| Town of Beekman Resolutions from April 4, 2005 meeting. Go
to - RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 1 Adoption of
Cash Collection Process and Procedures RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 1 RE: Adoption of Cash Collection Process and Procedures Councilwoman Barbara Zulauf offers the following and moves its adoption: WHEREAS, the Office of the New York State Comptroller recently conducted a Risk Assessment of the Town of Beekman; and WHEREAS, as a result of their assessment, it was recommended that the town adopt written procedures regarding the handling and safeguarding of cash by all departments; and WHEREAS, the Comptroller has submitted a draft of written procedures for the collection of cash to Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni & Weddell, the accountants for the Town, for their review and received their approval; and WHEREAS, the Comptroller has submitted a final draft to the Town Board for their review; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby adopts the attached “Cash Collection Process and Procedures” to be implemented immediately by all departments engaged in the handling of cash receipts. Seconded Supervisor John D. Adams ROLL CALL VOTE:
RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 2 RE: Authorizing Town Historian to Attend Conference Councilman Werner Stiegler offers the following and moves its adoption:
WHEREAS, it will be beneficial for our Town Historian to attend said conference; and WHEREAS, the cost to attend the conference will be approximately $250.00 and is included in the 2005 budget; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Town Historian, Thomas Usher, is hereby authorized to attend the APHNYS Spring Conference.
Date: April 4, 2005
RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 3 RE: Authorizing Bus Trips for Recreation Program Supervisor John D. Adams offers the following and moves its adoption: WHEREAS, the 2005 Recreation budget includes funding for three bus trips for the year for the enjoyment of the residents of the Town of Beekman; and WHEREAS, in order to reserve a bus as well as tickets when applicable, deposits are required; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that payment for the following trips is hereby authorized in accordance with the attached contracts: Mohegan Sun Casino Bus Deposit of $200, with balance of $595 due 9/10 Radio City Christmas Show Ticket deposit of $800, bus cost of $795.00 Seconded Councilwoman Barbara Zulauf
Date: April 4, 2005
RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 4 RE: Community Day Councilman Daniel French offers the following and moves its adoption: WHEREAS, the 2005 Annual Community Day is scheduled for July 16, 2005; and WHEREAS, funding for this cultural and historical event is included in the 2005 budget; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Supervisor be and hereby authorized to enter into contracts for the following:
Seconded Councilman Werner Stiegler ROLL CALL VOTE: Dated: April 5, 2005
RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 5 RE: Authorizing Attendance at Highway School Councilman Daniel French offers the following and moves its adoption:
WHEREAS, cost for the registration fee as well as lodging will be approximately $350.00; and WHEREAS, funding is included in the 2005 budget; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Highway Superintendent, David Temple, be hereby authorized to attend the 2005 Highway School. Seconded Councilman Werner Stiegler
RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 6 RE: Authorizing Hiring Independent Contractors for Senior Citizen Program Supervisor John D. Adams offers the following and moves its adoption: WHEREAS, the Supervisor was authorized to terminate the contract between the Town of Beekman and the Association of Senior Citizens; and WHEREAS, the Senior Citizen Program at the Beekman Community Center will now be administered by the Recreation Department; and WHEREAS, the Recreation Department has recommended opening the center twice a week, as opposed to once a week, as well as hiring independent contractors to act as directors to lead the program and an instructor to provide arts and crafts; now therefore be it RESOLVED; that the Supervisor is hereby authorized to enter into an agreement to hire independent contractors as outlined in the attached proposal submitted by Susan Gartner, Director of Senior Citizen Programs.
RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 7 RE: Negative Declaration and Adoption of Town of Beekman Open Space Plan Councilman Werner Stiegler offers the following and moves its adoption: WHEREAS, the town board has reviewed a draft open space plan that defines a town vision for open space protection, sets short term and long term goals and actions, and recommends conserving some of the most important resources that landowners and the Beekman community are mutually interested in protecting; and, WHEREAS, the Town of Beekman Town Board has to date: declared itself Lead Agency as the single agency involved in the potential adoption of the open space plan; accepted a Full EAF for review; determined that the project as described was subject to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) as a Type I action for the purpose of an environmental review pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part §617.6 (b) (3) of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR); reviewed the Full EAF; made the draft plan available to the Town of Beekman Planning Board and the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Economic Development for their advisory comments, if any; and conducted a public hearing on the draft open space plan on March 21, 2005; and, WHEREAS, the Town of Beekman Town Board has considered public comments on the draft plan; has considered the proposed action and the draft plan; has reviewed the Full EAF documentation and the criteria for determining environmental significance of this Type I action, thoroughly analyzed the action and has found no potentially significant adverse impacts to the community for adopting the plan; and, WHEREAS, the Town of Beekman’s planning advisors, Behan Planning Associates, LLC have prepared a Type I negative declaration statement under the requirements of 6 NYCRR Part §617.7(b) for the town board’s review; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Town of Beekman Town Board hereby determines the significance of adopting the Town of Beekman Open Space Plan, and that it will not result in any large and important impacts and will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment; and that it has reviewed and hereby accepts the negative declaration statement; and, therefore the Type I negative declaration will be filed, distributed, and published under the requirements of 6 NYCRR Part §617.7(b); and be it further RESOLVED, that the Town of Beekman Town Board hereby adopts the Town of Beekman Open Space Plan under New York State General Town Law §272-a(2)(a) for incorporation as an official planning document of the Town of Beekman, and as a complement to the previously adopted Town of Beekman Comprehensive Plan. Seconded by: Supervisor John D. Adams ROLL CALL VOTE: Date: April 4, 2005 RESOLUTION 4:4:05 - 8 Town of Beekman, NY Proposed Action: Adoption of the Town of Beekman Open Space Plan SEQR Negative Declaration – Statement Description of Action: The proposed action is the adoption of the Town of Beekman Open Space Plan. Reasons Supporting This Determination:
· The open space plan offers a vision and recommendations that are more protective of the town-wide open space resources of the community, thus overall, the open space plan sets forth a policy direction that will not create significant adverse impacts to the environment. This plan takes a closer look in identifying the special resources that have been evaluated to be important to the community and its landowners. The Town of Beekman Open Space Plan provides concepts and a direction to the community and its landowners about other options for the future use of lands that could be available to the community in addition to the common option of solely development of their lands and resources. · The Beekman Open Space Plan does not call for specific physical changes to lands or resources, and thus the adoption of the plan will not cause significant adverse impacts to the town’s overall land resources. Rather, the plan sets forth the vision of conserving and protecting a long–term goal of about 2,500 additional acres for protection, to add to the existing base of approximately 2,600 acres that are protected lands today in town. Out of a total town land base of about 19,000 acres, the proposed long term goal is to protect about 1/3 of the town’s total land area for open space conservation, and still leave lands for accommodating balanced growth as a complement to the quality of the rural character of Beekman. The Beekman Open Space Plan proposes the following long-term goals for conservation and protection: · Preserve about 250 to 500 additional acres of land focused on
water resources protection These specific goals will be met through additional processing with individual landowners, and the public as needed, once projects are developed for consideration. Any future, proposed site-specific conservation projects, packages of site-specific projects, or proposals for funding initiatives potentially would be subject to specific, subsequent environmental impact review under SEQR. · The plan calls for the greater protection of water resources, with recommendations for the town to update the town’s land use plan and pursue the long-term protection of at least 250 to 500 acres of important water resources lands, in the future. The town has numerous streams, ponds, surface waters and aquifers. The open space plan proposes a goal for the conservation and protection of 250 to 500 additional acres for water resources protection, a goal which overlaps with other land resource protection goals. The majority of the town lies within the Fishkill Creek watershed, with a small southern portion in the Croton River Watershed Area draining southerly towards Putnam County, and a small eastern portion of town in the Swamp River Watershed draining to Dover and Pawling. Through the protection of other lands and resources, the town will achieve protection of additional water resources. Thus, the action of adopting the plan would have a beneficial impact on the town’s water resources. Thus the adoption of the open space plan will not cause a significant adverse impact on ground water or surface water quality or quantity. · With the goal of striving to be more protective of land resources including lands on hillsides and ridges with some significant topography, the action of adopting the open space plan will not cause a substantial increase in the potential for erosion, flooding, leaching or drainage problems. The plan calls for protection of lands in their natural state, as nature preserves, and to protect in particular the town’s scenic hillsides and ridges that are substantially forest and mature woodlands. A short term goal is to protect an additional 100 acres of nature preserves and scenic hillsides, with a long-term goal to protect a total additional 1,000 acres town-wide. · The action of adopting the open space plan offers a vision and recommendations that are more protective of the agricultural resources of the community, and thus will not create significant impacts to the environment. The action will not cause a substantial