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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-05-01TB 05)-01 =12 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING May 1, 2002 Board Members Present: Supv Mark Varvayanis, Cl Charles Hatfield, Cl Stephen Stelick, Jr., Cl Deborah Grantham, Cl Christopher Michaels Other Elected Officials: Bambi L. Hollenbeck, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: Mahlon R. Perkins, Town Attorney Henry Slater, Zoning Officer David Putnam (TG Millers), Town Engineer Supv Varvayanis called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING APPLICATION OF CROWN CASTLE ATLANTIC CO., LLC FOR SITE PLAN REVIEW SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO ERECT A 120' MONOPOLE TYPE TELECOMMUNICATION TOWER AT 1387 DRYDEN ROAD Supv Varvayanis opened the public hearing at. 7:00 p.m. and Town Clerk read the notice published in The Ithaca Journal. Board members have a copy of the application and have reviewed the same prior to this hearing. Ruth Rosenburg, of Nixon :Peabody, LLP, Agent for Crown Castle, addressed the board and explained that Crown Castle Atlantic Co has applied to construct a 120' monopole type telecommunication tower, designed for 6 co- location users, at 1387 Dryden Road, at the rear of property owned by New York State Electric & Gas. They have an initial co- location commitment from Independent Wireless One. The location is in a manufacturing district of the Town. Ms Rosenburg exhibited the site plan and photographs indicating what the view of the tower would be from several different locations, including the view from the residence of Avery Park, the closest: residence to the site. The site plan shows the location of the tower and the potential location of the equipment shelters, the driveway and turnaround, and the fence surrounding the facility. The site was chosen because Independent Wireless has a gap in its service along Route 13. They expect that other service providers also have a gap in that area. Propagation studies were submitted the Town's consultant and indicate ghat: the applicant examined all the tall structures in the vieirtity to see whether they could be utilized to serve the gap area. They established that those did not, and they established that they could not put towers on the existing water tanks on the NYSEG site because they would not reach the areas to be served along Route 13. Applicant explored various heights for the proposed tower to determine the maximum height necessary to serve the gaps in the area, and the showed the effect of a 110' monopole vs a 120'monopole. The 1.10' pole shorted the area, and so they chose the 120' height. The ordinance provides for a 140' maximum height and the ability to accommodate multiple users. This pole will accommodate up to 6 different wireless carriers and they already have an application for Verizon to be on the tower. The applicant has taken pictures to show what the tower would look like from various locations around the town and those were exhibited and explained. Ms Rosenburg stated the Town's tower ordinance is very specific on all the burden of proof that an applicant must show and each of the requirements was addressed and met in the opinion of the Town's consultant. She stated that if the applicant can meet the requirements and if they can show that they need the tower and the area cannot be covered by other locations a special permit and site plan can be reviewed and granted by the'Couvn hoard. Ms Rosenburg said that the County Planning hoard has reviewed the application and concluded Page I of 14 h i TB 05-11 t -02 that there were no impacts as far as the County was concerned on the environment or neighborhood or on County roads. The FAA has reviewed the application and concluded there • was no interference with any aviation patterns, including the local airport, so there is no requirement that the tower be lighted. A wetland analysis urns done and there are no wetland implications. There is no historical site involved. Mi.kel Shakarjian, of Tompkins County Department of Administration, asked whether the tower could be located on the water tanks. R Rosenburg responded they were considered and it was determined they were too low to reach the point at which the gaps occur. Dick Comi, consultant for the Town, said that the applicant went through a number of studies trying to utilize existing sites including use of the water tanks, that indicated they would still have a significant gap on Route 13. He explained that line of sight in wireless service is not: the same as a line of sight such as microwave. It means that you cannot have terrain feature such a lot of trees or a mountain top or whatever in between. It will curve when you get down to the road if you are above the trees all the way, so it is not strictly an absolute line of site, but is very close to that. Propagation models and computer modeling that show, based on this technology, where and how much you could have in between. Supv Varvayanis said this application is for sic possible co- locations and asked if nothing under 120' will work, where the other 5 antennas will go. D Comi said this carrier, TWO, is in the PCS band range, which is the highest: one, so three of the other carriers, 2 cellular carriers & Nextel which are specialized lower radio are in a much lower frequency band. Therefore they can cover a larger distance and penetrate more at a lower level. The other 2 cellular and specialized mobile radio should be able to go below them. The technology is now such that we actually have in New York State more than one carrier going at: the same level on a tower, much as they do on rooftops. Therefore you no longer need the ten or twelve . feet separation. M Shakarjian asked the board whether it was clear to them that. PCS has a range of about 4 to 6 miles and site development for PCS means structures every 4 to 6 miles. Cellular coverage can propagate farther thaia PCS. The Village of Lansing has taken the approach that they don't want to build towers for PCS because they have such a short range. The Village feels they have enough telephone poles and that's the way. they are approaching providing coverage for PCS. R Rosenburg stated this particular carrier already has two towers in the Tonal of Dryden. M Shakanian said that IWO has agreed to look at using telephone poles in the Village of Lansing. Ron Brunozzi, of Pyramid Network Services, agent for IWO, said that in the Village of Lansing they have looked at power poles. IWO and Sprint PCS try to co- locate on power poles, silos, etc whenever possible. One of the other sites they have in the Town of Dryden is on a silo at: the Borba farm. Natan Huffman, 27 Hungerford Road, confirmed that: Crown Castle is not licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, but is essentially a landlord and their tenants would be licensed. He asked whether the number of tenants on the tower would be limited to a maximum of 6. Gerry Brophy of Crown Atlantic said that it was capable of handling at least six, but not limited to only 6 because carriers come in various different sizes. The application is to construct a tower that is capable of handling at least: six co- locators, but that is not to limit it to only six because co- locators come in various sizes and shapes. A paging company may have just one small antenna that they would like to put on, which would leave plenty of room for additional carvers. From Crown's perspective, the more users that: can be put: on one pole will minimize the number of poles that have to be constructed in the surrounding area_ Page 2 of 14 TB 05=01 -02 David Weinstein, 51 Freese Road, said that it sounds like in Lansing it was a possibility to put the antenna on telephone poles. That means smaller coverage and requires more antenna, but it was a possibility and he wondered why it was not a possibility here. R $runozzi said it depends on the site, the coverage hole and the topography. They have looked at other structures in this area, and there weren't any that would