OPENING ITEMS
Call Meeting to Order
Pledge of allegiance
Announcements
Presentation
Correspondence
Payment of Bills
DIVISION REPORTS
Some reports have been sent to the board in advance of the meeting, therefore they are not read out loud at the meeting; copies of all reports may be obtained at the Town Clerks Office.
Highway
Used 653.5 gal of diesel fuel 532.6 gal was for highway and 120.9 was non-highway use.
Used 354 gal of gas 45 was highway and 309 was non-highway use.
Patched holes on dirt and paved roads.
Stock piled sand for winter.
Mow right of ways along roads.
Paved parts of Oak Street and 5Th Street Ext.
Repaired washouts on Hoffman and Lackawaxen.
Ditch Irishtown, Perry Pond, and Grassy.
Cut trees on flats.
Put snow removal equipment on trucks.
First wet snow of year - sanded a few of the high spots.
Grad dirt roads get them ready for winter.
Water & Sewer
Building Department/ Code Enforcement
Construction Inspections – 24
Fire & Safety Inspections – 0
Complaint/Violation Inspections - 0
Certificate of Occupancy – 1
Certificate of Compliance – 11
Building Permits – 15
New Homes – 1
Accessory Building/Garage – 2
Renovation/Alteration/Addition – 2
Camping - 0
Chimney/Fuel – 0
Accessory Building Commercial - 1
New Commercial Construction – 0
Renovation/Alteration – Commercial Construction - 1
Deck - 0
Demolition Permit - 0
Driveway Permit – 1
Electrical – 3
Logging Permits – 0
Mechanical - 1
Permit Renewals – 0
Pool – 1
Roof Replacement – 0
Roof Structure - 1
Septic Permits – 1
Sidewalk - 0
Sign Permit – 0
Solar Permit – 0
Well - 0
Flood Plain Permit - 0
C/O and violation search – 6
Dangerous and Unsafe Building – 0
Complaints Received – 0
Complaints Closed – 0
Violations Issued – 0
Violations Corrected – 0
Previous Violations Closed/Corrected - 0
Stop Work – 0
Building Inspector and Clerk attended webinar training on 10/27/20 on Code Enforcement and Disaster Response and Dampers for Fire and Smoke; on 10/29/20 on CSST Systems to Meet 2020 Residential and Fuel Gas and ECCNYS Residential Systems – whole house Mechanical Ventilation
Monies collected by this office from October 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020 are $4,663.10.
Respectfully,
Jim P Crowley, Building Inspector
Assessor
During the month of October, the dates were assigned for the four small claims hearings. Two with Adventine Properties were completed on Zoom and the results are awaited. These two required our appraisal information be submitted 10 days in advance of the hearing. This was supposed to be an exchange of information with Adventine Properties also supplying their information for review. Adventine sent their information at 4:50 on Friday afternoon for a 9:00 AM hearing on Monday morning. The comps selected were now different than the ones selected at grievance hearing in May and were a far stretch to the subject obviously selected only for their lower sale price. I was busy both Saturday and Sunday preparing a comment dissertation on each of these claims. Work was also done on the other petition and the supposedly ineligible vacant parcel. When vacant parcel was brought to the attention of the hearing officer by email, he stated that he needed to determine if the parcel was “unbuildable” and thus eligible for small claims review.
The Sullivan County Assessor’s Association meeting was attended in an outside pavilion. Luckily the weather was great that day and the meeting was both comfortable and informative. Discussion of the tax sale and small claims hearings was had with most towns receiving the hearing dates for later in October. Discussion turned to the poor quality of information presented by the grievance company Adventine Properties, but other than analyzing the data and refuting it, not much could be done. Most towns faced this same situation.
Deeds have been coming in from the County in larger volume than normal which reflects the upturn in the real estate market. I have noticed that prices on these sales is also up and many properties that have been on the market for many years are now selling. Last week’s credit bulletin had six sales for Tusten while normal is around three.
Ken Baim
Sole Assessor
Upper Delaware Council
UDC and UDC Committees
Litter Sweep 2021 spring cleaning of River Accesses UDC is looking for a contact person from each town willing to coordinate this volunteer effort.
