Benefit Questions

A 76-year old grandmother and recently retired 27-year town employee, Braman had been notified in writing by Cross of impending changes to her health insurance coverage, coverage she said had been promised her for life by the town.
She read, quietly, a brief prepared statement reiterating that promise and its affirmation by former supervisor Di Modica, and encapsulating her exchanges with Cross. “I’ve served this town for 27 years,” the statement ended. “Now I can see people just don’t care.”
“I’m going to save the taxpayers money” she quoted Cross as telling her. “I’m going to have to drop you but we are offering you a supplementary plan.”
The print error cited by Cross was an inadvertent transposition of the word Medicare into Medicaid by a Daily Freeman staff writer. Cross insisted no benefits were being taken away from anybody. Others differed.
Cross responded to Braman’s statement by saying he explained to her that the change was necessary in order to bring the town into compliance with policy as laid out in the new employee handbook which was adopted last September. Braman however, retired 9 months before that, and asks why she is being asked to abide by terms contained in a document she never signed. She also has a different recollection than Cross of what was said to her, quoting Cross as saying “I’m going to save the taxpayers money. I’m going to have to drop you but we will offer you a supplementary plan.”
While Cross was able to clearly identify that the savings would be about $1800 a year by dropping Braman from her present policy, he was unable to state specifically how Braman’s benefits would change beyond the fact that Medicare would be the primary insurance coverage. He made it clear the supplemental insurance offered would work in tandem with the federal program but was unable to specifically outline how the town’s “wrap around policy” would pick up the entire coverage shortfall, or even guarantee that it would.
“Medicare is lousy coverage and you shouldn’t take her off what she’s got,” responded Hazel Abramson. Braman’s husband, Jay Sr. who chose not to speak, is also covered under the town’s MVP health plan whose coverage Cross is seeking to replace with a Medicare supplement. He is generally credited as the person most responsible for creating and implementing zoning in Shandaken, helping insure much of the town’s rural character during his decades of volunteer service. In one of Cross’ first acts after taking office in 2004, he was removed from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
Cross also took issue with Braman’s choice of a public venue to discuss the matter, to which Abramson responded by saying “If this wasn’t brought up in public, Gloria would have had it in the neck..”
In the end Cross said, “There is no resolution here with this many people involved.”
Councilman Paul Van Blarcum suggested that perhaps all the town’s employee benefit issues and questions should be considered at one time to ensure that whatever was decided would be done evenly, across the board, for all retired employees, and including anyone currently receiving health benefits through the town as a result of agreements made before the town enacted its personnel policy last September.
Republican Club treasurer Steve Stettine agreed, suggesting that a committee be formed to review them.
In other business, Cross announced that a new law instituting a 6-month moratorium on new applications for adult entertainment would go to public hearing on February 22 at 7PM, and the draft law would soon be posted on the town’s website. He also announced that he received a preliminary document from state DOT on plans for a traffic circle in Mt. Tremper.
Speaking as a member of the zoning revision committee, Planning Board chairman John Horn reported that, “There hasn’t really been anything of significance in the last month or so.”
The new town map, he added, “Looks different… whether it is, is a matter of opinion,” and the town board is going to have to approve a new map.
According to Horn, the zoning revision committee meets “every 2-3 weeks, or every month.”

