ROCKLAND  — The Rockland Town Board opened with a public hearing for the first local law of 2024. The law, which was passed later in the meeting, is in regards to reading water meters, and a fee that will be incurred if residents refuse access to the meters.

The amendment was necessary to curb the problems the town has faced with accessing water meters on private property within the district.

Though the exact number of refusals was not mentioned, Supervisor Rob Eggleton said, “One [refusal] is a problem, but we have several.”

Immediately following the public hearing on Thursday, March 21, a second hearing regarding the Willowemoc Motel began. Code Enforcement Officer Glenn Gabbard provided a slideshow of noted problems on the property, which included unsecured doors, broken glass, evidence of squatters and break-ins, debris both inside and outside, sunken floors on the southeast wing and complete floor collapses in both the lobby and Unit 6.

The property was considered a “total structural failure.”

The mortgage holder for the property, Baum Law, was in attendance. The company expressed an interest in preserving the building and has attempted to contact the building owner.

Further, Baum Law has asked to work with the town to save the property from demolition, despite being in the flood zone and needing to raise the basement 3.8 feet among the many other issues of the dilapidated property.

Councilperson JR DeVantier was appointed as the Hearing Officer, and the property will be asked to erect a chain link fence around the property and/or board up the windows and doors.

Other items

Following the hearings, the board discussed old business, which included a resolution on the finalized agreement with Choice Words, a grant-writing company. The Town of Rockland is hoping to secure grant funding for projects in Livingston Manor, though the exact projects have not been decided upon.

Supervisor Eggleton also gave a brief update on the Solar Project on the parcel of land in the Town of Liberty that belongs to the Town of Rockland. The Rockland and Liberty town boards have been in communication in regards to the project.

For new business, Elizabeth Williams was appointed to the Planning Board for a three-year term.

After the robberies in Livingston Manor, the topic of security cameras, and updating the existing hardware at the Town Hall was brought up, and the board is looking into it.

Following the reports from the department heads and public comment, the board entered into an executive session. The purpose of the session was to establish a maintenance supervisor for the Twin Village Golf Course that was recently donated to the town.

The board resolved to hire Greg Feeney Jr. at a salary of $45,000 to be the Parks and Maintenance Supervisor.

They are also listing a part-time maintenance job for the park at $18 per hour up to 29 hours per week.

In the next meeting they are planning to discuss the lease agreement for the clubhouse.