GUILDERLAND — Supervisor Peter Barber received rounds of applause twice from the crowd of about 30 residents at the Feb. 2 town board meeting.

The first time was after the board unanimously passed a resolution written by Barber, enjoining the University at Albany and the University Foundation against building on the 9-acre Holt-Harris property that the foundation recently bought in McKownville any large-scale structure that would not keep the property’s historic use or the neighborhood’s residential character.

The second was when he thanked firefighters, police, and dispatchers for their “heroic efforts” in successfully rescuing three people from inside a burning home on Ayre Drive in McKownville on Jan. 24, which he noted was the first of two large and destructive fires in Guilderland in just one week, the second being at the Regency Park Apartment complex on Jan. 31.

The board also listened to an attorney for Mill Hollow II, LLC, who spoke about its development on French’s Mill Road, at the site of the old Bavarian Chalet. It was originally to have 85 condominiums for residents age 55 and older and would house a senior center for the town. The company that owns the project, Mill Hollow II, no longer wants to be held to several conditions previously placed on it, the attorney said.

The company wants to be relieved of the age restriction and also says that it cannot afford to put in sidewalks all the way to Route 20. The board set a public hearing on issues related to Mill Hollow II for March 15.

Barber also announced the resignation of long-time Guilderland court clerk, Eileen Dean, and the appointment of her replacement, Jennifer Stephens, who has been deputy clerk for 15 years.

Holt-Harris property

In January, the university foundation announced that it had purchased an 8.7-acre parcel between the university campus and the McKownville neighborhood. Known as the Holt-Harris property, the parcel contains two historic homes in disrepair, at 100-200 Nicholas Lane and 18 Waverly Place. The homes, one of which dates from the 19th Century, were built by Judge John E. Holt-Harris, whose descendants sold the property to the foundation.

Copies of Barber’s resolution will go to the University of Albany Foundation, the president of UAlbany, the board of trustees of the State University of New York, the chancellor of the State University of New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Senator George Amedore, Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, and Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy.

Don Reeb, who heads the McKownville Improvement Association, stood at the meeting and said that the association “enthusiastically endorses this resolution.” He called the purchase “a threat to the two homes on the property, the 13 homes that border the property, and all of McKownville.”

Councilman Paul Pastore praised the resolution as “proactive,” but asked whether there is anything more the board can do, since, if the property is transferred from the foundation to the university, the university will not be obligated to conform to any town regulations.

Barber, a lawyer who had chaired Guilderland’s zoning board for years before he became supervisor in December, said there are other steps — “more aggressive, adversarial” — that a town could take in a case like this, but that he does not even want to discuss them at this point.

Senior center

Attorney Mary Elizabeth Slevin of Stockli, Slevin & Peters, LLP said that the Mill Hollow project’s infrastructure is substantially complete, as is the senior center. Her colleague James Verseput added that two seniors are already living on site, with certificates of occupancy. Verseput added that construction is complete on eight of 88 units. 

Slevin said that Mill Hollow II may be unable to complete the project unless it is relieved of two conditions: The company no longer wants to be held to age restrictions of any kind for future residents or to be obligated to create sidewalks leading to Route 20.

Slevin added that the company now plans to rent out, rather than sell, the units at the Mill Hollow development. Steve Buck of Buck Construction, the builders of Mill Hollow, told The Enterprise in December that the condominiums, with a starting price of $279,000, had not sold as well as expected. When asked if this matter would not be brought before the board for consideration, she said that the project had been approved as an age-specific site, without specifying whether it would be for condominiums or rentals.

Slevin said that the markets for condos and for senior housing have both shrunk. She said that all units would still be “senior-sensitive,” but also able to accept younger people.

Verseput said that the space for the senior center is now bigger than originally envisioned; instead of the original 4,000 square feet, it is now 5,150 square feet and also allows for seniors’ use of the space’s second floor.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the senior center was held in 2014, and the town was expected to move its Senior Services program to the center after that. The programs instead continued to be run out of Guilderland Town Hall. Barber told The Enterprise in December that the town did not want to take over title of the building until the project was complete.

Slevin said that the original estimate in 2006 for the cost of sidewalks to Hannaford on Route 20 was $60,000, but that that estimate has since risen to $250,000.

On Wednesday, Slevin told The Enterprise that the company has spent $1 million on the senior center and related infrastructure, and a total of $6 million to date on the entire project.

