Town Board report Feb 15, 2024
At its regular monthly meeting February 15, the Town Board:
Approved a new annual date for Grievance Day. Established under a new local law, Grievance Day will now occur annually on the 4th Tuesday of May; property owners in the town will be able to grieve (e.g. contest) the assessment of their real property, and if successful, to lower their property taxes. For more information on the grievance process, see the Assessor page on the Town website.
Heard from Committee Chairs that all committees have met or are scheduled to meet for initial 2024 meeting in coming weeks. All committees are tasked with presenting their agreed upon goals to the full Town Board for discussion and approval at a special town board meeting on Thursday, 2/29/24 at 5 PM.
Heard a detailed report from Supervisor Collins outlining his work with the county Board of Supervisors, and discussed current initiatives and developments at the county level of government.
Heard that Supervisor Collins has had discussions with the Chatham Village Police Department to explore contracting of traffic policing in the town, which has been requested and recommended by residents who have previously addressed the town on speeding and pedestrian / biking safety issues. The town is still collecting data to document areas where traffic issues are most prominent, in order to utilize policing most effectively; updates on data and plans for additional policing are forthcoming.
Began discussion on a draft local law that would establish a “Moratorium on Large Scale Solar Arrays”. The draft law is available in the agenda packet listed on the 2/15 date of the town calendar. The moratorium law will be the subject of a public hearing prior to potential revisions and a vote by the board to approve or reject it.
Heard Supervisor Collins recommend a local law that would establish two Alternate positions on the Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board.
Voted to appoint new members to Boards and Citizen Advisory Committees as noted:
Lisa Simonetti to fill a vacancy on the Planning Board, with that appointment running through 2026.
Adrienne Dowd as an alternate member of the Planning Board for 2024.
Jason Brown as a member of the Chatham Agricultural Partnership Committee.
Bart Thibadeau as a member of the newly established Zoning Update Committee.
Adopted the Pro-Housing Community Pledge, which recognizes the lack of affordable, accessible, and varied housing options in the town of Chatham, and asserts that the town must take a number of positive steps to remedy the situation. This pledge is related to a NYS policy designed to reward local governments that are working to address New York's housing crisis. Pro-housing communities will be given priority consideration over other localities for up to $650 million in state discretionary funds. The pledge will frame some of the work of the Zoning Update and the Housing Committees.
Two ongoing issues that required a legal opinion were addressed at the meeting:
First, Town Attorney Tal Rappleyea did a short presentation on the Open Meeting Law, and answered questions from the board. Per Supervisor Collins, a document detailing this presentation will be posted on the town website.
Second, Rappleyea advised that the recent board action specifying duties of the Town Supervisor was allowable under NYS Town Law. Rappleyea said that duties as stated in a resolution passed at the last board meeting constituted only minor changes and did not introduce any substantive change in the Supervisor’s duties, thereby negating any need for a referendum.