Rare farm animals find summer home at Tilly Foster

By Susan Elan • The Journal News • June 8, 2008

Putnam County legislators have unanimously approved a three-year plan that would bring now-rare, traditional New England farm animals to the county-owned Tilly Foster Farm at no cost to taxpayers.

Kent gentleman farmer George Whipple, who works at Credit Suisse in Manhattan, has offered to send 15 Jacob sheep and six Randall Lineback cattle from his farm to Tilly Foster next month. An anonymous Putnam County donor has pledged $100,000 to reinforce fencing at the 199-acre former horse farm and pay guides to tell the public about the animals and traditional local agriculture.

The plan for a farm museum fits the vision laid out by the Tilly Foster advisory board after the county bought the property in 2002 to protect it from development, County Executive Robert Bondi said Friday.

A horse-boarding operation run by the county at Tilly Foster received much criticism because of the associated costs, and Bondi sought full support from the Legislature before accepting Whipple's offer. The horse-boarding operation ceased at the end of 2007.

"This is something everyone can be excited about," said Don Cuomo, an advisory board member and a father of four. "It will not be a burden in these fiscally difficult times."

Whipple said Friday that he aims to have the animals at Tilly Foster and ready for public viewing by July 12.

"The hope is to build a world-class farm with animals you can see only there," said Whipple, who first suggested the farm museum project to the county several years ago. "Everything will be free. There will be no charges for events for farm activities."

An 1,800-pound, Randall Lineback bull named General Israel Putnam after the Revolutionary War general is expected to be one of the main attractions this spring.

"He's extremely friendly, and there are only about 200 in the world," Whipple said.

The Randall Lineback is a purebred remnant of multipurpose cattle used for dairy and beef once common in New England, according to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Most of the Lineback population was lost through crossbreeding with Holsteins. The breed's name comes from the white line down their blue-black backs.

A 4-year-old Jacob ram named Pegleg with four horns and only three legs after surviving an injury is expected to become another favorite.

"He is the leader and such a friendly and wonderful ram that I wanted him to live out his life even though everyone told me to put him down," Whipple said.

The American Jacob sheep is a breed of primitive, multihorned sheep patterned with black and white spots and listed as a rare breed, according to the Breeds Conservancy. The breed has fewer than 1,000 annual registrations in the United States and a global population of fewer than 5,000. They are raised for their wool, their meat and their hides, but also make good pets.

The sheep and the cattle will stay at Tilly Foster until November and then spend the cold season at Whipple's farm in Kent. Whipple plans to return them to Tilly Foster in the spring. Other animals from his collection would be added gradually. There are also plans for a farm museum with antique equipment.

"We want to start small and do it perfectly," Whipple said.

To help support the project, Whipple has approval to open a country store at Tilly Foster's former milking area between the two main barns. The farm store would sell Tilly Foster T-shirts and ball caps, postcards and books on local history and farm products such as meat, vegetables and fruit.

There also would be hay rides, a haunted barn at Halloween and viewing of baby animals in the spring, as well as plant, pumpkin and annual Christmas tree and wreath sales.

For 2010, there are plans to develop a restaurant, bed and breakfast, working vacation opportunities on the farm and wedding and events catering.

Legislator Vincent Tamagna, R-Philipstown, chairman of the Physical Services Committee, said he had urged the Legislature to expedite approval of the Whipple plan so that Putnam residents would have an attraction to enjoy at Tilly Foster this summer.

Marianne Fimmano of Brewster said she often takes her 9-year old son to Muscoot Farm in Somers to see the baby animals.

"We've gone to Tilly Foster to take walks," Fimmano said. "We'd go more often if there were animals."

Julie Conway of Southeast said she looks for activities that will get her 7- and 9-year-olds out of doors, and a working farm with old-fashioned farm animals would be very enticing.

"We have to try to keep things the way they were," Conway said. "So much is changing for the worse."

Reach Susan Elan at selan@lohud.com or 845-228-2277.

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080608/NEWS04/806080359/1020

Voters must demand open government

March 1, 2008

Good morning all- How fitting: snow in Carmel - well residents were snowed at the ZBA meeting Thursday night.  Here is my carmelresident.org post about the effort of Senator Leibell to add another 120 units to Carmel's senior housing stock possibly totaling over 1,200 units.

Sincerely,
Ann
www.putopenspaces.com
 

Clinton comes to Carmel, Bill that is

It was a "Clinton" moment as the ZBA, Ravallo, lawyer for the applicant, our attorney and building inspector Carnazza debated English usage of the connective conjunction "and" in "retail and medical establishments" as written in the senior housing code.  

The interpretation was critical to Planning Board's approval of Senator Leibell's Putnam Community Foundation proposal to add 120 units to the already glutted Hamlet of Carmel senior housing market on land so environmentally sensitve and so close to the impaired Croton Falls reservoir that it drew the ire of the DEP in several pages of scathing commentary.    

And so the dons of Carmel's English Department were called to this august convocation of the literati.   Don Carnazza stated that "and" really meant  "and/or" and that "services" according to Don Ravallo really meant to be limited to "medical" services as he flashed a letter from ten years ago and since "and" really meant "and/or," the applicant had met the conditions as set forth in the code.

Not so argued Doris Stahl, a former member of the Town Board, joined by Norman Marino thru the medium of modern electronics, as he shouted disagreement.  Plenty of legal precedent retorted the applicant's attorney while our attorney in frustration agreed that the Town Board, the legislative body for the Town, resolve the issue.  

Did anything change in the code from the time of its first adoption over ten years ago?  No, that section remained unchanged through a lengthy, laborious 2007 second revision as "retail and service establishments" more than ample time for Mr. Ravallo to craft wording favorable to his mentors.

Was there one person who had a 7th grade Catholic School English education?  Obviously not.  For if they did, the issue would have been as quickly resolved as the ZBA Chairman dispensed with the ludicrous notion that the "Hospital Gift Shop" meant "retail."

Let me write again the relevant code phrase: retail and service establishments.  And now for the "googled" definition:

[b]"And" - between two terms indicates that both terms must be present in the article or citation entry to be included in the search set."  

"And/Or" - widely used in legal and business writing.  It's use in general writing to mean "one or the other or both" is acceptable.

Forked tongue is on the menu and hypocrisy is the order of the day in Carmel.
 

February 27, 2008

You Can't Make It Up

Good morning all -

Thursday evening (the 28th of Feb), the ZBA is being asked by the Putnam Community Foundation, created by Senator Leibell,  to rule on an interpretation of a section of the senior housing code which requires retail and service industries to be 2,500 ft from any senior housing proposal including their proposed 120 units just south of Putnam Hospital.  

Why has the need for such an interpretation to occur?  Contrary to numerous pleadings by myself, Jerry and many residents and newspaper ads, the then constituted Town Board refused to adopt a moratorium on senior housing so as to adequately study and address possible pitfalls and loopholes arising from promulgation of a revised senior housing code.  As with the blasting code, they were loathe to in any way delay proposals sitting at the Planning Board for senior housing (315 units on Stoneleigh) submitted by Paul Camarda, Wilder Balter (150 Hillcrest Commons) and Putnam Community Foundation (120)

And so we have the attorney for Putnam Community Foundation stating the following: "Where doubt exists as to the meaning of permissive zoning provisions, the courts have held that such provisions will be liberally construed in favor of the landowner."  Well, with all due respect, there was and is no doubt as to the intent of the past law which also contained the 2,500 ft requirement and the revised one.  It certainly did not intend the following and I quote from the attorney's brief wherein he attempts to define "retail and service."

He cites the medical services rendered by the nearby hospital and its staff of doctors of varying specialities as if they are the only services that seniors would avail themselves.  "It is evident that the professional services offered by the local doctors and therapist meets the plain, ordinary and usually understood meaning of "service."

And now for the "You can't make it up" part: their definition of meeting the retail requirement. "In addition, the adjoining property owned by the Putnam Hospital Center offers a gift shop and cafe located at the adjacent property meets the plain, ordinary, and usually understood meaning of "retail." Thus, "retail and service establishments" do currently exist within 2,500 feet of the proposed Site."

If the ZBA fails to grant the so-called "Foundation relief" as requested, the attorney can then seek a variance from the code.  

Absurdity will take center stage Thursday night.  

Sincerely,
Ann

 

February 21, 2008

No Room in Carmel for Watson

Good morning all - As the article indicates, there is no room in Carmel for Watson, the second largest employer in Putnam, but guess what, there is plenty of room for senior housing and a hotel.  How about that for a Putnam Paradox?

And when did Kevin Bailey of the EDC hear the alarms or the Town of Carmel Board deaf and blind to an application withdrawn from their own Planning Board that "good, clean commercial development" was exiting unable to expand their facilities.  EDC and town officials had four years to do something about it.  But town and county officials were busy expanding senior housing, hotels and ballfields, allowing Camarda to expand his empire, with code changes and tax breaks for his friends, the investors from Long Island.   Nothing like replacing manufacturing jobs with wait staff salaries. 

Wonder why people with any business sense shun Carmel and Putnam?  Well now you know.

Sincerely,
Ann 

Watson Pharmaceuticals to pull out of Putnam
By Jerry Gleeson and Susan Elan
The Journal News • February 21, 2008

The head of Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. yesterday defended the company's decision to close its operations in Putnam County, calling its aging plant in Carmel the "logical choice" for a shutdown.

The move eliminates about 600 jobs, saving the business more than $30 million annually as Watson continues cutting costs in a competitive industry, company officials said.

Watson is Putnam County's second-largest private employer, behind Putnam Hospital Center. It said it would close its Putnam operations as early as the start of 2010.

"The decision to close the Carmel facilities was very difficult, as it will ultimately have an impact on our employees," President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Bisaro said in a conference call with analysts to discuss fourth-quarter results.

"But given our current facilities, the capacity in those facilities, the technology based in our facilities and the relative age of all of our facilities, Carmel was the logical choice," he said.

The manufacturing will be moved to existing Watson plants at company headquarters in Corona, Calif., a plant in Davie, Fla., and a new plant in Goa, on the west coast of India. In addition to the Carmel plant on Stoneleigh Avenue, Watson will shut a warehouse in Southeast and a lab in Danbury, Conn.

The Carmel plant, on 27 acres, is one of Watson's oldest.

It was built in 1988 by Schein Pharmaceutical. Watson acquired the plant when it bought Schein in 2000. Four years ago, Watson proposed nearly doubling the size of the 110,000-square-foot operation in Carmel, but the project never went forward.

Putnam officials expressed disappointment at news of Watson's departure but were hopeful that a tenant could be found to fill the breach.

"Watson has been a wonderful employer. This is tremendously disappointing," said Kevin Bailey, president of the Putnam County Economic Development Corp. "But if they move out, I am very confident they will sell the building. It's bad right now, but we can overcome it. We have a lot of tools in our arsenal."

Bailey was referring to the newly created Empire Zone in Putnam, a state program that provides for tax breaks and other benefits for businesses that create jobs. Though only Brewster is designated at this time, Bailey said the Empire Zone could be extended to other parts of the county under a stipulation that allows for "regionally significant employers" based on the number of jobs a major employer would bring to the area.

Because the Carmel site already is zoned for industry, a potential employer would not have to struggle with rezoning issues that would occur in other parts of the county, Bailey said.

Watson owns the Carmel site and leases the others in Southeast and Danbury. Company spokeswoman Patty Eisenhaur said Watson would seek buyers for the Carmel property but couldn't speculate on when a sale would occur.

Watson pays $103,000 in taxes to the town, county and special districts and $166,000 more to the Carmel school district. The local tax bills were not factors in Watson's decision to close its Putnam operations, Eisenhaur said.

An employee who works in the section of the facility where the medicines are compressed into tablets said the pace of work in the department had slowed after New Year's.

"I don't really blame Watson," he said. "American companies are allowed to send jobs overseas and then they can sell stuff here with no restrictions. So if we get sick, now we have to buy our medicines from India."

The employee, who requested anonymity, said many at the company had been through the layoff cycle several times. From high-paying jobs, they were "now barely making $35,000 a year and now they were getting laid off again."

The Carmel plant produces 4 billion doses annually of 50 products in solid dosage forms, such as tablets and capsules. Most of Carmel's production is for generic drugs, though a small amount of branded Watson product is produced there as well.

Companywide, Watson produces 10 billion doses of solid drug forms, plus creams and gels.

Cost cutting has been on Watson's agenda in recent years as it has digested several acquisitions. The new businesses provided Watson with new technology and product lines, but they also were accompanied by manufacturing plants whose capacity proved to be greater than what the company needed, Eisenhaur said.

Last year, the company saved more than $30 million by closing plants in Puerto Rico and Phoenix, she said.

Eisenhaur said one problem with the Carmel site was the lack of space for expansion. One side of the property abuts a mountain. Space for expansion is a priority in the drug industry, she said, because improvements demanded by regulators may require more room.

The plant in Goa was recently certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to produce drugs for sale in the United States.

Moving operations to India, where labor costs are considerably less than in the United States, is part of the rationale behind closing the Putnam operations, said Michael Krensavage, an analyst in Manhattan who follows Watson for Raymond James, a financial group.

"Watson has been going through some difficult times," he said. "The company's having a tough time growing."

Watson has made big management changes in recent months. Bisaro, the former president and chief operating officer of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., which has operations in Pomona, took over as Watson's CEO in September.

Reach Jerry Gleeson at jgleeson@lohud.com or 914-694-5026.

February 16, 2008

February 8, 2008

Policing Free Speech

Good morning all - am sharing a carmelresident.org on the effort of the Carmel Supervisor and Town Board to limit public comment and discourse.  I believe the post speaks for itself.

Sincerely.
Ann

On a previous post entitled "Schmitt Organizes the Playground," the ground rules for public comments as determined by the Supervisor and the Town Board were discussed.  However, the first month of their tenure has demonstrated that the rules were not meant to expand opportunities for free exchange but to constrict, restrain, discourage and ultimately to silence opinion that is at variance with the establishment views.  This message has filtered down to all departments as can be seen by the effort of the ZBA Chairman to silence me two weeks ago.  

However, I hope Supervisor Schmitt and the Town Board will reconsider their position which is at variance with Conservative principles and the Constitution.  Investing the Supervisor with the sole power to determine whether an issue is open for discussion and then limiting public comment to two minutes on already decided topics,  smacks of the tactics of regimes that make a mockery of democratic Constitutional principles.  And the relocation of work sessions to the "back room" further limiting public accessibility if not comfort, only reinforces the perception that "back room" deals are the order of the day.

The strength of our democracy is that we give free reign to "the thoughts that we hate."  As a society and a nation, we do not tolerate the "Thought Police." and we shouldn't do so in Carmel.

None other than a staunchly Conservative magazine, "The American Spectator" has dealt a blow for free speech.  I am going to quote verbatum and paraphrase some of the article in the Dec-Jan issue.  

"The greatest mistake in politics was made by Lenin, when he set about destroying the institutions in which opposition could express itself; the mistake of making it impossible to perceive one's own mistakes. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth.  Our strength Mr. Schmidt is encouraging dialogue so that our policies may be changed if found wanting.

Further on, "It is precisely when people have invested in errors that they are afraid of the truth, and therefore eager to silence those who proclaim it."  

Totalitarian regimes have taken great comfort that they do not have to deal with the messiness of democracy but in the end, they have fallen. 

January 23, 2008

Good morning all - the following is my post from today's carmelresident.org.

Sincerely,
Ann

Revival has come to Carmel with Carmel's own Elmer Gantry spreading the Good News of environmentalism, open space and "Do Unto Others" neighbor policy.  Yes, Pulte and Shilling have got Religion, pleading their case before the mercy seat of the members of the ZBA.  Repent the End is near, near for Pulte who not a year ago was reveling in the exuberance of ever higher ballooning CEO profits and shareholder dividends riding the air draft of stratospheric housing prices.  

Who cared about the casualties. Not Pulte or Shlling who never opposed a development in his life. The environment be damned; we'll blast it; deforest it; make Bagdad turn brown with envy.  Neighbors - tut, tut that they bought there or had historic homes there; residents had to bear the blasting, dirt and grime.  And what was $30 million payoff  to Camarda - a pittance - when they could make 3x that amount.  But the deal went bad.  The invisible hand of capitalistic market forces intervened.  And now they wanted the government to intervene.

A year later there they were asking that the ZBA re-write the rules and prop up reckless corporate behavior in the bargain.  But they hadn't truly repented whining that it was not their irresponsible corporate behavior but  the present code that inflicted an unendurable hardship. So a temporary financial situation had to be remedied by a permanent code change.

With a shameless arrogance Shilling/Pulte even mandated the terms of the change.  Three not two will do it or so the story went (pardon the pun).  Accept  shoe-horning the same number of cookie-cutter housing units into smaller sizes and lower prices and we'll protect the profit environment of the Pulte balance sheet.

The ZBA is under enormous pressure but each and every member of that board must be aware that submission to the bogus Shilling/Pulte argument is but only the beginning, establishing a legal precedent from which they cannot in the future retreat without subjecting their decisions to the charge of being "arbitrary and capricious."  Shilling/Pulte are but stalking horses, testing the waters for every senior housing developer from Camarda to Wilder Balter to Senator Leibell's project off Stoneleigh almost 600 units.

The proper venue to discuss alternatives to a plan is the Planning Board not the ZBA.  And there are alternatives to that which Shilling/Pulte have urged.  They are what we in the Coalition have continually advised - reduce the number of units; reduce the glut of housing in the Hamlet.   We were spurned by Camarda; we were blown off by the Courts.  The ZBA needs to return the entire issue to the Planning Board.

January 15, 2008

Good morning all - have posted this on carmelresident.org.  The Journal News needs to elevate its coverage of critical issues in Putnam.  If you read the article and are concerned as I am as to the level of coverage, you can contact bnachman@lohud.com or 228-2272.

Another lost opportunity was apparent in today's article on the town board and Supervisor nixing the Carmel blasting code to connect the dots between governmental action and special interest pressure.  

Although citing the contention of a "small group of residents," that protection of special interests and not the public interest was the guiding force in the decision, the actual catalyst for that decision - a letter by Paul Camarda arguing against the blasting code was not cited in the article as possibly playing a pivotal role.  Why not?

Nor was the contradictory stance taken by Camarda with respect to Patterson Crossing, wherein he acknowledged in the DEIS, the inadequacy of present State Law to protect residents cited, thereby undercutting the duplicitious, unsustainable official Carmel position.   Shouldn't the Supervisor and the Town Board members been questionned aggressively as to this apparent contradiction?  

The Journal News needs to be a muckracker in the crusading sense of old good newspapers and not just rake the muck when it comes to the soap opera antics of some officials.

Sincerely,
Ann

P.S. the Coalition's Blasting Code video on Channel 8 continues to play - although it too was not cited in the article.
 

Carmel nixes blasting bill

CARMEL - Putnam County's largest municipality with at least six major construction projects on tap won't have its first blasting law soon.

This has dashed the hopes of residents who had supported legislation that would have regulated when, where and how explosives could be used in a construction project, as well as how neighbors would be notified. Some advocates of local regulations live next door to projects whose blasting, they say, has destroyed their quality of life, damaged their homes and made them sick.Town Board members said the proposed law was unnecessary because of state laws and contractor insurance provisions.

The bill, if law, would have left the town open to litigation as a regulatory agency and would delay projects such as a hotel-conference center, they said.A small vocal group of residents said officials were helping developers rather than looking after homeowners and their properties."People would have had some sort of protection. Now they have none and won't be getting any," said Joanne Henwood, a lifelong Putnam County resident who lives at Clearing in the Woods, a condominium off Drewville Road in Carmel. Her windows face blasting work by New York City contractors at the Croton Falls Dam, where explosives have gone off since April. She said dust has reduced her breathing capacity by 26 percent and her home has trembled from each explosion."At the very least, I should have been notified so I could have kept my windows closed and not been home," she said.The dam project is temporarily on-hold while the city's Department of Environmental Protection seeks site approvals it failed to get before beginning the work. The town issued the city a stop-work order in the fall, which had nothing to do with blasting, but has stopped the explosions for a time.

Carmel doesn't have a blasting code, but it does require that projects conform to site plans, building codes and a noise ordinance. Philipstown and Kent have blasting regulations as does Yorktown and Ossining. Insurance companies have blasting rules and the state Department of Environmental Conservation regulates blasting in mines, not construction projects, and the transport of explosives.

