The Montgomery Town Board approved an agritourism chapel project, authorized the transfer of funds received through a community benefit agreement with Medline and approved the purchase of vehicles for the Parks and Recreation Department during its Sept. 16 meeting.

The board approved a proposal from John and Marlene Wood, owners of Carson Farm at 37 Kaisertown Road, to construct a 1,500-square-foot farm assembly building and parking lot that would be used as a chapel for ceremonies.

Town Attorney Will Frank said the facility would be used for events such as weddings and christenings, but would not host parties or receptions.

“This project is for the old Carson Farm on 37 Kaisertown Road,” Frank said. “The applicant came in with a proposed site plan to build a farm assembly building to act as chapel, just to have ceremonies. There’s not going to be any parties or receptions, it’s just going to be a building that can be rented out.”

The chapel would be limited to 52 events per year, with a maximum parking capacity of 20 vehicles and a maximum occupancy of 75 people.

The proposed hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Sundays during holidays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Under the town’s agritourism law, revenue generated by an agritourism use cannot exceed a specified percentage of a farm’s overall gross revenue. If the chapel exceeds that threshold, the Town Board can suspend operations or revoke its approval.

Before approving the project, the board amended the resolution to require the applicant to provide annual revenue information to the town.

The board also authorized the transfer of funds received from Medline through a community benefit agreement into town accounts.

According to Town Comptroller Katie McKnight, Medline agreed several years ago to provide $50,000 for the Colden Ruins and other historic sites, $50,000 for the Colored Burial Ground on Route 416 and $5,000 annually for maintenance of the cemetery.

The money had remained in an escrow account.

“Back in 20-whatever it was, we had a community benefit agreement with Medline,” McKnight said. “They gave us $50,000 for Colden Ruins and other historical sites, and then $50,000 for the Colored Cemetery. In addition, they’re paying us $5,000 a year toward maintenance for that cemetery as well.”

McKnight said the funds had been held in escrow since they were received.

Later in the meeting, the board approved the purchase of a Ventrac tractor and a side-by-side vehicle for the Parks and Recreation Department.

The tractor will primarily be used to maintain athletic fields at town parks.

Council members Mike Setteducato and Mark Hoyt questioned whether the Ventrac would be suitable for the department’s needs before the purchase was approved.

“Mark and I just have a few concerns about what the machine can do, what it can’t do, and what you want to use it for,” Setteducato said. “Just so we’re all clear on exactly what we’re doing.”

Hoyt questioned whether the tractor would be appropriate if the department eventually uses it to maintain areas affected by invasive species.

“If this thing is supposed to be to go out and maintain the land where the invasive species are, then I don’t know if this is the machine for that job,” Hoyt said.

Parks and Recreation Director Theron Adkins said the tractor would provide the department with a versatile piece of equipment for maintaining athletic fields and other park facilities.

“The tractor is a very versatile machine with the attachments to go with it,” Adkins said. “I’ve seen them in action, and I did a lot of research. A lot of municipalities have these and a lot of parks departments have these.”

Adkins said the town does not currently need a larger machine because the Highway Department has heavy equipment available for larger jobs.

“This is for us to do our maintenance,” he said. “And as the parks department evolves down the road, in four or five years, we can look at bigger machines, because maybe we’ll have the personnel to operate those machines. But right now, this tractor is the next step in the evolution of the parks department.”