PLANNING BOARD MEETING
CANAAN,NY 12029


APRIL 21, 2008




The meeting was called to order at 7:08pm. All Board members were present.


SPECIAL PERMIT APPLICATION OF NYNEX MOBILE LTD. PARTNERSHIP 2 DBA VERIZON WIRELESS AND BERKSHIRE FARM CENTER & SERVICES FOR YOUTH TO COLLOCATE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT ON A MONOPOLE STRUCTURE PROPOSED BY MARINER TOWER ON PROPERTY OWNED BY BERKSHIRE FARM CENTER & SERVICES FOR YOUTH AT 13640 ROUTE 22


Ron introduced the Board members and stated Scott Olsen (for Verizon) and Chris Cioffi (for Mariner) were present to represent the application.

Ron said he and his wife have a cell tower on their property and was concerned someone might think there was a conflict of interest with deliberating on this application.. Ron stated he had consulted several attorneys including the former attorney for the Town as well as the current one, not one attorney felt there was a problem. The Board members agreed as did the applicants. Also, he submitted for the record letters from these two attorneys.

Ron said the next step in the process is to set up an escrow account. He said there were proposals from 3 law firms and 3 engineering firms. Mr. Olsen asked for the names of those firms and Ron said they were:
Lawyers: Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna
Mark Gerstman
Bond, Schoeneck & King

Engineers: Erdman, Anthony & Associates
Infinigy
C.T. Male & Associates

Mr. Cioffi said CT Male had done propagation studies on this application, amongst other things. Both Michael and Ron felt this would be a conflict of interest. Mr. Olsen said Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna had represented them in a lawsuit in the past. Mr. Cioffi also said Infinigy had worked on this application.
Planning Board Meeting April 21, 2008 Page 2



Escrow Account- Ron deferred to Michael on this since he has done extensive research. Michael said the Board could use the proposals given and add a dollar amount to this. They could be open ended. He said the Board should estimate what they plan to spend on this and add 20%. Ron feels it would be difficult to estimate the hours needed for a lawyer. Mr. Olsen said sometimes attorneys will add more hours than necessary when an escrow account is done. He feels the engineers will do more work than the lawyer. Mr. Cioffi suggested basing the amount on the number of hours the Planning Board members have spent on this. Pierre feels the Board should figure about $6000 each plus RF studies, environmental fees and maybe an independent real estate analysis. Pierre feels there are major legal issues to look at and the law may need to be looked at. Pierre would like to look at future coverage. Michael said the Board needs to look at the fact that the site is outside an approved zone. Mr. Olsen said needs have changed and the Planning Board needs to look outside the districts. Pierre said he appreciates Mr. Olsen’s position but a great deal of research went into the law and the one thing the Town did not want was a proliferation of towers in Town. Mr. Olsen said if they had to collocate, one tower would have to go to 400 feet and the other to 800 feet to meet their needs. Mr. Cioffi believes he can convince the Board they have done their homework after reading the law. Michael said the burden shifts to the applicant to prove the tower is necessary.

Setting a dollar amount- the escrow account will need to cover attorneys, engineers, RF engineers, environmental engineers and market analysis. Michael suggested $ 30,000, broken down as follows:
Civil Engineer $6000
RF Engineer 6000
Environmental (SEQR) 3000
Lawyer (20 hrs.) 5000
Real Estate Appraisal 2500
$22,500
buffer
$30,000

Neither Mr. Cioffi nor Mr. Olsen agreed with the amount and felt it was excessive. Mr. Cioffi said he and Mr. Olsen had done this several times and they have never approached anything near $30,000. Mr. Olsen said there is very little work for a Civil Engineer. Ron said Infinigy estimated $4500-6500, Erdman, Anthony estimated $3800 (with 3 months work) plus the Impact statement and CT Male estimated $6000 (without the RF studies). Mr. Olsen said companies take advantage of escrow accounts. Mr. Cioffi said the attorney estimate and RF engineer are realistic but the other amounts are high.

Michael feels the Board must go into detail with this application and not scrimp. He feels the fees are necessary. Mr.Cioffi wants it held at $20,000 and feels it can be done for that.
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He said he has used all the companies proposed to the Town and would be disappointed to hear they took advantage of the escrow account and the Town.

Pierre suggested a threshold of $20,000 for instance and at a certain date in the month, the amount is replenished for whatever has been used. Michael still feels the Board needs a cushion and all extra money will be returned to the applicant. He said it is important to the applicant that the Board has a record. He feels it would be shortsighted not to investigate everything properly and in as much depth as is needed.