The board set March 15 as the date for a public hearing on issues related to the Mill Hollow development. Barber said that setting the date for mid-March would allow time for the company’s representatives to appear before the Guilderland Planning Board, as required, once or possibly even twice before returning to the town board.

New court clerk

Barber thanked Eileen Dean for her service, and noted that hiring decisions for positions in Town Hall are made by the town board, except those related to the position of Clerk to the Justices, which is made by the town’s justices.

He noted that two of the town’s three justices — Denise Randall and Richard Sherwood — were present at the meeting to congratulate the new appointee, Jennifer Stephens.

Afterward, Randall told The Enterprise that Stephens has served very well as deputy clerk and that she is confident she will “move seamlessly into the chief clerk position.”

Sherwood added, “It was an easy pick.”

Other business

In other business at recent meetings, the board:

— Heard a presentation by Virtual Town Hall Holdings, LLC on a proposed new town website. The new site would be created with content-management software Drupal, which is a browser-based platform, meaning that designated Town Hall staffers can post to it from any smartphone or other device.

One advantage of the new site, the board was told, is that it will customize the way it loads, according to the device that someone uses to access it. And because it is created in blocks, or modules, it is easy to add new content or make small editorial changes.

The board also learned that it is possible to add archived video of meetings, as well as to stream live meetings, if desired. The cost for the new design would be a one-time fee of $8,000, spread over three years, which would include training staff in the use of the new site. The board voted to authorize the supervisor to sign the contract for the new website;

— Authorized the supervisor to sign annual residential leases for apartments that are either on the town’s golf course on at the town’s community gardens. These are currently rented month-to-month, Barber said; some of the renters are town employees who provide an on-site presence in off hours;

— Authorized the supervisor to issue a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act for the proposed West End Water District Extension along Route 158; the board found that the project will not have a significant adverse environmental impact, as recommended by Delaware Engineering, the town engineer;

— Voted to allow the town’s Department of Parks and Recreation to request bids for the construction of the new Tawasentha Park pool building, which the town hopes to have open sometime in June. The pool house burned last year;

— Appointed the supervisor as the town’s delegate to the Association of Towns annual meeting to be held this year on Feb. 17 in New York City;

— Voted to add Adirondack Engineering to the town’s list of designated engineers, on the recommendation of the Department of Water and Wastewater Management, with Lee Carman abstaining;

— Voted to waive building permit fees related to fire damage at 7 Ayre Dr. on Jan. 24 and at 1 Downing Square (Regency Park Apartments) on Jan. 31, on the recommendation of the building and zoning Inspector; Barber said that the town has historically waived these fees in case of damage by fire.

— Heard from Town Clerk Jean Cataldo that STAR (School TAx Relief) exemptions are due to the assessor’s office by March 1, for new homeowners. If someone will be 65 this year, she said, he or she can apply by March 1. Cataldo said that there is a maximum allowed income, and that residents should contact the town assessor’s office with any questions;

— Authorized the superintendent of the transfer station to request bids for grinding and removing yard waste;

— Amended, retroactive to Jan. 1, the hourly wage of an employee at the golf course, on the recommendation of the supervisor of the golf course and the director of human resources, stating that this change would have no impact on the budget;

— Decided to refer to the ethics board a proposed amended list of town officers and employees required to file annual statements of disclosure; this document identifies the officials who are obligated to do a yearly statement of disclosure, but the list of employees had been out of date, and positions such as “grant writer” and “deputy chief of police” have now been added; and

— Entered into executive session to discuss the town’s response to the draft confidential New York State Comptroller’s report on employee compensation and benefits.

Monthly updates

Barber also said that he planned to implement a new custom at town meetings, of ending with “monthly updates.” He invited other board members to share any news that they wanted residents to know. For his first monthly update, he mentioned:

— The town has received notice of a New York State Comptroller’s Audit of its financial operations;

— An Active Shooter Course will be offered by Guilderland Police at Town Hall on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.;

— A Westmere Corridor Study Open House to be held at the Westmere Fire Department on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. (See related story.);

— The historic Crounse House, now in disrepair, owned jointly by the town and Altamont on Route 146 on the outskirts of the village. Barber said he did not think that the house is going to be restored, but that the board should start to think about how it might like the property, which he called “the gateway to the town,” to be used; and

— A public hearing on the proposed Zoning and Land Use Code would be continued in March.