 |
| May 05, 2024 |
Welcome! Click here to Login
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Click to visit the
Official Town Site
|
|
|
|
|
|
General News: Resident Questions Mayor's Building Permit
September 23, 2009
A Cornwall-on-Hudson resident is asking for the village’s new ethics board to look into his charges that Mayor Joseph Gross has not properly handled the applications for a building permit that he first received in August 2004.
Lee Murphy, who is well-known in the village as the chair of the Master Plan committee and a member of the planning board, said the mayor had created “an appearance of impropriety” by not following village code for building permits. According to his permit application, Mayor Gross is building a 12 x 30-foot addition to his home on Lafayette Street at a cost of $9,500, which includes the value of unpaid labor.
Building permits are valid for one year, according to the village code, and may be renewed. Mayor Gross renewed his 2004 permit in December 2007 and again in February 2009, according to documents distributed by Murphy. The documents do not show a payment of a renewal fee, a step that zoning board secretary Arlene Roberts says is not uncommon, noting that she only recently became aware of the fee requirement. “There are other cases when fees were not charged for the first renewal,” Robert said when asked if the Mayor’s application was unusual.
Murphy also pointed out that after five years of construction, Mayor Gross still has not gotten a certificate of occupancy. Roberts later noted that it is not uncommon for people to ignore requests to update their building permits or to get a certificate of occupancy. Cornwall tax assessor Ron Fiorentino recently explained that he routinely reviews the assessed value of properties after they get a new certificate of occupancy.
After listening to Murphy’s charges at the board of trustees meeting on Monday night, Mayor Gross said that he would be glad to turn over any of the documents to the ethics board for review. However, the mayor also noted that the board, which was appointed last February following the adoption of a new ethics law in September 2008, is still not up and running.
Comments:
|
I thought that a C.O. had to be issued upon completion? The work is not done yet, correct? And if the length of time of construction is what irks Mr. Murphy he needs to consider how much one person can get done working in his or her 'spare' time, not to mention the year spent recuperating from a broken neck. No small feat, there. To me, an appearance of impropriety is when a relative of a town official runs his vehicle smack into a huge building in the middle of the night, takes out a column and then gets whisked away without a breath-test. And the building has still not been put to rights. If that were you or me, or the Mayor, for that matter, you can bet our faces would be all over the Local and the website with a lurid recitation of the events, and background information on all the players. That type of impropriety is much more dangerous than a neglected C.O.
posted by Kate Benson on 09/23/09 at 9:45 PM
|
|
Shame on Mr. Murphy for allowing his discontent with village elected officials by making judgmental comments. Shame on you!
posted by j b on 09/24/09 at 7:19 AM
|
|
I read with interest the comments made in response to Mr. Murphy's contention and ask, "Setting aside your personal feelings for either Mayor Gross or Mr. Murphy, shouldn't we as Village residents be at least somewhat genuinely concerned that such a situation, as presented, may, in fact, rise to the level of an 'appearance of impropriety'?" Such circumstances seem to fit squarely within the jurisdiction of an impartial Ethics Board to consider.
posted by James P. Kane on 09/24/09 at 10:38 PM
|
Add a Comment:
Please signup or login to add a comment.
|
 |
|
|
|
