Public thinks terms are just fine

Residents will have a chance to vote on extending the term of the town clerk during the regular November election after public hearings held at the Wednesday, Apirl 24, Town Board meeting.

The public was invited to comment on extending the terms of clerk, highway superintendent and town supervisor, as well as the town clerk from two to four years. Also up for consideration was joining the tax receiver position into the town clerk’s office.

The vote for a referendum was 5-0 but the other two suggestions for extending terms were not brought up to a vote.

Several members of the public commented out about the issue during the public hearing, all of them voicing their opposition to extending the terms of public officials.

Resident and candidate for town council Chris Healey said, “This law negatively affects voters. This law strips our rights. This law hurts our town.” He pledged not to vote for any official who supports extending the terms of officials.

The issue had been on the ballot as recently as 2023, where it failed in a close election tally separated by just 30 votes. Supervisor Joseph Betro said he felt two years was not enough time to get an agenda through and noted that other municipalities in the county had moved toward a four-year term for officials. Healey retorted with a list of about a dozen major items that had been voted on in the past two years.

Former eight-term supervisor Doug Bloomfield spoke against extending the terms saying he felt the advantage of two-year terms is communication with voters. Bloomfield was a member of the council through 2024.

Chair of the Environmental Review Board Neal Halloran said having the vote for supervisor every two years means every two years majority of the board can be changed if things are bad.

Also on the agenda was a public scoping hearing for the proposed renovations to the IWS plant on Hartley Road. The plant is undergoing mandated upgrades by the state. One change they are seeking is to increase their waste load from 600 to 670 tons per day, the rationale being that an additional 70 tons in recycling is now going straight to New Jersey and does not need to be handled by the Goshen site.

Councilman George Lyons said he would like to see traffic flow concerns on Hartley Road and 17M get addressed. The rep for IWS said accidents on 17M have not come from their plant but acknowledged the need to work on improving traffic flow.

The board heard a presentation from a proposed battery energy storage system company seeking a special permit to install 10 megawatts of battery storage on the site of TAM Enterprises, adjacent to the O&R substation. The company representatives reassured the town board members that battery storage units had undergone extensive testing to ensure they do not pose an undue fire hazard.

The batteries would draw energy from the grid to be stored and utilized for peak usage times during the summer. Company reps said the project would not require a variance as it is an approved use for the area, which is mostly gravel and has no sight lines to the general public.

The board passed a contract for funding the Dial-A-Bus program, while acknowledging it is uncertain whether federal funds will be there due to cuts under the Trump administration. Betro said the program helps seniors get to doctors appointments and the grocery store and if it needs to be funded locally it probably would be in the interest of the town to do so.

The board also voted to approve a new full-time police officer to replace a sergeant who recently retired. The chief made it known that he desired the town to create a canine unit for the police department to help with monitoring Legoland. He met some resistance from Councilman Philip Canterino and it was agreed the matter would be tabled until the next meeting.