Board votes YES on two town laws
The board voted unanimously to approve a change in town law that will create two alternate member positions on the newly constituted Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board (CPFAB). The board was created by a town law in 2023 and initially consisted of five members appointed in January 2024.
The CPFAB is charged with reviewing and making recommendations on proposed acquisitions of interests in real property using funds from the Community Preservation Fund. The town board will select and appoint two alternates at an upcoming meeting. For more information on the CPFAB and the Community Preservation Fund, see this section on the town website.
The board also voted unanimously to approve a local parking law: “No person shall park a vehicle on any Town Highway within the Town of Chatham which is designated as one-way.” Board discussion indicated that another parking law is in development that will limit parking seasonally on town roads to allow for safe plowing and snow removal.
In other actions, the Board:
Heard from Chatham Village Police Chief Joe Alessi about a proposed contract between the town and the Chatham Village Police Department to provide traffic monitoring for selected hours and locations. This contract will be presented in a resolution at a future town board meeting. In combination with contracted patrols by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, these efforts are designed to address town residents’ complaints of unsafe driving and speeding in the hamlets and elsewhere.
Approved a plan by the Invasive Species Awareness Committee to apply for a program offered by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Committee chair Abi Mesick explained that if selected for this program, Chatham would benefit from collaboration with experts on local invasive species, and would learn and participate in applying methods to prevent and manage existing incursions of invasive species in the town. The committee has identified Crellin Park as the target for these efforts, should the program be awarded to the town.
Heard from Supervisor Collins about two proposals presented to the board that would address compliance with the Town’s Short Term Rental law. Collins will be meeting with these two potential vendors to discuss differences in their approaches to compliance and costs. He said that only about 10% of “known” STRs in the town have registered as required under the new STR law as of the deadline date.
Collins said that he will be meeting with vendors to learn more about two proposals to upgrade the town website. He asked the board to review available materials and said he hopes to have a board decision on the best option soon.
Agreed to formally register support for two bills currently under consideration by the NYS Assembly and Senate: (1) the Strong Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act and (2) a change in the NYS Bottle Bill. The latter legislation would raise the deposit on beverage containers to 10 cents per container from 5 cents. In tandem, these bills are designed to improve recycling, decrease excessive and toxic packaging materials, and decrease the cost of waste management for local governments and taxpayers.