By Bill Sherman

ALTAMONT — Subdivisions within the village will have to wait until next year as the Altamont Board of Trustees unanimously voted for a moratorium on Tuesday night.

Citing significant concerns over the village’s water supply, Trustee Dean Whalen proposed the one year moratorium. Whalen said the water supply is at or near capacity much of the time and he was not sure if the village could supply enough water for another major subdivision.

Whalen said other factors have caused him to call for the moratorium. He identified the litigation surrounding the current drinking water project on Brandle Road, just outside the village, as causing uncertainty in the village. Whalen also wants time to review the village’s zoning laws before any subdivisions occur.

Donald Cropsey Jr., the village building inspector, said until this year he has not received any applications for subdivisions in the village during the last five years. The century-old, mile-square village is largely developed.

Cropsey said he recently received an application for a 32-lot subdivision on Bozenkill Road. Cropsey said during the meeting Tuesday that he believed the moratorium would postpone the proposed project on Bozenkill Road.

A question arose if the moratorium was established to specifically stop the Bozenkill project. After the formal meeting, village attorney E. Guy Roemer quickly disputed Cropsey’s view that an application has been received by the village. Roemer said he was unaware of any formal application for subdivision of any land in the village.

Cropsey could not provide the names of the applicants at Tuesday’s meeting.

The Enterprise spoke with Troy Miller on Wednesday. Miller and Jeff Perlee had owned the Bozenkill property and planned to develop it before selling it five months ago, he said.
Their plan, Miller said, was to build "higher-end houses," ranging in price from $300,000 to $400,000 on the 32 lots.
"We received concept approval," said Miller. "After subdivision approval, the next stage is to do engineering."

Miller estimated the engineering would have cost about $65,000. The developers then met with village officials under Mayor Paul DeSarbo’s administration, he said.
"We held a meeting on water; we were told to wait to hear about the well," said Miller. "The water looked iffy to us."

At that point, Miller said, Ken Romanski expressed interest in the property.
"He met with Paul DeSarbo and he felt comfortable moving forward," said Miller. Miller stressed that he had no previous knowledge of the moratorium and the property hadn’t been sold to Romanski because of that.
"I was hoping to proceed with a subdivision," Romanski told The Enterprise Wednesday. "I’m anxious to speak with some people about the moratorium."

Romanski, who lives in Schenectady County, said he hadn’t realized a moratorium would stop his plans. He said he had planned to proceed with what Miller and Perlee had proposed, building 25 to 30 homes on the Bozenkill Road property.

Water concerns

During public comment on the proposed moratorium, village resident Christine Capuano asked how the moratorium would be enforced since the last moratorium established by the village board was eventually ignored. Under Paul DeSarbo’s administration, the village board approved water for a senior housing project outside of the village despite a moratorium prohibiting such a practice.

Christine Capuano and her husband, Dan, have bought property on Brandle Road from Michael and Nancy Trumpler; Dan Capuano is Nancy Trumpler’s brother.

The Trumplers had signed a contract with the village to sell five acres of the land, when the village had found water. The Trumplers said they had been told that the wells on their land would be used only for water in the village, not an outside developer, and they had procedural concerns.

In March, the Trumplers filed papers in Albany County Supreme Court to have a judge decide whether the village’s contract for the five-acre site is legal and binding; they sought no money from the village.

The village responded by filing counterclaims, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, against the Trumplers. Roemer told The Enterprise earlier that the counterclaims were to enforce the contract and for damages due to the delay and increased costs to the village.

Roemer is being paid $125 per hour to defend the village against the Trumplers’ suit. The village board last month authorized up to $10,000 for the litigation costs.

Subsequently, Jeff Thomas, the developer of the senior complex, sued the Trumplers for $17 million for interference with his plans.

Both Whalen and Mayor James Gaughan said the moratorium enacted Tuesday was a completely different situation. Gaughan said he expected the board would follow the moratorium.

Capuano recommended the moratorium be amended to include prohibiting the allocation of water to properties outside of the village. Members of the board felt that was unnecessary. Whalen pointed out the moratorium in question did not apply to property owners who wanted to develop a current parcel of land within the village.

The board went on to approve other spending related to developing a Brandle Road water source. It approved a resolution authorizing an additional $5,000 for the services from the engineering firm, Barton and Loguidice. The firm has been asked to assist with the litigation surrounding the Brandle Road drinking water project.

And the board approved a resolution to place $4,700 in escrow for the payment of services to be provided by the engineering firm of Spectra. The town of Guilderland has required the village to hire the firm to review its water project on Brandle Road because several area residents expressed concern over the impact of the water project on their residential wells.

After the meeting, Capuano told The Enterprise, "I’m a little disappointed. I am concerned about what they are going to do with the water." Apparently the village is still committed to providing water to the senior housing project.
Capuano added, "I wonder how the person feels who is in the village and is waiting for water," referring to the applicants of the 32-lot subdivision.

Later, Whalen explained to The Enterprise that the moratorium is in place to give the village more time to review future development, which includes zoning, sewers, roads, sidewalks and water allocation.

Whalen said the board’s planning subcommittee will continue its comprehensive review during the moratorium. The subcommittee consists of 10 members, including members from the planning board and zoning board of appeals, village officials, a village resident, and two members of Altamont Community Tradition.

Other business

In other business, the board:
— Accepted the "Separation of Service" agreement from former Public Safety Commissioner Robert Coleman as of Aug. 16. Gaughan said this was a mutual agreement between the Village and Coleman. Coleman agreed to a two week transition period once Tony Salerno was hired to the full time position; and
— Recognized Brad Abelman as winner of the "Mayor for the Day" contest held in conjunction with the Altamont Free Library. Mayor Abelman, who is in first grade, spent part of the day with Mayor Gaughan.

However, the real fun began when he was given a ride in a village police car, complete with lights and siren. He was also given a tour of the fire department and inspected the equipment used by the firefighters.
Abelman said, as mayor, he would build a NASCAR race track and buy a race car because he "likes to drive fast." As mayor, he would also recommend no homework and "tell everyone to clean up." He was joined at the meeting by his very proud little sister, Rylee, and about a dozen other family members.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer contributed information from Troy Miller and Ken Romanski to this story.