change in the use, or intensity of use, of agricultural land. The plan recommends future efforts to protect at least one key farm in the short term, and work towards a long-term goal of protecting the entire core farming areas in town, for a total goal of about 1,000 acres of farmland. Beekman’s open space plan calls for protecting as much of the remaining active, working farms and associated farmland that are left in the town, in mutual cooperation with willing and interested, volunteer landowners. Thus the plan will have a beneficial impact on agricultural land resources in Beekman. The town has a core agricultural area in the “valley” area, and part of the town is located in the Clove Valley, one of the top 10 agricultural areas in Dutchess County. The town has significant agricultural soils including prime USDA soils, and soils of statewide significance for farming. The narrow valley within Gardner Hollow, as well as lands near Clapp Hill also has smaller areas of farmlands. Thus the adoption of the open space plan will have a significant beneficial impact on the future of farming in town by its expression of public policy and support in finding opportunities to conserve the farmed, rural landscape and farm viability in town. · The adoption of the plan will not cause a substantial change in the use, or the intensity of use, of land including open space or recreational resources. The proposed adoption of the open space plan advances the policy concept to increase the amount of open space and recreation resources in the community, thus effectively creating a significant beneficial impact to the community and for wildlife and the ecological setting. The open space plan’s proposed concepts to protect additional lands around the existing open space and park lands will only serve to enhance the existing protected lands. The town’s vision will also set the stage for increasing the linkages to existing open spaces and park lands across town for people and as habitat corridors. The town enjoys an existing base of approximately 2,616 acres of permanently protected open space lands owned by the state and federal governments. Most of the protected open space and park lands are owned by the federal and state governments: about 1,485 acres are owned by federal government; about 694 acres are owned by the state of park and forest lands. The town owns about 139 acres of park lands. Another approximately 298 acres would be classified as privately held open space or park lands through conservation easements for example, including lands as part of and nearby to the “Dalton Farms” residential neighborhood, and a private beach at Sylvan Lake. · The plan will not cause any significant adverse impacts to the existing nationally important open space resources and state-wide significant open space resources. Rather the Town of Beekman Open Space Plan will reinforce and support the existence of the wildlife habitat and natural areas in the state and federal park lands that exist in the town, with its goal to protect natural areas for nature preserves, and to protect scenic hillsides and ridges. About a 3-mile segment of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, a unit of the national park system is located through the southern portion of town amidst the Hudson Highlands. New York State owns the Depot Hill Multiple Use Area adjacent to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail off of Depot Hill Road, as well as the West Mountain State Forest along the town’s border with the Town of Dover in the hills above Gardner Hollow. · The adoption of the plan will not cause the removal nor the destruction of large quantities of vegetation or fauna, the substantial interference with the movement of any resident or migratory fish or wildlife species, the impacts on a significant habitat area, substantial adverse impacts on a threatened or endangered species of animal or plant, or the habitat of such species, or other significant adverse impacts to natural resources. Part of the Hudson Highlands, part of the Appalachian Mountain geological formation is located through the southern portion of the Town of Beekman. In addition, the town has extensive wetlands, streams and other ecological habitats. The open space plan will serve to have a beneficial impact on plants and animals with it policies to protect as a goal about 1,000 acres of forests and hillsides, as well as to conduct other growth management strategies to protect additional lands in the “valley” area of town. · The proposed action of adoption of the plan will not create any hazards to human health. A potential beneficial outcome and result of the plan would be beneficial impacts. The proposed plan to conserve a short term goal of an additional 250 acres to a long term goal to conserve an additional 2,500 acres or so, will result in conserving vegetative land cover, and soil conditions, and thus protect vegetation, trees, wetlands and forest roles in their ecological processes that include a role in air purification. Protection of land, water and ecological communities, and vegetation and trees resources will help to protect both air quality and water quality for the community. Thus the open space plan will have a beneficial impact on air resources and air quality. · The plan will not adversely impact public health. Setting forth short-term and long-term goals for land protection and for increasing trails connections would be beneficial impacts of the proposed open space plan that will only enhance the opportunities for improved public health. Increasing the trails connections alone as a goal will provide opportunities for walking and biking in areas where there are currently no public trails for the town’s residents and visitors. · The plan calls for the future planning and implementation of at least one new trail segment through a park or neighborhood, and with a goal of five to 10 miles of trails. Following future site-specific environmental review of any site-specific trails projects, the overall effect of future trails creation will be to provide dedicated walking and biking facilities for the community to walk, bike and potentially improve public health through increasing opportunities for the community to safely exercise outdoors, out of harm’s way of vehicular traffic movements. · The plan calls for the protection and connection to the community’s unique scenic, cultural and historic resources, including its hamlets and other cultural sites. The adoption of the plan will not impair the character or quality of important historical, archeological, architectural or aesthetic resources or of existing community or neighborhood character. This open space plan is unique in that it identifies not only natural and environmental features as open space resources, but also recognizes the “human-made” cultural landscapes such as the agricultural farmsteads with their fields, the early settlement and industrial history of ironworks and mills along the streams, and the original settlement patterns of the hamlets by the streams and creeks, as components of the Town of Beekman’s open space resources. Thus, the