Members Present: Paul Slutzky, Chairman
Carl Giangrande, Board Member
Ed Kaplan, Deputy Chairman
Penny Sikalis, Board Member (absent)
Gail Shegerian, Alternate Member (absent)
Harout Dermenjian, Board Member (absent)
Also Present:
Scott Ouimet, PE, with Kaaterskill Associates; Haley Bigando, PE, with LaBella Associates and J.C. Alten representing Finn Partners; Fran Clark; Gary Goodrich; Aggie Cheng; Juan Carlos; Rich Rock; Peter Finn; Sarah Finn; Jeff Prince; Donna Bates; Jesse Fraine, PE with Delaware Eng.; Kurt Goetttsche with Greene County Planning; Dan Segal; Tyler Kelaher; Anthony Figiel; Kathleen Hilbert, Village Clerk
Public Hearing-Village Firehouse Relocation-Site Plan Review:
Chairman Slutzky opened the Public Hearing at 7:00 PM. Jesse Fraine presented proofs of mailing and receipts of delivery for the Notice of Public Hearing that was sent to all Board designated abutters. He then presented and described the project site plan.
Chairman Slutzky asked for questions, comments and concerns from the public in attendance:
Peter Finn asked if there would public parking available at the site 24-7. J. Fraine advised there would be municipal parking available at site but no overnight parking. He added there would also be an overflow parking area available with gravel access pathway to main entrance of red barn for daytime parking.
Jeff Prince asked how big is the building and how many bays it would have for fire equipment.
- Fraine said the building is 7,400 square feet with a mezzanine of 2,000 square feet+/- and there would be four equipment bays.
Sarah Finn asked if there would be a siren at the site. J. Fraine said there would not be a siren. Gary Goodrich, representing the Hunter Fire Company, added that the existing siren at the old firehouse will not be used in future.
There being no additional comments from the public, Chairman Slutzky closed the Public Hearing at 7:15 PM.
Public Hearing-7776 Main Street-Site Plan Review-Les Jardine de Hunter Major Residential Subdivision:
Chairman Slutzky opened the Public Hearing at 7:30 PM. Scott Ouimet, PE with Kaaterskill Associates, presented proofs of mailing and receipts of delivery for the Notice of Public Hearing that had been mailed to all the Board designated project abutters. He then presented and described the project site plan. He noted that wetlands mapping and a traffic study had already been done and that NYS Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) had issued an Effect Finding that the proposed project would result in No Adverse Impact.
Chairman Slutzky asked for comments, questions or concerns from the public in attendance:
Kathleen Hilbert asked how large the single family home lots would be. S. Ouimet advised the lots would be from approximately one half acre to almost three acres.
Fran Clark asked if there would be a road maintenance agreement. S. Ouimet said the single family homes would be subject to a Home Owners Association agreement that would include the road maintenance agreement. F. Clark asked if the existing Sgro house would have access to the project road. S. Ouimet said they would have use of the road but would not be subject to the road maintenance agreement.
Dan Segal inquired about how far the entrance road would be from his house and if the old growth trees on his property line would be disturbed. S. Ouimet described the width of the entrance road and said it would be about thirty feet from his house. He said the trees in question would not be disturbed and the old growth trees behind the elementary school would also not be disturbed. D. Segal asked how storm water would be dealt with. S. Ouimet described the collection system and the stormwater treatment area and explained that a very detailed Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan has to be submitted to and approved by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection before any work could begin.
- Prince asked if any sidewalks were planned. S. Ouimet said there would not be sidewalks primarily because the grades, while not steep, exceed those allowed for handicap access.
- Segal asked if streetlights were planned. S. Ouimet said no streetlights are planned and any path lights or exterior building lights would be required to be down facing to preclude light pollution.
- Clark asked how many bedrooms the condominium units would have. S. Ouimet said there would likely be a mix of unit sizes from studios to three bedroom units.
Tyler Kelaher asked what the water availability was. S. Ouimet advised that the Village has indicated there would be Village water available for phase one, which includes the condominiums and four single family homes and water for the remaining single family homes would be available if the Village is able to secure additional water sources for its system.
- Kelaher asked if the fire company representatives could meet with the engineers to review the proposed road layout to assure there would be sufficient room for firetruck access and turnaround. S. Ouimet said they would be happy to meet with fire department representatives.
- Prince inquired as to what amenities would be available on site. S. Ouimet said there will be a clubhouse but no pool or ball courts. J. Prince asked what is the estimated time frame for SWPPP approval by NYCDEP. S. Ouimet said he anticipated that would happen within six months from now.
- Segal asked who the target market would be. S. Ouimet said he presumed it would be a mix of second homeowners and primary home owners.
