Minutes
City
of
REGULAR
MEETING
The regular
meeting of the City of
Council Members Present: Lee
Kyriacou, Charles Kelly, Phil Shea, and Steve Gold
Excused: Elizabeth
Foster and Eleanor Thompson
Also in attendance were: City
Administrator, Joseph Braun
City
Attorney, Gerard Pisanelli
Media Represented by: Goldee
Greene, Beacon Free Press
Residents in attendance at beginning: 30
Motion
to enter into Executive Session on Litigation at
Motion
to End Executive Session at
Public Hearings:
1. §179-3(F) Of Chapter 179 “Sewers” Is Renumbered As
§179-3f(1) And A New Subsection 179-3f(2) Is Added. Read by City Administrator, Joseph
Braun.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PLEASE
TAKE NOTICE that the City of Beacon will hold a public
hearing on Monday, June 4th 2007 at the City of Beacon Municipal
Center, One Municipal Plaza, Beacon, New York at 7:30 p.m. or as soon
thereafter as the matter is reached on the agenda, to consider a proposed local
law to Re-number Section 179-3(F) of Chapter 179, “Sewers” to
Section 179-3F(1) and Add New Subsection Entitled Section 179-3F(2).
This local law would
take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State. Complete copies of the proposed local
law are available at the
All interested persons
and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard on said proposals at the
date, time and place aforesaid.
Public
Hearing Comments:
Clark Gebman - With reference to this
sewer connection, I would like to bring to the attention that the property at 2
Roselyn Nichols - What is the difference
when renumbering these codes?
Attorney Pisanelli explained that it is simply a matter of the
re-numbering a subsection that was inserted into the code.
James McCollum
- Read
the following comments: -
Addressed to Joseph Braun, City
Administrator, Dated
After
reviewing the proposed amendment to the chapter of the City's code book that
will now make the City responsible for the reimbursement of the costs incurred
by the homeowner for the replacement and/or repair of the portion of their
sanitary sewer service that may be damaged and/or ruptured under the paved
portion of the street, I must, respectfully, object to this proposal. Although
I realize that the cost and scope of this work can be a very expensive
endeavor, it does not serve in the best interest of the City to undertake this
position. Water and sanitary sewer services are installed by private
contractors to supply these utilities to private properties and the onus should
be on the owners of these properties, as it has been in the past, to maintain
these services in proper working order.
Implementation
of this policy can only open up other avenues of concern and expose the City to
other possible liabilities in the future. It is also not fair to the other
taxpayers who will never benefit from this amendment or to those who have had
to deal with these problems in the past.
There
are other concerns that I have with this proposal, many of which I had
presented to the City Council back in 2002. As I have been appointed to look
after the interests of the City of
Thank you for offering me this opportunity to convey my concerns.
City Attorney Pisanelli: Asked to read the portion of his report
for
"e. A Local Law amending Chapter 179 Sewers authorizing the sharing of
certain sewer repairs. This
proposed Local Law was amended to include language concerning insurance
coverage. In my opinion, the
potential financial impact of this Local Law should be more fully discussed in
a Workshop before it is adopted and made retroactive to
Motion to close Public Hearing: Council Member Kyriacou. Seconded: Council Member Gold. All voted in favor. Motion carried. This will be further discussed at the
next workshop after which a Public Hearing will be scheduled for
2. Special Use Permit: Accessory Apartment –
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE
that the City of Beacon will hold a public hearing on Monday, June 4, 2007 at
the City of Beacon Municipal Center, One Municipal Plaza, Beacon, New York at
7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter is reached on the agenda, to
consider a Special Use Permit Application for and Accessory Apartment @ 9
Aldridge Place, Owned by Timothy Joseph.
A copy of the proposal is available for
inspection at the
All interested
persons and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard on said proposals at
the date, time and place aforesaid.
Mayor Clara Lou Gould read the following letter from the City
of
Dear Mayor & Council Members:
Review of an application for a Special Use Permit for an
accessory apartment in an existing single family house located at 9 Aldridge
Place took place at the May 8, 2007 Planning Board
meeting.
After reviewing the
application, the Board voted unanimously to recommend the City Council
issue a Special Use Permit for the accessory apartment with no need to return
to the Planning Board for final site plan
approval.
A copy of the application and Site Plan are enclosed for your
information. If you have any questions
regarding the Planning Board's action, please call me.
Yours truly, Arthur J. Hibbs, Chairman
Public
Comments: None
Motion to close Public Hearing: Council Member Kelly. Seconded: Council Member Shea. All voted in favor. Motion carried.
3. Special Use Permit: Amend Existing Special Use Permit – Modify
Apartment Layout –
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the City of Beacon will hold a public hearing on Monday, June 4, 2007 at the City of Beacon Municipal Center, One Municipal Plaza, Beacon, New York at 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter is reached on the agenda, to consider an Amendment to an Existing Special Use Permit to Modify Apartment Layout @ 463 Main Street, Applied for by Anthony Fox and Paul Queley.
A copy of the proposal is available for inspection at the
All interested persons and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard on said proposals at the date, time and place aforesaid.
Mayor Clara Lou Gould read the following letter from the City
of
Dear Mayor & Council Members:
Review of an application to amend an existing Special Use Permit to add a studio apartment in the building located at 463 Main Street took place at the May 8, 2007 Planning Board meeting. The original approval was for one commercial space on the lower level and one two-level 2,400 sq. ft. residential unit, which occupied the rear portion of the lower level and the entire second floor. This amendment adds a studio apartment to the rear of the lower level behind the commercial space. There will be no changes to the exterior of the building.
After reviewing the application, the Board voted unanimously to recommend the City Council issue an amendment to the existing Special Use Permit to modify the building layout to add a studio apartment, with no need to return to the Planning Board for final site plan approval.
A copy of the application and Site Plan are enclosed for your information. If you have any questions regarding the Planning Board's action, please call me. Yours truly, Arthur J. Hibbs, Chairman
Public
Comments: None
Motion to close Public Hearing: Council Member Kelly. Seconded: Council Member Gold. All voted in favor. Motion carried.
4. Special Use Permit: Wireless
Communication Facility –
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE
that the City of Beacon will hold a public hearing on Monday, June 4, 2007 at
the City of Beacon Municipal Center, One Municipal Plaza, Beacon, New York at
7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter is reached on the agenda, to
consider a Special Use Permit for a Wireless Communication Facility @ One
Forrestal Heights, Applied for by OmniPoint Communications (subsidiary of
T-Mobile).
A copy of the proposal is available for
inspection at the
All interested persons and citizens shall have an opportunity to be
heard on said proposals at the date, time and place aforesaid.
Mayor Clara Lou Gould read the following letter from the City
of
Dear Mayor & Council Members:
Review of an application for a Special Use Permit for a wireless communication facility on the Beacon Housing Authority building at One Forrestal Heights took place at the May 8, 2007 Planning Board meeting. They propose to install six wireless antennas on the penthouse roof, which will be co-located with 18 existing wireless facilities. This application replaced a proposal originally submitted to locate a new facility at the Southern Dutchess Country Club.
After reviewing the application, the Board voted unanimously to recommend the City Council issue a Special Use Permit for the wireless communication facility, subject to submitting documentation to the Planning Board verifying that if any interference occurs with emergency service communications, they will shut their facility down without delay to address the problem.
A copy of the application and Site Plan are enclosed for your information. If you have any questions regarding the Planning Board's action, please call me. Yours truly, Arthur J. Hibbs, Chairman
Public
Comments: None
Motion
to close Public Hearing: Council
Member Shea. Seconded: Council Member Gold. All voted in favor. Motion carried.
Community Segment: Jamie
McCollum – Water Department
Water and
Introduction: James McCollum, Water and Sewer
Superintendent -over 32.5
years with City /Appointed in 1998
Why the need for a Water Department? The fact is that you
just open a faucet and water comes
out! As reality would have it there's a little bit more to it than that.
Department can be divided into three main
segments:
A. Water Storage and Treatment
-Reservoirs or "surface" water: Cargill,
Melzingah,
-Wells or "ground" water because the water is
pumped from under the ground.
-Filtration / Treatment Facility where raw or untreated
water is transformed into
finished or potable water.
-different processes occur: sedimentation, chlorination,
filtration, other chemical
processes; pumps and motors.
-Storage Tanks:
Duties related to the maintenance and up-keep: dam
inspections, grass and brush cutting, roadwork, trash and debris removal,
building maintenance.
B. Water
Distribution:
-Pipelines
that carry finish/potable water from storage tanks to consumers. These are mostly: 12", 10", 8',
6" and 4" DIP, CIP, ACP and PVC.
-Network
or grid of inter-connected pipelines make up "gravity" system,
Thus
the different pressures at various altitudes.
Duties
of this system: flushing to improve water quality; locating mains for other
contractors; testing for flows and pressures; collecting samples; repairing ruptures and leaks;
replacing antiquated mains; maintenance and repair of fire hydrants and valves;
reading, installing
and repairing water meters.
