TOWN BOARD MEETING DISOVLES [sic] INTO SHOUTING MATCH:

The porno showdown with the Rochester Town Board tonight dissolved in shouting matches, the blaring horns of pickup trucks and a legal standoff.

The jam-packed meeting never got to the demands of the resignation of town Supervisor Pam Duke and Councilman Francis Gray. Members of the Rochester Republicans Club had mailed 2,000 multi-colored, slick paper fliers to town residents urging them to attend the tonight's meeting at Town Hall.

"WARNING: Sexually Explicit Material" the flier blared across the top. The flier said Duke and Gray, among other board members, charged a local woman with being associated with a pornographic web site. The charge came during an executive session to interview the woman, Manuela Mihailescu, for a position on the town's Historic Preservation Commission.

"Ridiculous," Mihailescu said last night. "Absurd." "Inconceivable." That's one side of the dispute, town attorney Rod Futerfas told the crowd of about 80 that jammed Town Hall. Another 50-80 people milled in the cold outside and pickup trucks circled in the parking lot, blaring their horns and flashing their headlights. State Police were on hand, but made no arrests during the session.

UPDATE: Commenter Jason Kovacs provides a link to this Daily Freeman article that clarifies the issue:

A capacity crowd in the Rochester Town Hall - and more people outside honking their horns - became too rowdy for the Town Board to handle Thursday night, and the board's monthly meeting was adjourned after only 20 minutes.

More than 100 people came to the meeting, many to protest what they believe was unfair treatment by the board of town resident Manuela Mihailescu, a candidate for the town's Historic Preservation Commission.

Mihailescu claims that, during an interview with the board last week, she was accused of being associated with a pornographic Web site. She says the allegation - which the board told her was based on an Internet search of her name - is false and that she was targeted by the mostly Democratic body because her husband, Jon Dogar-Marinesco, is active in town Republican politics.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

SOMETHING FISHY WITH LAND DEAL:

The owner of six watery acres at the bottom of Pine Lake of Angel Road in Corinth owes $1,483 in back taxes stretching back to 2001.

That's enough time and money for the county to seize the land and sell it at auction to recover the money. But the thought of selling the bottom of a lake is making Saratoga County officials roll their eyes and remember what happened when it sold the bottom of Lake Desolation at auction in the late 1980s, sparking a lot of interest and controversy on that lake.

'That's what we're trying to avoid,' Saratoga County Attorney Mark Rider said this week. 'What we are probably going to do is forgive the taxes on it.'

The owner, Francis Giroux of Queensbury, didn't return a call for comment.

The land, officially classified as 'underwater' in county records, is assessed at $1,200.

Rider said he doesn't know exactly how the bottom of a lake comes to be considered real estate.

'But if you look on the tax map, there is a parcel there,' he said.

Town Supervisor Richard Lucia said he thinks the lake is a former swamp that was flooded to make a more pleasant camping and recreation spot. That might explain how someone ended up owning the land that became the lake bottom.

Sure enough, tax maps show a six-acre amoeba-shaped piece of property surrounded by normal-looking rectangular parcels of land.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those following the Keystone Cops in Peru, here's the latest.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PERU OFFICIALS TO RESCIND LAWS:

Town officials will have to renew the process for establishing a town-manager form of government in Peru to correct errors made during the last regular Town Council meeting.

Council members had agreed to establish two new town laws: one to create the position of town manager, at a salary not to exceed $50,000, and a second to reduce the town supervisor's salary from $20,398 to $7,990.

They later realized they had to have a public hearing before adopting new town laws.

Later realized????

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

FIRM APOLOGIZES FOR AD IN CHILI:

North American Properties regrets placing a one-page paid advertisement in the form of a letter that criticized the Chili Town Board for failing to act promptly.

Jeff Pape, director of development for North American Properties in Georgia, said it was the wrong decision.

"If we had to do it again, we wouldn't do it," said Pape, whose signature was on the letter.

