Pine Plains Board discusses new appointments and short-term rentals

PINE PLAINS — The annual reorganization meeting of Pine Plains was held Tuesday, Jan. 2, with Jeanine Sisco and Kevin Walsh attending their first meeting as councilmembers.

The meeting began with the nomination for clerk of the Town Board. Town Clerk Madelin Dafoe was nominated and voted in at 5-0 for that post. Town Supervisor Brian Walsh was nominated and voted as second chair. Both Dafoe and Walsh ran unopposed for their seats in the November election.

After an executive session to discuss salaries, the meeting was once more opened to the public, of which there were seven members, and the 2024 salaries were adopted and approved.

The Order of Succession was adopted as follows: Mathew Zick, Robert Ambrose, Kevin Walsh and Jeanine Sisco.

At the first regular town meeting on Thursday, Jan. 18, Zick asked the public not to use the ice skating area unless the gates are open, lights on and the area declared open for skating. Use of the rink before it is ready, he said, would leave indentations on the surface. He also reminded the public to get cars off the streets when it snows to allow for plowing.

The animal control department reported that the new kennel is about to be inspected by the state. Several nearby municipalities have showed interest in contracting for use, leading the Town to hope that the original 10-year payment period may be shortened.

The board brought up for discussion the property at 41 Hoffman Road, where an explosion took place Oct. 14, 2021, killing Pine Plains Fire chaplain Lawrence Pariseau, 61, and injuring his girlfriend Kim Dunn, leaving little more than rubble.

A municipal search has been requested on the property in an effort to find the property’s legal owner. The municipal search will determine if there are any liens against the property, the current tax situation and other pertinent information.

Speculation that this property might be coming up for sale encouraged a short discussion about the need for local laws governing short-term rentals (STRs). One person mentioned that in Woodstock there are signs around the town “thanking” tourists for destroying the town’s long-term rental and housing market. A committee may be formed to look at what Rhinebeck has done in the area of creating local laws concerning STRs.