MOTION TO REQUIRE MARINER TOWER TO ESTABLISH AN ESCROW ACCOUNT OF $30,000 AS AN INITIAL DEPOSIT WHICH WILL NEED TO BE REPLINISHED WHEN IT REACHES $5000. ONCE ESTABLISHED AND THE BOARD IS NOTIFIED, THE BOARD WILL INTERVIEW LAWYERS AND ENGINEERS- Michael Second-Pierre All in Favor

Roll call Chairman Davis-yes
Ian Hooper-yes
Jennifer Mickle-yes
Pierre Gontier-yes adopted
Joe Davis-yes
Michael Belknap-yes

The Board discussed what date to have a Special Meeting to interview lawyers and engineers and decided on April 30th with May 13th as a backup.

Mr. Cioffi said they must notify all the abutters within 500 feet. He stated they have a list and the Board asked that it be verified for accuracy with the Assessor. Pierre asked to have the Assessor also verify any farms or anyone in a agricultural district. Ron said The Register Star is the Town’s official paper but the Clerk also notifies The Independent.

Mr. Cioffi asked about the balloon test and Pierre suggested waiting until the SEQR review. Mr. Cioffi said the law states the test has to be done when the application is submitted. The Board decided to waive this now and have it done during environmental review. Ron pointed out it would be better when there are more weekenders here and more leaves on the trees. Mr. Cioffi said the most difficult part of the test is exactly when to do it. He prefers to only do it once since it costs about $2000 to do the test.

Site access- Ron would like each Board member to visit the site ASAP. He said the site is accessible, but it is a hike. He and Pierre went there today and each of them would take 2 Board members to the site since no more than 3 members can be present together due to open meeting laws. Mr. Cioffi said the site is not at the highest peak, but it is on a shelf.
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The carriers feel this is a good spot and the hills and trees will help with visual impact.

10 foot fence-Mr. Cioffi asked about the requirement for a ten foot fence and Ron said an eight foot fence with barbed wire on the top is fine.

Interviews- Ian questioned whether Infinigy should be excluded since they have been directly involved with this application. The Board agreed. The Clerk will call the engineers (2) and lawyers (3) to see if they can make the Special Meeting on April 30th. They will be scheduled 20 minutes apart.



REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 17TH MINUTES

MOTION TO APPROVE AS WRITTEN-Joe Davis Second-Pierre Gontier


Roll call Chairman Davis-yes
Ian Hooper-abstain
Jennifer Mickle-yes
Pierre Gontier-yes adopted
Joe Davis-yes
Michael Belknap-yes


CORRESPONDENCE
1. Letter dated 3/20/08 from the Clerk to A. Lundy re: thank you for her time on the
Board.
2. March 12, 2008 ZBA minutes.
3. March ZEO report.
4. Paperwork from the ZBA dated 4/1/08 re: Sunoco Station and request for Subway
Restaurant.
5. Memo dated 4/11/08 from P. Pulver stating Sunoco Station has withdrawn application
For Subway.
6. Letter dated 3/31/08 from US Army Corps of Engineers to E. Dignum, re: Authorization to go ahead with the work on .067 acres of subdivision.
7. Letter dated 3/21/08 from DEC to Supervisor re: Rugen Rd. subdivision. Are possible
Impacts to Freshwater wetlands and no proper permits were filed.
8. Certificate of Liability Insurance from Nextel for 4/08-4/11 re: Hoffman.
9. Certificate of Liability Insurance from Nextel for 4/08-4/11 re: Davis.
10. Certificate of Liability Insurance from IWO for 4/08-4/11 re; Davis.
Planning Board Meeting April 21, 2008 Page 5


11. Fax dated 4/16 from CT Male re: proposed fees.
12. Mar/Apr issue of Talk of the Town.
13. Mar/Apr issue of Rural Futures.
14. Training session announcement on 4/29 at Col. Green College re: Special Permits
And on 4/30 on SEQR.
15. Announcement of Pace University training session on Land Use on 5/31 at Col.
Green.
16. Announcement of training class at Marist College on 4/29 on Biodiversity.





There was no additional business brought before the Board.

MOTION TO ADJOURN- Ian Hooper Second- Joe Davis All in Favor


The meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm.






Respectfully submitted,



Tammy C. Flaherty
Planning Board Clerk

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