Board members share village invoicing, animal control concerns

During the Jan. 15 Town Board meeting, councilmember Teresa Luongo voiced her concerns over the village invoicing the town for legal services related to Kiryas Joel’s petition to annex Ace Farm. Noting that the prior board did not sign off on these invoices, Luongo said she felt that the board should receive more information on the services provided before signing off on the invoices. She also shared that she wanted to be well-versed in all proceedings ahead of the eventual public hearing for the annexation.

Supervisor Jacqueline Hernandez said she spoke with village mayor Andrew Giacomazza, who reached out to the lawyer for an update on the annexation. She added that many of the fees were for viewing the annexation documents and the state environmental quality review (SEQR) - for which the Village of Woodbury is serving as lead agency - has just begun. As soon as they are able, the village will provide a full update to the town, Hernandez said.

Seeking to encourage the community to share their thoughts, the Town Board agreed to remove the three-minute limit on public comment at town meetings.

During the discussion on the proposed change, Luongo agreed that three minutes was not enough time for individuals to express their views, however, she questioned whether having no limits would lead to people speaking for 40 minutes about nonsense. Hernandez noted her concern, countering that she believed the public was trying to be thoughtful with their comments. She said the board could revisit the matter if they felt removing the limit hindered their ability to conduct town business.

Regarding town business, councilmember Martha Lopez requested personal opinions be removed from town board minutes, arguing that they are intended to be an objective record of the meeting and not expressions of personal feelings. She referenced the amended minutes including language stating that it was disrespectful for candidate to learn during the last town board meeting that the new board would be recanvassing for all available committee and library board seats. She said the clerk’s role is not responsible for recording verbatim discussion or including personal characterizations.

Luongo, who said she was the one who requested the amendment to the minutes, argued that the minutes should show why there was an objection to the board’s decision.

Hernandez acknowledged both council members’ views and decided to carry the motion to keep the minutes as they were, while still committing to address the issue going forward.

The town is reviewing its inter-municipal agreement with the town of Monroe over animal control. According to the Town of Monroe website, under the agreement, which began in 2019, the Town of Woodbury provides dog control services for the town of Monroe. Hernandez said animal control department head Sonia Hennessey expressed her concerns about the animal shelter agreement with the Town of Monroe. The supervisor said she will be reviewing the document and providing the board with suggestions to review at the upcoming work session on Feb. 2.