WHITE LAKE, NY — Bethel took the opportunity at the town board’s May 10 meeting to thank the employees within the municipal offices. 

Ruth Duncan, deputy clerk, received a certificate of appreciation. She has served as deputy clerk since May 2015 and previously served as the planning board recording secretary from 1999 to 2003; before that, she served as the zoning board recording secretary from 1989 to 2003. 

“She is there when I am on vacation, have a last-minute errand, have a sick grandchild. She does not hesitate to fill my shoes,” said Rita Sheehan, town clerk. Sheehan highlighted as well Duncan’s service as the deacon of the First Presbyterian Church and with that church’s food pantry. 

Later in the meeting, the town board thanked Bethel’s building department and its code enforcement officers, the people who enforce the town’s building and zoning regulations. 

“They handle planning and zoning issues, building permits, resident complaints, inspections, zoning and building questions, garbage complaints, noise complaints—they handle complaints that no one else wants to hear,” said town supervisor Daniel Sturm. 

“There’s some suggestions that we’re understaffed and we can’t handle additional responsibility and I just want to say I think that’s nonsense… They do a great job, [and] the suggestion [that] ‘there’s no code enforcement in Bethel,’ I think it’s nonsense and I think it’s untrue, and I’m tired of hearing it and I think they deserve better than that,” Sturm added. 

“They are always out there doing everything they can,” said board member Lillian Hendrickson. 

The board highlighted the building department’s response to a fire that destroyed multiple buildings at the Tolaas Yakov Bungalow Colony on Saturday. 

Several of the hot-button issues discussed in Bethel have involved the building department. 

Bethel’s proposed short-term rental law would make the department responsible for inspecting all short-term rentals; critics of the law have said that the department is already overwhelmed and should not be given the extra work. 

Separately, an application for a hotel on the site of the former White Lake Mansion House, first brought to the planning board earlier this year, inspired a petition calling for investment in the building department. For one, it recommended a full-time building inspector, to ensure timely completion of documentation. 

Building, solar delays

Sturm updated the board on the progress of two sustainability projects: a new town hall, and a community solar project on the town’s capped landfill. 

Bethel plans to demolish its current town hall down to the foundations and build a new one in its place. The new town hall will meet passive house standards—a set of building requirements that reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the building’s operations. It will use an all-electric system for heating and cooling, will draw electricity from solar sources and will have all LED lights. 

Bethel’s climate action plan, released in 2021, had the new town hall scheduled for construction in 2022. 

In the Wednesday, May 10 meeting, Sturm told the town board that the current attempt to find someone to build the town hall—the town’s second attempt—had ended without anyone bidding on the project. 

It’s not unusual in this environment, said Sturm, adding that the town could pursue other options, and that the board would be getting more information in the next few weeks. 

Sturm also updated the community on the town’s community solar project. 

The solar array is live and operating, he said. There were some initial issues with people’s subscriptions; the town selected a new subscription manager, Arcadia Power, in March after issues with former manager Source Power. As of now, the town is doing pretty well in terms of complaints, Sturm reported. Arcadia planned to host a virtual information session on Tuesday, May 16 at 12 noon; the recording will be available on Bethel’s website. 

It’s a good project for the town, and many residents are taking advantage, said Sturm. 

Junk on Foster Road

The Bethel town board took action on cleaning up two properties along Foster Road, following up on public hearings held in January. 

The properties have been a mess for years, said Sturm, and based on the evidence, they still need to be cleared. He asked the board for a motion to have the town clean the property, a motion which the board granted. 

It has to be done, said Hendrickson and added that somebody is going to get very, very hurt there.