The first community meeting of the year was held in Glenmont last week by town officials to discuss upcoming projects and resident concerns.
Supervisor John Clarkson led the meeting on Thursday, May 14, at Glenmont Elementary School on Route 9W. The forum lasted for about two hours, with about 30 people in attendance.
Town officials and staff took questions and comments from the crowd, and they presented updates on several development proposals for the area. Topics ranged from the acquisition of land for additional park space, construction of new housing developments and retail space, traffic and installation of more sidewalks.
The meeting was also attended by Councilwoman Joann Dawson, Councilman Bill Reinhardt, Councilwoman Julie Sasso and several department heads.
Park acquisitions
Director of Parks and Recreation Nan Lanahan presented residents with a proposal to add 22 acres to the South Bethlehem Park on Wylie Lane. The plan was presented to members of the Town Board last week, and they approved the performance of an environmental assessment on the property.
The project is in its early stages. Lanahan said the property owners are aging and wish to sell the land. The additional park space would be used to add more lacrosse fields in town, since the sport is growing and the local lacrosse club wants to field its headquarters.
“Not to mention, it’s a beautiful piece of property, and it preserves open space,” said Lanahan, adding the property drains well.
One woman in attendance was concerned about parking, while others wanted to know about traffic. The town is in talks with the club to partner on an upcoming traffic assessment before the project moves forward.
“We are finding out there’s a lot of potential for public-private partnerships, and we may be able to leverage that to get more sports fields available for our youth,” said Clarkson. “We’re, of course, worried about the impact on tax payers, but when you get the chance to get something you know is needed over the long term at a good price, it seems like a prudent thing to explore.”
Parkland Set Aside Funds would be used if acquisition of the land goes forward. The cost is estimated to be $40,000.
The town was also approached by the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District to see if there was interest in taking over land the district owns next to Selkirk Park off Thatcher Street. The town currently has an easement for the roadway and parking lot between the two properties and takes care of the tennis and basketball courts. RCS is looking to sell the former administration building on the property, and it would not be included in the deal.
However, Clarkson said RCS Superintendent Alan McCartney offered acquisition of the new land, but McCartney died unexpectedly last week. The project is now on hold until they have someone else with whom to discuss the proposal.
Development and retail
The town is moving forward with its stalled Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan for the Hudson River. The plan was prepared from 2007 to 2010, but had trouble moving forward because of employee turnover with the state, said Planning and Economic Development Director Rob Leslie.
The final draft of the plan was submitted to the state in April. Plans call for upgrades at entrance corridors, attracting more restaurants and a marina to the waterfront and safer access for pedestrians and bikers. The town is now applying for a state grant due in July and seeking members for a waterfront revitalization committee, which would start meeting in June.
Leslie also gave updates on various development projects throughout Glenmont and Selkirk, but the one of most concern was Wemple Corners.
Leslie said the project remains on hold as the town awaits response from the developer. They have since decreased the number of housing units from 526 to 474. The applicant is drafting the final environmental impact statement, and although a first draft was submitted last December, many of the town’s questions have not been answered.
The key issue for the town was traffic impact mitigation. The problem has been the town has asked developers to mitigate traffic from its current levels, but developers only want to help reduce the traffic their own project will help create.
“That’s not enough,” said Leslie. “We want to see more traffic mitigation on their part, and they haven’t come to the table. Until I think we see more dialog or more discussion on those items, I don’t think it’s a project that will move forward.”
Glenmont Abbey Village senior housing is already in construction off Glenmont Road and is projected for a fall completion. The Newell Place Conservation Subdivision proposed for Wemple Road is still under review, along with the mixed-use Kendall Square, which would include retail on the first floor and five apartments on the second.
Leslie also reviewed the Taco Bell now under construction in Bethlehem Town Center. Another building is also expected to be finished this fall in Glenmont Plaza, and will include a Moe’s, Menchies Frozen Yogurt and a third, unknown occupant.
Sidewalks and speed reduction
Officials also discussed plans for more sidewalks in the area.
The second phase of the Feura Bush Road sidewalk is planned for 2016. The plan has been delayed since the original route needed to be changed because of culverts and utility poles. The continuation of the sidewalk will most likely have to be built on the opposite site of the road, with a road crossing.
The town will be contacting homeowners for potential easements to install the continuing sidewalk, and some trees in the right-of-way will need to be removed. By the end, the sidewalk will extend from Elm to Elsmere Avenue.
The town is also working with CSX to install sidewalk on Maple Avenue in Selkirk. Installation is planned for July 2015. The project was initiated in 2005, with the first two phases completed. However, the third phase was stalled due to lack of funds. Another major hurdle was building a railroad crossing to link the sidewalk on either side of the tracks that pass Maple Avenue. Not including the safety crossing would mean liability issues for the town.
CSX helped pay for the project. The next phase of sidewalk will extend from John Street to Pausley Court. The town is now finalizing permits with the state and CSX.
Town officials said they are also working to reduce the speed on Wemple and Feura Bush Road from 40 mph to 35, since more pedestrians will likely be seen on those roads in the future. The town needs permission from the state to lower the speed on Feura Bush, but not Wemple. So far, the state has rejected the plan, since officials said people are likely to drive 40 anyway. The town is looking for resident feedback.
Town officials will host a series of forums on upcoming Thursdays, stopping in each of the town’s hamlets to discuss matters of interest with residents. The next town hall community meeting will be held for Elsmere and Delmar residents on Thursday, May 21, at the Elsmere Fire Department, at 7 p.m.
