PLANNING BOARD MEETING
CANAAN, NY 12029

SEPTEMBER 21, 2009


The meeting was called to order at 7:07pm and all Board members were present.

Board Interview for a vacancy
Chad Lindberg sent in a letter of interest for the vacancy. Mr. Lindberg said he has been renovating the old Bridge farmhouse on Frisbee Road. He stated he has a degree in structural engineering and works at Crawford and Associates.

Pierre asked if he had a problem with our meetings and Mr. Lindberg said no. Pierre then asked if going to training was a problem and again the answer was no. Pierre asked Mr. Lindberg if his neighbor had to appear before the Planning Board would that be a problem and Mr. Lindberg responded no. Mr. Lindberg said he did not see any problems.

Ian said he was interested in having more detail on Mr. Lindberg’s engineering degree. Mr. Lindberg stated the emphasis is on structural engineering and he has done some site planning.

Michael asked if he had taken any courses in surveying and Mr. Lindberg said yes, 2 courses. He also said his company now owns a surveying company.

Ron said time needed to be on this Board can be quite consuming and stated this Board has put in a lot of hours on certain projects.

Michael asked if Mr. Lindberg has appeared before any Town Boards and the answer was no.

Pierre said Mr. Lindberg would have to recuse himself if any applications involved Crawford & Associates. Mr. Lindberg said that was no a problem.

Ron stated normally the Board would go into Executive Session to discuss an interview but since the agenda is long the Board will do that later. Ron said Mr. Lindberg could wait if he liked or leave if he wanted. Mr. Lindberg said he wanted to stay.

Revised Driveway for a Previously Approved Subdivision for Paul Nowak on Bradley’s Crossing Road

Eric Harris-Braun appeared for the application. He said he and his wife along with his brother and his wife (Jens and Spee Braun) owned the property. Ron said the Board needed to have an authorized letter from all other landowners to proceed. Mr. Harris-

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Braun stated his brother and his sister-in-law are out of the country until January 2010 however he was given a Power of Attorney from them to handle business matters. Ron said he would need to get a letter from the lawyer stating he could represent this application. Ron further stated that the Board might have a Special Meeting before our next regular meeting and if so, we could put this application on the agenda.

Boundary Line Adjustment for Fred Rudman and Meryl Enerson with the Gliners at 100 The Narrows Road

Both Mr. Rudman and Ms. Enerson appeared for this application with an authorization from the Gliners. They presented 2 maps for each parcel (the as is map and the proposed BLA). The ROW has been extended to obtain the needed frontage. Only the Gliner property has structures. All of the paperwork was in order.

MOTION TO APPROVE THE BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENT-Pierre Gontier
Second-Ian Hooper All in Favor

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

A check for $50.00 was collected.

Continued review for the Telecommunications Tower located on property owned by Berkshire Farm Center & Services for Youth

Chris Ciolfi from Mariner, Jim Woodward representing AT&T and John Di Muro from Berkshire Farm were in attendance.

Mr. Ciolfi updated the Board on the status of the cell tower. He stated:

1. Verizon has been working on getting the wording correct on the insurance; it will be forthcoming.
2. Berkshire Farm has added the correct wording to their insurance policy and should be here on 9/23.
3. The access/utility agreement has been filed with the County Clerk. It was refiled since the original was lost.
4. Elevation plans will be submitted.
5. AT&T wants to co-locate on the tower.

Ron read aloud the most current email from Dave Everett dated 8/19/09 regarding the
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insurance. Ron stated the wording was very different than what was required. The Town had to be an additional insurer. Verizon said they could not set a precedent to do what the Town wanted. However, an agreement was reached. Mr. Ciolfi said he was told the certificate has been issued but he does not have a copy yet.

Ron said he polled the Board and the Board agreed there was no where in the Zoning Law where the specific wording was required so he asked Dave Everett to move forward. Ron advised the Board that the escrow account is 3 months behind and is down to $6500.00. He then said $8100.00 is owed to Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna. Michael said he would like the minutes to reflect that the Board has gone against legal advice to move this forward.

