by Dan McClelland
For the second time in as many years, Councilman John Gillis has encouraged his colleagues on the town board to consider a permitting procedure for short-term rental lodging businesses in Tupper Lake. His latest push came Tuesday at a special meeting of the town board.
Mr. Gillis had distributed information about the best and safest ways for communities to deal with this recent boom here in short-term rentals before that afternoon’s meeting.
“My goal is to do permitting, not regulation,” he began, explaining there was a considerable difference in the two.
“We all enjoy and have been recipients of the new bed tax money this year. It’s awesome and we welcome it. My goal is to be a good host community.”
He explained that means helping the county collect its correct share of the bed tax money that all lodging facilities in Franklin County must now charge their guests and remit to the county.
The councilman noted that in the past year or two since the bed tax program began, the county officials have had some difficulties collecting all the bed tax money due them from motels, hotels and short-term rental places here.
“So I think we should be working with them and if we have this new permit system in place,” then we know what lodging places there are here “to make sure everyone is playing fair!”
He said another reason to be “a good host community” is to insure the safety of all visitors who come here to stay in these short-term rental (STR) businesses.
That could be accomplished, he said, through yearly inspections of all STR premises to insure the presence of enough smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, properly functioning and clean gas grills and such. Another part of an annual inspection could be bedroom inspections to make sure all are safe for occupancy.
“The other big thing I think we need to get ahead of before any local residents turn against STRs in their neighborhoods is “developing local good neighbor policies- such as town-wide quiet hours, making sure there’s adequate parking,” highlighting places where on-street or on-road parking is not acceptable” and having owners of these lodging premises have their rules posted in very visible places in their rental units.
He said the other “big reason” he wants to see a permitting system adopted in the township is because we have some sewer districts like sewer district No. 17, 17-1, 17-2 and 23 where there are many grinder pumps in use. “Those grinder pumps cost the districts $100,000 per year in repairs. If we don’t know what places are short-term rentals and which are just regular homeowners, it could lead to big problems when visitors are unfamiliar with their limitations.
He remembered when Mary Fontana was acting supervisor, the town sent a letter to every resident in a sewer district with a grinder pump and informed them if certain harmful materials are flushed down the toilet, they are responsible for any damage to the pumps. “The district won’t be responsible to fix it; the damaging homeowners will,” is what he said those people were told in that town board letter.
Mr. Gillis said many of the new STRs here are in those waterfront districts which have many grinder pumps. “Because that’s where the big money is: the STRs on our waterfronts!”
“So if we have a permit system and know where all the STRs are, the town could monitor those places with grinder pumps to see which ones are getting damaged. That way the entire district wouldn’t have to pay to fix them, the responsible property owner would. He said it was not fair to all district residents with grinder pumps who do follow the safe flushing rules, when visitors in STRs don’t.
“The people in the districts who live here year round know what’s safe to put down a garbage disposal or flush down a toilet!”
“If grinder pumps are getting damaged by STR people using them, the town needs a way to check that!”
He said the town office has information of what can and cannot be flushed when a grinder pump is present, and that is limited pretty well to human waste and tissue.
Supervisor Ricky Dattola said his position on the topic hasn’t changed from a year ago. “Right now I don’t think we have a problem with STRs!”
“I think what you are asking this board to do is to create some more bureaucracy,” he told Mr. Gillis. He said a permitting system would require the engaging of an inspector to check all premises rented on a short-term basis. “We would have to hire someone, and start charging people a permit fee to cover the cost of that new employee.”
“Right now we don’t have a problem with it, and as far as good neighbors go, a good neighbor is a good neighbor,” wherever they live.
He said some of his neighbors at Haymeadow rent their homes on a short-term basis, “and they’re great neighbors!”
“For me, my position hasn’t changed. I don’t think we should be dealing with (regulating) short term rentals right now, because right now they are not a problem!”
He said the town board currently has many big problems in front of it that must be tackled like the new zoning law that is still in draft form, the new water and sewer infrastructure repair project (see article this week) and as I tell our staff members at the town hall: “we should be trying to make things easier for people and we should be trying to cut down on government regulation!”
“That’s my feeling, but if the four of you want to put a permit system in place, I would be happy to do that!” he told his four colleagues.
John Gillis said the motel owners are required to meet state Department of Health regulations and undergo fire inspections. “If you open an Airbnb right now in Tupper Lake, all you need is an e-mail address!”
“The last time we stayed in an STR, we drove up and it was above a two-stall garage. I said to my wife I hope they have a smoke detector inside. Well, they did, and it was brand new, but it was still in the box!”
“I just want us to be a good host community! I want guests to be safe in our community!” he asserted.