fill the gap. Supv Varvayanis said Mr Weinstein was alluding to there was no one site that would fill the gap, but two or more probably would have. D Comi said that yes, two or more could fill the gap, such as using the water tank and putting an additional site on Route 13, but the issue of needing a tower of minimum height to cover the service area in this community is what we are talking about. Peggy Walbridge, Hunt Hill Road, asked whether there were plans to extend the height of the tower, and they replied that there are not at the present time. M Robertson stated that it appeared that they had not looked at a system of telephone poles and wondered if that was correct. D Comi responded that it was correct, they had not looked at a system of two or more sites. The information in the applicantion relevant to the ordinance states that if they have a hole, what is the minimum way to cover that. For them to go to two sites, they will double the cost. As far as coverage, they could do it with two or three pieces of equipment and get the same coverage. As far as the Village of Lansing, a site of lower height will cover the Village of Lansing. It: will not cover the terrain and distance that they have for the hole here. M Robertson stated that there is already a system of telephone poles that dot the landscape. As she understands a tower can serve only a certain number of users in a is geographic area, and when that number is reached new gaps occLU and then the applicant will come back and say they need another tower. She believes a reasonable solution to that is to have lover towers that really do dot the landscape more comprehensively and can include capacity for more users in the future. D Comi said that situation could lead to no available channels when somebody wants to make a call, therefore requiring another site. In the suburban /rural environment that in his opinion will not be the issue. There may be, the issue of data vs. voice in this area in the fixture. A data system needs a more reliable signal than voice traffic, and requires more towers. ni-is is where the height of towers is being driven down. In terms of the present: analysis, when the ordinance was put in place in this community, they wanted less towers, but a little bit higher. The industry has predicted that a carrier that has all its towers in place for a voice system, they will have to have four times as many towers to accommodate data. In terms of t:he present analysis, in a lot of communities, ies, and when the ordinance was put in place in Dryden, the ideal was less towers of a greater height. Data requires a system of more structures of lower height:. D Comi explained that six data. carriers with a hole would require six facilities in that general area for the six carriers, rather than one that is slightly higher. He said there is a lot to the issue. You could get to where data requirements only would go half a mile. M Robertson asked the Board to ask Crown Castle to go back and consider two towers of less height. R Seeley asked how many PCS towers were in Dryden presently. ZO Slater and D Comi replied there are four. R Seeley asked whether the entire Town was now covered or whether there would be more applications for towers. R Rosenburg stated they try to cover the most frequented roads and business users. There is no point in trying to cover extremely rural farmland. R Brunozzi said that IWO has no Page 3 of 14 TB 05 -01-02 plans for further towers in Dryden. He stated that with respect to the Village of Lansing, they are not proposing a typical wooden telephone pole. It was a large NYSEG structure, very high. • Henderson asked what happens in the future when technology advances and the facilities are no longer needed. R 13ru.nozzi said that they have a bond that provides for removal of the facility when it is no longer needed. R Rosenberg said that Verizon, who has been talking to Crown Castle and will be coming into tow with its antennas, does not use cabinets and must have a 1,0'x 20' equipment shelter, so this is not something you can put on the street level. It has to be back from the street, so that would not accommodate your next carrier coming along, which will be before this board shortly. She reminded the Board that the ordinance was designed to provide as few as possible towers with the most number of carriers on those towers, and that is what they addressed in their application and have established that they can do that. D Comi explained that we have been talking about one carrier not having any future plans. There are 9 licensed carriers, 5 active carriers in this area (MIO, VoieeStream, Verizon, Cingular & Nextel). The applicant tonight has stated tJzis is the last site they need in the Town of Dryden. There are other carriers and Federal Law states that you cannot discriminate amongst functionally equivalent service providers. Because MIO has their coverage for the community, the community does not have the option to say they don't want another carrier. That is discrimination. Most of the present carriers have one or more sites in the community. R Rosenburg said that they know that Verizon will be applying to be on this tower and it will satisfy their grid requirements so that in this part of the town where there is a gap in coverage right now, and they are hoping that it will also serve other carriers who have a. gap in the Town, because each carrier will have t.o prove that this tower will not serve their sites. Cl Grantham asked what the configuration would be on the water tanks as a possible • co- location and asked how the propagation studies were done. 1) Comi said that antennas on top of the stronger water tank (15 feet above), with the same configuration of equipment at the base and cables down the side, from a visual standpoint it would be less obtrusive than a tower. As far as the hole in the study, along Route 13 there was delinitely an area in which service would be lost because their other sites are that far away. Cl Grantham asked if the antennas could be higher, and D Comi said it could be done, but they would need to determine whether the tank could structurally hold the added weight. This could cause problems for location however. Dave Putnam stated the tanks were not designed for large weight loads. J Gerbasi, 13onc Plain Road, asked if they were unable to use the high voltage utility poles near NYSEG because they were metal. R Rosenburg said that they dial analyze the NYSEG transmission line towers and they determined in propagation studies that it would not cover the gap in Route 13. Natan Hultman told the board that they world not be discriminating against the corporation if they were to deny or postpone this proceeding. There is an issue of standards here. The comment has been made that they lose coverage, but by what standard? He said he doesn't know what losing coverage means and that needs to be clarified. This is a very convoluted and difficult area for a board to understand, and some towns in Tompkins County have put a moratorium on new towers because of the difficulty in understanding the issues involved. He is suggesting a moratorium, but he thinks tJ-ie Town needs to look at standards and exactly where we are going with structure proliferation so that it happens in a way that is consistent with the growth of the Town. We should now allow town growth and town landscape to happen by a special use permit rather than by design. R Rosenberg stated that this application is not only an application by Crown Castle, but also by 1WO, and they are covered by the telecom mu.rucations act and that is why it is 0 Page 4 of 14 TB 05-111 -02 appropriate for this application to be submitted by both Crown Castle and IWO. She believes is that this Town Board adopted this ordinance after consideration about what they wanted in the community and the ordinance requires a rather comprehensive review by an outside consultant the Town has hired. That review is done, and the ordinance speaks to fewer towers, not multiple towers. She pointed out that the appropriate place