In the past year, the Village Board reversed a decision on parking rates and postponed the date that new rates would take effect. In its most recent about-face, the Nyack board voted last week to change the structure of parking penalties, just three months after new penalties were set.

Some business owners were upset in April, when the Nyack Village Board decided to raise the penalties for parking tickets from $12 to $25, or $15 if a person paid within two days. The new rate structure was supposed to take effect Sept. 1.

Though their pleas didn’t work back then, merchants were successful last week is getting the board to change its decision on penalties. The board voted 3-1 to lengthen the time in which drivers could still pay just $15. Richard Kavesh voted no, and Denise Hogan was absent.

Now, drivers can pay $15 up until the day of their court appearance. After that, they must pay $25. A court appearance can be scheduled anywhere from two weeks to five weeks from the day the ticket was issued, depending on how busy the courts may be.

Kavesh filed to run on the Democratic and Working Families party lines, while Louise filed on the Democratic line only.

No surprise here: No GOP candidates have filed to challenge the incumbents. Nyack, which is known as a liberal-leaning village, has a Democratic mayor and all-Democratic board.

Still, candidates have until the end of the work today to file. So we’ll check back in to see if there are any anomalies.

Business owners say the county should have taken the work a step further by taking down the plethora of parking and road signs. They also hope to see some resolution soon to the lawsuit the local fire association filed against the county. Work in front of the firehouse has been stopped since December and there’s a big construction hole there.

For more on this story, read: Tappan improvements almost done, but lawsuit goes on.

Have you seen the improvements. What do you think?

Police Chief Kevin Nulty said he had been unable to hire a police officer who speaks the language because of town policy, which dictates that police officers must live in Orangetown at the time they’re hired. There were no Spanish speakers on the town list, Nutly said. On Monday, the Town Board passed a resolution allowing the hiring of an officer from the county’s Spanish-speaking list, which includes candidates from other towns.

For more on this story, read Orangetown hires first Spanish-speaking police officer.

Gordon said exterior work on the department’s new firehouse was finished, but the building still needed still plumbing and electrical work and phone lines.

Voters approved $5.2 million bond in a 2006 referendum to build the 15,000-square-foot facility, which will have more office, garage and training space. The red-brick firehouse is on the corner of Orangeburg Road and Dutch Hill Road.

The meeting takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Tappan firehouse at 123 Washington Street.

For more information on the project, read Plan for Tappan power station riles residents.

The Town Board will vote at its meeting tonight to authorize the Zoning Board and the Planning Board — which is being sued by a citizen’s group over the same project — to hire outside lawyers to fight the lawsuits. The resolutions call for two different firms to represent each board “whose fees shall be paid by the Town upon receipt, review and approval of bills submitted to them.”

Normally, the zoning and planning boards would be defended by in-house lawyers. Obviously, that can’t happen because of the conflict of interest.

The battle is over developer Ed Lane’s proposal for Hillside Commercial Park, which Pearl River residents are trying to stop from being built.

The Town Board meeting takes place tonight at Town Hall at 7:30 p.m.

The catch  is they want about a quarter of that funding to come from taxpayers, via support from state and local government. Riverspace, a not-for-profit organization, also wants to negotiate a lower tax rate by entering into tax agreements with municipalities.

Nyack Mayor John Shields said he would support an agreement letting Riverspace pay taxes equal to what is currently owed on the four-acre site, even after new real estate is developed.  He believes the benefits – revitalizing downtown and supporting the arts – would outweigh the  cost.

Here’s more details on Riverspace’s plans, which were discussed at a meeting last night: Riverspace reveals plans for Nyack arts and retail complex.

Terri Kayden, who handled public relations for the first “Healing the Moment” rally on April 27, said the event would not be held that day and has not been rescheduled. “As far as I know, it’s just on hold,” Kayden said.

Ackerman had pledged to hold the rally on June 7 at Memorial Park in Nyack, even though village officials said she could not use the park because two other events were being held there that day.

