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Aldermen applaud opposition to county plan
By Jamie Larson
HUDSON — The Hudson Common Council came together Tuesday night to unanimously oppose the county plan to convert the 139-year-old St. Charles Hotel, located at 16 Park Place, into a homeless shelter and Department of Social Services satellite station. The plan announced by DSS Supervisor Paul Mossmann Monday was met with outrage by council members, some of whom said they found out about the plan for the first time Tuesday morning when they read it in the newspaper.
The St. Charles proposal is part of the larger, approved, Columbia County Board of Supervisors plan to move DSS six miles out of Hudson to the old Ockawamick school in Claverack. City officials said they were not consulted beforehand on the proposal, which would see the company East Coast Reality buy the hotel and establish a long-term lease with the county for use.
After 18 resolutions were passed quickly by the city council, President John Cody held up the 19th, which the aldermen had not received. It was added to the agenda Tuesday, Cody reading the words from a hand-written copy on a sheet of yellow legal paper. The resolution authorized Mayor Richard Scalera to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors “vehemently opposing the proposal.”
The resolution, which stated St. Charles is a “centerpiece of the economic revitalization of the city of Hudson,” was met with applause by those in the audience.
“I think it’s about time the city of Hudson says it doesn’t want to be stepped on anymore,” Alderman Richard Goetz, R-5th Ward, said, adding, “we want to be consulted. It’s like Iran.”
Alderman Wanda Pertilla, D-2nd Ward, said she and the other aldermen need to start getting out into their wards to get their constituents actively protesting against the Board of Supervisors. She said the 5th Ward Hudson supervisors have been fighting hard against the DSS plan but they need support.
“Our aldermen need to get behind them,” she said, “bring our constituents and really start storming.”
“All five of us are unified,” Supervisor William Hughes, D- 5th Ward, said. “We are not going to sit back.”
Department of Public Works Supervisor Robert Perry spent the meeting with the thick Hudson City Code siting on his lap, constantly studying the heavy binder. Perry said the county may run into a pretty big road block in the code on its way toward leasing the St. Charles. Article 325-16, Section D states, “A transitional services facility for minors and adults shall be permitted, as subject to authorizations by the Zoning Board of Appeals...”
The code goes on to refer to a two-page list of complex and varied procedures a building owner must undergo to provide proof of what the building will be used for. These regulations are varied and complicated, and it would be the responsibility of East Coast Realty to comply with them all to the satisfaction of the Hudson ZBA.
St. Charles lies on the border of a zoning district. The maps can sometimes be misinterpreted but 1st Ward alderman candidate Sarah Sterling, who is also a real-estate agent, pointed out that if it is in the other district — the Central Commercial District — then the zoning requires that the building owner request a use variant from the ZBA, to use the hotel for transitional services. It is believed by officials that this variance would be denied by the ZBA.
“I can only think,” Perry said, noting the law he cited was written in 1976, “during the height of urban renewal, when they built the high-rises, the city fathers figured this would be the natural progression of things and there should be protections. This isn’t opinion, this is law.”
Representatives for the county plan could not be reached by deadline after the late meeting.
The St. Charles proposal is part of the larger, approved, Columbia County Board of Supervisors plan to move DSS six miles out of Hudson to the old Ockawamick school in Claverack. City officials said they were not consulted beforehand on the proposal, which would see the company East Coast Reality buy the hotel and establish a long-term lease with the county for use.
After 18 resolutions were passed quickly by the city council, President John Cody held up the 19th, which the aldermen had not received. It was added to the agenda Tuesday, Cody reading the words from a hand-written copy on a sheet of yellow legal paper. The resolution authorized Mayor Richard Scalera to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors “vehemently opposing the proposal.”
The resolution, which stated St. Charles is a “centerpiece of the economic revitalization of the city of Hudson,” was met with applause by those in the audience.
“I think it’s about time the city of Hudson says it doesn’t want to be stepped on anymore,” Alderman Richard Goetz, R-5th Ward, said, adding, “we want to be consulted. It’s like Iran.”
Alderman Wanda Pertilla, D-2nd Ward, said she and the other aldermen need to start getting out into their wards to get their constituents actively protesting against the Board of Supervisors. She said the 5th Ward Hudson supervisors have been fighting hard against the DSS plan but they need support.
“Our aldermen need to get behind them,” she said, “bring our constituents and really start storming.”
“All five of us are unified,” Supervisor William Hughes, D- 5th Ward, said. “We are not going to sit back.”
Department of Public Works Supervisor Robert Perry spent the meeting with the thick Hudson City Code siting on his lap, constantly studying the heavy binder. Perry said the county may run into a pretty big road block in the code on its way toward leasing the St. Charles. Article 325-16, Section D states, “A transitional services facility for minors and adults shall be permitted, as subject to authorizations by the Zoning Board of Appeals...”
The code goes on to refer to a two-page list of complex and varied procedures a building owner must undergo to provide proof of what the building will be used for. These regulations are varied and complicated, and it would be the responsibility of East Coast Realty to comply with them all to the satisfaction of the Hudson ZBA.
St. Charles lies on the border of a zoning district. The maps can sometimes be misinterpreted but 1st Ward alderman candidate Sarah Sterling, who is also a real-estate agent, pointed out that if it is in the other district — the Central Commercial District — then the zoning requires that the building owner request a use variant from the ZBA, to use the hotel for transitional services. It is believed by officials that this variance would be denied by the ZBA.
“I can only think,” Perry said, noting the law he cited was written in 1976, “during the height of urban renewal, when they built the high-rises, the city fathers figured this would be the natural progression of things and there should be protections. This isn’t opinion, this is law.”
Representatives for the county plan could not be reached by deadline after the late meeting.
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