“I think it is irresponsible of us not to have someone go in the STRs to insure they meet code.” He added that he understood the difficulties and cost of engaging someone to do that, but he called it a question of safety.
Supervisor Dattola said that most or all of the owners of short-term rental properties here carry insurance, which typically involves inspections of the premises by those companies.
“So some insurance person went in there and said these things need to be done, or otherwise no insurance will be provided. “So there is already a safety check system in place!”
He also noted that many short-term rentals here are handled through the real estate agencies here, which routinely inspect them. “All I’m saying is right now we don’t have a problem!” he told Mr. Gillis.
He said his other concern is that if regulation becomes too burdensome for property owners here “people will go underground!”
“For every action, there is a reaction,” he said of the old adage.
He also noted there is only grey area between the terms “permitting” and “regulating.”
Councilwoman Crystal Boucher wondered if there was “a middle ground” to Mr. Gillis’ proposal.
She suggested the town might again send out a letter to all sewer district residents who are on a grinder pump and who might rent their properties from time to time to clearly post rules on what to flush and what not to flush, as the town did last year.
She explained those rules could be included with the other rules that are always posted by short-term rental owners, and which tenants have to abide by.
Councilman Tim Larkin said the system of STRs already has a good system of self-regulating through the agencies. “If someone comes to your STR and finds a problem, believe me they are going to tell you and the rental agency.” One major complaints will cause rental customers to immediately dry up, he said of how the system now works.
Mr. Larkin also wondered who would police an overcrowded parking situation at a STR? “So we hire some enforcement person to tell them to move their cars, while next door there’s a year round neighbor having a family party where there are six cars parked. What do we do about that?”
“I think the self-regulation with comments on social media will handle 99% of the problems,” he determined.
“Can we make people in the sewer districts more aware of the problems with the pumps?... yes! We can send them another letter!” he proposed.
He suggested letters be sent to people with grinder pumps at least twice a year.
Mr. Larkin said landlords here typically remind their tenants several times each winter to run their water a little in very cold times.
Councilman Rick Donah, after Mr. Gillis told him earlier of his proposal, said he asked several people he knows who have STRs about what they felt about permitting. “One fellow off Country Club Road said he was not opposed to a permit system, because he was a fireman who wants the town to have a system to check these places for safety.”
Mr. Donah said as a local landlord he wasn’t opposed to a town person inspecting his apartments to insure they were safe. “Right now that doesn’t happen here- in either the town or village.”
“Tupper Lake has not been proactive about being particularly (vigilant) about looking at the conditions of people’s properties.”
He said if the town embarks on this program it will be singling out STR owners, versus all landlords here.
“I don’t agree with just singling out the STR owners!”
He said to be fair the town would have to permit all rental property owners: short-term and long-term. “It must be fair across the board!”
“Are we going to go into every house and check to see if there are working batteries in their smoke alarms?” Ms. Boucher wondered, noting the issue can be a slippery slope.
Mr. Donah felt that STRs are “policed by the market place! It’s simple. If you don’t do a nice job with your place for someone” the business will be soon blacklisted.
He liked Mr. Gillis’ idea, however, about being “a good host community” for all visitors.
He said he was in the ROOST office in a building he owns this past summer and there was a couple there from Europe and they were staying in an Airbnb here “that was a really bad set-up on Dugal Road. They had a bad experience. They went into this place at 11p.m. and it was very dark. The door didn’t lock. There was someone living in a trailer on the property a few feet away who came over and banged on their door. They didn’t know who that person was!”
He said the incident was a problem that made the entire community look bad.
“So there certainly is something to be said for being a good host community!”
“So I’m basically in the middle on this issue. It’s not something we have to do today, because what we have to do today is the implementation and the ratification of our new zoning laws. That must be priority No. 1!”
Mr. Gillis said he agreed with Mr. Donah. “I just wanted to re-open the discussion on short-term rentals and to hear what people have to say about it!”
Mr. Donah proposed a town hall-style meeting soon to hear what the public here thinks about short-term rentals here.
He said as a local landlord, he doesn’t mind being held accountable for the conditions in his rentals. “If there are things in my apartments that need to be updated, then go and inspect it….I’m okay with that!”
Mr. Donah said, however, that the town can only likely do what he called “a bare minimum” of inspection.
He said too that Tupper Lake doesn’t seem to have the problem with STRs that many other communities are wrestling with these days!”
“To Ricky’s point, I think we must be growth-friendly, but as a landlord, I think we should do a better job looking at the condition of people’s properties here!”
Mr. Gillis said the reason he raised the issue again was the recent apartment fire in Saranac Lake where there was a fatality “and there’s a lot of discussion around the landlord.”
The board took no action on Mr. Gillis’ proposal.