The first “Healing the Moment” at Memorial Park sparked controversy because Ackerman did not seek permission from the village before organizing and advertising for the event. Also, some organizations were listed as sponsors without their permission.

The rally was organized in response to a street brawl April 16 that involved 40 to 50 young people, some of whom had bats, hammers and knives. Ackerman, an ordained Episcopal priest and peace-and-justice activist, said at the time that Nyack Mayor Shields had verbally agreed to let her use the park.

The board called a special meeting to talk about Sokol, then broke into a closed executive session to talk to a lawyer. When that consult ended, they emerged with this verdict: the board had no power to remove Sokol from office, even if it wanted to.

And that’s pretty much all they said. There was no criticism, no rebuke, no public service message about drinking and driving. Board members seemed afraid to say anything that hadn’t been pre-approved by their lawyer.

Right now, Sokol is poised to take office July 1. Some parents have urged him to resign, but as of yesterday, he was staying put.

Here’s a story that ran today: School board won’t remove member-elect charged with DWI.

In the movie, she plays famous chef Julia Child, according to IMDB.com. The movie also stars Amy Adams, who plays a woman who attempts to cook all 524 recipes in Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and famously blogs about it.

Filming took place today at two locations in South Nyack. Crews shot at a private home on Piermont Avenue and another home on South Broadway. During filming, police detoured traffic around the block from where filming took place. Police said it looked like crews were filming scenes from the 1950s today because classic cars were brought on site.

Filming started at 8 a.m. and will continue until about 7 p.m. today. No additional filming is scheduled after today for the movie.

O’Neill was one of many residents who protested when O&R cut down trees in her backyard as part of a tree removal program meant to prevent power outages. Residents complained that more trees were cut that necessary and that O&R’s hired crews left a mess of stumps and debris behind.

O&R reached out to O’Neill after hearing her concerns and agreed to replace the lost trees with what they call compatible species, which are basically trees that won’t grow too high. An O&R arborist will visit O’Neill today and walk though the backyard to go over the plans for replanting.

“Fair is fair,” O’Neill said yesterday. “They’re trying to do the right thing.”

“If the town’s going to court, then go to court. If they want to waste the taxpayer’s money, then waste it,” Lane’s lawyer, Donald Brenner, said yesterday.

Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner wants Lane to reappear before the Zoning Board of Appeals because of a mistake the board made when it approved a waiver for the project. The board OK’d the waiver before the Planning Board made an environmental impact declaration. Since it was the board’s mistake, Brenner said his client shouldn’t be penalized.

Kleiner and the Town Board are considering suing Lane and the Zoning Board over the matter.

The mistake would have gone completely unnoticed, or ignored, except that a group of homeowners got wind of the project just over a month ago and were not happy. They put together a coalition to fight the project and caught the ear of Kleiner, who had the town’s attorney go over the project with a fine-toothed comb.

Here’s two stories on the project:

Pearl River residents rally to fight commercial park

Orangetown supervisor considers suing town’s own board

Now, the group has plans for a fundraiser on May 21.  It will be held at The Saloon in Pearl River. Proceeds will go to support RUSH’s efforts to prevent a warehouse and two self-storage buildings from being built on a wooded area along Route 304.

Their web site is www.rushpearlriver.com.

Rockland County is a large, diverse community that must strive to meet the needs of its diverse constituents. The recent fight on Franklin Street is not an isolated incident but rather a symptom of larger problems. Gangs and other forms of youth unrest are not restricted to Nyack, Spring Valley or Haverstraw, but exist throughout the county in all schools and in all of the neighborhoods. The solution, then, must include all of us in Rockland — the county, towns and villages.

Certainly anyone who is part of a street fight, endangering the lives and well-being of citizens, must take responsibility for it. This may include criminal charges and the consequences of these charges.

That said, we understand that the issue of gangs and why people join them has much deeper causes. Gang membership is indicative of disenfranchisement, alienation and “not knowing a better thing to do.”

