LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — The Cochecton Town Board turned for advice to town attorney Karen Mannino numerous times at its July 13 meeting.

First, it was about the state of the lake. Supervisor Gary Maas said, “Lake Huntington is a gem of the town, but all lakefront property, with the exception of the small state access site, is privately owned.” And that, according to Mannino, is what may prevent the town from playing a more active role in treating the lake’s current ecological challenges.

“A lot of people have asked me what’s being done about the discoloration,” continued Maas. “Two new water samples were sent to the DEC for analysis, and a separate study is checking mercury levels in the lake’s walleye, perch and bass. Inlet waters are also being monitored; if they are found to be the source of the problem, the town can address it.”

But if the problem is found to be caused by runoff of nutrients from lakefront properties, Mannino warns that use of taxpayer funds to alleviate it could be deemed an illegal gift. In anticipation of that finding, lakefront property owners are in the process of forming a homeowners association to protect and preserve their lake.

Maas said the town could be involved with that organization only to the extent of providing names and addresses of lakefront property owners. It would not otherwise intervene or participate in it, and no advertisements or notices by that organization would go out under town stationery or imprimatur.

The next order of business in which Mannino lent her opinion was a request by code enforcement officer Gregg Semenetz to declare an emergency health hazard on a junkyard property at the intersection of Route 52 and Shortcut Road. Maas said he is routinely told by nearby residents that something has to be done about that property. He also said that although both he and Semenetz have been working with the property owner toward positive change for more than two years, conditions have yet to improve.

In recent months, the owner parked a tractor-trailer body on the property, ostensibly to remove accumulated junk. But now it, too, seems to have found a permanent home. Mannino agreed it’s time for a notice to be issued. Per conditions of the notice, if junk is not removed by the property owner within seven days from date of notice, the town is empowered to take all steps necessary for the protection of public health.

Mannino then moved on to revisions of a draft solar farm ordinance. The most substantive changes were in the provision pertaining to bankruptcy and/or abandonment. In the event the solar company goes bankrupt or otherwise abandons the site, an escrow account will protect the town from site cleanup costs. The draft required funding of the escrow account via surety bond.

But neither Mannino nor planning board chair Earl Bertsch was confident that a surety bond was the best guarantee of funding, Bertsch noting that surety bonds are usually used in conjunction with short-term projects and that calling in a sizeable bond can bankrupt the company that issued it. Mannino added that cleanup costs could escalate dramatically over the 20-year term of the bond, and suggested the board revisit the terms of the escrow account.

Still recovering from seasickness experienced on its high-seas whale-watching expedition, the Cochecton Youth Commission presented three of its young adults, Trista Rodriguez, Skylar Blaine and Alex Berse, with certificates of appreciation for exemplary mentoring of younger members.