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Miscellaneous Resident Concerns and Complaints
May 20, 2008
Railroad Avenue
During the Courtesy of the Floor portion of the meeting, a resident of Railroad Ave. complained about the disrepair on his street and the fact that the Dept. of Motor Vehicles had begun using the street for road tests. He also complained about the way a town staffer in the supervisor's office had initially responded to his complaint. He thanked Councilman Bianco and Mr. DiBartolo for their help in resolving the issue, both with the DMV which will go back to using Front St for road tests and also for cleaning up the street.
For updates see Zoning Issues
August 19, 2008
Literature display in lobby of town hall
Susan Siegel (the person writing this summary) asked the board if there was any criteria for determining what types of brochures and fliers could be made available to the public on the literature rack in the lobby of town hall. She expressed concern that one piece was political in nature and felt that that was not appropriate for town hall. In response to questions from the board, she identified the piece as the Senior Forum Newsletter. Town Clerk Alice Roker indicated that it was her responsibility to approve fliers for the literature rack and that she did have some initial reservations about the Forum piece although she said she had not read it in its entirety.
In response to Ms. Siegel's comments, Nick DiTomaso, editor of the newsletter, highlighted some of the articles indicating that there was nothing objectionable in them and he raised the issue of free speech.
At the second Courtesy of the Floor segment, Catherine D'Amato, the guest coordinator for Mr. DiTomaso's television program, objected to Ms. Siegel's comments which she said were targeted against the senior citizens. She went on to raise the issue of who was to take credit for the proposed new senior center at the YCC and said that former supervisor Linda Cooper had nothing to do with that.
Councilman Bianco explained that the state grant to study the renovation of the YCC had been obtained during Ms. Cooper's term in office. He also suggested that the community not make an issue of who should take/get credit for the senior center issue.
Councilman Martorano and Supervisor Peters both reiterated Mr. Bianco's comment about not making “credit” an issue and urged the community to work together on the issue. Mr. Martorano noted that the initial grant was not specifically for a senior center but rather for the YCC in general; the senior center, he said, was only part of the plan.
March 24, 2009, work session
Drainage issue on Forest Court
A homeowner on Forest Court asked the board to do something about an ongoing water problem he is having that he says comes from a leaking town water pipe. The problem has been going on for 10 years. Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo said that a video inspection of the pipe and a dye test showed no problem with the pipe. He said that the problem was created when the homeowner put an addition onto the house. The homeowner disputed Mr. DiBartolo's comments and showed the board evidence that the company he hired to inspect the pipe has found problems and that the problem dated back to before the addition.
Mr. DiBartolo agreed to do a new dye test in a couple of days. He said that the pipe was too narrow for a person to go inside it to inspect. He said that if the 228 foot pipe was causing the problem and had to be replaced, it would cost the town between $10,000-$14,000.
June 2, 2009
During Courtesy of the Floor, the homeowner again asked for the town's help in addressing the drainage issue which he believes is the town's responsibility. He had the test results from a recent dye test and also told the board that the county had put a pesticide into the storm drain.
In response, Councilman Bianco said he thought that there had been a new camera inspection of the pipe. Director of Labor Operations DiBartolo said that the most recent camera inspection showed that the pipe has not failed but that there was some deterioration in the pipe near the property owner's house. He said a new pipe would cost between $80,000-$90,000 but he believed that the solution to the problem was for the homeowner to install footing drains. At the suggestion of Councilman Bianco, Mr. DiBartolo will do a second camera test and the homeowner invited the board members to monitor the test with him.
April 14, 2009, work session
Use of town paper road (Fennimore Dr) for private curtain drain
Bob Branigan explained to the board that he needs to construct a curtain drain to carry run off from the woods above him to an existing town drain. The route would have to pass through a town owned paper road that is now just grass. In addition to seeking board approval for this, the issue involves a neighboring homeowner whose septic fields extend into the paper road; the installation of the new curtain drain will disturb the fields. Mr. Branigan explained that the septic fields were installed by the previous owner without permission of the town. The fields are not working properly. He added that the new curtain drain, in addition to benefiting his property, would also help the adjoining property owner by drawing water away from the malfunctioning septic fields.
The board asked town attorney John Buckley to check into the legal issues surrounding the unauthorized use of the town land. Mr. Buckley said the easement to use town land would be a relatively simple issue; the hard problem would be dealing with the failing septic fields.
Highway Superintendent Eric DiBartolo, who was working with the property owner on the curtain drain issue, said he would hold off doing anything until he received further direction from the board.
