, they requested the sewer bill be dismissed.

Resolutions Required: The following resolutions were required and were passed by the board.

Accept the adopt-a-road application from Daniel and Jennifer Harris.
Lower the water-and-sewer bill for the Meadow Hill Community to $305.

Old Business

The Trout Unlimited meeting will be rescheduled to Apr. 9, at 9:30 a.m., at Riverside Park, to review the waterline crossing with contractors.

A presentation by Solar Liberty of Buffalo, NY, will take place at the next board meeting on Apr. 18. Jennifer DeVantier and Christine Routledge will meet with legislators on Apr. 25, to walk some of the O&W Rail Trail, starting at Rotary Park. Supervisor Rob Eggleton will meet with Steve Densmore of Choice Words, a grant writing consultancy located in New Paltz, on Apr. 15.

Confirmation was received from Albany for Local Law #1 about issuing fees for homeowners who don’t allow access to their water meters.

Resolution Required: The following resolution was required and was passed by the board.

Set the fee at $500 for any resident that does not allow the town access to their residence to change their water meter’s end point. A letter will be sent to the customer by certified mail and the resident has 30 days to comply. If they do not, they will be fined $500, which will be added to their quarterly bill. If that is not paid, it will be assessed on the property owner’s next property tax bill.

New Business

Eggleton will meet with Spectrum on Apr. 29 to talk about IT needs, phones and cameras.

Resolutions Required: The following resolutions were required and passed by the board:

Advertise the Twin Village Golf Course commercial space for rent. The rental is set at $700 per month, and includes water and sewer as well as electric. This lease will be from May 1 to Nov. 1, and the facility will need to be open seven days a week, and hours must correspond to those the town has set. Inquiries can be made by emailing Supervisor@townofrocklandny.com, or by calling 845-439-4333, ext. 102.
Advertise for sealed bids for the repair of the salt shed at the Highway Department. Bid specifications should not include excavation. The project requires federal and NY State prevailing wage rates, paid to each trade. Bids will be accepted by the town clerk and will be opened on May 16, at 7 p.m., at the board meeting and read aloud. The town has the right to refuse any and all bids.
Allow the Catskill Art Space to rent out Renaissance Park for the day on July 13 for their annual gala.
Reappoint Judith Emery to the Board of Assessment Review.
Approve a waiver of the noise ordinance for an event on June 29, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., for approximately 40 guests at Livingston Farm (formerly Broadacre Farm) on Hoag Road.

Department Heads: Roger Decker, Highway: Decker will attend an auction to bid on a used trailer. If he is outbid he will purchase a new one as previously outlined. Chris Bury, Water and Sewer: A power loss caused a lot of problems at the plant. Hydrant flushing will begin at the end of the month, and notices have been sent out. Glenn Gabbard, Code Enforcement: Gabbard made two court appearances last month, and has been dealing with a lot of permits and stop-work orders. The Willowemoc Motel has been completely boarded up by the mortgage holder.

Resolution Required: The following resolution was required and was passed by the board.

Allow the Town of Rockland Highway Supt. Decker to bid up to $5,500 on a trailer at auction. If he is outbid he may purchase a new one for $6,861, as previously quoted.

Approval of Bills: The bills on Abstract #7 were approved.

Details of all dollar amounts etc. can be found on the town’s website, townofrocklandny.com, under the minutes of Apr. 4.

TOWN BOARD MEETING OF APR. 18

Presentation: Rob Gauchat from Solar Liberty went over all the main points of the future solar project on Fishman Road in Liberty that will be undertaken jointly by the towns of Liberty and Rockland. Present for the presentation were Town of Liberty Supervisor Frank DeMayo and his assistant, Nick Rusin. The net cost after incentives would be somewhat over $1 million; the project should start making money after 11 years. The average life of the installation would be 25 to 30 years. Gauchat said that the town would have to pay $10,000 by Apr. 29 to be included in Solar Liberty’s production schedule.

