The Peru Gazette

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By Donald McBrayer

The Town Board held its Regular Meeting on Monday, January 24th. Everyone was present.

During community input Ed Schiffler asked the Board what their plan was to correct an ongoing sewer gas problem. Mr. Schiffler states he experiences a venting of sewer gas into his residence whenever roots are evacuated from a nearby town sewer line. Town Supervisor Peter Glushko informed Mr. Schiffler the line in question is to be replaced in the spring.

Carol Solari-Ruscoe & Karen Dziomba of the Elmore SPCA were in attendance to discuss the shelter and share their future plans. Ms. Solari-Ruscoe informed the board that Elmore SPCA currently has a manager (Kc Mace) and six part-time workers. The SPCA is currently renting space from Kelly Allen, but plan to be moved back into their fully renovated Telegraph Road location by the end of the year. The renovated building will provide a healthy environment for the animals; will include isolation rooms for traumatized animals, and a dog run for regular exercise. Ruscoe reminded the Board that they do not euthanize pets for space, but only in the case where the animal is deemed dangerous by court order. Ms. Dziomba informed the board that of the 29 dogs brought in last year, 24 was in need of homes. She also invited anyone who is interested in the Elmore SPCA to please arrange a visit, or check them out online at: http://www.elmorespca.org. Peter Glushko urged a meeting with Elmore SPCA & Peru’s Dog Control Officer Kelly Allen to discuss the ongoing relationship between the town and the shelter.

In other actions the Board:

·    Approved a resolution to accept an updated Dog Control/Licensing Law. The updated law contains no changes to the recently enacted law, but was required to correct a clerical error.

·    Unaminously approved a resolution to enact a Noise Ordinance. The Noise Ordinance can be viewed at:
http://d1091839.domain.com/PeruTown/towndocs/NoiseOrdinance.pdf

·    Tabled a motion to dispose the old voting machines. Peter Glushko said the town has two choices – give them away or sell them for scrap. Peru School has expressed an interest in taking the machines, but has not formalized that intention in writing. The Board agreed to give the school more time to do this.

·    Upon returning from executive session the Board voted to approve a resolution to accept the 2011 town appointments. Peter Glushko reminded the board that just because appointments are not always made at the beginning of the year, any employee holding a civil service job still has that job until either they decide to leave or the board takes an action to remove them. They cannot be removed by simply not being appointed. The vote was 4 to 1 in favor with Town Councilor Kregg Bruno being the “no” vote.
The 2011 town appointments can be found at: http://d1091839.domain.com/PeruTown/towndocs/appointments.pdf

·    In other business Councilor Brandy McDonald shared a humorous moment where he found himself trapped in a local car wash and was forced to exit his car during the wash cycle to force the door open. McDonald expressed considerable dissatisfaction that he hasn’t received a return call to his complaint.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 PM.

An audio recording of the meeting can be found at:
http://d1091839.domain.com/PeruTown/TBM-1-24-11.WAV

Minutes for the January 10 Organizational & Regular Meetings were approved and can be found at:
http://www.perutown.com/min11.htm

By Donald McBrayer

The Town Board held a public hearing for the proposed Noise Ordinance on Monday January 24th. A half-dozen Peru residents were present, and made comments on the proposed ordinance.

James Falvo suggested expanding the line that allows for snow removal equipment “to be used at any time” to include the phrase “for snow removal”. Falvo suggested a scenario where an individual may run a snow-blower during the summer as a means to annoy a neighbor, while using the clause (as written) as a means for getting away with it. The suggested change was applied.

Falvo went on to express several other issues he had with the ordinance including one that the ordinance could be too restrictive to people living in multifamily homes.

Town Supervisor, Pete Glushko thanked Mr. Falvo for the input and reminded him that until now the only noise law that existed in Peru was a single unenforceable line in zoning that says noise must be limited to 80db. Glushko went on to say he doesn’t want the town to get involved with landlord/tenant disputes, but wanted some kind of enforceable law to be in place so complaints could be handled appropriately.

