Will Claverack Get a Crap Town Hall?

Claverack's Town Board meetings and Town Court moved out of the falling-down building above the diesel-soaked old town garage on Route 217 back in 2020. Or was it 2019? That pandemic still has me confused.

Good move, that building was dark and musty and full of asbestos. But wait - the "temporary" digs they've been in ever since is the front room of the old town library! With perhaps 350 square feet and space enough for 12 citizens to attend the meeting or get their day in court, this setup is about like my parents' living room.

Now for the last three years, no plan has been discussed or developed for a new facility. No grants written (though lots available), no site chosen, no public input, no committee formed, no discussion of design.

Until the end of July.

Rather suddendly, Supervisor Kippy Weigelt decided that there are only two sites he'll consider, and that probably a simple drop-on-slab modular building would be best. And that the old town hall - including its historic foundation that was built as part of the very first industrial mill in Claverack - should be demolished and buried. All Board members except Katy Cashen voted for that initiative. But as this was not posted as part of a regular Town Board meeting agenda (it was a "workshop meeting" at which public comment is not allowed), no one in Claverack knew that vote was going to take place. Apparently we're moving forward quickly.

The August Town Board meeting was canceled (no reason given) and has not been rescheduled.

There are several problems here.

First, remember our Comprehensive Plan, the hundred plus page document that several of the current Board members approved fifteen years ago? It's built on a detailed SWOT analysis. When the Board, the participating residents, and the consultants finished their analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to Claverack's future, they came up with this:

There are more bullets listed, but these summarize the highest priorities. From this the planners built a road map for future Board decisions that would preserve and develop the town we want, and minimize the things that could disrupt our desired future.

Our Town Board has ignored this Plan. Anyone living in Claverack can see pretty quickly that there's no town center, no sidewalks, worse traffic, the post office is still where it was, and the biggest change to the intersection of 23 and 9H is the addition of a tiny Subway with twenty-four parking spaces - more that the four businesses across the street share between them.

With lack of attention to their road map, the Town Board (slogan: Claverack is Working!) has done nothing to protect our rural character, which is in danger from solar fields, excessive truck traffic, and upscale housing developments. The best the Board has been able to do is to for our rural character is react to each new threat with amendments to planning and zoning rules. No planning, lots of reacting (but only when someone makes a fuss!).

The second thing that's wrong about this no-plan Town Hall is that we are actually in the process of re-writing the Comprehensive Plan. The new effort is overdue at 15 years in, and it will take into account many of the things that were unforseen in 2008 - solar fields and glamping, for example. A committee of six was formed in June, with several local residents participating.

The new plan is likely to address rapidly rising energy costs, which are already putting Claverack's budget under pressure. The new plan is likely to recommend that Claverack operate efficiently, maybe building to an EnergyStar standard and using more fuel-efficient vehicles when possible. How could a modular building, cheaply built and erected quickly, be an efficient solution? Modular buildings have a projected 20-25 year lifespan, use poor materials, and are notoriously energy inefficient. We can't afford to go that way.

Finally, the lack of a plan for this new Town Hall means the building will end up where it's easiest to install and most convenient to manage. Weigelt's two choices are behind the Town Office in Mellenville or next to the Highway Garage off Schoolhouse Road near 9H. The first is on the border with Philmont, while the second is closer to the Hannafords than the center of the hamlet. No committee, no public involvement, no evaluation of better sites.

There appears to be some urgency driving Supervisor Weigelt and the Board (excepting Cashen) that is not explained. Why do nothing for three years then suddenly push through a completely wrongheaded idea? Why is the road map of the Comprehensive Plan being ignored? Why are no grant opportunities being considered? Why hasn't a committee been formed that includes some of the many actively engaged residents in Claverack?

Claverack is not working. We are not following any plan, we are not managing our resources, preserving our rural character, rebuilding a town center that was lost 75 years ago. We're not even planning to reduce our expenses in the future by building to a decent energy standard or installing our own solar field.

Show up at the next Town Board meeting or workshop (second Thursdays and fourth Mondays, 6 pm at the old Library) and make it clear to the Board that we expect them to do more this time.