April 21, 2009
Sewer backup to residence (insurance claim against the town)
A homeowner asked the board to intervene and reconsider her insurance claim against the town for damages to her home as a result of a December 31, 2008 sewer main backup on Douglas Drive. The backup resulted in $20,000-$25,000 worth of damages. She explained that after her homeowner's insurance paid only $5,000 on the claim, she filed a claim against the town. The town's insurer rejected the claim and she hired an attorney to appeal the denial. While she has not yet heard the results of the March 15th hearing, her attorney has advised her that a negative response is likely. She said that the town's insurance agent, Mr. Spadaccia has acknowledged that the backup was a result of the sewer line not being properly maintained.
In response, Councilman Martorano said that this was the first time he had heard about the issue and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Both he and Councilman Metz (who explained that he understood the problem as he had had to deal with a sewage backup in his house) asked the homeowner to attend next week's work session so that the board could discuss the issue further. He said that the town's insurer had talked to the board about the problem but that the board might be able to look at the issue from a less cold legal perspective that would be fairer to the homeowner.
(Note: the homeowners met with the board in closed session on April 29, 2009.)
June 23, 2009
The board approved a settlement payment of $22,089.13 to the Brumaghin family for damage done to their Whittier Court residence due to a sewer backup on December 31, 2008. The property owners had filed a Notice of Claim against the town alleged damages in excess of $50,000.
June 2, 2009
Appropriate comments during Courtesy of the Floor
Steven Gardner began to comment on the previous night's Democratic Town Committee Convention when Councilman Bianco interrupted to say that it was his opinion that politically oriented statements were not appropriate during Courtesy of the Floor but that the decision was up to the rest of the board. Some people in the audience called out, taking exception to Councilman Bianco's comment. After Councilman Martorano noted the changes that had taken place over the years in the content of the Courtesy of the Floor segment of the agenda, he said he felt that Mr. Gardner should be allowed to continue. Mr. Gardner then proceeded to express his concern over the way the Democratic Party convention had been conducted, especially the fact that he had not been permitted to address the group as a candidate for the highway superintendent position, nor was his presence at the meeting acknowledged.
July 7, 2009
Fire hydrants
During the Courtesy of the Floor, Howard Frank noted that there was no fire hydrant in front of the Curry Chevrolet building that recently experienced a fire. He suggested that if buildings undergoing renovation were required to have heat detectors and fire alarms, the building possibly could have been saved. He added that because the building was totally destroyed, it would likely have a negative impact on town taxes.
October 6, 2009
Hunterbrook Condominium
During Courtesy of the Floor, Nick DiTomaso and another resident from the Hunterbrook Condo development complained about construction work that had been done in their complex adjacent to the legacy ballfields project. The purpose of the construction was to tap into the water main located on an easement in the condo development. They said the homeowners were not given any notification that the work was going to be done, a street was torn up, trees cut down, and the place left in a general mess. They also wanted to know if their water pressure would be affected.
In response, Director of Labor Operations Eric DiBartolo explained that the work was done according to an easement that had been negotiated over a 21 month period with the condo's management. He said he had notified the management that the work was going to commence. He said that the cut trees would be replaced, the disturbed grass reseeded and additional black top placed in the street once the repaving job settled. He said there would be no change to the water pressure for condo homeowners, adding that their water supply was town water, and not a private supply.
He added that additional changes would be made that would benefit the condo owners, including turning one of the ballfields to reduce noise to the residents, and changing the lower parking lot and road.
Street lighting
During Courtesy of the Floor, Howard Frank informed the board that several street lights were out and suggested that the town notify NYSEG and Con Ed. He said the utility companies needed the pole # when a call was made.
Use of board meeting room and hours of councilmen
During Courtesy of the Floor,Ed Ciffone, on behalf of the UTY, asked to see a copy of the board's resolution restricting meeting use in the board room, especially the use of food, which he said other groups had offered, but which wasn't allowed for a UTY meeting. He said the UTY was being discriminated against. He said that on October 28th, the UTY would have a meeting in the room. All candidates have been invited to attend and he will be asking them questions.
In response, Councilman Bianco said he recalled a discussion about the use of the room during which time it was decided that as the board legislated in the room, the room had a special meaning which is why the board decided to prohibit political debates. He said the board's consensus was passed along to the town clerk. Regarding the prohibition of food, he added that in the past, groups that had used the room for meetings had left behind food that resulted in attracting bugs.
Mr. Ciffone also questioned a February 27, 2009 resolution that stated that town board members worked a 30 hour week, and that the budget showed them as full time employees working 35 hours. He said he couldn't see how this could be as some of the councilmen had outside full time jobs.
Saying that the situation was wrong, he said it should be stopped. He told the board that the NYS comptroller would be requiring time cards as of January.
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