UDC 5 year Plan: Buck Moorehead, Facilitator of the Planning workshop will present the Plan at UDC’s December 5 monthly meeting at 7:00PM
UDC on Social Media; thanks to Shannon and Ashley, the news of UDC events and activities will be posted to Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIN . YouTube and Vimeo accounts also established to access the Project Review Training Video
Project Review Workbook Training Video; Shannon has already attended Tusten’s Planning Board meeting, and familiarized the Board with the new P.R. Workbook. UDC is also checking using the video as a training tool for which NYS Town officials can apply for CEU’s
UDC/Alliance for the Upper Delaware is seeking environmental and conservation projects to add to list as part of the Alliances request for a line item in NYS Environmental Protection Fund budget. Fund is 351 Mil. UDC looking into including improvements to boat launch at TMR. Discussed further at WU/RM committee
Project Review Committee; continues to explore ways/means of including Commercial Solar Energy Position Paper in the RMP.
NPS;
New Superintendent Joseph Salvatore, to begin his tenure 12/20. Land Use Planner Cody Hendrix to begin his job 12/7.
General Information;
Voices for the Upper Delaware River (advocates in non official capacity) sought for interviews on WHYY Public Radio and Delaware Currents online news service to increase understanding of the watershed above Pt. Jervis
Traffic issues; Hawks Nest experiencing dangerous conditions due to speeding motorcycles. Police are issuing fines, but the situation continues. Traffic and parking issues on RT 97 Mongap Access being studies, looking for solutions for next summer.
Energy Committee
Tusten Energy Committee November 2020 Report
Soft Plastic collection in Tusten has yielded 5,738 pounds to date. That's almost 3 tons in 14 months!
The HORSE food scrap digestor is scheduled to ship from Seattle in November with a delivery date in December. We will soon be able to transform food scrap waste into organic plant food, a sustainable solution to a nationwide problem.
The 5 10'x8"x10" railroad tie beams upon which the 25,000 pound HORSE will sit, are being fabricated locally from Hemlock shortly.
The electrical connection from the HORSE to a highway building will cost approximately $2,000. That cost will be paid for from the $5,000 grant the town received by becoming a Climate Smart Community. Our informational flyers have also been covered by this same grant.
Collection of free food-grade buckets with lids from Weis Market is complete after 3 months. All buckets have a waterproof sticker with instructions to be distributed to participating Tusten restaurants and food merchants.
For the last 2 1/2 years, the TEC has made every effort to cover all costs of the food scrap digestor project. We received a fully funded grant from the DEC for $134,100, all volunteer participants donate their time for free, and buckets for food merchants have been donated by Weis.
Brandi Merolla, Chair TEC
November 10, 2020
Zoning Re-Write Committee
No report received at this time
Grants
UDC 2019-20 grants- We have received $900 for the 2019 zoning re-write project and we received $10,000 for the 2019 Part 1 Comprehensive Plan project.
UDC 2020-21 grant- We have been awarded $9,000 for Part 2 of the Comprehensive Plan project.
Bridge NY grant – culvert work continues. Much of the recent time has been spent on the ROW (right of way) work to establish ownership of properties needed for temporary bridge.
Homeland Security and Emergency Service grant – We submitted a detailed Letter of Intent for a $950,000 project to upgrade the three wells in the water district. We are thankful to Freda Eisenberg, Director of Sullivan County Planning for reviewing the letter prior to submission. However, in the end our request was determined ineligible because “generators are not an eligible activity” and the wells are not insured with FEMA.
Future possible grants- the town is working with theFlats Neighborhood Watch group. To this end we are seeking funding for cameras to be located at specific strategic locations on the Flats.
Submitted by: Jane Luchsinger, Deputy Supervisor
OLD BUSINESS
PUBLIC COMMENT
10 minutes will be given for public comment. Please keep your comments directed to the board, comments should pertain to agenda items only. All other comments or questions may be taken up with individual board members after the meeting or at another time.
NEW BUSINESS
Authorization to Advertise for 2021 Septic Pumping Bids
Highway request to purchase snow plow
PUBLIC COMMENT
10 minutes will be given for public comment. Please keep your comments directed to the board, comments should pertain to agenda items only. All other comments or questions may be taken up with individual board members after the meeting or at another time.
CLOSING ITEMS
Board Comment
Meeting reminder
Adjournment