Woodbury beaver trouble may require lethal response

A beaver is allegedly wreaking havoc on a local reservoir, prompting the town of Woodbury to take action to ensure the water is protected.

At the May 2 Woodbury Town Board meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Joseph Gianzero explained that the beaver can cause a lot of damage, including contaminating the water with bacteria and eating the vegetation that prevents erosion along the reservoir.

“[Beavers] are very territorial,” said Gianzero. “There’s been cases where beavers are rabid, and they attack people in the lakes.” He added that beavers are considered a nuisance animal, and although he didn’t explicitly say so, Gianzero implied that removal of the animal would be permanent in nature.

Councilwoman Sandra Capriglione affirmed, noting the amount of damage done across the state “found that trapping and relocating them doesn’t work.”

Gianzero shared that the town has a licensed wildlife trapper who will get to work removing the beaver once everything is approved from the Department of Environmental Conservation.

According to the state DEC website, beaver removal typically occurs during designated trapping season when the state works with local trappers who then use the various parts of the beaver, notably the fur, for commerce. Outside of this season, a permit must be maintained for removal, which is what is happening in Woodbury.

Gianzero also expressed his support for the town’s approval of the Park and Recreation’s appointment of a new full-time groundskeeper, William Geiler.

“Bill comes with a ton of talent,” said Gianzero, highlighting Geiler’s expertise in welding, heavy machine operating, and snow removal. “He’s going to be a great acquisition to the team, and I think we’re going to have many years of his knowledge helping us through everything.”

Legal consultants

The board also confirmed the appointment of the law firm Milber, Makris, Plousadis and Seiden to serve as legal consultant to the town.

Supervisor Kathryn Luciani thanked the three law firms that responded to the town’s requests for proposals, noting the quality of the applicants.

“All firms were extremely prepared,” said Luciani. “The process of selecting a new legal counsel for the town of Woodbury was challenging based on the caliber of experience levels presented to the board.”

Ahead of the board’s confirmation of the law firm, Highland Mills resident Maria Hunter addressed the matter during the meeting’s public comment period. Hunter asked how many firms were interviewed and was told there were three. She also questioned whether the firm would be compensated at the current hourly rate or lower so that residents would not have to incur the cost for this.

Tax exemption denial

In other legal matters, the town of Woodbury has denied the village of Kiryas Joel’s request for a tax exemption on properties they own that reside within the town.

Town Clerk Desiree Potvin explained that over the last few years, the town of Woodbury received letters from lawyers representing the village of Kiryas Joel requesting a tax exemption on their pipeline and other properties they own within Woodbury. Potvin noted that since these entities do not serve the residents of Woodbury, the board has historically denied the requests.

Potvin read a resolution which detailed how on or around the date of February 13, the town received written requests from the village of Kiryas Joel to have certain properties owned by the village but located within the town of Woodbury become exempt from taxation. The resolution further stated that, in response to litigation pursued by Kiryas Joel against the town of Woodbury, the Orange County Supreme Court determined town of Woodbury was within its rights to deny the exemption.