Town candidates talk taxes, affordable housing

Costello distanced himself from the proposed 40-unit “workforce” Dickinson’s Keep housing development, stressing that the town little control over whether housing for low income working families can be prevented from being built in Saugerties. Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel said this type of housing is needed, and he has not backed away from his initial support. The project received Planning Board approval as a market priced development. However, a prospective purchaser plans to offer “work force housing” at less than market rents. Both Roberti and Riggins said the Town Board should have found a way to stop the project and suggested that such projects should be subject to a referendum and consultation with the school board before they are approved. Roberti cited Helsmoortel’s support of the project in a letter to New York State funding bodies. He noted that state funding the project developers were seeking was denied. “If the funding was denied, isn’t the project rescinded?” Roberti stressed the fact that the project would yield just $26,000 in taxes in its first year, and would take 30 years of gradual increases to reach full taxable value.

Costello said the Town Board members were not invited to walk the property before the plans were submitted. “This project is not the best use of the property,” he said. However, “the owner had approval for a townhouse project on that property, and we have to go through the process.” Costello said he would press for a complete review as if this were a completely new project. While the Town Board will have to let the planners work through the approval process, Thornton said it is a different project from the one approved five years ago. She noted that there was little outcry from the community when the earlier project was approved and “I daresay that if the composition was different, if this were going to be affordable housing for seniors, I don’t think there would be this concern from the community.” However, “there is a lot of new information that has been presented to the community and to the board, and I would have to agree with Councilman Costello that as board members we have to go through the process. “the law has to be followed,” she said. “We have to let the Planning Board go through its process.

The incumbent Town Board has been holding secret meetings, Roberti charged, noting that the board held a meeting at 9:30 in the morning to vote on whether to rescind the PILOT agreement on the Dickinson’s Keep project. This meeting was held without advance notice to the press and public, he said. Myers read the law, which requires 72 hours minimum notice of a special meeting. However, Costello defended the meeting as necessary to make a decision quickly at a time when the board members could all be present. The meeting was called at the request of Councilman Jimmy Bruno, who had hoped to rescind the PILOT agreement for the Dickinson’s Keep development. “If you believe we held an illegal meeting, report it to the proper authorities, don’t report it to the newspaper. To make accusations like that, when you guys didn’t file your campaign disclosure forms and then ride around on a high horse is unfair.”

Following the discussion, Republican Chairman Joe Roberti Jr. displayed the copies of the Republican disclosure forms posted on the Board of Elections web site. Because the donations came in small amounts, usually raised at fundraising events, the party was not required to list the individual donors, he said.

Costello said that when he accessed the Board of Elections web site, the Republican disclosures were not posted.