WESTERLO — Despite protests from residents who packed town hall last Tuesday, the Westerlo Planning Board granted a permit that will allow the DeGennaro family to put its fuel service business on Flood Road.

Before unanimously granting the special-use permit last Tuesday, residents and the town board members, who act as the planning board since they abolished the planning board, discussed the conditions and limitations of the town’s road system, the possible hazards which could result from issuing the permit, and the importance of retaining the town’s rural character.

DeGennaro Fuel Service, which is based in Earlton, is a heating oil company and roll-off trash container business, DeGennaro told The Enterprise.

The board restricted the permit to Guy DeGennaro, his wife, Patty, and their children; the permit allows 2 percent, which is 4.04 acres of the 202-acre parcel, to be used for commercial purposes. The board also restricted the DeGennaros to keep the commercial land contiguous.
Aline Galgay, the town’s attorney, who directed much of the discussion last Tuesday, stated, "You can’t split it up, and put a quarter acre here and a quarter acre there."

The board also granted the permit on the condition that the company’s fuel containers and equipment remain hidden behind buildings or fences, and allowed the DeGennaros one bulk tank capable of storing 1,000 gallons for vehicle refueling purposes.
"The applicant is approved by the DOT," Councilman Ed Rash said, after hearing public discussion, and before the board issued the permit. He was referring to the state’s Department of Transportation. Rash added, "To deny him, we have to have a reason"I don’t think we have a good enough reason""

During discussions, board members and residents often found themselves at odds with one another.

Sheila McGrath, who lives on Flood Road near the intersection of Route 11, requested the board not grant the permit until Flood Road is widened. McGrath also posed concerns about damages that could occur to the road if it is traveled by more vehicles.
"The increase in use," McGrath said, "will damage the road, and taxpayers will end up having to pay more eventually."

McGrath has said at recent board meetings that visibility is poor along Flood Road.
At a board meeting last month, McGrath said of a stretch of the road near her home, "The corners there are blind."

Residents also stated their concerns about the nine-foot width of school buses, and the eight-foot width of heavy-duty commercial vehicles the DeGennaros have in their fleet.

They were concerned there wouldn’t be enough room for such vehicles to pass each other on the road.

Highway workers, when asked by the board, said they hadn’t had problems with their trucks sharing the road with buses.

Board members asked Guy if his vehicles were too heavy for the roads in the town.

DeGennaro informed the board that, of the two trucks he has in his fleet, one of them is not used on a daily basis.
"The truck is only used once a month," he said, and added that it would not be loaded on Flood Road.

Other business

In other business, the town board:

— Heard a request from Councilman R. Gregory Zeh to submit a letter in writing to state agencies to reduce the speed limit to 40 miles per hour on Flood Road;

— Heard a letter from the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board to put a bus stop sign up at 177 Flood Rd.;

— Approved a new Dumpster for the town. The new Dumpster will cost $9,720.00;
— Heard from Ken Drumm that he has not yet received a letter from auditors for the town’s new water system. "I’m led to believe we got almost everything right," he said.

Zeh praised Drumm’s planning of the ribbon-cutting for Westerlo’s first water district. All board members thanked Drumm for planning the event and for doing a superb job;

— Heard from Drumm that the grant application from the Hudson River Valley Greenway is due Sept. 12; and

— Cancelled its comprehensive land-use planning meeting for the following week.