adoption of the open space plan will have a beneficial impact – in supporting the protection of the community’s most valued historic and cultural resources. · This open space plan identifies some of the major, scenic areas of the community, and anticipates that there are additional, finer aesthetic resources throughout town. The adoption of the open space plan will serve to beneficially protect some of the important aesthetic, scenic resources in the Town of Beekman. The Town of Beekman has unique existing scenic resources, as is evidenced by the designated national trail experience, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail situated along the highest vantage points in town, along the Hudson Highlands. The views and view shed from the Appalachian National Scenic Trail looking across ‘the valley” of Beekman and panoramically around the Mid-Hudson Valley region, are resources to be conserved from a national importance standpoint. Likewise the views from within the settled and less settled areas of Beekman, looking up towards Depot Hill and the long, continuing ridge of the Hudson Highlands, as well as West Mountain, and smaller, but locally important hills such as Clapp Hill, are also scenic views and scenic resources that are special and give meaning and character to Beekman. In addition, on a smaller scale of experiencing driving or walking throughout various areas within the town, there are additional, numerous scenic views of landscapes, hamlets, buildings, and unique stream and other natural features. Several roadways through town are under consideration to become designated as part of the Hudson River Valley Scenic Byway including NYS Route 55 and Beekman Road (Dutchess County Route 9). Other roads throughout town have scenic qualities including Dutchess County Route 216 for example, among others. · Overall the adoption of the Town of Beekman Open Space Plan will have a significant beneficial impact to the community and to the environment. The plan establishes a clear vision and clear framework for policy and public actions to seek opportunities for increasing the conservation of the town’s open space resources. The major benefits are the opportunities for the preservation of rural patterns of land use – of the agricultural patterns of fields and orchards and working farms, rural hamlet settlements, and the conservation and protection of the predominantly natural setting of the town, including its significant woodlands, and forested ridges, aquifers, wetlands, streams, floodplains. · At this time, no NYS Department of Environmental Conservation-designated Critical Environmental Areas are located in the Town of Beekman, thus there will be no significant adverse impacts to such designated resources. · The action will not cause adverse traffic impacts. The open space plan will not create any significant traffic generating activities. The open space plan proposes goals for permanently protecting lands, and for creating as a long-term vision/goal a range of five to 10 miles of pedestrian/bicyclist trail systems throughout the Town of Beekman. The plan will have beneficial impacts of striving to increase safe, pedestrian and bicyclist movement in the community as an alternative to vehicle transportation. As any site-specific trails projects are proposed, these trails projects will likely need to be evaluated on a project-by-project basis, or alternatively, a future trails master plan if developed, could be evaluated generically for any potential specific environmental impact issues related to physically creating a trail or trails network in the Town of Beekman. · The action will not cause a major change in the use or either the quantity or type of energy. The adoption of the open space plan with proposed vision and recommendations for conservation of resources will not have an adverse significant impact on energy resources. Rather, pursuing public policy to conserve land, water, forest, wetlands, historic, scenic, and agricultural resources, will only have a significant beneficial impact on energy resources supplies. · The action will not generate, nor cause to be generated, any substantial increase in solid waste production. No physical developments or uses are proposed that would generate solid waste as a result of adopting the open space plan. · There will be no noise or odor impact as a result of adopting the open space plan. Any future, site-specific project that is developed that proposes an active recreation component would likely require an additional environmental review process, and would address any potential noise impacts at that time. At this time, no specific projects are proposed that would be anticipated to involve noise or odors. The proposed policy for the continuation of farming activities and conservation of as many existing, active farms as possible throughout the town would not create any new, significant environmental impacts. · Impact on Growth (Growth-Inducing Aspects of the Action) and Character of Community and Neighborhood. The open space plan will not spur growth-inducing actions, rather it will spur opportunities for potential conservation-inducing actions – through potential public initiatives as well as potentially leverage additional private efforts and other levels of governmental initiatives. Adopting the town’s open space plan will re-affirm the community’s strong support for conserving the unique, rural and natural character of the community. Adopting the plan will provide town policy to help beneficially and significantly protect the character of the Beekman community, its neighborhoods, its town center area, and its distinctive natural and cultural places. The open space plan establishes policies to recognize and enhance the special character of Beekman, from its rural, country landscape character, its wooded ridge, forested hillsides, and historic hamlets. Beekman is fortunate to have such a range of experiences for its residents and visitors. Part of what makes Beekman so special is the presence of both these individual types of character areas, as well as the presence of all them within the community’s borders. All these different features offer unique character, as well as add up also to an overall unique character of the whole community. Cumulatively, maintaining a diversity of character types within the community is also important – and adds richness to the experience of the place – adding value and quality to the community. · The proposed action to adopt an open space plan and to be more protective of the town’s open space resources is not a specific physical proposal to change or impact the actual environment at this time. Any future, proposed site-specific conservation projects, packages of site-specific projects, or proposals for funding initiatives potentially would be subject to specific, subsequent environmental impact review under SEQR. · The proposed action will not create a material demand for other actions that would result in one of the above consequences. The action will not cause cumulative impacts to the environment. |
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