KINDERHOOK-Marcel St. Onge and Advantage Builders, Inc. have been charged with failure to comply with the Town Code and the Building Code, resulting in groundwater intrusion into the basements of several houses in Quail Run Estates as well as surface water runoff onto several house lots in Quail Run and in the adjacent Bonnie Lea subdivision.

       Marc Gerstman, attorney for the Town of Kinderhook, filed a complaint with these charges in State Supreme Court in Columbia County Tuesday, February 21.

       Town Supervisor Doug McGivney says Mr. St. Onge has left the town with no choice. "The failure of Marcel St. Onge and Advantage Builders to comply with [a September 28, 2005 agreement with the town] or otherwise correct the situation at Quail Run has left the Town no other recourse than to proceed with legal action," said Mr. McGivney.

       David Rowley of the Albany law firm of Cooper, Irving and Savage represents Mr. St. Onge. "I just had a chance to review the town lawsuit," Mr. Rowley said Thursday afternoon. "All I can say at this point is that it lacks merit, it's politically motivated, and it will be vigorously defended."

       The town's complaint says Mr. St. Onge was served with a violation order by the town Code Enforcement Officer on April 5, 2005. The September 28 agreement referred to by Mr. McGivney sought to correct violations by Advantage Builders, Inc. without the necessity for litigation.

       The April violation order rescinded any outstanding building permits, and it required Mr. St. Onge to address violations to the Town Code or explain to the Planning Board how he would address the violations before any new building permits or certificates of occupancy could be issued.

       The order also stated that Mr. St. Onge had violated four sections of the Building Code. First, it cites his "failure to divert surface drainage to a storm sewer conveyance or other approved point of collection so as not to create a hazard." A second part addressed his "failure to achieve the required minimum separation of the top of the exterior foundation above the elevation o

       Mr. St. Onge appealed the violation order to the Town of Kinderhook Zoning Board of Appeals later in April, but the ZBA dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the zoning board lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Mr. St. Onge did not contest the ZBA action.

       On September 28, Mr. St. Onge agreed to investigate and report to the Town Engineer on historic high groundwater levels, to prepare and submit for approval engineering recommendations to prevent groundwater intrusion into existing and future homes in Quail Run Estates, and to provide financial security in the form of a performance bond in the amount of $38,000 within 15 days of the agreement.
       The complaint filed in Supreme Court this week states that Mr. St. Onge has failed to meet any of the provisions of the September 28 agreement.

       The complaint also charges that Mr. St. Onge violated the Town Code by failing to accurately represent the effect Quail Run Estates would have on downstream drainage, by failing to disclose to the Planning Board and the Code Enforcement Officer that the land for Quail Run was subject to flooding, which renders parts of the subdivision uninhabitable, and by failing to ensure that drainage control features effectively controlled groundwater and surface water runoff within the subdivision.

       Mr. St. Onge is also alleged to have knowingly misrepresented the depth to groundwater in Quail Run Estates in the Environmental Assessment Form, which he stated as 30 feet below the surface. At least one basement in the subdivision is partially submerged in groundwater, according to the homeowners, who have often used two and three pumps simultaneously to keep their basement dry.

       To contact reporter Richard Roth, e-mail rroth@indenews.com.©The Independent 2006

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