for a tower is in an industrial district and that is where this one is going. It is being located with a public utility. She asked the Town Board to abide by its own ordinance and the review that the applicant was so thoroughly put through. The County Planning Department has signed off, saying that there is no impact as far as they are concerned. There is no impact indicated from the Federal Aviation Communication. It is an industrial district. It: is as screened as it can be, it is over 1000' from the nearest residential neighbor and in a manufacturing district. She asks who could want more. M Shakarjian, Tompkins County Administration - I work with Steve Whicher helping him to manage the various projects that the County has going on with regard to public safety communication. When 1 say public safety communication, think wireless. Everything we do right now is wireless. We're looking at improving our paging system, our voice system, our data system. Just about everything that public safety needs to operate effectively and efficiently, we are looking at upgrading. I'm to talk to you about that and make sure that members of the Town Board understand what the County is doing, what we are doing and what our projects may entail for your community in the future. In light of this application here tonight, I thought I should come in and let you know what we are up to. I said our projects are wireless. They are wireless and they do require structures. It's a bad word. I feel for the folks who have to put up structures for wireless communications. It's something that the County has taken a lot of heat for. I'm sure you all know, and we are working as hard as we can to resolve the issues and work with the communities and work with carriers. So I actually was kind of surprised tonight that I don't know any of your faces and I've talked to people at IWO and I've talked. to people at Crown. The reason that the County is interested in talking to these other folks is obviously because our interest is in minimizing the impacts to the entire County. We know that our projects are probably going to have impacts and impacts for public safety. We are not talking about cell phone usage. We are talking about life safety issues. So for that reason we have to move forward with these projects. We also understand that the wireless carriers and wireless community also have needs, so I have been trying to work with those folks and understand what their needs are and make sure they know what our needs are, and coordinate. I've been to the Town of Lansing; I've been to the Town of Enfield; both places where Crown has put in applications. One of the things that we asked in those communities was that the Town take a good look at what the County is doing there. If you'll give me a minute I'm going to tell you what we are doing here. I want to go back to some of the comments that were made earlier. I'm here on behalf of County Administration, not County Planning. County Planning's role in tower applications is simply the 239 review, and it's quite specific. They really have no mechanism to comment under 239 on something like this that doesn't have a county -wide impact. However, from administration's standpoint, this is an important thing because we may be moving forward and coming to your community sometime in the future on behalf of public safety. For that reason, we want to make sure you know what we're up to. (She distributed to the Board a list of towers and tall structures put together by the County Environmental Management Council) When you are going; through the application take a look at this and see if there are sites in here that could be considered as well. Co- location is a part of the community ordinance and I want: to make sure this gets put: in and you take a look at it. (She also distributed a map of the ® locations). This is something that the County did in anticipation of our public safety communications system. Pagc 5 of 14 TB 05 -01 -02 We have done preliminary engineering analysis and it indicates within the frequency • range that we will likely be broadcasting at, we are going to need a structure in your community. In anticipation of that, we have optioned land in the Town of Dryden. We've optioned a parcel on Hunt Hill Road. Hunt I•Iill Road is obviously up the hill quite a bit higher and from our propagation analysis provides coverage to Route 13. It's likely we are going to be putting up a tower there. I can tell you right now that 1 know ghat this site at NYSEG is not going to provide the coverage we need. We are actually in the process of looking at putting up a new tower at our new proposed 911. center, which is going to be right next to the CFR Building on Brown Road. That is another site that you might want to consider. We have to put up a tower there for our microwave transmission and it does provide coverage out to Mt Pleasant. I would be surprised that it wouldn't provide coverage in this direction. If it didn't, certainly the optioned site up on Hunt Hill Road would cover Route 13. 1 would like you to consider these things as you move forward. The reason I am bringing this up right now is basically the Country is going to be moving forward in the very near future with releasing an RFP (.Request for Proposals). This RF P will be out for 90 days. At the end of 90 days, the expect vendors to respond with the kind of public safety communications system that will meet our needs. At that time we would have definite locations and move into negotiations to finalize the contract. But as soon as that comes back, we'll have an idea of what we're looking at in terms of our needs for public safety in this community and any kind of infrastructure that's required. I urge you as you are thinking about this application, don't forget about the County s project. We are, I've been, doing everything we can to minimize any impacts we have putting new infrastructure in the County, but. it does look like this is a difficult area for us and a public safety issue. If you have any questions, I'd be willing to answer them. Cl Michaels asked if the Coun ty has looked at using or contractin g with a private • provider for it's emergency services communications, stating it looks like they are upgrading their own network, wondering if Sprint or Next:el could be contracted with to provide the service. M Shakar1 said there is a lot of different ways you can get wireless communication, but the problem is when you start adding the public safety. requirements. More information and reports concerning this County project can be found on the County's website. Z Benderson asked whether the County had considered approaching Cornell, they have a facility where they look at miniaturization of electronics and that could be an innovative sway to bypass towers and have something less ugly and obtrusive. M Shakarjian said they have not approached the Nano Technology Center and that they have to go with what is on the market now. They are in a very critical situation with the public safety communications system. R Rosenburg said that many of the towers that have been built also house public safety system antennas, and the number of 911 calls that come in on wireless systems is enormous and wireless carriers have served a real need in communities in that regard. She pointed out that the County may not be subject to zoning regulations when they build a tower, but they are and they will be able to serve many carriers from the tower, and that facility may be able to be utiliied for public safety purposes as well. R Bruzonni said that New York State will be releasing an RI•'P for a statewide wireless network in about four weeks, and that sounds like it is designed to do .what the County is looking for. R Seeley asked if the Board had the option to ask the applicant for a different • configuration of towers. Supv Varvayanis said he would assume they did. Atty Perkins said he Page 6 of 14 TB 05 =0 1-02 Nvouldn't think so under this permit application, they have met all the standards for the ® issuance of permit. You