Ron said he did not know whether the current legal bill reflects the latest efforts after August 20th. Ron told the Board that Mr. Ciolfi wants to review the legal bills and have them adjusted since most of the current legal bills reflect the need for a separate insurance policy and now that is not necessary. Mr. Ciolfi said Mariner did not read our Zoning Law the same way that Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna did and those efforts cost Mariner $8000-$9000. Therefore, they request a review of the bills. Mr. Ciolfi said the week of October 5th (but not the 8th) is available. He wants to move forward right away so they can construct the tower.

Ron said he wants the escrow account brought up to date before a review. Pierre said he would sit with them for a review but after the bills are paid. Ron said to contest these bills after they are paid. Mr. Ciolfi feels this is outrageous since it has taken so long and cost so much money ($40,000). Ron stated if there was a meeting, it would be the Mariner representatives with the Board and the Supervisor. Pierre said if the Supervisor is going to be at the meeting, his imput must be restricted to fiscal matters. Pierre said the Supervisor’s only participation can be as fiscal officer only and he cannot be involved in any other matter. Michael said it is the client’s right to challenge the bills but reminded Mr. Ciolfi this Board has gone against legal advice. Ian said it sounded like it would be an impasse and does not feel the attorney fees will come down. Mr. Ciolfi said he did not want Dave Everett there. Mr. Ciolfi asked how the bills were handled and Ron said he reviews them, they go to the Town Clerk who sends them to Louis Vitale (Mariner). Then they go to be paid. The Board said they did not understand the real purpose of the meeting. Pierre feels the Board will have to mediate between Mr. Ciolfi and the law firm and it is not the job of this Board to do that. Mr. Ciolfi said he could go direct to the law firm but they (Mariner) are not the client. Ron said Mr. Ciolfi should have gotten Verizon to put up money for the escrow.

Ron said he wants the legal bills paid. Mr. Ciolfi said the bills are not fair since the
lawyers took too long. Ron said it took this long to have Verizon agree to Canaan being an additional insurer. Mr. Ciolfi said the issue is that Verizon was asked to do a separate insurance policy and that is not in the law. Mr. Ciolfi said he maintained that neither
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previous cell tower was required to do this and Ron said the previous lawyer missed that point. Pierre said the holdup was that Verizon took so long to agree to the needed wording. Mr. Ciolfi said the issue was when they were told Verizon had to have a separate million dollar policy and Verizon refused. Mr. Ciolfi stated Verizon said they would pull out of the project before doing that. Ron reviewed the emails and said the 2 legal issues were done together and the legal bill reflects that. Mr. Ciolfi wants his boss, Louis Vitali, to be able to review the bills. Ron said the current bills are $8100.00. Ron asked the Board if Verizon’s policy and Berkshire Farm’s policy are identical, could the Board just review them and accept it without legal review and the Board said yes. Mr. Ciolfi said Mariner had only wanted their initial application to be with Berkshire Farm since they have an FCC license and the Board had said no, they wanted a carrier. Then Verizon had to be added. Ron said he would only entertain a Special Meeting if all bills were paid right away. Pierre said he would agree but also wanted an idea of what Mr. Ciolfi wanted, in writing. The Board agreed to hold a Special Meeting on October 7th.

AT&T Co-location on the Berkshire Farm tower
Ron told Jim Woodward he should look for the old files from AT&T for the previously approved cell towers in Canaan and just modify those for the Berkshire Farm site. Ron said an escrow account should be established up front. Michael asked if the Board would be hiring an engineer for this and Ron said he did not know but if there was an escrow account, the money would be there if needed. Pierre sees the only real issue will be the insurance wording. The AT&T antenna would be covered by Mariner.

