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October 12, 2007

REMINDER: Your Feedback is Still Needed

You have already received an email requesting your feedback on the Fall 2007 Membership Survey. If you have not already, please take a brief 3 minutes to complete the survey. Your participation is greatly appreciated. www.votervoice.net/groups/bahv/survey

HUDSON VALLEY: Your Civic Duty

If you want to vote in this year's general election, your county Board of Elections needs your VOTER REGISTRATION postmarked by TODAY. You can download a form at http://www.elections.state.ny.us.

HUDSON VALLEY: Digging Safely

Do you have feedback on how Part 753 is written, and how protection of underground facilities currently is regulated? Do you want pre-demolition regulations to be more specific? Should natural gas be the only utility requiring mapping? We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback. Rachel@hvbuilder.com

HUDSON VALLEY: Green Buildings: Overcoming the Obstacles

The Builders Association of the Hudson Valley is co-sponsoring an upcoming seminar to be held at the Newburgh Library.
Attached, please find the program flyer (to be updated as more speakers confirmed).
Updated information will be posted at the Orange County Citizens Foundation website, which is listed in the attached flyer.

DUTCHESS: Beacon Asks Residents to Conserve Water

Residents and businesses in the City of Beacon have been asked to voluntarily conserve water. Mayor Clara Lou Gould said the lack of any significant rainfall and the unseasonably warmer temperatures over the past months have increased water usage.

The help the situation, the city is urging everyone to conserve water by fixing all leaks promptly; watering lawns and outdoor plants in the early morning or after sunset; and washing vehicles at commercial car washes.

If the dry weather continues, the city may have to implement its drought emergency plan, said Gould.
(MidHudsonNews.com)

DUTCHESS: Planning Awards to be Presented

The Dutchess County Planning Federation will be hosting its Annual Awards Dinner in spring 2008, where it will recognize individuals who have made a positive contribution to communities by designing and implementing good planning practices. At this time, the federation is soliciting Dutchess County Planning Federation members and all others for nominations of exemplary projects which are worthy of county-wide recognition.

The award categories are:

Historic Preservation/Reuse - for projects that involve the restoration and adaptive reuse of buildings or structures having historic merit.
Open Space Preservation - for projects that preserve significant open space, either for public use, conservation or agricultural preservation.
Redevelopment - for projects that restore or redevelop existing buildings or sites.
Public Amenities - for projects that enhance public space, such as streetscape, park, or public facility improvements.

Nominations should be submitted no later than November 30, 2007 for consideration this year. The DCPF Board of Directors will be conducting site visits in following weeks. To be eligible, projects should be complete or nearing completion by the end of the 2007 calendar year.
(MidHudsonNews.com)

DUTCHESS: Residents Claim Over-billing; Poughkeepsie Will Study

Town of Poughkeepsie residents who believe they were overcharged for water and sewer service can contact town hall to have their bills reviewed.

Potential problems with residents' bills came to light last week when the town board held its annual public hearing on the town's various water, sewer and drainage district budgets.

Town officials said they would also explore changing how residents are charged for water and sewer to a usage-based system. Homeowners are charged, in part, based on complex formulas devised decades ago by previous town boards.

The issue will be taken up by the town's infrastructure committee, which could recommend changes. No change in the billing mechanism could occur until next year, officials said.
(Poughkeepsie Journal)

DUTCHESS: Hyde Park Supervisor Candidates to Debate

A town supervisor candidate debate will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at St. James parish hall. The moderator will be Lynn Eckert, chairwoman of the political science department at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. Hyde Park residents are invited to attend and ask the candidates questions.

The parish hall is at 4526 Route 9, across from the Vanderbilt Mansion.

ORANGE: Newburgh May Require Set-Aside for the Arts

The Newburgh City Council is considering adopting a local law that would require developers to contribute a small percentage of the cost of each project to a special fund for the arts. The idea came from the city's arts director Kendal Henry.

One percent of all development funds would be placed in a special arts fund with 70 percent of the money to be used on the development site and 30 percent used elsewhere in the city, said Mayor Nicholas Valentine.

"What that means is you could do concerts or arts in the park, or musical things in pocket parks," he said. That portion to be used on-site could be used to redo a lobby, change a paint color or place a mural on a wall.

The city council may vote to enact the new law later this week.
(MidHudsonNews.com)

ORANGE: Diana Chimes in on School Tax Issue

Orange County Executive Edward Diana says the means by which public education is funded must be changed or businesses will not locate in the Hudson Valley, or the entire state of New York, for that matter. Diana said there must be some reform in the system, which he said is archaic.

"I am not the governor, I am not in the state legislature, but they should listen," he said. "I think they should look at a formula. I don't know what that is, but I think it has to be a combination of sales tax, property tax and income tax. So if one goes down and one goes up, you can balance that to make people to able to live here and affair to live here and businesses want to come here."

Diana said businesses look at taxation levels when considering future locations.
(MidHudsonNews.com)

ORANGE: County Reviews Goshen Zoning

If the Town Board expected a gold star on zoning changes it said would curb an influx of homes and traffic, the county Planning Department must have disappointed when it took a red pen to the proposal instead.

