Community Corner
Lake Valhalla Club Discussion Continues at Zoning Board
Wednesday night's meeting was the sixth time the club has appeared before the zoning board.
A hearing regarding expanded parking at the began at approximately 9:20 p.m., and after hours of questions from members of the zoning board, well past midnight members of the public were still questioning the club's board of governors chair Thomas Fleishell.
Many questions remained unanswered: Fleishell was often being asked questions about day-to-day processes at the club, and as a member of the board of governors, he said he is not as involved in the every day operations as some of the staff and management of the club.
The issues centered on parking at the club and an increase in club usage, specifically with regard to special events like weddings, of which it was estimated there are approximately 50 per year.
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The increased demand for parking, according to Fleishell, came from improvements made to the kitchen in 2007, when the kitchen was renovated both physically and new staff was hired.
With a new chef and a new kitchen, Fleishell said, members of the club started coming out to dine more often.
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But members of the board were concerned with increasing activity at the club.
"If we gave you all this extra parking…what's to stop you from increasing the activity?" asked board member John Petrozzino.
"When you have an outside function you have the potential of guests not enjoying their club as much…banquet people might say it interferes with their use of the club," said Fleishell. "I testified, we're zealous that we don't book the two together."
Other members of the board had other concerns: Deane Driscoll asked how many of the members of the club live in Montville.
"Are we caring about our own here, before we worry about others," said Driscoll. "Are we taking care of our own?"
Earlier in the meeting Fleishell had testified that he estimates 90 percent of members of the club are residents of Montville, but there was some confusion over what types of membership counted, as the club also has auxiliary, or "social" memberships, for people who are booking banquets and other events, but only if the banquets reach a certain level of cost.
The first hearing was on Nov. 9, 2010, and additional hearings were held on Dec. 1, March 2, April 6, May 4, and Wednesday night. A planner was scheduled to testify after Fleishell, but the testimony never made it past Fleishell.
Much of the time was spent clarifying questions and answers: At the end of the hearing before the board, members of the board were asked to submit questions to be answered in writing before the next meeting, as many of them remained unanswered, or not answered as specifically as some members of the board wanted.
The matter will be continue to be discussed at the Thursday, June 16 zoning board meeting.
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