have to have a valid reason not to grant the permit. That's the way the local law was designed. M Shakarjian said she was under the understanding that municipalities under the telecommunications act are required to not discriminate against carriers, but they are not required to provide coverage for every potential carrier that could operate in their area. They are only required to provide coverage for one functionally equivalent carrier. She stated that may be a matter of debate between attorneys. Supv Varvayanis said that: they had talked for about a year about setting up a master plan for wireless communications and asked Martha Robertson what the County was doing on that. M Robertson responded that the County is trying to do one thing well at a time and they are aware of this topic, but there is nothing active at this time. She stated that if several towns came to the County and said this is something they would like to see happen at the county level, she would support that. This is an issue that crosses municipal borders. J Gerbasi asked if there were any possibility that the board. would request that the applicant wait until the RFP comes out and .see if there is any way they can work with the proposed sites in the RFP from the County. Cl Michaels said the State is going to be coming out with an RFP that is statewide, the County is looking at a spot on Hunt Hill and he agrees that the current rules within the Town suggest fewer towers and broader coverage, and he is interested in those things and whether there are ways to co- locate. He asked if the site on Hunt Hill Road was considered by the applicant or whether they were aware of the County's plans. is R Rosenburg said their application has been in the process for many months and they have complied with the ordinance. The County is saying they are going to do something at some time in the future. Their carrier is eager to get this built and there is a lot of pressure about how long this application is taking. She doesn't think it is fair to ask the applicant to wait. They have complied with everything in the ordinance, established their proofs, met the requirements and they are in a perfect location as far as land use is concerned. The tower is not going to be any more overwhelming than the transmission lines that go across the countryside. She said that the Town Board should act on the application and to ask the applicant to wait until some time in the future to see if their carrier can use the facility, if the County builds a structure that will accommodate them, is unfair. She asked the Town Board to act on the application. D Comi, said that for 911 service in Clinton County, New York, in a town that has a local law similar to Dryden's the County wanted to modify a. tower and put up a new one, the County did come to the Town and complied with the Town's law. In his opinion, whether the County has to comply is still a. matter of interpretation, but there are Counties in New York State that have complied with local laws. Much County service and the public service is with 5 watt handheld phones. A tower for a 5 watt phone will cover a greater distance, but phones that are 6/ 10 of a watt will still require different sites. This is a situation where communities are going to see a great deal more wireless service for a. lot of reasons. Cl Michaels asked the applicant to address specifically the County's proposed site on Hunt Hill Road and asked if it would provide coverage of the Route 13 area. D Comi said if there is a hill in the way, the answer is no. It will not work for this wireless carrier. It may work if it is not too far away, it would literally have to be above the hill, which means a very, very tall structure and it can't be more than a couple of miles away from their coverage hole on GoRoute 13. Page 7 of 14 T8 05 -0 1 -02 Al Shakarjian said that the County does plan on coming to t:he Town and complying with the Town and it's ordinances to the best of their ability. The issue with the County's • towers and why they need it up on the hills has nothing to do with coverage. The microwave system needs towers up high and able to see each other. Cl Hatfield asked what kind of time frame the County is looking at and she replied they have kept to their timeline and are looking to get responses back on the RRP by the first week in August. She understand 17WO's concern, but stated that Crown walked away from a tower in Lansing because they felt the County's site was viable commercially. She said she believes they walked away from one in Enfield as well. Supv closed the public hearing at 8:30 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING APPLICATION OF ROBERT & VALERIE PATTEN FOR A SPECIAL PERMIT TO ESTABLISH A BULK FOOD STORE BUSINESS AT 2207 DRYDEN ROAD Supv Varvayanis opened the public hearing and Town Clerk read the public notice published in The Ithaca Journal. Board members have received copies of the application. Applicant stated they presently have the "Back to Basics" bulk food store next to Agway. They have been in business for five years and have outgrown the space they have been leasing. They plan to purchase properly at the corner of Irish Settlement Road and Route 13 and build a single -story structure, 28'x 52'. There is a road cut to Route 13 which they plan to use, and they have applied to the Army Corps of Engineers and received approval for a road cut on to Irish Settlement Road, crossing Willow Glen Creek, Cl Stelick noted t:he County had commented regarding the road cut on to Route 13 and ZO Slater said that he did not believe it was advisable to not allow that road cut: because it provides an alternative means of ingress/ egress in the event of an emergency. Further that • determination is made by NYS Department of Transportation. Be explained that the reason the applicant was making a road cut to Irish Settlement Road is that ZO Slater had explained the concerns the Board had in the past with respect to traffic issues on Route 13. Supv Varvayanis asked Atty Perkins whether the Board could grant site plan approval contingent on no driveway to Route 13. Atty Perkins replied that he was not sure the Board could do that as there is an existing curbcut there and under State Bighway Law anybody that has property that fronts on State highway, unless it's a controlled access highway, has an absolute right to enter from that location on to the highway, subject to getting the required permit from the Department of Transportation and constructing; it as directed. He said the Board could request that the applicant utilize Irish Settlement Road, but he did not believe it could be a condition of approval. Atty Perkins stated that one of the things the County has set: up is of great. conflict: and that is they have used their power to say if you don't like our recommendation then you must pass this by a super majority, thereby assuming that you have a right to do that. He thinks that sets a bad precedent as far as the County's position in reviewing these matters. The Board could ask the applicant to not utilize Route 13, but because of the existing road cut and because of the rights they have under the Highway Law, unless the Board can show a compelling reason, he does not believe the Board can make it a condition. D Weinstein stated that as a member of the Planning Board, he wanted the applicant to know that: they do not like it when businesses leave the Villages and move to the outside. He asked if the applicant had exhaustively looked at other sites in the Village. Mr Patten said they feel there is no available site in the Village that: they feel they can afford to renovate to the extent. that they can put food products in. They have looked and they have tried to extend the space where they are. In fact, they did expand there once but: there is no additional space available. • Pate 8 of 14 TB 05 -01402 Mr Patten stated that on one of the latest memos he received there was a suggestion 40 that they did not need to do the erosion control plan and asked for clarification. Dave Putnam said