Kingman & Co. Acquiesced

It has finally come to pass, an eyesore is to removed from the Milan landscape. Kingman of the Planning Board have agreed to issue a Demolition Permit to the owners of the defunct Mobile Station on Rte. 199. The next question is , what obstacles will Kingman and Co. place in the way that will prevent the building a new gas station? This crowd does not want any business in Milan regardless of how beneficial it may be to the community.
JOIN MILAN UNITED

Robbed Again

The 2007 Budget
Mr. Talmage suggests that the rising cost of town government is due to the highway budgets. Comparing the General and Highway Fund budgets when Mr. Talmage took office in 2004 with his final budget for 2007, we find that the General Fund has risen 52.5 percent, while the Highway Fund has only increased 33.7 percent. Keep in mind that the highway budget is far more sensitive to increases in petroleum costs than is the General Fund.
Looking at specific accounts for:
2006 2007 Percent of Change
Supervisor Salary $ 12,420 $ 14,000 + 12.7
(Most others received a 4 percent increase.)
Supervisor’s
Private Secretary $ 6,000 $ 10,000 + 67.0
Attorney $ 20,000 $ 55,000 +275
Recreation $ 15,000 $ 15,000 0.0
Zoning $ 66,200 $ 72,000 + 8.8
Planning Personnel $ 2,200 $ 11,000 +500
Employee Benefits
General $112,000 $145,500 + 29.9
Highway $ 63,338 $ 50,562 - 20.0
Buried in these numbers is a full-time position of building inspector/zoning enforcement officer, a part-time town planner and a part-time wetlands specialist.
One can certainly see that the town board’s priorities have nothing to do with maintenance of the town’s roads. The town highway department has been losing ground every year since Mr. Talmage took office. Blaming the decline on past boards and past and present highway superintendents is dishonest. If the town has the money to provide for a private secretary, nearly tripling the attorney fees (not including the money in the zoning and planning budgets), and hiring more personnel to enforce more laws, it should have been able to provide enough money to fix the roads. The objective of the gang of four on the town board is to make government in Milan full time; that is their idea of rural

Lemonade Law Sent Back

At The Town Board Meeting on Monday, November13th, Defacto Town Supervisor Williams and his Board went down to ignominious defeat on the public hearing on the "Vending of Refreshment Law", affectonately known as the "Lemonade Law" or the Anti-Rocky Mancini Law". The board had planned to railroad this law through with a 10 minute public hearing and then vote on it. Milan United saw to it that there was a 30 minute public hearing giving voice to many who opposed the law. The Board was forced to reconsider the law.
Bill May, true to his form, in his own elegant fashion defend this piece of nonsense. Mr. May is against any form wayside stands in Milan, this includes lemonade stands.l
JOIN MILAN UNITED and RESTORE SANITY to OUR TOWN

Wetlands Public Hearing

Nearly 50 local residents attended a public hearing at Milan Town Hall to sound off to the town board about the proposed "Wetlands and Watercourses" law.The comments at the Nov. 4 morning meeting generally centered around the residents' dissatisfaction with the law, which would build on existing county and state regulations of activities that are permitted within certain distances of wetlands and watercourses.Resident Bobbi Egan read from prepared statements, saying, "We all recognize the benefits of protecting and maintaining our wetlands and watercourses. However, I take exception to regulatory actions that restrict my ability to utilize and enjoy my property."Our own Comprehensive Plan encourages the town to 'consider techniques' for protecting the physical attributes of the community."In my opinion, the town board has not considered any techniques but these: over-regulation of private landowners, excessive permit applications and fees to generate revenue for the expansion of town government."Other methods for protecting wetlands and watercourses are available. Property in watershed areas that supply the drinking water for New York City are purchased through fee title or acquired with conservation easements, not taken through regulation. Wetlands and watershed properties can be purchased or donated. Promoting new business in Milan would generate tax revenue for the town that could be used to purchase warranty easement deeds for wetland protection from property owners," Egan said in her prepared statement."Buying conservation easement, paying landowners to avoid certain practices, paying landowners a fee for providing a breeding habitat for an endangered species are all positive options that will protect our natural resources in a positive manner, not legislated by force," she said.Many comments reflected the discontent over what several residents said was "over-legislation" by the town.Jim Jeffreys cited "a penchant of the board to over-regulate. The ideas are well-meaning, but a law that needs to be two pages ends up being 24."Jeffreys said the law will lead to accusations of "spot-zoning," which could lead to further legal problems for a town government that is already facing several lawsuits from developers."We have a process, and the process works," said Jeffries."I don't think another body of legislation in our already bloated body of laws is what we need. You're micro-managing something that doesn't need to be managed at all," he said to the board.A hand-out was available for those attending the hearing, which listed many of the "prohibited," "permit required," and "no permit required" activities, according to the proposed law.Prohibited acts would include chemical dumping, construction of septic tanks, drainage of untreated storm-water runoff, maintenance of animal feedlots or pens, manure stockpiles or animal storage areas.The use of fertilizers, both organic and inorganic, would be prohibited as well.Existing vegetation could not be replaced with a lawn, and removal of healthy trees and shrubs would only be allowed by percentage.Any construction activity would require a permit, including the construction of pools and tennis courts.Renovations to existing structures and the installation of pipes, wells, service lines conduits and cables, as well as the storage of construction material, would also require a permit.The hand-out states, however, that "expansion and restoration of town, county and state roadways and structures are exempt from the permit process and are only subject to approval of plans by a "wetlands professional."Some maintenance activities would not require a permit, including the mowing of existing lawns, the removal of dead trees and vegetation, tending to existing gardens, or repairs to existing structures such as septic systems, wells, bridges, driveways, walkways, walls and fences.The law states "annual or periodic removal of trees to provide firewood for normal residential use" is a non-regulated act, as long as the trees removed amount to no more than 20% over a 10-year period.The law's purpose is to "promote the health, safety and welfare of the residents of Milan and to implement a recommendation of the Town's adopted Comprehensive Plan."Written comments are being accepted by the board until Nov. 14.At the Nov. 13 town board meeting, the board plans to set the date and time for a special board meeting at which time members will discuss public comments about the law.

Kingman's Folly

Kingman is at it again, or is it he never stopped? What gives with Kingman that he insists on preventing the owners of the defunct Mobile Station from cleaning it up? We have an eyesore in Milan that Kingman insists on keeping. Every time the owners of the former gas station comply with Kingman’s requests he comes up with something else to prevent them from cleaning up the mess.  Maybe he likes it that way. Our town supervisor seems to like it also, but then who is our supervisor Talmage or Kingman’s buddy, Williams. There is something rotten in Milan, and it’s not just the gas station.
We need a Gas Station in Milan