The company placed an advertisement in the Gates-Chili Post on Aug. 30 hoping to gather support for its shopping center project but instead ended up angering town officials. Pape spoke in person to the board Wednesday night for the first time since the advertisement ran.

The advertisement states: "In July 2006, the Planning Board declared its intention to act as lead agency on the Paul Road project. More than eight weeks later, no action has been taken by the Town to start this process. Our patience is thinning. If the Paul Road project does not move forward immediately, Chili will lose its opportunity with Target, now and in the future."

North American Properties, which made its initial proposal last year, wants to build a 53-acre shopping complex with two big-box stores on Paul Road. The board must wait for the completion of an environmental study before acting.

"I don't think it helped that you are putting out an impression that we are not doing our jobs," said Dennis Schulmerich, a Town Board member who also saw North American Properties' proposal at the Planning Board level. "I am going to vote on this project based on its merit, but if you paid a public relations firm for this, then you should fire them."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Peru hasn't made the newspaper as much as it used to but apparently that's not because matters have improved: CONFUSION CONTINUES IN PERU TOWN HALL

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PETA ASKS TOWN TO BAN USE OF ELEPHANT HOOKS:

As the Carson and Barnes Circus makes its way to town for Monday's performance, animal rights activists are trying to shine a spotlight on what they believe is cruel treatment of elephants.

On Tuesday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals faxed a letter to Town Supervisor Norm Teed, imploring him to enact legislation banning the use of bullhooks and cattle prods that they claim are used to torture the animals into submission. A spokesman for the circus contended that they have a clean record when it comes to dealing with animals. Teed, meanwhile, is caught in the middle.

"How I'm getting involved in all of this, I don't know," he said. "The community center is in charge of putting this on. The town has nothing to do with it."

On Thursday, PETA sent Teed and the entire Town Board informational packets that included what the organization says is documented proof of a Carson and Barnes trainer abusing an elephant. Several press releases refer to Teed by name in asking that the Town Board outlaw the tools.

"We always ask local legislators to ban the use of bullhooks and cattle prods, which are used on circus elephants to train and control the animals by inflicting pain and fear," said Lisa Wathne, a captive exotic animal specialist with PETA.

Even though elephant skin looks tough, she said, it's sensitive enough to feel a mosquito bite. The pain inflicted by bullhooks, used to guide elephants, must be excruciating, Wathne said. Hooks slice into the skin and cause sores, she added.

Ben Trumble, a spokesman for Carson and Barnes, said that PETA appeals are a constant sideshow that haven't worked yet.

"They do this in every town we stop in and no community has ever enacted legislation proposed by PETA," he said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DANBY RESIDENTS DEBATE TOWN'S IRAQ WAR RESOLUTON:

War in Iraq and dusty roads in the Town of Danby brought numerous veterans, farmers, mechanics, homeowners and teachers to the floor Monday to speak at the Danby Town Board meeting.

Emotions ran high in reaction to last month's town board resolution urging withdrawal from Iraq, and to a more recently written letter to President Bush and legislators. Veterans and citizens raised multiple issues about the Iraq petition, some arguing against war, others calling for the petition to be withdrawn because they felt their views had not been represented. Some felt such actions are not within the realm of town government.
...
Numerous residents got their three-minute privilege of the floor in a meeting of about 40 people, including officials and elected representatives. Some argued that the 157 names on the petition leading to the resolution urging withdrawal from Iraq did not represent their views. Some said they didn't want their local representatives to consider what they saw as a federal concern while others said war is a personal, local and grassroots concern that should be addressed in local government

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NO 'H' MAKES NEWS IN PETERSBURGH:

In this town it's best not to drop your 'h's.

And Town Hall may have to secure an 'h' ink stamp to keep it that way.

During the July meeting of the town board, town historian and former town supervisor Peter Schaaphok stood and proclaimed that there was a spelling mistake on the town checks. He had just received one for his work with the board of assessment review and on it the town was spelled Petersburg.