A traffic study conducted last year was not thorough enough to support the Town Board's contention that the zoning changes would alleviate traffic problems brought on by more development, according to the county's review.

The review also highlights certain proposed changes as counterproductive, namely the reduction of hamlet-zoned areas. Hamlet and mixed-use areas allow residents to be within walking distance of businesses and other attractions.

"The proposed zoning amendments "¦ will likely increase people's dependency on their automobile for mobility and the number of vehicle trips and traffic congestion throughout the town as a consequence," the review reads.

The Town Board proposed the changes to the town's zoning code to reduce the number of homes that could be built, which at its highest was estimated at 3,000.

The number of proposed homes could decrease by 500 to 1,000 if the changes are approved, according to building inspector Neal Halloran.

However, the changes would also eliminate so-called "density bonuses" - incentives that reward developers with extra permitted units in exchange for preserving open space or building affordable housing.

While the county's review is not binding, the five-member Town Board can reject all or parts of it with four votes. Most decisions require only three out of five votes.

Goshen Supervisor Doug Bloomfield wouldn't discuss the county's recommendations in detail because the board has yet to review input from residents, developers, the town Planning Board and the county.

The town held two public hearings - during which residents supported the changes and developers and their attorneys opposed them - and is still accepting written comments.

"They had a lot of questions and a lot of concerns," Bloomfield said of the review. "We give everybody equal weight in their comments. But I won't be intimidated by anyone either."

Town Attorney Dennis Caplicki said the board would probably end up complying with at least some of the suggestions. "But not all of them," he said.
(Times Herald Record)

ORANGE: Village of Florida Issues Water Conservation Alert

Residents in Florida may not use sprinkler systems to water their lawns under a conservation alert issued this week by the village Board of Trustees.

Trustees issued the alert because the dry - until now - late summer and early autumn has left Glenmere Lake, the village's main water supply, about 11 inches lower than this time last year.

Residents may use hoses to water their lawns. Violators may be fined $250 for a first offense.

SULLIVAN: No Property Tax Hike Next Year, Says County

Part of the tradeoff Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and State Senator John Bonacic stipulated in return for sponsoring the home rule measure allowing the county to up its sales tax, is that the county manager not include a property tax hike in his next budget.

David Fanslau told the County Legislature's Finance Committee that his 2008 budget will have no tax increase.

He is comfortable with that, in part because of the additional revenue from the sales tax, and because of fiscal reforms he has implemented during his just over one year as county manager.

"For example, we are streamlining some of the departments and having them run for efficiently. There is not automatic approvals for expenditures. Earlier this year, we set aside 10 percent of the budget, requiring additional authorization before it is spent."

Fanslau said department heads are part of the deal, also. "Fiscal constraint on the departments to spend less."

Management and Budget Chairman Jonathan Rouis said the new budget process "illustrates this legislature's commitment to a more fiscally responsible government and to ensuring that we are spending taxpayer dollars as efficiently as possible."
(MidHudsonNews.com)

ULSTER: County Creates Own Department of the Environment

Even before it was officially created Wednesday night, Ulster County had attracted statewide and even regional attention for its plans to form a new county Department of the Environment. The Committee was formed to upgrade Ulster County's environmental protection initiatives and formalize a structure to address current and future environmental concerns.

This department will be responsible for the coordination of Ulster County's actions on a host of environmental concerns, including storm water management (MS4), Ulster County's "green" building initiatives and a movement towards minimizing the county's carbon footprint.

It was finalized following substantial consultation with representatives of Ulster County's Environmental Community and is designed to balance financial accountability with environmental stewardship.

Shapiro said the new department has been structured using the "best practices" found throughout New York State.

"What's so exciting about this is that the New York State Association of Counties has picked up on this, and this is a model for the rest of New York State. This is the first Department of the Environment for New York State; a real role model as environmental protection becomes more and more important in government affairs and our own lives."
(MidHudsonNews.com)

ULSTER: County Receives Farm Housing Grant

Ulster County has received a $600,000 state grant to provide modular housing for workers on 16 farms. Each farm will contribute a cash match bringing the program total to over $768,000.

The housing will provide housing for some 130 people, while at the same time allowing farmers to meet their regulatory requirements.

The program helps preserve the economic viability of agriculture and reflects the county's efforts to ensure that all members of the community have access to decent, safe and affordable housing, officials said.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County will administer the program as it did a similar one in 2001. That project resulted in improvements to 25 Ulster County farms that included rehabilitation of 14 existing housing units and the installation of 11 new modular homed for farm workers.
(MidHudsonNews.com)

WESTCHESTER: Development Strategies Divide Peekskill Candidates

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/NEWS02/710110346/1018/NEWS02

WESTCHESTER: Ossining Candidates Spar Over Development

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/NEWS02/710110351/1018/NEWS02

WESTCHESTER: Development Dominates White Plans Candidates Debate

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS02/710100406/1018/NEWS02