Thursday, February 11, 2010

Wind moratorium to continue in Bath

Bath, N.Y.

A ban on any industrial wind-related activity in the town of Bath will continue until May, following the town board’s approval Monday.

Board members voted, 3-0, in favor of extending their current moratorium to allow more study of a wind law and a road-use agreement. Councilmen Dean Kropp and Robin Lattimer did not attend the meeting.

The moratorium, due to expire in February, was set up to allow the town to develop regulations for wind turbine development.

The board has not been approached by developers, but wants regulations in place in case wind development becomes a possibility.

The committee is considering issues such as the height of towers, setbacks and noise levels.

The initial drafts should be completed by the time the three-month extension on the moratorium expires May 14, town Attorney Jeff Squires said.

In other action, the board agreed informally to offer its old, lever-style voting machines to the village.

By law, the town must use new ballot-scanning voting machines also required for county, state and federal elections. Villages and school districts are exempt from the federal requirement and have the option of using the lever machines.

The town also is in the process of re-applying for a state records management grant, according to town Supervisor Fred Muller. The town and the village applied together for the grant, which was denied last year due to confusion in the village clerk’s office.

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