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Onward And Downward

The low and winning bid submitted by Delaware Engineering, PC was the only one of four bids received and reviewed by the committee, indicating the job could actually be completed for the amount of funding available.
In a curiously-worded resolution which appears to telegraph anticipated cost overruns, the town board acknowledged that the funding “may not be sufficient” to complete the job, while simultaneously affirming that the winning bidder “has committed to complete the project within the budget provided.” Which of those will come to pass isn’t well understood as yet.
The plant which is expected to be completed in about two and half years, will be sited in whole or in part on a currently residential 3+ acre property owned by Kayla Culligan, just west of the Phoenicia Plaza and east of the forest preserve access parking area on the south side of Rt. 28.
At least one adjacent landowner to the site, former town board candidate Randy Ostrander, seemed less than pleased with the disclosure of the plant’s location next to a lot he planned to build on. Another neighboring property owner is developer Dean Gitter, managing partner of a company that owns a 96-acre parcel adjoining the new plant site, as well as other landholdings in town. Once and perhaps still envisioned as a possible hotel location, Gitter in early 2004, had reportedly offered to donate several of those acres for a possible new firehouse. Phoenicia Wastewater Committee attorney Kevin Young acknowledged to reporters that the committee was in discussion with Gitter about utilizing some of that land as well for the plant. Other sources confirm that Gitter and Supervisor Cross have also discussed in detail various aspects of the new plant’s design, appearance, and site requirements.
To date, Delaware Engineering has built similar septic treatment plants in Windham and Hunter and recently won a contract for another in Fleishmanns, with work on that project just beginning. The company appears to enjoy an excellent reputation for this type of project, as do the firms not chosen. Amongst the bids passed over was one by a consortium lead by LMS Engineering which recently completed a septic treatment plant for Andes under budget, and includes DEP’s primary consulting engineers in the watershed, Dvirka and Bartilucci.
In addition to Phoenicia’s septic treatment plant, Delaware Engineering is also slated to build two other waste-treatment facilities in Shandaken, for the proposed Belleayre Resort. While plans for those facilities are not seen as controversial elements, other work done by the company and its subcontractors for that project has proven highly contentious, and at the center of a number of issues soon to be ruled upon by DEC as issues for possible adjudicatory hearings. Those issues include flow studies, well pump tests, and identification of sources for the project and the now town-owned Pine Hill water system, acquired from Mr. Gitter in 2002. Also at issue is analysis provided of the basic hydrogeology of the area and its subsurface water resources.
Asked whether the town board had any concerns about challenges made to the quality of Delaware Engineering’s work product or data, Joe Munster, town board member and its liaison to the Wastewater committee, said “Absolutely not,” and that the company’s involvement with the resort was irrelevant. Steve Stettine, another Committee member, said “Yes, we took the issues into consideration, No, it didn’t make a difference.”
Al Frisenda, a Crossroads employee and former town board member, clarified that “the relevance and inaccuracies of that data submitted by Crossroads will be decided by the ALJ that is reviewing that process.”
Wastewater Committee Chairman Charlie Frasier preemptively addressed the issue that some people suspected Delaware had an unfair advantage in the bidding process. Contributing to that perception perhaps, was the fact that Supervisor Cross had hired the company to do a preliminary survey of the site, and advise the committee on its suitability.
“Did Delaware have a leg up on anyone else? That’s a question that was asked,”
said Frasier, responding to an issue no one at the meeting had raised. “My concern,” he said, “is are we going to get the best for our community.” But he explained they did not have an unfair advantage. “We looked at their project, their track record, and what they had done on similar projects…They were the best.” Frasier also said they were selected because they had the highest average score on an evaluation form used by committee members to review the various bids. “And,” he said, “they committed to complete the project within the budget provided by the existing block grant.”
According to Delaware’s John Broust, the next year will be occupied with design, permitting, and the solicitation of bids. Construction should begin in the spring of 2006, with the expectation of hooking up the first homes in the fall of 2007. User fees for the new Phoenicia sewer district have not been set.

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Redistricting Time...

A presentation by the Future of the District Commission saw four general recommendations unanimously accepted: to stay with the current three elementary school configuration for he foreseeable future; to redistrict Onteora to fit this configuration better, including the shifting of approximately 40 students from Woodstock to Phoenicia schools, plus some changes to and from Bennett; to pursue the creation of a separate facility for the district’s Middle School program, which everyone labeled a success; and to start seeking bids from, and eventually hire a consulting firm to fully research facilities needs and possible capital projects for the long run ahead.
According to current year figures, the Woodstock school has a student body of 405 since the closing of the West Hurley school last year, compared to 358 students at Bennett School and 215 at Phoenicia.
Despite some disappointment that the recommendations were vague and needed further explication via consultant’s reports, the board expressed pleasure that they were starting to move in a positive direction towards stabilizing the district’s new look for the 21st century. But a number of parents said they were tired of having had to go through so many changes in recent years, and voiced not only exasperation, but downright anger at the idea of going through more changes in the years to come.
Redistricting, District superintendent Justine Winters said, would be put into effect for the coming school year, following a series of administrative presentations, and recommendations, over the coming months.
Board President Marino D’Orazio, VP Kathy Hochman and trustee Lev Flounoy all pointed out that whatever changes were afoot would take a back seat to the board’s collective concerns about Olive anger and the dangers it could pose for the upcoming budget vote, set for May 17.
According to D’Orazio, a recent conversation with one of Bonacic’s aides resulted in the board being asked to withdraw its request to be taken out of the role of deciding on the special tax. Instead, Bonacic’s aide suggested that Onteora either ask that the word “annually” be taken out of the current law, making moot any future changes of the “Large Parcel” tax re-apportionment, or substitute the names of other entities that should be making the decision in the school board’s place.
D’Orazio mocked the idea of taking “annually” out of the wording, noting that it was illegal for one elected board to dictate what a later elected board taking its place can or can’t do.
Hochman proposed that the substitute names for enacting large parcel decisions be first in line, the three local legislators currently under fire for not having helped, or even warned the Town of Olive about its increasing tax burdens: Bonacic, Cahill and Orange county legislator William Larkin. Second in line, Hochman suggested, would be the state and/or county Office of Real Property Services, who are actually supposed to be setting such tax load matters. Third in line, she said, would be the county legislature.
“I think their suggestion was a slap in the face of the residents of Olive,” said board member Neil Eisenberg, referencing earlier talk in the evening about the board’s fears of an Olive reaction to any budget proposal put forth by the board, which has been operating the school district under the austerity measures of a contingency budget since their proposal lost last year.
Flournoy read a letter from ORPS in 2002 that suggested the law should be revisited once put into effect, in case problems arose.
“We’ll keep pushing,” vowed D’Orazio, with the entire board’s support, when asked by district superintendent whether to change wording or continue pushing Cahill and Bonacic for changes in the controversial Large Parcel law.
A quick run down of instructional budget figures at the meeting showed costs for salaries and other needs, barring benefits (under a separate line item, according to OCS Business Administrator Victoria Gerone) saw this large chunk of expenditures rising by a total percentage of approximately 4.4 percent to $17,546,857.
Board discussion centered on whether the district needed to spend so much on outside instruction under BOCES programs for occupational training and the like, or could start doing such things in-house.
It was decided that these matters, along with a possible trimming of district-wide clerical spending, would be continued at a later point after Winters presents a full budget with all line items seen together, and not separated out, as has been the case in recent months.
Winters will make her recommendations for a 2005-2006 district wide budget at a meeting at the Junior/Senior High School on Tuesday, March 15, following meetings at Bennett School and the High School, with further individual line item presentations, on March 1 and March 8, respectively.

