Board approves purchase of water shares and City Star Brewing façade request

Trustees voted Tuesday to approve two pulled consent items: a contract to acquire four water shares and a façade improvement for City Star Brewing.

The water-department representative answered trustees’ questions about the shares, saying each seller is providing two shares — four shares total — and that the firm yield per share is about 4.5 acre-feet. "For all four shares, that's about 18 acre-feet or 45 homes," the staff member said, calling that a conservative estimate.

Trustees also discussed the City Star Brewing façade alteration after concerns that the applicant had started work without town-board approval. Staff explained the applicant misinterpreted a Historic Preservation Advisory Committee recommendation as final approval, halted the work immediately when informed and has not obtained building permits. "They recognized they had done so in error, let me know right away that they had stopped," a staff presenter said. The board moved and approved the façade alteration request after staff confirmed the applicant paused construction and will await formal approval.

Outcome: Roll-call votes approved both the water-share purchase and the façade alteration. Staff said the water shares will be used for future water dedication and that the façade matter involved coordination with HPAC and building-permit processes. No additional conditions were attached in the motions.

Next steps: Staff will finalize contract paperwork for the water shares and ensure the applicant for the façade request obtains the required permits and follows any HPAC recommendations.