that when the engineer for B & B Flooring looked at the site for stormwater retention he demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Town Engineers that it is not warranted for that: site. Any filtering through the grass Swale and grass lawn would be treatment enough for the stormwat:er before it went through the culvert under Route 13 and it is better for the rest of the watershed to get rid of the extra water rather than impound it and wait for the water that is coming from further up the hill. Being an adjacent parcel, D Putnam feels an engineer would make the same recommendation. He stated the Willow Glen Creek crossing off Irish Settlement Road would not be a simple driveway culvert. It is something that should be designed by an engineer and the applicant should spend his money there. Supv Varvayanis asked if there were any other questions or comments. There were none and the hearing was closed at 8:43 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING APPLICATION OF BRUCE & KATHRYN HOWLETT TO OPERATE A HOME OCCUPATION BUSINESS AT 379 TURKEY HILL ROAD Supv Varvayanis opened the public hearing at 8:43 p.m. and Totem Clerk read the notice published in The Ithaca Journal. Bruce Howlett: explained that they are asking for a special permit to expand their home business and to do so they are proposing to construct a one and a half story barn on their property on Turkey Hill Road. To maintain the residential character of the neighborhood they will build it as a barn because there are other barns in the area. The business is such that is they don't need a lot of people coming on the property. Most people involved in the business live as far away as Hawaii and Florida. There will only be one or two additional cars coming on the property. There will not be an additional road cut. UPS will make daily pickups, and currently frequent the address. Most of the production is outsourced. The reason they need more space is for design and product development and marketing. The programmers will not be employed at Turkey Hill Road. The property abuts the Foundation of Light. They are proposing to build the barn on the portion of their property near the Foundation of Light parking lot. Other businesses in the area are Richardson Electric, Finger Lakes Stone and Quarry, and two Cornell laboratories. Supv Varvayanis asked if there were any questions or comments. There were none and the hearing was left open. Linda Bruno, business teacher at Dryden High School, introduced Jessica Sanford and Greg $acorn of the Tech Prep Program. The program started about 10 years ago, the grant to begin it having been written by TC3 in 1991. The goal of the curriculum is to help prepare the student so that they can make an easy transfer from the classroom with their skills into the workplace or the college. Jessica Sanford gave an overview of the Tech Prep Program and how it has benefited her. Greg Bacorn spoke about his experience with the program and his workplace, Eckerd Drug Store. Businesses wishing to employ students of the Tech Prep Program can contact Linda Bruno at the Dryden High School, Supv Varvayanis asked if there were any other comments or questions on the Howlett: public hearing. There were none and the hearing was closed at 9:08 p.m. Board discussed the Brooktondale Fire Contract and changes they had requested in the contract. Atty Perkins stated the board has previously decided the information they were looking for was readily available. Supv Varvayanis noted that it appeared they did not want to be subject to an audit. Atty Perkins said the Town had never required an accounting from any Page 9 of 14 TB 05 -01 -02 of the Departments that are contract with outside the Town, and have taxied to be fle.dble, but we still have the right to do this to make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent for fire protection. He suggested that the Town try the contract as proposed by the Brooktondale Fire Department and reserve the right to reinstitute the audit: provision. RESOLUTION #131 - AUTHORIZE SUPERVISE TO SIGN CONTRACT WITH BROOKTONDALE FIRE DEPARTMENT C1 N ichaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Supervisor to execute the contract for fuse protection with the Brooktondale Fire Departrent, width the changes proposed by them, reserving the right to reinstitute the audit clause, subject to approval by the Tourn Attorney. 2^ol Cl Hatfield Roll Call Vote C1 Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes C1 Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes ZO Slater has presented the board with information regarding placing an ad in the Pennysaver Summer Guide. He said this was an opportunity to advertise the picturesque area of the lake and trails and promote its use. The guide will be distributed through the Spring and Summer. There is no charge for ad design. RESOLUTION # 132 - ADVERTISE IN PENNYSAVER SUMMER GUIDE Cl Hatfield offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the placement of an ad in the Pennsysaver Summer Guide at a cost of $149.00. 211d C1 Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis No C1 Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes The Board reviewed the environmental assessment form for the Patten special permit application. RESOLUTION #133 - NEG SEQR DEC - PATTEN SPECIAL PERMIT Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board issue a negative declaration based on the SEQR review for the Patten Special Permit application to establish a bulk food store business at. 2207 Dryden Road. This is an unlisted action and the Town of Dryden is the lead agency in uncoordinated review. The Supervisor is authorized to sign all necessary documents. 2nd Cl Michaels Page 10 of 14 T1311; -01 -02 Roll Call Vote C1 Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes CI Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Board discussed conditions for the Patten special permit application. RESOLUTION #134 - APPROVE PATTEN SPECIAL PERMIT Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVE D, that this Town Board hereby hereby approves the special permit application of Robert & Valerie Patten to establish a bulk food store at 2207 Dryden Road, subject to the following conditions: 1. Standard Conditions of Approval (7- 12 -00), except #7, shall apply; 2. An engineered drainage plan for the culvert as required in TG Miller's letter of April 23, 2002. 2nd Cl Hatfield Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes C1 Grantham Yes Supv Varvayanis stated that the County did not have any issues in their 239 review of the Howlett application and the Board reviewed the short environmental assessment form. RESOLUTION #135 - NEG SEQR DEC - HOWLETT Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board issue a negative declaration based on the SEAR review for the special permit application of Bnice & Kathryn Howlett to establish and operate a home business occupation at 379 Turkey Hill Road. This is an unlisted action and the Town of Dryden is the lead agency in uncoordinated review. The Supervisor is authorized to sign all necessary documents. 2nd Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote C1 Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes C1 Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes RESOLUTION # 136 - APPROVE HOWLETT SPECIAL PERMIT Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the application of Bruce & Kathryn Howlett to establish and operate a home business occupation at 379 Turkey Hill Road, subject to the following conditions: Page 11 of 14 1.) Standard Conditions of Approval (7- 12 -00), except #7. 2nd C1 Hatfield Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield. Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes C1 Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes TB 05-01 -02 Atty Perkins explained that the Town had received a request from the owners of the property at 301 Turkey (-Till Road for permission to bury their son, Jeremy Armstrong, on their property. The Town has in the past alloyed single, one -time burials without actually establishing a cemetery sunder the Town of Dryden Cemetery Ordinance. There is a form of agreement that has been used on three other occasions where people have sought permission to bury relatives on their property. Board members have been provided with a copy of the proposed agreement in this instance. This agreement will be recorded in the County Clerk's Office and indexed against the property so that any prospective future purchaser of the property will be aware of the fact that there is a grave there and that the Town will not be responsible for maintaining the grave. Each case is handled individually by the Town Board. Applicant bears the expense of preparation of the agreement mid recording fees. RESOLUTION #137 - APPROVE BURIAL AGREEMENT - ARMSTRONG C1 Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the agreement granting permission to bury Jeremy Armstrong at 301 Turkey Hill Road, and authorizes the Supervisor to sign the same. 2nd Cl Stelick Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Supv Varvayanis stated that they had received a request for a tower moratorium while the Board reviews its tower ordinance and asked what the feeling of the Board was with respect to that. Cl Hatfield said that there had been a moratorium initially while the tower ordinance was written. C1 Grantham asked what the basis for another moratorium would be and said there would have to be specific reasons. Supv Varvayanis said that the current ordinance is asking applicants to consolidate and make one tall tower, but now it seems that citizens would like to see multiple shorter towers, and the Board should decide if it wants to stay with the current law or review it. Cl Grantham said the current law says co- locate where possible, including on existing structures, if you can use t%vo existing structures instead of building a new tower you have accomplished the goal of the law. Nir Comi said that if the board was talking about a moratorium relative to the current application, there is a number of case law around the country that says you cannot do that. This is not the same as a normal planning and zoning issue where you can change something prior to a "shovel being in the ground ". Case law says that once the application has been Page 12 of 14 TB 05401 -02 accepted you cannot change the rule. That does not mean you can't go forward and change it • relevent to future applications. Cl Michaels asked whether a decision on the application had to be made tonight and Atty Perkins responded that the Board had 62 days from the public hearing is closed. Cl Michaels said that he is sympathetic to the amount of effort that went into preparing the engineering studies and examining the location, but he is also somewhat overwhelmed with information, just hearing for the first time about what the County wants to do. He would like some time to try and verify what the County is doing and develop a list of questions. He would like to have the applicant come back to the board. Atty Perkins said he could submit questions to the applicant that he feels are relevant to making a determination on the application, but the decision can not be postponed beyond 62 days. Cl Michaels would like the applicant to get some more information on the Hunt Hill site and whether that would provide coverage on Route 13, Mr Comi said if he wanted to see a study done from that location using this carrier's information that is a valid request so that there was no speculation (assuming we know the exact location). Mr Comi will work with ZO Slater to get specifics on the location. R Brunozzi stated he is uncomfortable with the timing issue of the County's tower. Cl Grantham asked if it was reasonable to look again at the water tanks and whether it was possible to put higher towers on them than was originally investigated. R Brunozzi said the water tank is clearly not structured to accommodate an extension 40 -45' above it with the wind blowing. Atty Perkins pointed out that the water tank site is not owned by the Town, but by NYSEG, and we would have to have permission from NYSEG to put towers on it. M Robertson offered to arrange a meeting with County representatives regarding the tower project so that Board members and the applicant: could discuss the project and get an idea of a timeline. Cl Michaels stated he had some difficulty with the overlays provided in the application and matching them to sites. Apparently some were misidentified and applicant will clarify those. Mr Comi stated that it appears that from the Hunt Hill site to the closest place on Route 13 (in a straight line without any hills) it is over three miles, and even without terrain problems PCS will not get adequate coverage on Route 13 being more than three miles away. It is not a viable site. Applicant will return on June 12. Prior to that date the board will obtain more specific information from the County regarding its project and tower locations and time line. Mr Comi and applicant «*ill clarify overlays as it appears there are some inaccuracies in labeling. Cl Grantham said she had invited Ed Bugliosi of USGS to come to next week's meeting and talk about the aquifer study contract with Dryden. He has told Cl Grantham that DEC is considering helping fund part of the study. Cl Grantham has a manual from the Cornell Local Roads Program regarding guidelines for low maintenance roads and a sample ordinance. Copies will be provided to hoard members. Next week's agenda will include: I* Introduction of proposed local laws for attendance for Planning Board, Recreation Commission and Conservation Advisory Council members. Pagc 13 of l4 TP 05 -014)2 Dryden Ambulance, Inc. will discuss a plan for collection of old billing matters. Martha Robertson, County Board Rep, reported that ken Thompson is willing to address the Board in June regarding the Caswell Road landfill project. With respect to the Public Safety Paging Project, they have received a. report from United Radio. The proposal provides that, the end users will purchase the pagers. The system will be able to use either voice or digital pagers and the fire companies will have a choice of which one to use. Once the system is up, there will be a one year transition from the old system to the new system. The County would like to work with the fire companies on the selection of pagers and the County will purchase the pagers in bulk in order to get a lower price on them. The fire companies would have up to four years to pay back the price of the pagers, estimated cost each is $200 to $250. They hope to begin construction in January and have the system up and running by Spring- With respect to the County budget, there is a lot of uncertainty, but they are recommending not to mandate cuts in 2002, but to encourage departments to cut wherever possible. The design work on Ellis Hollow Road has been started, but % %ill stop because of the budget: issue. Surveying and mapping has been done and they have a preliminary document of what: they will consider for the design. They are also doing a study of stop signs at Turkey Hill and Genung Roads. They will probably spend $25,000 to $30,000 out of a contract of $150,000. All work done now will be useful when the project resumes, even if it is scaled back. They intend to build within the profile of the road as it exists now. She believes the consensus is to go with paved shoulders with a painted color such as was used on Ellis Hollow Creek Road, minimum profile (about 4 feet on each side). It is possible the project won't get built until 2004. 