To that end, we met with local community leaders who recommended the following:

1. An athletic/community center so that youth in the community would have a safe place to “hang out” and engage in positive activities.

2. A stronger police presence.

3. More jobs.

All these proposals are important in addressing the issue of gangs. The Village of Nyack does not have the resources to do any of this alone. As I said, this is a county-wide issue and should include county-wide cooperation.

This is a beginning. We as a community need to work together to expand these ideas by supporting positive programs like Head Start, the Youth Bureau and the Nyack Center, by helping families in need, and by sharing responsibility for the future of our youth and our village.

For tonight, however, we’ll focus on the local and immediate.

For a quarter page in the birthday “playbill” and one reserved seat, you gotta fork up $250. It’s $500 for a half page and two seats, and $1,000 for a full page and two seats.

Want the cream of the crop – a full page and four seats? Gotta throw down $1,500.

Kleiner promises a night of politically irreverent song, speech and comedy at the shindig, which will happen at Riverspace Arts in Nyack.

The money goes to the supervisor’s fundraising committee, Friends of Thom Kleiner. Gee, why would a seven-term supervisor who was easily re-relected in November need so much money in the bank?

The group also has scheduled several meetings in the community room of the Pearl River Library. The next meeting is tomorrow at 7 pm.

The Pearl River homeowners oppose the commercial park — which would include a warehouse and two storage buildings on 10 acres — because of potential problems with flooding and noise and air pollution.

Here is a recent story about the situation: Pearl River residents rally to fight commercial park

The meeting was supposed to be held Monday, but was changed to accommodate the schedules of public officials. Nyack Mayor John Shields, the Nyack Village Board of Trustees, Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner, and Orangetown Police Chief Nulty among others will answer questions and hear comments and solutions from the public.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Nyack Center, 58 Depew Ave. For more information call Nyack Village Hall at (845) 358-0229 or the Nyack Center at (845) 358-2600.

This community forum comes about two weeks after Nyack leaders held a closed meeting about the fighting. Some members of the public wanted to attend, but were shut out. So was the press.

Here are a few stories about the melee:

In wake of gang fights, Nyack leaders ask how to help youth

Gang fights quelled by police

Police will show ‘colors’ as Nyack confronts gang issues

It’s been that kind of issue. The tree cutting program is one of those hot-button topics that comes along once in a while and really rivets a community and gets people to organize, write letters and call the newspaper. I’ve been getting calls from residents for the past several weeks.

Case in point: Last night 100 people filled a room at Orangetown Town Hall trying to get their voices heard at a community forum about the tree cutting. The crowd was so big it spilled out into the hall. Here is the related story.

O&R says it is following a 2005 state mandate requiring them to remove trees that could threaten transmission lines and lead to power outages. O&R said in the release about the arbor award that it makes “a concerted effort to meet Tree Line USA requirements by training its workers in quality tree-care practices and by helping its customers to plant appropriate trees near utility lines. That approach not only helps to provide beautiful trees for the future, but also long-term operational savings for the company.”

The 64-old mayor, whose hobbies include cooking, working out and resolving parking conflicts, was featured in a photo in a recent singles-themed issue of New York magazine. In the photo, Shields is standing at a phone booth and an arm is extended over his head, holding a small white board that gives his email with the text “dinner & conversation.”

In 2004, Shields and his partner Bob Streams famously sued the state and the Orangetown Town Clerk for the right to get married. Shields also led a group of same-sex couples dubbed “The Nyack 10” in that lawsuit, which they lost.

Asked about the photo, Shields replied: “Let me put it to you this way. I’m single.”

The community forum takes place Monday, April 28, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Orangetown Town Hall, 26 Orangeburg Road.

Here’s who is coming from the PSC: Howard Tarler, Chief of Electric/Gas Transmission; James Austin, Chief of Environmental Certification; and David Morrell, from the Environmental Compliance unit. Officials from Orange and Rockland Utilities will also be on-hand to answer questions. The public is invited to attend.

