After four years of planning, Ancram now boasts a 30-by-60-foot wooden pavilion at Blass Field, the town’s recreation space on Route 7 across from the post office. The pavilion’s completion was announced at the July 17 Town Board meeting by board members Bonnie Hundt and Colleen Lutz, who secured $125,000 in state funding for the project. The next day, children and counselors from the Ancram Summer Camp were already making use of the new facility.
The board approved a set of rules for the pavilion, including operational hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., mandatory removal of bagged garbage and recyclables, and prohibitions on alcohol and smoking. Use of the space will be first-come, first-served unless reserved in advance with a permit. The board is in the process of finalizing permit and security deposit fees, determining who will handle scheduling and communication, and how parking will be designated. Lutz proposed a ribbon-cutting and community potluck celebration later this year.
Prior to the regular meeting, the board held a workshop with Town Attorney Jonathan Tingley to consider whether Ancram should opt out of New York state’s property tax exemption for solar arrays under Real Property Tax Law 487. The exemption currently prevents towns from taxing the added property value of solar arrays for 15 years unless they formally opt out.
Tingley outlined four options for the town:
- Take no action, allowing the exemption to apply for the next 15 years.
- Opt out entirely, making all future solar projects taxable.
- Decline to opt out but negotiate a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement on a case-by-case basis.
- Decline to opt out and adopt a blanket PILOT policy for all future solar projects.
Tingley noted that a blanket PILOT policy may be easier to administer and could apply only to commercial projects that generate power for the grid — such as the proposed 9-acre array on Route 82 — and not to private residential installations. Revenue from PILOTs would be distributed among the town, county, school district, and fire district. While PILOT payments are typically lower than full property taxes, Tingley warned that without them, companies often challenge assessments to reduce tax liability.
No residents raised questions during the session. The board agreed to wait for a formal development notice from RIC Energy, the company behind the Route 82 project, before scheduling a public hearing on the matter.
Also at the meeting, Town Supervisor Jim MacArthur addressed the failed petition to bring a County Executive referendum to voters this November. Although nearly 4,000 signatures were submitted, more than 1,500 were rejected by the County Clerk’s office. “So if you wrote you lived at Poole Hill, but not Poole Hill Road, it didn’t count,” MacArthur said. The petition is now under review by an independent judge. “I have no objection to this being on the ballot and voted on in the fall,” MacArthur added. “I don’t agree with the change, but that’s how it should be done.”
Lutz reported she is preparing a Request for Proposals for either disposal or reuse of solar panels that previously sat on the Town Hall roof, along with potential replacement options. She also proposed the creation of a Deputy Clerk position to assist with the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, which the board unanimously approved.
Board member Amy Gold provided an update on efforts to modernize the town’s website. “It’s less about design than about functionality,” she said, citing the need for residents to easily download forms from the Building Department.
Councilmember Dave Boice reported that the town pool had been successfully inspected, opened, and is now in full operation. After a resident family raised concerns about accessibility, Boice said, “What time would you like to swim tomorrow? I’ll meet you in the Little Store parking lot and show you how to drive in on the far [west] side of the cemetery, which will be easier.”
Madeleine Israel and Irma Bressler, the town’s representatives to the Columbia County Office for the Aging, informed the board that the county will be distributing a survey to residents over 60 years old next month. The survey seeks feedback on current services and ideas for improvement.
For more information, residents may contact the Office for the Aging at OFA@columbiacountyny.com.