0 'l"he Red Nifill Road bridge has been put off another year, so it will be bid in 2004 and built in 2005. Ringwood Road bridge and Hanshaw Road reconstruction will be pushed beyond that. That is due to the federal policy of not allowing funds to roll over for those projects because they haven't been started. Cl Stelick stated that he would like to look into having students from the Tech Prep program work on the Town's web page next year in a type of work study program. On motion of Cl Michaels, seconded by Cl Stelick, the board moved into executive session to discuss existing litigation at 10:25 p.m. No action was taken and the meeting was adiourned at 11:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 1 /1 ew i //LW 4 21%ldZI�5.1.,C Bambi L. Hollenbeck Town Clerk Page 14 of 14 Town cf Umden Town Board. Meeting May 1, 2002 Name - jPlease Print) 0 !4l/ Xa� 4r12.16a26 SAel f2oo, c �J,Vro Address S/ Nika/V ,+rte ..,.V lwvo. C, 112�e **I :�ao 0% 13L14 Page 1 of l Deborah Grantham From: Rick Durett [rdurettl @twcny.rr.com] Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 11:13 AM To: granlham @twcny.rr.com Cc: rhs4@cornell.edu Subject: road work Deb: As my neighbor and contact to the town board. I want to express to you my concern for the situation regarding the town highway department. Concerns for safety must be balanced against aesthetic concerns, something Jack Bush seems ignorant of. In short, far too much cutting has gone on in recent years. Thanks. Susan Myron 54/1120022 Page ( of l Deborah Grantham From:^ Robin Abrahamson Masson (ram @wigginsandmasson.com] Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 10 :21 AM To: sv27@cornell.edu; sstelick @aol.com; grantham @twcny.rr.com; michaels @bpmlegal,com Subject: stone wall on Freese Rd, 1 was distressed to read in the Ithaca Journal that the Town is using litigation to try to rernove the very beautiful hand -built stone wall on the Weinstein premises on Freese Rd. As a 24 year resident of Deer Haven Drive, I watched it being lovingly built by Mr. 1Weinstein's predecessor, and since then i have daily enjoyed driving past that wall as I round the curve at the bottom of the hill. Although 1 realize that the Ithaca Journal rarely reports all of the facts concerning a story, it appears to me that the Town should not be in the business of suing its residents until reasonable measures to resolve the dispute have first been utilized. It appears from the inforrnation available to me that this is a matter ripe for resolution through mediation, such as through the Community Dispute Resolution Center. As a taxpayer and citizen of the Town of Dryden, I strongly urge you to consider this alternative to litigation. Robin Abrahamson Masson, Esq. 20 Deer Haven Dr. Ithaca, NY 14350 tel: 607 272.04079 ®fax: 60 ?.273.0502 i�<<v�.i�' i��insan�lmassoii.curn 5/l/2002 Deborah Grantham t otom: Gordon Rowland [rowland @ithaca.edu] nt: Thursday, April 18, 2002 11:27 AM : sv27 @cornell.edu; sstelick @aol.com; grantham @fiwcny_rr.com; michaels @bpmlegal.com Subject: Dryden Roads Dear Tolan Board Members, When I learned that my fellow residents were preparing a lawsuit to halt tree cutting I chose not to participate, mostly because I did not feel well informed enough about alternative approaches that had been taken, and partly because I wondered what sort of response might come from a department that seems to have no reasonable check on its authority. The latter caution now appears warranted by the action taken against my fellow resident David Weinstein. I am very concerned about the paths we are taking as a community, and I would ask you to do all. in your power to find an alternative path that (1) allows our highway department to do its job with pride and with the blessing of residents and (2) protects residents from the real or perceived threat of unwanted change to their property. Thank you, Gordon Rowland 1166 Ellis Hollow Road 1 Page I of 1 Deborah Grantham From: Laura Stenzler [Ims9 @cornell.edu] Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 11:37 AM To: grantnam @twcny.rr.com Subject: re: Weinstein Wall Dear NIs, Grantham, 1 am writing to urge you and the Dryden town Board to DROP the lawsuit that Mr. Bush has initiated against David Weinstein and his wall on Freese ltd. I want you to know that I, as a citizen of Dryden, do not: want our highway department or Mr. Bush suing citizens as a first move, when it /he decides that someone's property needs work. 1 think it is wrong for Mr. Bush to be taking this action against Mr. Weinstein, if Mr. Bush and the town are successful in this lawsuit, I am afraid no citizen of Dryden will feel safe in speaking out on any issue. Sincerely, Laura Stenzler Research Support Specialist Cornell Lab of Ornithology/ Dept A408 Corson Hall Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14850 607 -254 -4280 lms9 @cornell.edu 5/1/2002 of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Deborah Grantham fnt: rnPeter J. Davies [pjd2 @cornell.eduj Thursday, April 18, 2002 12:22 PM Mark Varvayanis; Steve Stelick; Deb Grantham; Chris Michaels Dear Members of the Dryden Town Board: I am disturbed and disgusted by the recent revelation that Mr. David Weinstein of 51 Superintendent, front of his house. Freese Road is being personally sued Mr. Bush, demanding that he demolish I have personally inspected this by the Dryden Highway the stone wall in beautiful old stone wall. It is in behind the wall no is gray obstructing the road or traffic quite clear and obviously has been thereon. A ditch and is maintained by Mr. Weinstein. activities that is destroying the This suit represents nothing more than harassment of Mr. Weinstein as a member of the group that obtained a court restraining order to prevent the Highway Department from excessive tree cutting and other road widening activities that is destroying the delightful nature of the town's rural roads. Mr. Bush is clearly out of control. It is high time that he was reined in by the Town board and all funds for such activities as tree removal stripped from his budget. I request that the 'Town Board demand that the suit against Mr. Weinstein be drooped and that his historic wall be retained as a town asset. Thank you. Peter Davies Peter .7. Davies Ot5 Snyder Hill Road haca, NY 14850 -8708 USA Phone: 1- 607 -272 -9417 Fax. 1 -607- 255 -5407 E -mail: p}d29cornell.edu 1 Deborah Grantham rom: Ikd1 @carnell.edu nt: Thursday, April 18, 2002 1:49 PM o: Mark Varvayanis; Steve Stelick; Deb Grantham; Chris Michaels Cc: daw5 @cornell.edu; pjd2Qcornell.edu; pwl4@corriell.edu Subject: Lava Suits against Dryden Citizens Dear Members of the Dryden Town Board: Why is David Weinstein being personally sued by the Dryden Highway Superintendent, Mr. Bush, demanding that he demolish the stone wall in front of his house? I drive past this beautiful stone wall several times a week. It does not obstruct traffic. It does not obstruct the view of the road. It is not a safety hazard in any way. In fact, most people probably do not even know it is there. It is most inapproprate for an elected official to sue a private citizen, particularly when no prior discussion of the offending matter has taken place. This type of action represents arrogance, and a disregard for his constituents, by an elected official.. Furthermore, it represents a waste or our tax money. I suggest that this law suit is nothing other than harrassment, and I request that the Dryden Town Board take action that will cause Mr. Bush to cease such activities. If it is true that the only power the Town Board has in this matter is control of the highway department budget, then tt would be appropriate to withhold funds until such harrassment cease. ith deep respect for your job as an elected official, Linda DeNoyer Town of Dryden 1 Deborah Grantham rom: Dawn Potter [dap4 @cornell.edu] nt: Thursday, April 18, 2002 4:44 PM Mark Varvayanis; Steve Stelick; Deb Grantham; Chris Michaels Subject: To the Town of Dryden Board 4/16/02 It is very sad to see the level that 'Tow'n of Dryden Highway Superintendent Jack Bush has scooped. He has chosen to harass the taxpayers, using the tax dollars irresponsibly to destroy property owners' land, trees, shrubs, and anything else within an area of his choosing along Town roads. He has chosen to not follow written laws, guidelines, or proper procedure in order to gain what he has wanted, merely by stating that he deems something to be "dangerous." I remember a boy in my fifth grade class who would single out another boy, demand that he hand over his lunch money or l'e'd beat