- Clark asked if any of the project is in the flood plain. S. Ouimet said the condos and single family homes are not in the flood plain, although a short portion of the entrance road adjacent to route 23A is in the flood plain.
There being no further comments from the public, Chairman Slutzky closed the Public Hearing at 7:55 PM.
Public Hearing-Creekside Retreat House-7961 Main Street-Site Plan:
Chairman Slutzky opened the Public Hearing at 8:00 PM. H. Bigando presented proof of mailing and receipts of delivery of the Notice of Public Hearing that were sent to all the Board designated abutters.
She presented the proposed building site plan and described the building and the required area variances that were previously approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals. She advised the proposed building will be completely out of the Schoharie Creek flood way and will have a gap distance of about four and a half feet from the east side of the library building.
Chairman Slutzky asked for comments, questions or concerns from the Public in attendance.
- Clark asked if there was any designated handicap parking. H. Bigando advised the handicap access ramp had to be located at the east side of the building as there was not sufficient room on the lot to place it at the front of the building and that left no room for designated handicap parking on the east side of the building. JC Alten explained that the driveway on the east side of the building would be used for handicap drop off adjacent to the ramp. He indicated the Foundation would make any other necessary accommodations to facilitate handicap access.
There being no additional comments from the public, Chairman Slutzky advised he would keep the Public Hearing open until 8:30 PM and proceed with the start of the regular Planning Board meeting.
The Chairman subsequently closed the Public Hearing at 8:35 PM.
Call to Order: Chairman Slutzky opened the regular meeting of the Planning Board at 8:05 PM.
Review and Approval of the Minutes of December 18, 2025:
After review, C. Giangrande made a MOTION to approve the minutes of 12/18/25 as presented.
- Kaplan seconded the MOTION, which was carried by all.
Privilege of the Floor:
Architect Rich Rock requested privilege of the floor to discuss a concept plan for 7742 Main Street (the former Basagic Funeral Home) and introduced the new property owner, Aggie Cheng. R. Rock with A. Cheng reviewed a concept plan that included the demolition of the existing buildings on the site and construction of a building where the funeral parlor is located that would have a restaurant on the ground floor and six rentable hotel units on the second floor. A. Cheng said there would also be three separate rentable small homes at the rear of the one acre lot and an event space in the middle of the lot. After discussion, the Board agreed the proposed project located in the Village Business District would fall under the Hotel/Motel-Less Than 10 Units use category, which requires a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet. R. Rock said they would like to have the project on the agenda for the February 26 Planning Board agenda.
NEW BUSINESS: none
OLD BUSINESS:
7776 Main Street-Site Plan-Les Jardine de Hunter-Major residential Subdivision
- Ouimet advised there were no changes to the site plan since the December 18, 2025 Planning Board meeting.
Chairman Slutzky advised that all question and concerns that had been raised at the Public Hearing for the Site Plan relative to this project were addressed at the Public Hearing.
- Creekside Retreat House-7961 Main Street-Site Plan Review
- Bigando reviewed and described the project site plan. Chairman Slutzky advised that all questions and concerns raised by the public were addressed at the Public Hearing held earlier for this project. He reiterated that the Zoning Board of Appeals had granted the area variances that the applicant requested for this project at the ZBA meeting held earlier in the evening.
After discussion, E. Kaplan made a MOTION to approve the project Site Plan with the conditions as set forth by Greene County Planning in their response of November 21, 2025 to the Planning Board’s 239-m Referral Form for this project. Chairman Slutzky seconded the MOTION, which was carried by all.
Chairman Slutzky signed the signature blocks of four Site Plan sets for the project, which were previously signed by applicant, Peter Finn.
- New Village of Hunter Firehouse-Site Plan Review-7960 Main Street
- Fraine advised there were no changes to the project site plan since the December 18, 2025 Planning Board meeting. Chairman Slutzky said all the comments and questions raised by the public in the Public Hearing had been answered at the Hearing.
After discussion, Chairman Slutzky made a MOTION that the Planning Board agreed with all the Staff Recommendations made by the Greene County Planning Board in their response of January 23, 2026 to the Planning Board’s 239-m Referral Form for this project. C. Giangrande seconded the MOTION, which was carried by all.
After further discussion, E. Kaplan made a MOTION to approve the Site Plan for the firehouse project with the conditions as per the Official County Planning Board Decision—ReferraL ID: 26-02 in their January 23, 2026 response to the Planning Board’s 239-m Referral Form for this project. C. Giangrande seconded the MOTION, which was carried by all.
Chairman’s Report: tabled until February 26 Planning Board meeting.
Adjournment:
Chairman Slutzky made MOTION to adjourn at 9:15 PM. C. Giangrande seconded the MOTION, which was carried by all.
Transcribed by: P. Slutzky