Mr. Woodward brought coverage maps to show the Board what their need is. He then showed another map after putting their antenna on the tower and it reflected there will be coverage. He explained their antenna will be at 125 feet. Ron gave each Board member a set of maps for review. Mr. Woodward said they are also on the New Lebanon tower. He further stated AT&T is currently updating all antennas on existing towers due to high useage. He was surprised to hear AT&T has not come back before the Planning Board to upgrade their antennas on the existing towers in Canaan..

Received so far on this application:
1. Site plan maps.
2. Application for a building permit, check was returned to applicant.
3. Short SEQR form
4. Propagation studies, in color

The Board advised Mr. Woodward he will have to send a letter to Verizon stating they
want to co-locate. This is according to the Telecommunication Law-#7 a(iii). The Board will accept a registered receipt as proof of mailing. Mr. Woodward said he wanted a written synopsis from the Board as to what is required for the co-location. Ron said to take the old file and make is site specific. Mr. Woodward also said he wanted the amount of escrow and the breakdown of what it is for on letterhead.
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Ron said the Board already has an RF study and this does not need engineering review. It is only an antenna. Pierre said it is only a SEQR review and this Board can do it. He agrees there should be an escrow account for a moderate amount as a safeguard and suggested $10,000. The rest of the Board said that was too much and suggested $5000.00 If it draws down to $2500.00, it must be replenished. Ron said he would ask the Supervisor to write the escrow letter.

Mr. Woodward asked what the process was. Ron said if the materials are in, they can be reviewed at the October meeting. Then a Public Hearing will be scheduled. The Board will wait for the submission.

Update on the Berkshire Farm cell tower
Ron read a letter from Linda Stancliffe regarding the geotech report. This report is complete.

Review and Approval of the August 17th minutes.
MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED-Pierre Gontier
Second-Jennifer Mickle

Roll call Chairman Davis-yes
Ian Hooper-abstain
Jennifer Mickle-yes
Pierre Gontier-yes adopted
Michael Belknap-yes
Correspondence
1. Budget request for 2010
The Board discussed this and Ron said he will not be Chairman again but he feels with the cell tower review, the Chairman should be paid.

MOTION TO RECOMMEND $2400 AS A STIPEND TO THE CHAIRMAN FOR THE YEAR-Ian Hooper Second-Jennifer Mickle
Roll call Chairman Davis-abstain
Ian Hooper-yes
Jennifer Mickle
Pierre Gontier-abstain
Michael Belknap-yes adopted
Summary of request:
Personnel Chairman $2400.00
Clerk 2000.00
Point 4 350.00
$4750.00
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2. August ZEO report.
3. July ZBA minutes.
4. August ZBA minutes.
5. Letter dated 8/24/09 from A. Howard re: changes to the BLA maps.
Ron said Matthew Bowe(surveyor) had taken it upon himself to contact Andy Howard to state the Planning Board should revise how they do BLA maps. He said no other Town does it this way and it should be changed to have only 1 map and not 2 for each parcel. The Board discussed it and felt it should remain the way it is, it is cleaner and easier to read with 2 maps. Ron asked the Clerk to write a letter for him to sign to go to the Town Board on this matter.
6. Letter from Pat Pulver dated 9/14/09 stating 2 discrepancies in the Zoning Law regarding Building area , with a request for change.
7. Notice of a training session on 9/29 on case law update and land use at Columbia Greene Community College.

MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR A PERSONNEL MATTER-Pierre Gontier Second-Ian Hooper All in Favor

MOTION TO COME OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION-Pierre Gontier
Second-Michael Belknap All in Favor
Ron stated no decisions were made in Executive Session.

MOTION TO RECOMMEND CHAD LINDBERG FILL THE BOARD VACANCY-Pierre Gontier Second-Michael Belknap All in Favor

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

Ron told Mr. Lindberg a letter would be sent to the Town Board for his appointment.
Mr. Lindberg said he was looking forward to it.

MOTION TO ADJOURN-Ian Hooper Second-Jennifer Mickle All in Favor

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45pm


Respectfully submitted,

Tammy C. Flaherty
Planning Board Clerk

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