Goshen again considers giving up land to Florida

Senior citizen housing will help offset costs, developer says, By Leslie Cosgrove Goshen — Goshen is reconsidering annexing two properties to the Village of Florida, after rejecting a petition from the same applicant last year. Goshen was initially concerned that the town would no longer be one contiguous tract of land, and the annexation would isolate several properties, possibly presenting problems for emergency services coverage and the school systems. The new petition addresses those concerns, said Goshen attorney Alan Lipman, representing the petitioner El Karpo, Ltd., and its chief executive officer and sole stockholder, Elias Muhlrad, during a joint public hearing of the Town of Goshen and the Village of Florida. By including the Randalls in the annexation, he said, “We’ve done about as good a job as we can do.” The remaining adjacent properties, including the Werners, will remain isolated from rest of Goshen except for a connection via Route 17A. The town’s attorney, Rick Golden, said both municipalities must evaluate the public’s comments to determine whether the petition was filed in accordance with municipal law and is in the public interest. Lipman presented a map of the two parcels and the surrounding properties in relation to the Goshen-Florida boundary. In addition to Muhlrad’s 35-acre parcel, Gary and Katharine Randall have agreed to include their adjacent five-acre parcel nestled between Muhlrad’s property and the Florida boundary in the proposed annexation. The Werner family, owners of three other adjacent properties between the Muhlrad property and the Florida line, have refused to be annexed. The town also cited the loss of tax revenue from the annexed land when rejecting the first petition. To address this, Lipman said Muhlrad plans to develop senior citizen housing in a 105-unit planned adult community on this parcel, and he will commit to issuing a check for $1,000 for each unit completed—a total of $105,000. Also, the village’s building inspector will not issue a certificate of occupancy for any unit until the Town of Goshen confirms the check has been received. Lipman said his client will also agree to build no more than 105 units as specified by the town’s zoning regulations, even if Florida’s zoning code allows more. Jane Samuelson of Engineering Properties, PC, said the annexation would be in the public’s best interest because the proposed senior citizen housing will use Florida’s water and sewer systems. She also said that planned adult communities generate up to 40 percent less traffic than other developments, and its residents tend to have more disposable income to spend in the community than other homeowners. In addition, these residents pay taxes yet contribute no schoolchildren to the school systems. Town resident and planning board member Reynell Andrews questioned the financial inpact of annexation on Goshen. When none of the representatives from either municipality could provide any monetary figures, he asked, “How does anybody make a decision if you don’t know the numbers?” Andrews was reminded that it was a public hearing, and no decision would be made that night. Lipman said he could not recall the figures from the previous annexation petition, but he said that “in the short run,” the $105,000 would exceed any revenue loss to the town. Councilman Lou Capella said he approached budget officer Bill Standish last year to find out how much tax revenue 105 units would generate, but Capella couldn’t recollect an the exact dollar amount. “Goshen’s town board should examine those [dollar figures] extremely carefully before they make any decision,” cautioned Andrews. Is another full-time officer needed? A motion to authorize the police chief to hire a full-time police officer failed after much discussion and dissension among the board members. Councilman George Lyons, the board’s liaison to the police department, said he discussed with Police Chief Dennis Marsh the need to add an eighth full-time officer to the force as opposed to filling shifts with part-time officers. The funds for this position have already been appropriated in this year’s budget. Lyons said that after listening to Marsh, he balanced the town’s welfare against the costs involved. With the town rapidly growing, he would prefer to “err on the side of the health, safety, and welfare.” Newly appointed board member and Commissioner of Finance Phil Canterino said he had little information and wanted 90 days to study whether police protection should be delivered by full-time or part-time officers. Lyons said a full-time officer will provide more stability to the force. Part-time officers tend to be less reliable to the force because of their obligations to their full-time jobs, he said. According to Supervisor Doug Bloomfield, Marsh said he wanted authorization to hire the officer this month, so that the officer can take advantage of a training class scheduled for Feb. 6. But, Bloomfield said Chief Marsh acknowledged that the department is already fully staffed, shifts are covered, and the public’s safety is not currently compromised. So Bloomfield agreed with Canterino to look at Goshen’s financial position when making this decision. Councilman Ken Newbold expressed “amazement” at the reticence of the board members. He said he left the work session under the impression that the board favored the idea. Newbold said he understood the need to be prudent, but argued, “We’re a growing community, and I’m going to tell you that with growth comes crime, and for crime we need resources.” Cappella said that although he personally believed that hiring a full-time officer was unjustified, he also left the work session believing that the board favored the motion. Lyons agreed. When Canterino reiterated that he wanted time to understand the issues better, Bloomfield agreed and put the item on the agenda for further discussion in front of the public, and then for a vote. A full-time police officer makes $32,000 in salary and $16,000 in benefits, Bloomfield said. After the town passed a budget with a 19.3 percent increase, he said it was worthwhile to take three months to seek additional information. In other business In other business the board: • Reappointed Susan Cleaver to the planning board for a five-year term, Priscilla Gersbeck to the zoning board of appeals for a five-year term, and Wallace Gantter and Dave Gawronski to the Environmental Review Board for two-year terms. • Appointed Carol Laskos and John Swift to two-year terms on the Environmental Review Board. • Approved the purchase of a new hydraulic lift for the highway department for $45,000. An additional $4,500 will be spent to resurface the concrete, but the department will still come in under budget because department members will be doing some of the work themselves, Cappella said. • Approved a $1,500 maintenance contract for a back-up generator to service the police department and the department of public works.