Town and village address municipal matters

MILLBROOK — Last week, after reorganization meetings during the first week of January, the town of Washington and the village of Millbrook held their first regular board meetings of the year.

Village meets

during snowstorm

Despite a storm that dumped 10 inches of snow in Millbrook, the village trustees held their regular meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 12. The public part of the meeting was brief and the board quickly went into executive session to discuss pending legal issues.

Coming out of executive session, the village’s attorney, Rebecca Valk of VanDeWater & VanDeWater, was authorized to begin summary proceedings regarding the lease on the Thorne Building, which is owned by the village. The lessees, Michael and Erica Downing, maintain that the original lease they signed with the village is still in effect.

The board also unanimously authorized the building inspector/zoning enforcement officer and Valk to proceed with actions against the Bennett College property owners and agents for zoning and code violations detailed in the demolition order issued by the village in January 2010 and upheld by Judge Golden’s determination on Aug. 29. The board’s instruction followed seven weeks of silence from Veneziano & Associates, the attorney for the developer, regarding their verbal agreement to cooperate with the village and sign a stipulation letter setting out the rules for demolishing the building by Oct. 1.

Wetland public hearing set for Wednesday, Feb. 2

During the town of Washington’s regular meeting on Thursday, Jan. 13, the date was finally set for the next pubic hearing on the town’s proposed wetlands legislation. The hearing is now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2, at the Millbrook firehouse at 7:30 p.m.  

Previous hearings were held on July 16, and Sept. 29, 2010, and despite vocal opposition that the law was unnecessary or inadequate, the legislation has not been modified significantly. The current Nov. 17, 2010, draft version is available at washingtonny.org.

The resignation of Dennis Hawkins, who has moved out of town, was announced, creating another vacancy to be filled on the Board of Assessment Review, which hears residents’ complaints about their property taxes.

Kerry Weller was reappointed to another seven-year term as president of the town of Washington’s Recreation Commission. Town Supervisor Florence Prisco also appointed Robert Audia, William Murphy and James Brownell to a new committee to examine  issues regarding the highway garage.

On the financial front there was good news on mortgage taxes collected in December, which continue to run ahead of the budget. Property tax bills are also in the mail. Prisco also reminded everyone of the senior luncheon at the firehouse, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 22.

Seniors’ luncheon

The annual free senior luncheon will be held at the Millbrook firehouse at noon on Saturday, Jan. 22. The Ladies Auxiliary of the fire department will serve the food, including strawberry shortcake for dessert. The town clerk, the assessor’s office and St. Francis Healthcare will be on site to answer questions and provide information on services for seniors.  Reservations can be made by calling the recreation office at 845-677-8273.

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