Vote near on annexing property in village of Broadalbin

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jason Subik

The fate of a housing development project planned for the village of Broadalbin hinges on a Town Board vote scheduled for Thursday on whether to accept a request for land annexation.

The Town Board will consider whether to either accept or reject a request from Geoffrey Brooks, of Clifton Park-based Heritage Development Holdings, who petitioned the towns of Mayfield and Broadalbin to allow 107 acres of their land to be annexed into the village of Broadalbin. He wants the land in the village so the project can gain access to the village’s water and sewer services.

The annexation process is complex, especially in this case. The three entities held a joint public hearing on the annexation Dec. 13. State law gives them 90 days from the public hearing to approve the annexation. The town and village of Broadalbin favor the annexation but Mayfield is expected to be the holdout.

“They’ve been dragging their feet. They want this to go down,” Broadalbin Mayor Eugene Christopher said of the Mayfield Town Board.

If the annexation is approved, the land will actually remain within the taxing jurisdiction of the town of Mayfield but at the town’s village of Broadalbin rate. Town officials are fearful the higher property values created by the project within the village of Broadalbin will eventually give the village a greater share of the sales tax distributed between the towns and villages of Fulton County. The sales tax distribution relies on a formula based on total assessed value.

Mayfield Supervisor Richard Argotsinger said he doesn’t support the development project or the land annexation. He said he’s fearful the housing project, which could have between 150 and 167 homes, will increase traffic on Kettle Road and Bellen Road. He said he worries his town could get stuck with the cost of upgrading those roads.

“I just don’t think this will be to the benefit of the town of Mayfield,” he said. “The village has sent us a letter about possibly having some revenue sharing but that’s not our major concern. When we make our decision we can’t be naive to the fact that this won’t stay raw land forever. The developer has put out this proposal for a housing project, so that’s what we’re looking at this being.”

Argotsinger said Kettle and Bellen roads, projected to be exits for the development, are “roads of use,” meaning they are privately owned, and have little traffic now.

“Our highway superintendent has ballparked that it could cost $100,000 to upgrade these roads to the point where they could withstand this traffic,” he said.

Christopher said the road issue is “just an excuse.” He said the town of Mayfield won’t have to pay for upgrades to those roads.

“I think this is just an excuse. The law says that this annexation has to be good for the public, so if they turn it down they need to have some excuse for why it’s not good for the public,” he said. “This would be good for everyone. It would bring economic growth. This is the chance of a lifetime, but if one municipality votes it down, it’s down.”

Village officials estimate the housing project could add $37 million to the property tax rolls and could annually generate $291,600 in property taxes for Fulton County, $575,959 for the Broadalbin-Perth Central School District, $17,678 for the town of Broadalbin, $11,246 for Mayfield and $127,309 for the village.

Brooks said Mayfield is obligated by state law to only consider the implications of transferring the undeveloped land into the village and if the board decides to cite concerns about traffic from his proposed housing development it will leave the town’s decision open to a legal challenge from his company. He said if Mayfield rejects the annexation request he will either challenge their rejection in court, develop the land in a different way or reapply for annexation with another petition.

The Town Board is set to vote on the issue at 7 p.m. Thursday at town hall at 28 N. School St.