Town of Goshen submits comprehensive plan

The Town of Goshen is currently taking comments from the public about its proposed comprehensive plan, which can be read at https://shorturl.at/fH8ct.

A public hearing on the plan was held at the May 14 meeting of the Goshen town board. Councilman Philip Canterino led the committee tasked with crafting the plan. He said, “This has been quite a process and I had a fantastic committee. More than a year and a half of work. For this particular comprehensive plan we had 40 meetings. We would meet and the members would go home and have to research and make recommendations. There is so much statistical data in there. The committee displayed patience, creativity and commitment to the community.”

Residents share views during public hearing

Several residents made comments at the public hearing, including members of the planning board and a county legislator. Planning board member Jeremy Zweig said, “This is amazing. It is disciplined, detailed.” He said the discussion about increasing open space was on point. He noted Houston and 17A is the most dangerous intersection in town and asked the town board to request the state to reduce the speed limit.

Goshen resident, County Legislator Jonathan Redeker said, “I appreciate this plan that recognizes both Goshen’s strength and challenges. It acknowledges the very real burden Goshen has as the county seat, hosting major county facilities and tax exempt properties that serve the entire region.” He also credited the plan with protecting water, farmland and the historic character of the area.

The board is currently accepting written comments from the public and the public hearing will remain open at the June 11 meeting of the town board. The town board also named itself the lead agency for SEQRA on the matter.

Town finances addressed

In other news, Justin Wood of Nugent & Haeussler, P.C. spoke about his firm’s audit of the town’s finances. He said the town overall had a healthy fund balance, but the water fund has a deficit. Asked by Councilwoman Melissa Gallo how Goshen compared with other towns, Wood said Goshen compared favorably with other towns. He said the town had lower debts than most towns and a healthy fund balance.

Town debates issuing permit to IWS for tranfer station renovation

The town board held a discussion and vote on issuing a permit to IWS for its renovated transfer station. The town board completed SEQRA on the project on April 23. Councilman Canterino objected to IWS’s request to increase its intake of waste from 600 tons per day to 670 tons per day. Currently it is permitted for 600 tons of waste and 70 tons of recyclables.

Canterino said the request is greedy and accused IWS of being a bad neighbor. Supervisor Joseph Betro said that IWS has no reason to use the Goshen site for recyclables as those go straight to the county landfill. Betro and three other council members disagreed with Canterino about issuing the permit. They voted 4-1 to approve the permit, including the increase in tonnage for waste processed at the site. The DEC still has to approve the increase in tonnage before it can go into effect.

Board changes public comment rules

The board voted to change the public comment rules for the town board meetings. They will allow the public to speak before agenda items are addressed by the board, so their voice can be heard and considered before a vote takes place. They also will require a sign-in sheet and limit comments to three minutes unless the board votes to extend the time for a particular speaker.

The board voted to approve a request for a six month extension of a special use permit for the SR94 LLC Solar Project. The board accepted the resignation of Ashley Salte and the resignation of clerk to the supervisor Karina Wigger. The board approved the appointment of a new clerk to the supervisor, Lisa Casiano.