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April 18, 2020
Burgh/North Countryman
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• EDITION •
‘Special’ virtual meetings City planning and zoning boards table agenda items; new tech processes dissected, bylaws amended By Alina Walentowicz STAFF WRITER
PLATTSBURGH | Both the City of Plattsburgh zoning and planning boards recently held virtual “special meetings” via Zoom to make up for their Mar. 16 and Mar. 23 meetings, respectively, which were not
held due to local developments surrounding COVID-19. The city posted an updated April public meetings schedule to its website on Mar. 30, along with a new, joint temporary remote procedural process for both its zoning and planning boards. In light of public outcry over COVID-19 and relaxed Open Meetings Laws in the week leading up to these re-scheduled meetings, both boards recently voted to table all regular March meeting agenda public-hearing items, including applications from Stewart’s Shops, Vilas Home, a city resident and the City of Plattsburgh. Written public comment on these topics will now be accepted up until 12pm three days prior to the next meetings to be included in a packet
distributed to board members; in the meantime, the boards are reevaluating new processes.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS (ZBA), APRIL 6: “WE OWN THIS PROCESS”
CHAIR: RON NOLLAND VICE CHAIR: KATHLEEN INSLEY Items from the Mar. 16 agenda will now be discussed at the April 20 ZBA meeting. “How we vote on this application is secondary,” Chair Ron Nolland told the board, calling a number of the unanimously postponed agenda items controversial. “How we run our process is the main thing, so nobody can say we have not had proper meetings, or that we scheduled things too fast or pushed things through.” Before moving forward, the board hopes to produce as streamlined a digital public participation process as possible, in parallel with the planning board, to best simulate an in-person public hearing.
PLANNING BOARD, APRIL 7: BYLAWS, TABLING OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ECHOED
Easter bunny on a horse
On Easter Sunday, drivers, families and children were treated to an unusual sight as the Easter Bunny rode into town on a horse. The duo trotted along several streets in Champlain as onlookers were encouraged to practice social distancing while watching the holiday treat from T.E.S.S. Stables and Farm. Photo by Andrea VanValkenburg
CHAIR: JIM ABDALLAH VICE CHAIR: DEREK ROSENBAUM Items from the Mar. 23 agenda will now be discussed at the Mon. April 27 Planning Board meeting. Lengthy discussion during the special meeting took place concerning the board’s drafted bylaws and, like the ZBA, amendments to virtual meeting processes. Bylaws discussion surrounded alternate members and what the extent of their participation should look like on the board. Also discussed was representation of the city’s 6 wards, given the 5-person committee size. Alternate member Curt Gervich said, “One ward is perpetually without representation” despite “aspirational” language in the bylaws stating that the mayor should appoint an individual from each district. Without polling members for their addresses, the board estimated at least two wards—1 and
City staff and planning board members discuss essential business during a special meeting, updating bylaws and temporary public participation procedures during COVID-19 closures. File photo 2, if not also 3—are not currently represented on the planning board. City Planner Malana Tamer also gave an update on the arts park project of the DRI, saying the contract had officially been signed with Saratoga Associates, and that a kick-off meeting would be scheduled within the next two months.
LEGAL QUESTIONS, CITIZEN CONCERN
The Plattsburgh Citizens Coalition (PCC) sent notices to cityinfo@ plattsburghcitygov.com and various media outlets, declaring concern over Dean Schneller acting as legal counsel for both the city’s common council and its other various boards and departments, particularly if one should be in conflict with or require approval from another. Some board members echoed similar concerns, as did public comments in the Youtube chat box adjacent to the livestream. In response, Schneller cited Section C54.2B of the city’s charter, which declares “the corporation counsel shall serve as the chief legal advisor to the mayor, the common council and all city departments, offices and boards, and shall represent the city in all legal proceedings and shall perform any other duties prescribed by law, charter or the ordinance.”
CITY STAFF OVERSEE TECH IMPROVEMENTS
Board chairs w ill act as a
direct point of contact between the board and city staff, gathering one-on-one consensus from voting board members. “The boards set their own rules of procedure and meeting schedules and are beholden to no one,” stated a recent clarification issued by the city’s Building Inspector and Community Development Offices. In this current virtual reality, city staff members are tasked with facilitating procedural changes that ensure all submitted individual public comments will be heard or viewed by the public and included in the public record through a combination of digital means involving Zoom, Youtube, email, voicemails, video recordings and written comments. Some planning board members expressed that they did not receive all submitted email comments from the public prior to the special meeting. Live public-participation signup and call-in options are expected to be fi nalized by Fri. April 10 and in-place for the next regularly scheduled ZBA and planning board meetings. “At no point have we had more than 30-40 people at a meeting,” declared DRI Project Coordinator Ethan Vinson, moderating the city’s Youtube-livestreamed Zoom capabilities for the boards, which was recently updated to a 300-person capacity. “There’s plenty of room for the system to handle that.” ■
COVID-19 fatalities: Mayor wants increased testing Recent numbers, testing By Alina Walentowicz STAFF WRITER
PLATTSBURGH | The first two COVID-19-related deaths in Clinton County, NY were announced consecutively on April 10 and 11. The U.S. now leads the world in identified deaths, with more than 20,000 Americans lost. As throughout the nation, due to a lack of test kits, available numbers don’t accurately reflect the true total deaths and illnesses related to COVID-19, thereby skewing the total image of its geographic spread. University of Vermont Healthcare Network, C ha mpla i n Va l ley Physicia ns Hospita l (UVM-CVPH) continues to seek more testing equipment and supplies.
TESTING BEYOND SYMPTOMS
Some officials say testing needs to go beyond just those exhibiting symptoms, as the Clinton County Health Department (CCHD) have clarified individuals
must exhibit symptoms in order to be tested—even then, there’s no guarantee of getting a test. “We must also screen those with doctor’s orders, those who are suspected of carrying the virus but cannot get tested, and those who come in contact with any suspected carrier,” said Mayor Colin Read in the City of Plattsburgh where an elderly Plattsburgh Housing Authority facility was recently quarantined on lockdown. He also said developing an antibody test is important, and it needs to happen before people can go back to work.
RECENT NUMBERS
As of April 12, Clinton County has administered less than 400 tests, with 46 identified positive cases. Twenty-eight individuals have recovered. No new cases were announced in the county on Sun., April 12, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo continues to provide updates on what appears to be a flattening curve and a slowing spread of the virus, thanks to consistent distancing measures. Most accurate numbers for current case counts by county as they come in can be found at covid19tracker.health.ny.gov.■
Staying safe
A huge collaborative effort at Beekmantown Central School District has recently led to the creation and donation of more than 150 protective face shields for local health-care workers. Practicing social distancing, mask makers have been volunteering from home and school to use 3D printers to produce high-quality visors and shields for staff at CVPH Medical Center. The district’s technology department has been using the skills of both students and staff to help make the masks possible. Photo provided
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