This letter comes after at least one worker complained to the state that they weren’t paid prevailing wage by the subcontractor on the town ballfields project. But OMM and SOLL are paying for and contracting the work on the concession stands on their own.

What does that mean for the leagues? I’m looking into it.

Clarkstown and the Rockland County Legislature are expected to pass similar measures tonight.

Here is the full resolution passed by the Orangetown board:

RESOLUTION NO. 246 RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF ORANGETOWN, RELATING TO ORANGE & ROCKLAND UTILITIES’ IMPLEMENTATION OF THE N.Y.S. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION’S ‘ENHANCED TRANSMISSION RIGHT-OF-WAY MANAGEMENT PRACTICE’ RULES

Councilman Troy offered the following resolution, which was seconded by Councilwoman Low-Hogan and was unanimously adopted:

WHEREAS, the Town Board has received numerous complaints from property owners on whose property, or adjacent to whose property, Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc. (‘Orange & Rockland ’) has an easement for the erection and maintenance of high voltage towers and wires, concerning the cutting / removal of trees thereon by Orange & Rockland and/or by a contractor hired by Orange & Rockland for that purpose; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board is aware of complaints made to the other Towns and Villages within and throughout Rockland County where similar such work has been, or is being, performed; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board has had the opportunity to view the properties within the Town thus far affected by Orange & Rockland’s recent activities; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board is aware that Orange & Rockland claims that its tree clearing activities are mandated by the rules recently adopted by the N.Y.S. Public Service Commission (‘PSC’), ‘Requiring Enhanced Transmission Right-of-Way Management Practices By Electric Utilities,’ issued and effective June 20, 2005; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board is of the view that, given the size and location of many of the trees being removed, they do not now, nor, in the future, are they likely to reach or otherwise interfere with the Orange & Rockland’s transmission assets; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board believes that either or both (1) the PSC’s rules, to the extent they actually mandate the ‘scorched earth’ practice being employed by Orange & Rockland, far exceed those steps reasonably required to protect Orange & Rockland’s wires and other structures, and the legitimate public interest in maintaining an uninterrupted flow of power to, and throughout, the region; or (2) Orange & Rockland’s interpretation of the management practices actually mandated by the PSC misconstrues the tree clearing practices authorized and required by the latter’s rules; and

WHEREAS, the Town Board believes that the manner in which the PSC’s rules have been, and are being, implemented in Rockland’s densely populated suburban communities violates the real property rights of the immediately affected property owners, and otherwise adversely affects the legitimate land use interests of the Town, resulting in unsightly visual impacts, unnecessary and uncontrolled erosion, and the virtual decimation of carefully planned and considered buffers,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Orangetown calls upon the N.Y.S. Public Service Commission to direct Orange & Rockland Utilities to immediately cease its enhanced right-of-way management practices, as currently being implemented, and to refrain from the further removal of any trees within its high voltage power transmission rights-of-way, other than those that are determined to be diseased and dying, or which otherwise would actually come into physical contact with any towers, wires or other structures were they to fall, until such time as there has been a full, open public examination by the PSC, within the communities affected, as to the conditions that exist, and the management steps required to be taken, to ensure the reliable transmission of power throughout the state and region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Orange & Rockland Utilities should further be directed to implement a restitution plan, a proper plan of notification of future work, a management plan that requires it to properly remove and dispose of all debris generated by its clearing and/or cutting activities, including but not limited to the remnants of any tree cut or cleared from its easements or other right-of-ways, as well as to develop a replanting plan, replacing any tree removed as undesirable with a more desirable and compatible species. Such replanting plan should apply both going forward and, as well, to those areas already affected by Orange & Rockland’s clearing activities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this Resolution, along with a tape of the proceedings before this Board, to the Chairman of the N.Y.S. Public Service Commission, the Chairman of the Board of Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Orange & Rockland Utilities, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (with particular reference made to erosion control), State Senator Thomas Morahan and State Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee.