Planning Board wants county to check sewer numbers

AMENIA — Silo Ridge’s wastewater treatment plant was the hot topic of discussion at the Planning Board meeting Thursday, Jan. 29.

The Silo Ridge Country Club has offered to provide excess space in its proposed plant for the town to utilize. This would be in lieu of building affordable housing in its development plans, which is a stipulation of local zoning laws. Silo Ridge is looking to build a resort community with a hotel, spa, restaurant, commercial space and residential housing, along with a revamped golf course.

Rudy Eschbach, chairman of the Amenia Housing Board, attended the Planning Board meeting and supported an e-mail that had been sent to the Planning Board by Councilwoman Vicki Doyle.

Eschbach explained there was some confusion with calculations in the Findings Statement provided by Silo Ridge. He specifically mentioned those that argue providing excess space in the wastewater treatment plant is an equal or greater cost than the expense of building affordable housing units and satisfying any zoning requirements.

Under the current plan, Silo Ridge would be required to construct 34 affordable housing units. Mike Dignacco, vice president of construction for Millbrook Ventures, the construction company hired by Silo Ridge, said if they were to build those workforce houses, and then sell them, it would actually net Silo Ridge a profit. But that’s not the point, he said.

Silo Ridge has previously run into problems with the Planning Board over the proposed sewer plant. During a meeting in August, the Wastewater Committee read a public letter recommending that Silo Ridge provide additional contributions, including a fourth pumping station and a force main that would be required to get the town’s waste matter uphill to the elevation of the treatment plant.

Silo Ridge responded by stating that it would withdraw its plans to allot additional space for the town.

Attorney to the Town Michael Hayes reminded the board at Thursday’s meeting of that, and the fact that Silo Ridge had provided the plans to build affordable housing, to prove to the town that it was truly prepared to withdraw its offer.

Doyle explained that the Housing Board’s liaison to Dutchess County Planning & Development, Mary Ling, suggested the county take an unbiased look at the applicant’s calculations. It is assumed that the analysis would be done at no cost.

“We want to make sure that Silo Ridge’s proposal is an equitable trade-off,� Eschbach explained, stressing that the Housing Board had no “ax to grind,� no matter how the numbers turn out.

Planning Board member Nina Peek said she was worried that the town wouldn’t be able to afford to hook up to Silo Ridge’s sewer plant, even if there was excess capacity.

“My concern is that we haven’t really talked about that and voted on it,� she added. “We need to get all the information that we need and discuss it.�

According to Hayes, once the Special Use Permit application is complete, a public hearing will be scheduled, similar to the process following the completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The application will then go to the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development, which will have 30 days to comment on it, and to the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which will have 45 days to comment. Hayes explained that sending the specific section to the county early will allow for a closer examination of those specific numbers.

“We all believe that a sewer plant is key,� Doyle said, “but we need to make sure that the letter of the law has been met. Those numbers shouldn’t come from the developer. They should come from an independent agency or one of our own.�

Dignacco agreed it was a good idea to have someone else review the numbers and said that if the county had any questions he would be happy to answer them.

“In general, when two independent estimates are conducted they will be different, so that can be expected,� he acknowledged. He also said he didn’t believe the two estimates would be different enough to change the fact that it is costing Silo Ridge more to construct additional capacity onto its treatment plant than it would for them to build workforce housing. He also pointed out that with workforce housing there would be the opportunity for the resort to receive revenue, while there is no such opportunity with the sewer plant.

Dignacco added that either scenario is achievable for Silo Ridge. It would not change the resort plan if workforce or employee housing were requested by the town, as Silo Ridge would build off site, and he felt it would not be a difficult switch if the town decided to do so.

Silo Ridge has been working with the town’s consultants on the Master Development Plan (MDP). Most of Thursday’s meeting was spent going over changes that consultants felt needed to be made, mostly in the area of elaborating on the document’s narrative and providing additional details for plans. Dignacco said his goal is to have a revised MDP submitted to the Planning Board on Feb. 12, which would allow Silo Ridge to be on the agenda for the Feb. 26 workshop meeting.

The next Planning Board meeting will be held on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less