Discussion About Permits At Conesville Meeting

By Chris English

CONESVILLE — Area residents need to be following the law and get permits for projects that require it, Town of Conesville Supervisor Bill Federice emphasized at the June 10 board meeting.

He said he has talked to fellow Town Supervisor Donald Airey in neighboring Blenheim about problems with some people skipping the proper permitting process in both towns.

"We will work with you on projects, but people who do substantial projects and don't get permits are hurting everyone else by doing that. Nobody can say I'm putting up a 3,000 square-foot building and don't need a permit. It's the state law, the state code," Federice said.

In other actions from the June 10 meeting, Town Highway Superintendent Ward Apgar reported that a long stretch of Durham Road was paved June 4-5 by a contractor. The town road crew did some ditch work prior to the paving, he added.

Apgar said the road was not originally scheduled to be paved until 2029 but that certain circumstances allowed the work to be done earlier, which was fortunate.

"With any luck, this will hold up," he said of the paving. "It's a busy road."

Included in the Town Historian's report was a reminder that whenever anyone finds any kind of human remains, that person needs to call 911 and report it. Failure to do so is a felony, the historian said.

Preparation is under way for the town's celebration of the country's 250th Birthday next year, she added.

Federice, who is also Chairman of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors, said there was not much to report on the county level. He did mention, however, that the "latest ridiculous thing out of Albany" is that state lawmakers are close to passing legislation limiting the number of cows on any one farm to a maximum of 700.

Apparently, the rationale for the proposed legislation is that residents from New York City or other urban areas who are moving into rural areas are concerned that too many cows can possibly affect the water supply.