Town Board report 5/4/23
May 4 Town Board Workshop Meeting
“Let’s talk about ticks.” Council member Hallenbeck announced that NYS Senator Hinchey is hosting a virtual Tick Information panel on May 18 at 6 pm, live on the Senator’s facebook page, and posted on that page after the event. Access the 5/18 event here.
Alcohol permitting at Crellin Park questioned. The board discussed a request from the Parks and Recreation Committee to consider changes in the special use permit policy relating to alcohol being served at events at Town owned facilities, including Crellin Park. While emphasizing that the current policy on permitting alcohol at park events had been approved “with due diligence” and that there have been no known alcohol related incidents at any past events, the committee asked that the board tighten requirements so that a permit to serve alcohol would be denied under two conditions: (1) where the primary intent of the event is for youth activity and involvement; and (2) where the anticipated number of youth, 20 years or younger, is likely to exceed 30% of the total event attendance.
On one side of the discussion, comments centered on the potential difficulty in estimating who would attend an event by age group and consequent difficulty in enforcement; and that there has been no problem with alcohol related behaviors at any park event to date.
On the other side, there was the sentiment that if alcohol presents any potential risk, permitting of any alcohol at town facilities is unwise due to potential liability.
The board did not vote on the suggested changes; the committee will discuss the board commentary and recommend any proposed change in policy.
Community Clean Up Day will take place on Saturday, May 20 at the Highway garage off CR 13 in Old Chatham. Preregistration at Town Hall will be necessary. An announcement with specifics of what is allowed or not and other details will be posted on the town website soon.
Upcoming public hearings. The board resolved to have public hearings on three proposed local laws on Thursday, 5/18/23, beginning at 6:40 pm. All proposed laws relate to the Community Preservation Plan. The first local law would establish a Preservation Fund and a community Preservation Fund Advisory Board; the second local law would adopt a Community Preservation Project Plan; and the third local law would authorize a 1-1/2% real estate transfer tax that would be deposited in the town’s Community Preservation Fund. These funds would be earmarked to preserve and protect aspects of the town’s environment as outlined in the draft of the Community Preservation Plan.