Newly elected Supervisor Ken Schmitt initiated this month's discussion of the proposed law."We need to bring this to a closure one way or another. It has been around and not fully addressed," he said. "I am sure we will be scrutinized and I respect that and everyone's views."He said, though, that he did not support the proposed law."If I thought for one moment the health and safety of our residents was at jeopardy I would say the board should take a closer, harder look. We don't need another layer of government," he said."The town needs to be progressive (and a new law will cause) further delays in projects that this town needs," he said, referring to a proposed hotel and conference center off Route 6.Board members made it clear they did not favor the proposal.Councilman Anthony DiCarlo said the town should not make itself the regulatory agency for blasting.Councilmen Robert Ravallo and Anthony DiBattista, who is a candidate for county Legislature in District 8, said a law was unnecessary and would bog down projects and town staffers in red tape.

Lori Kemp, who contends her home off Mechanic Street near the construction of 380 condominium units has been damaged by blasting, said her quality of life has suffered."It is clear protections are needed and equally clear that the town is not planning on doing anything," she said.Jerry Ravnitzky, president of the Concerned Residents of Carmel and Mahopac, said he personally thought the town was putting itself in a more precarious legal position by not enacting the new law."They could be guilty of inaction. They addressed the issue and decided to do nothing," he said. "And, if someone is hurt physically or their property is damaged, they will really have a case against the town."Reach Barbara Livingston Nackman at bnackman@lohud.com or 845-228-2272.

Explosive projects Blasting has been used in Carmel in these current projects and is expected in these future ones:
Stoneleigh Woods and The Retreat in Carmel: A nearly completed 380 units of senior-citizen housing off Stoneleigh Avenue near Route 6.
Croton Falls Dam reconstruction: A New York City Department of Environmental Protection project to deepen the reservoir's spillway where 30 phases of blasting have been set off. Planned are 14 more series of blasts at two to three times a week for two months or more.
Hillcrest Commons: A proposed 150-unit senior-citizen complex on Route 52 against a very steep slope.
Gateway Summit and Fairways: Two adjacent developments along Route 6 near the Southeast border that include a hotel-conference center, more than 300 units of senior-citizen housing, retail and commercial centers on conjoined hilly parcels.

January 11, 2008

Good morning all

Ten days and Supervisor Schmitt is on the fast track toward fulfilling his first campaign promise to scuttle the blasting code, a priority with Camarda who wrote a letter last year blasting the idea of the town adopting a blasting code.   There was no mistaking the Supervisor's words or intent enunciated at Wednesday's Work Session:  It would slow down the projects that the town needs, subject it to a possible Article 78 proceeding and was redundant since adherence to State of New York Department of Labor law was sufficient.  And what projects are they we might ask? Well none other than those proposed by Camarda (senior housing "The Retreat and Stoneleigh Woods" and the hotel), Camarda Park and Wilder Balter (Hillcrest Commons) located on Carmel's rocky, steep slopes.

Obviously the Supervisor was oblivious to Camarda's ability to keep two contradictory actions mentally compartmentalized: condemning the blasting code in Carmel while proposing it in Patterson.  As part of the DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement), Appendix Q, submitted on May 15, 2006,   Camarda included a 4-page Blasting Mitigation Plan for Patterson Crossing.  It is his implicit and explicit recognition that State laws were insufficient and he sought to fill this gap.  I quote from the preamble:

"  Although, the Town of Patterson and the Town of Kent do not have specific blasting requirements in their respective Town Codes, title 12 of the New York State Code of Rules and Regulations (12 NYCRR Park 39) governs the statewide handling, transportation and storage of explosives.  The applicant will follow the requirements contained therein, and to further mitigate any impacts from blasting, also will meet the following protocols which are typical of those found in municipal ordinances."

He then proceeds for the next three pages to outline the protocols for the project protecting property and wells.  Space prevents me from including them in this e-mail but suffice to say that many of the recommendations were contained in blasting codes submitted for consideration from Bedford and Phillipstown and Carmel's own Assistant Town Engineer at the August 2006 Special Meeting.

Obviously, Camarda recognized that the New York State Law was inadequate to protect residents and himself from lawsuit.  However, what it lacks is what we have recommended in writing and in our Channel 8 Video and which the Town of Carmel obtained against the DEP: an immediate Stop-Work Order upon notification by a resident.