Other details are included in the meeting’s minutes online (url listed below). DeMayo expressed concern that NYSEG so far has not been willing to negotiate lower spending costs, considering they are the ones that need the power. He and Supervisor Rob Eggleton plan to negotiate better pricing for the project. DeMayo also stated that once the installation starts generating income, some funds should be set aside for its eventual decommissioning so as not to burden future generations.

Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Correspondence: Congressman Marc Molinaro (R, NY-19) has informed the town there will be some discretionary funds available through grants to help with some infrastructure projects for the Water and Sewer Dept. The O&W Rail Trail committee and Chamber of Commerce members walked the trail. NYSEG is providing bill credits for all customers, listing them under “Miscellaneous Credits.” Credit customers will receive $9.52; cash customers will be refunded $15.16.

Sullivan County Shields, a non-profit law enforcement organization, is looking for a Board of Directors secretary. If interested, contact Peter Chiavaro at 845-701-2704. The repurchase period for tax-foreclosed properties has begun. This is one of the last opportunities for homeowners to regain ownership. Owners must pay all the delinquent taxes, including for 2024. The last day to repurchase is Aug. 23.

The 18th annual Trout Parade will be held in Livingston Manor on June 8. The Chamber of Commerce has requested the closure of Pearl and Main streets between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. They have also requested a detour onto Creamery Road for traffic coming down from Shandelee from noon to 3:30 p.m. The Chamber also requested that they be allowed to use Renaissance Park for the day of the parade.

Resolution Required: The following resolution was required and passed by the board.

Allow the Chamber of Commerce to reserve Renaissance Park for the day of June 8 for the annual Trout Parade.

Old Business

Trout Unlimited received a low bid of $144,886 from Delaware Bulldozing Corp. of Bloomville, NY, and will begin work in a few weeks at the Roscoe project location. This will interrupt the use of the dog park for a few weeks. Eggleton feels the Town of Rockland has a good chance to get a NY Forward Grant. Public sessions will be held soon for discussions of how that money would best be spent. West Ivy Hill Road, LLC, will either subdivide for a new well location or sell the entire property to the town. Within the next few months the structure (the old nursing home) will be demolished.

Resolutions Required: The following resolutions were required and were passed by the board.

Allow the Meadow Hill Community customer residing at Lot 25 in the hamlet to pay out their water-and-sewer bill over one year without late fees applied.
Allow owners of the Willowemoc Motel 90 days to complete a pending mortgage foreclosure and present plans to either rehabilitate or demolish the building. Further action will be reviewed by the board on Aug. 14.

New Business

The new email for the Twin Village Golf Course is Twinvillagetor@gmail.com.

Resolutions Required: The following resolutions were required and were passed by the board.

Waive the turn-on/turn-off fee for the home at 647 Old Rte. 17 from Oct. 11, 2023 to Apr. 12 , 2024.
Appoint Dawn Roser to the Board of Assessment Review for a five-year term.
Hire Alex Feeney as a part-time park maintenance employee at the rate of $18 per hour, up to 29 hours per week.
Hire Ron Bury as a part-time park maintenance employee at a rate of $18 per hour up to 20 hours per week.
Modify the RS fund for a total of $1,945.
Modify the General Fund by $5,707 to reimburse the hamlet’s Rotary Club with funds from SC Youth Bureau.
Allow Highway Superintendent Roger Decker to purchase two trucks: a 2024 Chevrolet pickup for $58,824 to replace the foreman’s pickup, and a 2025 one-ton dump truck for $83,450 to replace truck No. nine. Diagnostic equipment at the cost of $5,145 is also authorized. The department will auction off some equipment for funds to defray the cost of the new vehicles.

Approval of Bills: The bills on Abstract #8 were approved.

Executive Session: A motion was made at 8:21 p.m. to move into executive session to discuss personnel. The board came out of the session at 8:40 p.m.

Resolutions Required: The following resolutions were required and passed by the board.

Hire Peter DeVantier, Jr., as a part-time park maintenance employee at a rate of $18 an hour.
Lease eight gas golf carts from Club Car for $5,500.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m.

Details of all dollar amounts can be found on the town’s website, townofrocklandny.com, under the minutes of Apr. 18.