For many years (about 200) that spelling was right, or, close enough for government work anyway.

A jocund discussion on the mistake ensued. One attendee suggested the town purchase a small letter 'h' rubber stamp and make the person who accepted the checks stamp each one.

The issue has been a significant part of the town's recent history, which Schaaphok surely understands. He was part of the move to return the 'h' to the end of the name back in the early 1990s.

The issue has followed the town from it's [sic] birth.

A review of the minutes of the first town board meeting on April 5, 1791, at the residence of Hezekiah Coon shows the same confusion over the name.

"At the beginning of the meeting minutes it was spelled Petersburgh and toward the end the 'h' was missing," said Ingrid Schaaphok, Peter's wife. "I guess they were doing some drinking during that meeting and got a little sloppy towards the end."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TANNERSVILLE BOARD ILLEGAL, JUDGE RULES:

A judge has found Tannersville in violation of a state law requiring villages to have a Village Board consisting of a mayor and four trustees, and a separate Zoning Board of Appeals.

In a ruling dated July 10, acting state Supreme Court Justice Cathryn M. Doyle ordered the village to "take whatever steps are necessary to bring both the Board of Trustees and the Zoning Board of Appeals in compliance with New York State Village Law."

The Tannersville Village Board currently consists of a mayor and two trustees who also serve as the Zoning Board of Appeals.
...
Doyle wrote that the state's Village Law requires each village to have a mayor and four trustees unless a permissive referendum is held to change that number. She said the defendants did not produce any proof that the village was in compliance with the law.

Village Law also prohibits trustees from simultaneously serving on a Zoning Board of Appeals. She said the mayor is obligated to appoint a separate zoning board, subject to the approval of the Village Board.

"Here, the record is clear that the Village Board of trustees has also been acting as the Village Zoning Board of Appeals contrary to statute," Doyle wrote. "By reason of the foregoing, the village's actions are unlawful."

Attorney Matthew Tully, whose firm Tully, Rinckey and Associates represented Hangarter, said the original permit granted to Hangarter was based on a zoning law written and adopted by two village trustees. He said the zoning law should have been adopted by a majority of the Village Board, but because the village operates with less than the requisite number of trustees, that didn't happen.

Additionally, Tully said, the reviewing agency is supposed to be a separate body.

"And it's our position that this has invalidated all prior village laws," said Tully, who has also filed a civil rights suit in U.S. District Court in Albany on Hangarter's behalf.

Rut-ro. It boggles my mind that this problem could have been allowed to continue for so long in flagrant contravention of law. This is not a dispute about interpretation. Not even close to one. According to its website- the design of which I rather like, by the way- the village has an attorney. I'd be curious to know what his arguments were here.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OTHER TOWNS HELP AMENIA RESIDENTS:

Town residents can get licenses and permits from other town halls while the clerk's office is closed.

Deputy Clerk Patty Barron said a man came into the closed town hall asking for a fishing license Monday. He was directed to the Amenia Archery shop on Route 22.

He also could have gone to the towns of Dover or North East, Barron said.

Amenia town hall is closed this week because it was struck by a car Saturday morning. The impact heavily damaged the clerk's office, destroying furniture, equipment and documents.

The clerk's office will be closed until further notice.

Police say Andrew J. Bradley, 18, of Amenia crashed a car into a portable toilet and then the building, while allegedly intoxicated. No one was in the building at the time.

"People need to be patient," Barron said as she began the job of setting up a temporary clerk's office in a conference room off the main meeting hall.

Dover Clerk Caroline Reichenberg said Wednesday that anyone from Amenia is welcome to come to Dover, and she will help them.

"I just issued a handicap (permit) hanger to an Amenia resident," she said. "They are more than welcome to come here."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Does this headline grab your attention?: BEDFORD ZONING BOARD TELLS COUPLE TO MOVE MAYAN PYRAMID

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)