But the Supervisor and the rabid anti-blasting code, "Drop Dead to Residents" Councilmen chose to ignore what Camarda did not: that there are municipal ordinances on the books that met the test for compliance without incurring town legal liability. 

But the lack of a code on the Carmel books can indeed result in what the Supervisor wishes to avoid at all cost: they have put not only residents immediately adjacent to project in harm's way but the entire town. 

Sincerely,
Ann

January 6, 2008

Good morning all - speculation as to cause of the splitsville can be perhaps put to rest from the sections that I have in bold.  Was Camarda the homebreaker?
Sincerely,
Ann


Lawyer departs top Putnam law firm
By BARBARA LIVINGSTON NACKMAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: January 6, 2008)
CARMEL - Now that Adam Levy, Putnam County's new district attorney, has moved out of his private law office at 105 Gleneida Ave., attorney William A. Shilling Jr. has moved in.

Shilling was a longtime partner in the county's most politically prominent firm, Curtiss, Leibell & Shilling, at 20 Church St. in Carmel. But after 22 years he has decided to step out as a solo practitioner focusing on his specialties, land use and zoning.

"I've been wanting to go out on my own, and this seemed the perfect fit and at the right time," said Shilling, 52, a lifelong Carmel resident and father of two children, 13 and 11.

He is also a first-term trustee with the Carmel Board of Education and for the past 13 years has organized the annual holiday tree-lighting celebration on Lake Gleneida for the Hamlet of Carmel Civic Association. He is a graduate of SUNY Oswego and Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich.

Shilling said he would continue to represent his current Carmel clients, Pulte Homes and Stoneleigh Woods, two senior citizen housing complexes under construction off Stoneleigh Avenue; and the Lake Plaza shopping center.

By striking out on his own, he said, he will avoid any conflicts with former partners Tim Curtiss, who represents the towns of Kent and Patterson, and Vincent Leibell, a longtime state senator.

Curtiss wished Shilling well.

"He came to us and wanted to try it on his own. He was here for a long time and basically right out of law school," said Curtiss, who started the firm with Leibell 27 years ago. Leibell is "of counsel" and handles wills, trusts and estates. The firm has promoted two associates, Jennifer Herodes and Anthony Mole, as partners and has added their names to a new shingle that will read Curtiss, Leibell, Herodes & Mole.

January 3, 2008

Schmitt Out of the Box - Organizing the Town

Good morning all (Please note procedures)

At the end of last evening's Carmel Town Board Organizational meeting, Supervisor Schmitt met informally with a group of residents.  In response to Lori Kemp's inquery concerning the inclusion of the blasting code as a discussion item on the Work Session agenda for next week (January 9th), he suggested that she write a letter to him, stating the topic with a request to speak before the Board.

I am therefore assuming that this will be the procedure that will be followed by the new Supervisor and Town Board in the future.  I suggested to him that he enunciate it at next week's meeting since it was not part of the discussion that ensued concerning Public Comment with Supervisor Schmitt supporting the resolution that set public comment to two minutes (2) and to items on the agenda.  It should be noted that Councilman Ravallo at first, wished to limit public input not to "comment" but solely to "questions."  Supervisor Schmitt deftly parried that suggestion and the Board then voted unanimously to sustain the original resolution.

In addition, please note that all meetings will start at 7PM and that Work Session meetings will be convened in the Supervisor's Conference Room.  Also two New England style meetings will be held - one in April at the Carmel Town Hall and one in October tentatively set at the Hamlet of Carmel Fire House. 

To reiterate.  New items of concern to residents should be brought to the attention of the Supervisor, Ken Schmitt in writing together with a request to address the Town Board at Work Sessions. 

I don't recall who brought up the issue but there remained the situation where an urgent problem might arise but since the Resolution limited "Public Comment" to agenda items, the resident would not have an opportunity to address that item in a timely manner and would have to wait for a work session date.  Something we could write to the Supervisor about.  As he said, he is anxious to establish communication with the residents while maintaining good order of meetings.  Has the Era of Good Feelings begun?  How long will it last?

Sincerely,
Ann