The January meeting of the Marshall Town Board opened with the approval of the minutes of the December meeting and the Jan. 7 reorganizational meeting.
That was followed by the introduction of Joseph Kennard, the new board member.
He took the place of Josh Knutti, who resigned his post in November.
The meeting continued with the public hearing for the Community Development Block Grant through Thoma Development.
Supervisor Colleen Baldwin read aloud the report from Thoma.
The Town of Marshall received 15 applications, and 13 of those qualified.
Of these applications, 10 have been completed, one dropped out, and three were not eligible.
One was placed on a waiting list due to time constraints with the program’s deadline.
The CDBG grant activity for housing rehabilitation was $410,000.
The program delivered was $65,000; the administration of the grant was $25,000, which totaled $500,000.
The goal was to rehabilitate 13 structures.
The rehabilitation of 10 structures has been completed, missing the established goal by three due to the actual cost of the project exceeding the estimated cost and due to the program deadline.
The project completion date was Dec. 9.
Of the grant, $466,911,96 had been expanded, and $33,804 will be returned because there was not enough time to assist with the last project.
There were no comments, other than this is a positive program for the Town of Marshall.
In the public statement part of the meeting, resident Thad Merriman asked for an update on the issue on Van Hyning Road, where he lives.
Attorney Bill Schmitt said Dan Williams was cited for various violations, but as long as he was working with the Town to resolve them, he was not prosecuted.
He has submitted an application for a zoning change from agriculture to business through the Planning Board and, as an alternative, for a Special Use Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Schmitt advised the Town Board to refer the matter to the Planning Board for a recommendation to the Town Board of what should be done.
He also suggested the Board declare itself the presumptive lead agent under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) because they will have to determine, after a public hearing, whether Williams’ plans will negatively affect the environment.
Also, this matter should be referred to the Oneida County Planning Board.
Schmitt asked Dante Ruia, Chairman of the Planning Board, and Jamie McNair, Chairman of the ZBA, how they wanted their respective committees to handle this development.
They could do it concurrently or separately, but ...