hip; up. This boy beat other students up on the playground, simply because they refused to give up their lunch money. This scenario strikes me as very similar to the tactics that our Highway Superintendent has chosen to use. Jack Bush is a bully, plain and s,s.mnle, taking on the attitude either you will "give me what I want, or I'll beat you up." Mr. Bush has now decided that David Weinstein's wall has to be destroyed, only after Dr. Weinstein chose to stand with other property owners against the runaway tree cutting campaign along town roads. Mr. Bush has set his sights on harassing Dr. Weinstein, and has engaged the assistance of our town attorney to do it, at a cost to the taxpayers. Citizens are suing to keep their Oonsiderable ight under the law. How much has the Town attorney spent keeping them from it? ,lack Bush is not only out of control, but he is also out of line. It is time for the Town Board to band together on this issue and draw the line against Mr. Bush's harassment of David Weinstein, Mr. Bush's budget- must revisited to exclude all funds that would allow him further destruction of trees and any other obstacles he deems "dangerous" along the town roads. He has clearly operated outside the allowed space along the roads. Not only are his actions against the prcperty owners malicious and spiteful, but they are also very costly to the members of this town. Please put- a stop to Mr. Bush's attempt to destroy Dr. Weinstein's wall. The ditch behind the wall has been maintained quite acceptably for the past two decades without complaint. It is only retaliation against Dr. Weinstein that brought the lawsuit to fruition. Dawn Potter 1692 Slaterville Road Ithaca, NY 14850 607= 273 -6493 1 Deborah Grantham Grom: Peggy Walbridge {pw14 @cornell,edu] nt: Thursday, April 18, 2002 5:37 PM o: grantham @lwcny.rr.com Subject: roads & suits Deb, The town board needs to regain control of the highway department, any legal actions the town is undertaking, and road and tree policy in the town. I hope that ycu all will work together to devise some mechanisms to do this and not bend to Mr. Perkins and Mr. Bush's smoke screen that the highway superintendent can do anything under the guise road safety or danger. There are always limits. It saddens me that the lawsuit, of which 1 am a part, could have been settled the week after the papers had been served if the town had talked to the plaintiffs. I resent paying for the suit in order to get the town to act .legally and not take land. :I: resent having my taxes pay for the attorney to fight the suit. From, what I have observed, the town attorney has operated without any oversight from the town board. He is charging a lot of hours of his time to keep this suit going, refusing to compromise; what incentive does he have to settle? What incentive does Jack have to settle as he is not paying for the lawsuit either? Clearly spelled out rules will be a boon to our town: both to the highway department and to the citizens. It will. make the boundaries clearer and, hopefully, less disagreements will follow. The counter -suit against David Weinstein is an embarrassment to our town. Attack.i.ng a citizen for voicing an opinion. Please vote to settle with us and dismiss the suit against David. -- Peggy walbr.idge S Peggy Walbridge Assistant Dean Admissions & Advising College of Arts & Sciences Cornell University 172 Goldwin Smith Hall Ithaca, NY 14653 607/255 -4833 607/255 -8297 (fax) 1 Deborah Grantham 46: Rick Durett jrdurettl @twcny.rr.corri) nt: Thursday, April 18, 2002 7:13 PPi.4 Mark Varvayanis; Steve Stelick; Deb Grantham; Chris Michaels; Peter J. Davies Subject: Re: Support the position of Peter Davies Members of. the Dryden Town Board: I can't say it better than Mr. Davies. I have driven by this wall countless times. It is not only a beautiful landmark, but also contributes to the safety of the road. It in no way seems to interfere with the operation of the roadways, something I cannot say about Mr. Bush. Please call a halt to the harassment. Susan Myron - - - -- Original Message - - - -- From: Peter. J. Davies <pjd2!Pcorne].l.edu> To: Mark Varvayanis <sv270cornell.edu >; Steve Stelick <sstelickQaol.com >; Deb Grantham <granthamatwcny.rr.com >; Chris Michaels <michaels@1bpmlegal,com> Sent: Thursday, April 180 2002 12:22 P14 > Dear Members of the Dryden Town Board: • I am disturbed and disgusted by the recent revelation that Mr. David • Weinstein of 51 Freese Road is being personally sued by the Dryden Highway • Superintendent, Mr. Bush, demanding that he demolish the stone wall in • front of his house. I have personally inspected this beautiful old stone • wall. It is ir.• no way obstructing the road or traffic thereon. A ditch • behind the wall is quite clear and obviously has been and is maintained by • Mr. Weinstein. 0 This suit represents nothing more than harassment of Mr. Weinstein as a • member of the group that obtained a court restraining order to prevent the • Highway Department from excessive tree cutting and other road widening • activities that is destroying the delightful nature of the town's rural • roads. Mr. Bush is clearly out of control. It is high time that he was • reined in by the Town board and all funds for such activities as tree • removal stripped from his budget. I request- that the Town Board demand • that the suit against Mr. Weinstein be dropped and that his historic wall • be retained as a town asset. • Thank you. • Peter Davies > > Peter J. Davies > 755 Snyder Hill Road > Ithaca, NY 14350 -8708 > USA > Phone: 1- 607 - 272 -9417 Fax: 1- 607 -255 -5407 E -mail: pjd26cornell.edu 1 Page 1 of 1 Deborah Grantham From: Nancy Suci [suci @lightlink.coml Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 8:36 PM To: sv27@cornell.edu: sstelick @aol.com; grantham@hvcny.rr.corn; michaels @bpmlegal.com Subject: Roads Jack Bush needs to be shown that his power is limited, that he's just the highway superintendent, not the boss of the world. His action against David Weinstein is unforgivable) A citizen needs to be able to object to a government act without being punished. Nancy Suci ",/1 /2002 Saturday, April 20, 2002 Ms. Deborah Grantham 12 Redwood Lane Ithaca, NY 14850 Dear Deb, I am writing to implore you to do your utmost to stop the harassment against Mr, Weinstein. 1 am dismayed to learn the Town has the time and the money to engage in such shenanigans with am tax money! It makes me less than proud to be associated with the Town of Dryden. From what 1 have read in the newspaper, there is more to this lawsuit than just the wall. As far as the rat[ issue - I drive Freese road almost daily, in all weather, and have never noticed the "problem wall" even in icy weather and run off. Howard and I have lived in the Town of Dryden for 51 years and sincerely hope that the Town Board will ask Jack Bush to drop this senseless suit on the part of our town and that civil discussion without expensive lawsuits can return. Very sincerely, Erica Evans 49 Turkey Hill 'toad rage t of I BambiH •From: "Zorika Henderson" <zorika @lightlink.com> To: <sv27 @cornell.edu> Cc: <grantham @twcny.rr.com >; <michaels @bpmlegal.com>; <sstelick @aol.com >; <BambiH @a- znet.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 11:30 AM Subject: Funding of legal bills Dear Mr. Vaivayani s, The Dryden highway superintendent has rejected the reasonable settlement offer by the plaintiffs who initiated a lawsuit against the highway department. These plaintiffs only proceeded with the suit because they were left with no choice. The superintendent has since brought what appears to be a vindictive lawsuit against one of the plaintiffs. At this point, the Dryden Town Board needs to step in. The board has the right to withhold funds for lawsuits or related legal bills that it concludes are unnecessary or unfair. Every taxpayer will be burdened with paying for these bills. Please do what is possible to avoid the wasting of tax dollars, as well as to prevent the loss of trust among Dryden residents in their town government. Sincerely, Zorika Henderson 5/l/02