Supervisor Geoff Finn Presides over his First Board Meeting

BY LAUREN KATE ROSENBLUM

The Stony Point board meeting on Tuesday was the first meeting for the Supervisor Geoffrey Finn, as well as a newly board-appointed member who has replaced the now retired Louis Vicari’s spot. The board said they made this choice very carefully and did not look at what party the person belonged to, but rather who could best serve the town. “This is a person we are going to put our faith in moving Stony Point forward,” said Finn.

The new councilman is James McDonnell, a member of the zoning board for the past 25 years. Tom Wright was appointed to fill his now vacant chair. This appointment will last until the next election in November. The board is now looking to fill vacancies in both the planning and zoning boards.

Supervisor Finn, during the supervisor’s report, honored members of the local VFW Post 8997 who were in attendance at the meeting. He then gave a plaque of recognition and appreciation to one member, Joseph Humphrey, for two beautiful drawings, one of the local lighthouse and the other a recreation of the battle of Stony Point, that he donated to Stony Point. Humphrey hopes that these pieces will help keep Stony Point’s rich history alive.

A member of the senior living area that sits next to the proposed site of the Quick Chek 24-hour gas and convenience store, where Fiesta Margaritas currently is (which is for sale at the moment), spoke during the public input portion of the meeting, saying that he did not think this would be beneficial to seniors. His reasoning was that there was already a gas station across the street, and he believes there will be a greater popularity for electric cars in the future.

Finn reassured the man by saying nothing else has happened besides the presentation made by a Quick Chek representative at the December board meeting. “Can we stop the sale? No. Can we stop what goes in there? Yes,” said Supervisor Finn. This is because the gas component of the Quick Chek would require a special permit that the town could choose to pass or not to pass. Though Finn and other board members have described the issuing of the special permit as “routine” they have also said they will listen intently to the concerns of residents at any future public hearings on the matter.

Susan Filgueras also spoke during the public input portion of the meeting and raised an interesting question to the board. Filgueras wondered why the police, the golf course, and other taxpayer funded groups have to explain their use of funds and actions at every board meeting, while fire and ambulance do not. While Filgueras said that she believes that they should be held to a similar level of accountability for where Stony Point taxpayer money goes.

Also announced was the third annual blood drive in memory of Jimmy McNicholas, a Garnerville resident who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Pearl River back in May of 2009. The event will be sponsored by the Stony Point PBA and will be held Thursday February 12, 2012 from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the RHO Building in Stony Point.

The board also approved to wave the mass gathering permit fees for the annual Polar Plunge which will be held Super Bowl Sunday at noon by the Stony Point Seals. This year the group will raise money for Brandon Hernandez, a 5-year-old boy with a heart defect.

The next town board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the RHO building in Stony Point on January 24.