Board votes on new rec commission laws, water rate changes
Goshen. The water rates had not been adjusted since 2021.
Goshen /
| 08 Apr 2024 | 12:00
While some neighborhoods will see a decrease in their quarterly bills, others may seen an increase. (
)
At the March 28 Goshen Town Board meeting, three public hearings on new local laws were held. Introductory Local Law No. 7 authorizing the Joint Recreation Commission to establish rules and regulations regarding town parks drew criticism from a member of the public.
“You’re abdicating your responsibility to unelected people,” the resident said. He also complained that a freedom of information request (FOIL) he filed for the names, position, and salaries of everyone in the Parks Department had been denied. He said if he had more time he would file an Article 57 lawsuit against the town.
The Joint Recreation Commission meets once a month. The town and village each have a board member sitting on the commission.
Councilman Philip Canterino said, “This law is giving them authorization for them to make rules.”
The board voted 4-0 to adopt the law. Councilman Richard Florio was absent.
A public hearing on a law amending Chapter 50 of town code for electrical inspections garnered no comments from the public and was passed 4-0. Councilman Douglass Bloomfield said the town needs to align its rules with New York State code.
A public hearing regarding “Introductory Local Law No. 4 of 2024 repealing Town of Goshen Local Law No. 5 of 2023 related to the removal of certain utility poles and creating a new Chapter 87 of the Town of Goshen Code Entitled ‘Utility Poles’” garnered no public comments and was adjourned until May 23 because Orange & Rockland indicated that it doesn’t own all of the poles and wanted input into the process.
Water rate changes
The board voted 4-0 to adjust water and sewer rates. Supervisor Joseph Betro said water is going to be purified to remove iron and manganese. “You won’t need to use filters,” he said.
The minimum rates for water will go down in the Arcadia Hills and Stonehedge neighborhoods, while going up for the Hambletonian Park and Scotchtown neighborhoods. The minimum cost for Arcadia Hill will go from $128.68 per quarter to $109.96 per quarter, for Stonehedge it will go from $155.04 to $136.21, Hambletonian Park will jump from $100.50 per quarter to $116.90 per quarter, and Scotchtown will go from $93.48 to $116.14.
Rates hadn’t changed since 2021.
The town board voted 4-0 to spend $99,700 for a stormwater pollution prevention project, plus a maintenance guarantee in the amount of $2,250.
The board voted 4-0 to approve a six-month extension for the Goshen Solar 1 and Goshen Solar 2 Project. The developers need to construct a wetland mitigation area before they get a building permit. It might take a year but they were just asking for six months at this time.
Other business
The board approved a request from the Joint Recreation Commission for $5,000 to assist with the purchasing of five new resin picnic tables.
In part of its move to go paperless, the board approved the purchase of nine Microsoft Service Tablets for $9,899.91 for the planning board.
The board scheduled a public hearing for April 11 for Polaski Highway Solar.