New Petition Needed to Address No. Castle Pond, Dam Repairs
The Town of North Castle has been forced to reformulate a petition for 18 private property owners surrounding Long Pond who want to form a park district to pay for dam repairs and maintenance.
Town Attorney Roland Baroni said he is drawing up a new petition because the state comptroller’s office informed him that property owners in a park district are not allowed to evenly split the cost of the tax but it must be calculated based on assessed valuation.
Last month, North Castle officials and residents tentatively agreed that the town would contribute about 22 percent of the costs associated with the project because it was believed that the municipality owned that percentage of the water body. The 18 property owners, whose parcels extend to the pond, were set to pay what turned out to be $1,229 each per year to cover the estimated $310,000 project and debt over the course of a 20-year bond.
While the town can evenly distribute district taxes in other types of districts, that is not permissible in this case, Baroni said.
“It is true, the state comptroller told me last week that for some reason park districts are not included in those districts that can be formed on a benefit basis so everybody pays the same amount,” he said. “We do have to revert to an assessment basis, an ad valorem assessment basis.”
A plan addressing Long Pond Dam repairs and maintenance was required to be submitted to the state by last Friday after a blunt letter from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) was received by North Castle on Apr. 29. If no action was taken by the town, the state could step in and do the work, then bill the affected homeowners.
Baroni said he intended to contact DEC before the end of last week to inform the agency what the town plans to do.
If the district is formed, the homeowner with the largest assessed valuation in the district would pay $1,229 a year, Baroni said. The other homeowners would pay a portion of that cost based on the assessed valuation of their property compared to the property with the largest assessed valuation.
Baroni said town officials also learned that under state law the municipality cannot be a member of a district even if it owns property. Therefore, the town would contribute $13,500 a year toward repairs and maintenance on a contractual basis, he said.
Late last month, the original petition was in the town clerk’s office for the homeowners to sign. There needs to be signatures from owners of 51 percent of the assessed valuation of the 18 parcels. Baroni said he would draw up the new petition as quickly as possible.
Last week North White Plains resident Anthony Futia questioned whether the town was adhering to the state’s regulations and if taxpayer money should go toward repairs and maintenance. He said the town should consider selling its portion of the lake and dam to the homeowners for $1.
Homeowners surrounding North Lake formed an association to take over expenses related to that water body and the same should be considered for Long Pond Dam, Futia said.
Supervisor Michael Schiliro said most of the residents rejected taking over the lake. Since it was determined the town owns a portion of the area, it should contribute to the cost.
“We own a portion of the lake. It’s tough to find out exactly the portion that we have here,” Schiliro said.”We have portion of the dam, according to DEC.”
Baroni said the issue is a serious one not just regarding finances but public safety as well.
“Whether we own Long Pond Dam or not, the water is being held back by that structure, so we have an obligation not just to the 18 residents who live with that but to the entire town to protect them,” Baroni said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