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Appointed!

Johansson, who was given the board’s unanimous thumbs-up after a series of public interviews before an audience of school administrators, staff and district residents on February 3, will serve until the election of a regular board member during district-wide voting on May 17, when whoever wins Rosato’s seat will be sworn in for a two year period. The three other seats up for election at that time are for three year terms, and will be sworn in in June.
Unfortunately, the new board membver was unable to make her own swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, February 15 because of the death of her mother, Kathleen C. Johannson, the previous day.
Board president Marino D’Orazio said that everyone on the board felt that Johansson was the best candidate, showing previous experience with work on other boards, a deft understanding of the myriad issues facing the board as it enters its budget-making season, and the benefits of being well-acquainted with Olive sentiments.
Olive has held several meetings on possible secession from the Onteora School District, based on its continuing anger over the district’s decision last summer to implement new “Large Parcel” tax reapportionment formulas that have seen town resident’s taxes rise over fifty percent. Half of the candidates vying alongside Johansson for the open seat this winter had noted that it was this single issue that had led them to throw in their hats for the position. Similarly, at least two candidates for the May 17 district-wide board elections have stepped forth from Olive, cogniscent of the power of their town’s current anger at Onteora.
“Everyone felt she rose to the top. The board felt she would be the best candidate to help us along with our immediate needs,” said D’Orazio of the decision to appoint Johansson. “She showed that she understands the issues that are facing us and we felt she could be a great help to us. She had a very, very good interview…”
Johansson has said, in the past, that she was instrumental in helping the candidacies of D’Orazio and his fellow board members, Kathy Hochmann of Olive and Neil Eisenberg of Mount Tremper.
But instrumental in the board’s choice of Johannson was her deep attachm,ent to the area.
Although born in Dlorida, she moved to Phoenicia at age five and started school in what was essentially a one-room school held at the time in the old Parish Hall. Her grandparents, Jack and Catherine Crosby, ran the old Phoenicia Market for years at its first home where Sweet Sue’s now stands on Main Street, and later where the Phoenicia Deli now is across the street.
When the Bennett School was opened, Johannson went there, later transferring to Phoenicia Elementary when it was built. She went to Junior High at Onteora and later graduated from Coleman High School in Kingston before going on to Ulster County Community College in its early years, gaining a degree in business that led her to a career with IBM in Kingston.
Johannson moved to High Point Road in Olive 12 years ago, after a number of years in West Hurley.
Her present term on the Olive Planning Board runs until 2010. In addition, she is also serving on the boards for the Olive Free Library, the Olive Historical Society, and the Tongore Garden Club. She is a past president of the Shandaken Women’s Network.
“I had the pleasure of being in the audience for the interviews,” said district superintendent Justine Winters. “I was certainly impressed with Anne Marie, finding her to be thoughtful and willing to roll up her sleeves and get right to work on the budget.”
Johansson has commended the board on the organized and fair manner in which they handled the whole interview and decision-making process.
“I thought the questions they asked were reasonable and well thought out,” she said. “Of course, being from Olive, I had already been asked about my positions by others before getting there.”
Johansson added that she was flattered to have been asked if she were willing to serve with the board, and is planning to sit with individual members to get up to speed on issues before her swearing in.
“The biggest challenge everyone is facing now is to educate our voters as to what they need to know to pass a working budget that will benefit the students,” she said. “Information is going to be key.”
She lauded the district for its efforts to start a new newsletter and find other means of getting such information out to the district’s residents.
She added that she would wait to decide whether she’ll be running for a permanent seat to see how hostile the “environment” becomes over the coming months.
“It would be a shame to see the board become divisive again,” she said. “There are too many issues at hand to move backwards now.”