After a smoothly run Marbletown Town Board meeting that focused on four resolutions and concluded with some discussion of the town’s cannabis dispensary regulations and the rather extreme limitations in the rules regarding cell towers, the meeting adjourned. Then the anger in the audience, which had simmered throughout, erupted.

Voices rose, asking for a chance for the public to comment. Town Supervisor Rich Parete, backed by board members Ken Davenport and Daisy Foote pushed back, saying the board had offered a time for comment – on the four resolutions before the board.

Davenport explained that there is no actual legal obligation for municipal boards in New York State to allow public comment.

A vast majority of other boards in Ulster County do allow it. For example, in the Town of Wawarsing there is the “Petitioners” time, at the beginning of a meeting in which people have three minutes to discuss one issue or another.

However, the Shawangunk Journal has checked the law again and Davenport and Parete are quite correct. Public comment is a privilege granted by some boards but not by all; there’s no legal obligation to do so. It’s also important to understand that public comment on topics of the public’s choosing is one thing, but an official public hearing, called to discuss issues of legislation, zoning and planning, is required by state law in many instances.

The argument at the end of the Marbletown meeting revealed anger on both sides. Laura Shaine Cunningham, who has developed a role as advocate for the community and residents, handed out copies to board members of an 1834 document that describes restrictions on the just-sold stone school house building, limiting it to just an educational facility. Some of them said they had already seen it. She had hoped to speak on the topic.

Board Member Daisy Foote became exasperated with Cunningham and the other audience members who wanted to be heard during the meeting. “You’re so hostile,” Foote said.

Cunningham then announced that “democracy has died here.” Christine Herbest-Sommers, also in the audience, said, “It is right and proper to have public comment.”

Supervisor Rich Parete was unmoved. The meeting was adjourned. Parete explained his point of view. “We called for public comment on the four resolutions before the board,” he said.

Another audience member asked, “Why do you call for the public to attend meetings when you treat us this way?”

The Resolutions

The meeting itself was primarily concerned with the four resolutions.

The first resolution concerned voting to put Mary Ann Van Benschoten, a new town board member, on the executive committee of the Coalition of Watershed Towns. The CWT keeps oversight on the “watershed,” which describes the areas of the Catskills from which New York City draws its drinking water. Marbletown is a signatory to the 1997 New York City Watershed Memorandum of Agreement, a.k.a. the “MOA.” Ulster County member towns each vote for two regular and two alternate members of the executive committee for two-year terms.

Parete noted that Van Benschoten is very experienced with the issues of the watershed. Marbletown, has, he said, 600 acres “under water” beneath the Ashokan reservoir. The board voted unanimously to put Van Benschoten’s name forward for the committee seat.

The second resolution was to authorize the supervisor to sign clean energy community grants. These primarily affect improvements to the former school building – now the Rondout Municipal Center – which Marbletown and Rosendale share as their town halls. The work envisages replacing the oil-burning boiler and hot water heaters with electric heat pump technology and solar energy. The board voted unanimously to approve the resolution.

The third resolution involved hiring a laborer, part-time at $19 an hour, effective May 7. This set off considerable discussion concerning union requirements and the way that a laborer could be employed by the town for a variety of tasks. While the position is seasonal, Parete said if there was sufficient work needed in the winter months, the laborer could be recalled.

The final resolution was to approve an agreement with Paul Kennedy Construction of Kingston to remove the partition in the gymnasium of the Rondout Municipal Center. Parete noted that the partition is mostly just a nuisance now. Three bids were received; the Kennedy bid was the lowest, at $5,737. The board voted unanimously to approve the bid.

Cannabis & Cell Towers

Further discussion began with cannabis and a possible grower-oriented shop in High Falls. Parete explained that by only selling the product that the proprietor grows himself, he can sidestep some of the onerous restrictions place on cannabis sales by the state. The shop would be a “micro-business” and not a dispensary. Any application will have to go to the planning board for review and approval.

From cannabis, the discussion went to the town’s cell phone law and its extreme restrictions on towers. Parete said the law requires 500-foot setbacks from property lines. He noted that this excluded cell towers from most useful locations in the town, adding that Verizon cannot find anywhere in Marbletown for a cell tower within those restrictions. AT&T is resorting to mini-repeaters set up on existing utility poles to repeat signal from the existing tower at the fire station on Route 209. Parete suggested that the town would have to revisit the law and lower the setback requirement.