In conjunction with road rehab projects, the scope of
work is reviewed and a decision is made whether or not to replace, repair,
modify system as the as the case may be.
C. Sanitary Sewer Collection:
-Network
of mostly gravity flowing piping depending on the elevation of each area of the
City. This, again, is made up of many different sizes and content of piping. Includes: 30",
24", 18", 15", 12", 10"and 8" Clay tile, CIP, ACP
and PVC mostly. May be other types and sizes.
-Manholes
are located at various stations to allow for monitoring flows and maintenance. These structures are
supposed to be located any where a pipeline takes a significant "bend" or at manageable
distances within a long run.
-Lift
stations are also located in areas where gravity is not possible. These stations are equipped with motors, pumps,
automatic controls and check valves and make use of forced /pressurized mains
to transfer the effluent to an area where gravity can again be utilized.
-Pipelines
require periodic cleaning, especially the older lines. This is accomplished
using a high-velocity water hose with various nozzles depending on the situation. Also, a rodding
machine, which is a series of connected
metal rods with a cutting or other tool at the end, as the case may be, that
mechanically dislodges the debris.
There
are also means to: televise; meter flows; grout leaking joints and perform other maintenance and testing.
In
closing, I would just like to add...
The
Department doesn't just run by itself; it takes the work of dedicated and responsible employees and we take great
pride hi what we do which, simply
put, is to provide safe and aesthetically pleasing water, as well as, adequate fire protection to all the citizens
of the City of Beacon.
This
cannot take place without the concerted efforts and cooperation of all the aspects of City government - Mayor, City
Administrator, Honorable Council Members, Department Heads, and other staff
members and on to the citizens themselves
To
steal a line from the movie "Spiderman", "with great power comes
great responsibility." We, as City officials, have great power, and it is
up to us to continue to work
hard together to ensure that our children and our grandchildren enjoy the benefits that we do
now!
Thank
you for this opportunity.
The council thanked Mr. McCollum for his very
informative presentation.
Mayor Clara Lou Gould
asked for Approval
of Minutes for the following Council Meetings:
Motion to approve minutes as
written: Council Member Shea. Seconded: Council Member Gold. All voted in favor. Motion carried.
Reports: Text from the following reports for
Mayor's Communications - Read by Mayor
Clara Lou Gould.
City Administrator, Joseph Braun read his
Report of Activities
City Attorney, Gerard Pisanelli read his
Report of Activities – 1st Meeting of the Month
Mayor Clara Lou Gould read her Report of
Activities
Council Reports of Activities read their
reports of activities.
First
Barbara McCaskill: Is the city going to purchase University
Settlement?
City Attorney Pisanelli: The city intends to run the pool. There has not been a final decision to
purchase the property.
Clark Gebman: Regarding University Settlement - The
city has been offered a great deal.
I have no objection. I think
that the city should do an operating budget so the public can understand the
capital cost to run this. We also
should form a committee do research, which would meet the cities needs. It would be counter productive to share
this with other municipalities as it was suggested.
No further comments.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Resolutions:
1. Resolution No. 101 of 2007 - Approve Special Use
Permit: Accessory Apartment in an
existing home located at
WHEREAS,
Timothy Joseph, 9 Aldridge Place, have applied for a Special Use Permit from
the City Council requesting approval for an accessory apartment in his existing
home, and
WHEREAS,
the Planning Board has recommended the City Council issue said permit with no
need to return for final site plan approval; and
1. The
location and size of the use, nature and intensity of the operations involved
in such use, the size of the site in relation to it, and the location of the
site with respect to streets giving access to it, are such that it would be in
harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the district in which
it is located; and
2. The
location, nature and height of the buildings, walls and fences, together with
the nature and extent of the landscaping of the site are such that the use will
not hinder or discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent land
and buildings; and
3. The
operations in connection with the accessory apartment in the existing home
located at 9 Aldridge Place is not more objectionable to nearby properties by reason
of noise, fumes, vibration or other characteristics, than would be the
operation of any permitted use not requiring a special permit; and
4. Parking
areas are of adequate size for the particular use, are properly located in the
driveways are laid out to achieve maximum safety; and
WHEREAS,
the City Council has determined that the application submitted by
Timothy
Joseph for a Special Use Permit is an action subject to the provisions of the
State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA); and
WHEREAS,
the City Council has the broadest powers to investigate the impact of the
authorization for the proposed addition of an accessory apartment in the
existing home located at 9 Aldridge Place and since the Council has the
capability to provide a thorough Environmental Assessment of the proposed
action, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED,
that the City Council hereby declares itself lead agency under SEQRA relative
to the application by Timothy Joseph for a Special Use Permit, and be it
further
RESOLVED,
that the City Council as lead agency under SEQRA, has reviewed the submitted
Environmental Assessment Form and has determined that the proposed action is an
unlisted action, and that the proposal will not have a significant effect on
the environment, and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement need not be
prepared, and be it further
RESOLVED,
that a Special Use Permit be hereby issued to Timothy Joseph with no need for
final site plan review and in accordance with the conditions set forth
herein.
