The Fate of the Former Library Building
What’s happening? At the January 11th Town Board meeting there was a discussion regarding the future of the former library building. A motion was made to sell the building (a $100,000 offer had already been made by a private citizen). It was defeated by a three to two vote. Voting for the sale were Nadine Lemmon and Warren Weigand. Voting against the sale were Rich Koenig, Carmine Mele and Supervisor Joe Katz. At that point, a motion was made to try to find a tenant who will renovate the building at his or her own expense. It would be leased from the town at a nominal fee in order to allow the renovator/lessee a chance to run it at a profit and to recover their renovation costs. The Town Board voted to authorize Supervisor Katz to look for possible tenants.
That motion passed three to two, again with the same split as above. If you have any ideas for ways to rent or use this building so that it can pay for itself, please contact Supervisor Katz at 255-9675.
Sidewalks in downtown Gardiner
It was in March of 2005 that the Town of Gardiner was awarded $365,000 to build sidewalks on Main Street. And now, 6 years later, Supervisor Joe Katz truly believes we will have at least Phase Two this year. This phase is 100% funded and goes from the Library, up the rail trail to Main Street, then turns left and goes to the Reformed Church on both sides of the street.
Phase one is from Gardiner Gables to the Rail Trail, and is not yet scheduled. Supervisor Katz expressed amazement at the vast amount of paperwork that this project has engendered, and has begun to feel that he has now spent most of his adult life trying to get through that paperwork.
The end is in sight. Some day, when we can walk from the post office to the Deli without getting run over or falling in a snow bank, it will all be worth it, eh?
Cell Towers in town
At its March 1, 2011 meeting, the Town Board unanimously voted to approve cell tower lease agreements for two tower sites on municipal land in Gardiner. The agreements are with Wireless EDGE LLC, a tower developer selected by the Board.
The proposed sites are at the Town highway garage on South Mountain Road and at the rear of the ball field next to Town Hall. The leases would provide the Town with shared revenue for each antenna array placed on one of the towers. The designs and dimensions of the proposed towers are unclear at this time. However, it is expected that Wireless EDGE will submit formal project applications in the coming months. It will be the Town Board’s responsibility to review those applications, analyze their visual and environmental impacts, and decide whether to approve the projects.