Don McBrayer reminded the board that this, like any law, was being created so harmony can exist between neighbors. “If anything,” McBrayer suggested, “the reality will be that this law will be under-enforced instead of over-enforced.” He went on to express his confidence in the state police to handle potential noise complaints in a confident and professional manner, and that this ordinance will allow action to be taken in the event of legitimate noise violations where currently no enforcement is possible.

Gordon Duprey expressed a concern about construction noise being allowed as early as 6AM. Town Councilor Kregg Bruno suggested that because of the short season and summer heat many contractors need to start early. After a bit of discussion the board decided to leave the time at 6AM.

Chip Blair, owner of Murphy’s Tavern, asked about entertainment noise. He said a neighbor once complained about kids that were singing during an afternoon fundraiser. Pete Glushko said the state police would probably find such a complaint invalid. Don McBrayer commented on Chip Blair’s concern stating he felt that the fifty-foot barrier being proposed in the ordinance was proper, and should be more than adequate to contain noise from the business. McBrayer ended the public input by stating he felt anyone has the right to conduct business, but not at the expense of his/hers neighbor’s right to harmony.

The Noise Ordinance was approved at the Regular Town Board Meeting, and can be viewed at:
http://d1091839.domain.com/PeruTown/towndocs/NoiseOrdinance.pdf

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AGENDA, PERU PLANNING BOARD, Wednesday, February 9th, 2011, 7:00 p.m., Peru Town Hall

1. CALL meeting to order.

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

3. ROLL CALL.

4. APPROVAL of January Minutes.

5. OPEN floor to Public Hearing.

6. SITE PLAN REVIEW: ST. AUGUSTINE/DIOCESES OF OGDENSBURG

Site Plan Review ~ Main St.

7. SITE PLAN REVIEW: ROGER & REBECCA GARROW

Site Plan Review ~ 2972 Main St.

8. SUBDIVISION & SEQR: TOWN OF PERU/ALLEN DIXON

Minor Subdivision ~ 5 Lyons Rd.

9. MERGE: CALVIN J. ARNOLD

Merge ~ 2 Lots ~ Bear Swamp Rd./Fuller Rd.

10. SUBDIVISION & SEQR: CHESTER PELLERIN

Minor Subdivision ~ Elm St./Sanborn Lane

11. SUBDIVISION & SEQR: GEORGE MOORE

Minor Subdivision ~ Clark Rd.

12. DISCUSSION: PLANNING BOARD APPLICATION CHANGES

13. ANY FURTHER BUSINESS.

14. CEO REPORT.

15. ADJOURNMENT.

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Rep. Denny Rehberg (MT-AL) and Rep. Bill Owens (NY-23) meet to discuss the needs of northern border communities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressmen Denny Rehberg (MT-AL) and Bill Owens (NY-23) announced today that they will serve together as co-chairs of the House Northern Border Caucus, a congressional organization of House Members formed to educate Congress and direct legislation on issues facing states along the Canadian border.

“Northern Border communities have a strong relationship with Canada that is critical to the success of job creation efforts along the border and throughout the nation,” said Owens. “Cross-border trade accounts for a tremendous amount of economic development in New York’s North Country, and I look forward to working with Congressman Rehberg and the rest of the Northern Border Caucus to highlight issues facing communities along the Canadian border and to promote the secure movement of people and goods.”

“Montana’s 545-mile border with Canada is the longest in the lower 48 states, so our relationships and policies along that border require a dedicated effort in Congress,” said Rehberg, who also co-chaired the caucus last Congress. “When folks in Washington talk about securing our borders, they’re usually not talking about the 4,000 miles we share with Canada – but they should.  Our northern border has a key role in national trade, transportation, environmental, immigration and security issues.  That’s what this caucus is all about and I’m pleased to be able to share this responsibility with Congressman Bill Owens.”

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