Motion to approve Special Use Permit for
2. Resolution No. 102 of 2007 - Approve Special Use
Permit: Amend Existing Special Use
Permit – Modify Building Apartment Layout –
WHEREAS, Anthony Fox and Paul Queley have
applied for an Amended Special Use Permit from the City Council requesting approval
to add a studio apartment (to the rear of the lower level behind the commercial
space) located at 463 Main Street; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Board has recommended the
City Council issue said permit with no need to return for final site plan
approval; and
1. The
location and size of the use, nature and intensity of the operations involved
in such use, the size of the site in relation to it, and the location of the
site with respect to streets giving access to it, are such that it would be in
harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the district in which
it is located; and
2. The
location, nature and height of the buildings, walls and fences, together with
the nature and extent of the landscaping of the site are such that the use will
not hinder or discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent land
and buildings; and
3. The
operations in connection with the proposed addition of a studio apartment (to
the rear of the lower level behind the commercial space) at 463 Main Street is
not more objectionable to nearby properties by reason of noise, fumes,
vibration or other characteristics, than would be the operation of any
permitted use not requiring a special use permit; and
4. Parking
areas are of adequate size for the particular use, are properly located and the
driveways are laid out to achieve maximum safety; and
WHEREAS,
the City Council has determined that the application submitted by
Anthony
Fox and Paul Queley for an Amended Special Use Permit is an action subject to
the provisions of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA); and
WHEREAS,
the City Council has the broadest powers to investigate the impact of the
authorization for the proposed addition of a studio apartment (to the rear of
the lower level behind the commercial space) at 463 Main Street and since the
Council has the capability to provide a thorough Environmental Assessment of
the proposed action, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED,
that the City Council hereby declares itself lead agency under SEQRA relative
to the application by Anthony Fox and Paul Queley for an Amended Special Use
Permit, and be it further
RESOLVED,
that the City Council as lead agency under SEQRA, has reviewed the submitted
Environmental Assessment Form and has determined that the proposed action is an
unlisted action, and that the proposal will not have a significant effect on
the environment, and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement need not be
prepared, and be it further
RESOLVED,
that an Amended Special Use Permit be hereby issued to Anthony Fox and Paul
Queley for the proposed addition of a studio apartment (to the rear of the
lower level behind the commercial space) at 463 Main Street with no need for
final site plan review and in accordance with the conditions set forth herein.
Motion to approve Special Use Permit for
3. Resolution No. 103 of 2007 - Approve Special Use
Permit: Wireless
Communication Facility located at Beacon Housing Authority,
WHEREAS, OmniPoint Communications (a subsidiary
of T-Mobile) has applied for a Special Use Permit from the City Council
requesting wireless communications facility to include six wireless antennas on
the penthouse roof of the Beacon
Housing Authority Building located at One Forrestal Heights (which will be
co-located with 18 existing wireless facilities); and
WHEREAS, the Planning Board
has recommended the City Council issue said permit; and
1. The
location and size of the use, nature and intensity of the operations involved
in such use, the size of the site in relation to it, and the location of the
site with respect to streets giving access to it, are such that it would be in
harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the district in which
it is located; and
2. The
location, nature and height of the buildings, walls and fences, together with
the nature and extent of the landscaping of the site are such that the use will
not hinder or discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent land
and buildings; and
3. The
operations in connection with the proposed installation of a wireless communications facility
to include six wireless antennas on the penthouse roof
of the Beacon Housing Authority Building located at One Forrestal Heights
(which will be co-located with 18 existing wireless facilities) are not more
objectionable to nearby properties by reason of noise, fumes, vibration or
other characteristics, than would be the operation of any permitted use not
requiring a special use permit; and
4. Parking
areas are of adequate size for the particular use, are properly located in the
driveways are laid out to achieve maximum safety; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the application submitted by OmniPoint Communications (a subsidiary of T-Mobile) for a Special Use P