KNOX— Knox is one step closer to realizing wind-power for the Hilltowns.

The town board looked at changes to its zoning ordinance, which will allow for windmills and meteorological towers, last Tuesday. A public hearing regarding the changes will be held on July 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the town hall.

The board also accepted a year’s moratorium on some types of towers to allow the planning board to recommend changes on the zoning law.

Over the past year, public meetings have been held in the Hilltowns and a grant from the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority was awarded to build a tower that would collect wind data for 12 to 18 months with the goal of developing a model for a community-owned wind farm in the Helderbergs. The Pokornys on Middle Road in Knox were asked to host the temporary tower.

The proposed zoning amendments appear to accommodate that project.

Several definitions are included in the amendments, including:
Commercial meteorological towers, which are temporary structures that cannot exceed 180 feet and "must be removed within 18 months of the issuance of a building permit," according to the draft of the law;

Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) are any apparatus that is meant to convert wind’s kinetic energy into electrical or mechanical energy;
Wind turbine farms are a collection of more than three commercial scale WECS that are "used to generate utility scale electrical energy to be supplied to the local utility electrical grid."
Each request that requires site plan approval will be reviewed by the town’s planning board. Before making the formal submission of a plan, the applicant can have a "sketch plan conference" with the planning board, according to the draft. A conference allows the board to advise an applicant about possible problems and make suggestions before the formal plan is submitted.

Requirements for the formal request include identifying adjacent landowners, details of parking areas, method of sewage disposal, type of outdoor lighting, proposed building for commercial activity, and construction schedule among other things.

The planning board will review the application and hold a public hearing within 62 days from the date the proposal was received.

After reviewing these amendments and setting a date for the public hearing, the board voted unanimously in favor of a moratorium on wind energy deriving towers, meteorological towers, wireless telecommunications facilities and transmission facilities law.

The one-year moratorium can be extended for an additional six months, but Supervisor Michael Hammond told The Enterprise this week that he doesn’t expect the extension will be necessary.
Hammond said at the meeting on Tuesday that the moratorium would last for "a reasonable amount of time," allowing the planning board to amend the town’s zoning ordinance.

Other business

In other business, the town board:

— Awarded the annual bid for petroleum products to Mountain View Oil of Voorheesville. Steve Tracey was at the meeting to represent the company, which was cheaper by one cent per gallon than the only other bidder, Long Oil Heat Inc.
"We had a very good year with you last year," said Hammond. "We were very pleased";
— Heard a report from the town’s attorney, John Dorfman, on credit use at the town hall, which won’t happen. "The comptroller’s office says no, no, no," Dorfman said;

— Heard a proposal from the Helderberg Ambulance squad for a satellite building behind the town hall in Knox. Alan Zuk and Jerry Cross, both members of the squad, were at the meeting to discuss plans for the building.
"We’re looking for a blessing to move forward," said Zuk. The plan is for a 20- by 40-foot peaked-roof building that Zuk hopes will improve response time in both Knox and Berne and help attract new members to the all-volunteer squad.

Knox paid $48,637 combined to Altamont and Helderberg for ambulance services. The town also has an Advanced Life Support (ALS) system provided by Guilderland, which it paid $37,380 for last year.
The building will be paid for by the Helderberg Squad, a not-for-profit organization, and it would house "a brand new ambulance," said Cross. "The newest one we’ve got would be on this site";

— Voted unanimously to participate in Cindy Mosbey’s summer swim program. The classes are usually held at the Thacher Park pool, which is closed this year due to major renovations. Mosbey will teach the classes at the Camp Pinnacle pool, where she will have two certified lifeguards.

Mosbey will only be able to offer instruction in Red Cross levels one through four; levels five and six won’t be available because the pool isn’t big enough to accommodate diving or long-distance swimming.

The cost of the program will be the same as last year, $167 per town plus $35 per level offered, with an additional fee of $300 (or $100 per town) requested by Camp Pinnacle for use of the pool;

— Voted unanimously to have Pat Hannan repair the town’s tennis court at a cost of $1,800.50. The cost includes cleaning the court, filling the cracks with tar and color coating the new tar. To repair the court and do a full paint job on it would have cost $7,500.

Hammond recalled putting in the tennis court in 1977 for $36,000. He said that there is now a problem with the fill moving under one section, shifting the court. This is a problem the board said could be dealt with later.
"For $1,800," said Hammond, "I think we can get full use of that facility";
— Heard a request from Pam Hart who wants access to the town’s baseball field on Wednesday evenings in July and August "for a group of developmentally disabled adults who want to play softball," she said.

Hart asked for the field from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and for use of a pavilion from 5 to 6 p.m. The board saw no problem with the request but said that scheduling can get tight in the summer; and

— Heard from Carol King who read a poem she wrote asking the board about funding for a library. Hammond said that at a recent meeting there had been enthusiasm over a new library and said that Knox, which has no library of its own, contributes to both the Altamont library and the Berne library.

Knox pays $4,500 to Altamont and $500 to Berne. Hammond said that Altamont regularly sends proposals asking for contributions while Berne does not. He said that the board would be willing to look at proposals from Berne.