by Bea Peterson
Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas said at Tuesday’s Board meeting that complaints had been made about illegal behavior at the Tibbits Forest parking lot on Route 7, the Troy/Bennington Road. “The State Police have been called. They are taking license numbers and making arrests. Men are meeting there and performing lewd acts, and we are not going to tolerate it in the Town of Hoosick,” she said. DEC officer Joe Hess has also made arrests. Hess said the offenders are from Vermont and Massachusetts as well as New York. A 24-hour number is being set up so that residents can call in information. “We are going to take control of this,” said Douglas.
In other business, Town Clerk Sue Stradinger reported taking in over $30,000 in permits and licenses during September. Environmental Conservation licenses brought in $17,205. The Town received only $650 from the money collected, she noted.
STAR Rebates
Supervisor Douglas said the Assessor reported that STAR tax rebate checks were being mailed out starting October 13. Homeowners with an income under $90,000 will be receiving a NYS check for $381.16. Incomes between $90,000 and $150,000 will receive $285.80. Incomes between $150,00 and $250,000 will receive $190.58.
Blacktop Up $30
Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland reported the cost of blacktop had increased from $45 a ton in April to $75 a ton in September. “In a normal year we use from 2,000 to 2,500 tons,” he said. This year they have done little paving.
White Creek Bridge
Shiland reported that the White Creek Bridge on White Creek Road was inspected by the State in July and it was reported to be fine. In August the State changed its measurement computer program, and the bridge failed. Therefore, the amount of weight allowed on the bridge must be reduced from 40 tons down to 20 tons. “There is a lot of heavy truck traffic over that bridge,” Shiland said. The bridge failure may make it easier for the Town to apply for a grant to repair it. Shiland said that with the reduced bridge weight more trucks will be going over Telford Road. “It’s not going to stand up to heavy trucks,” he said. The Board agreed to hold a pubic hearing on reducing the weight limit on that road and Farmer’s Inn Road to 15 tons. The hearing will be at 6:30 pm on November 10. “If we don’t post it, it will be junk before next year,” he concluded.
Shiland said the Town pool has been closed and covered and the playground will be closed October 25. Electrical power to the pool area will be turned off for the winter.
Supervisor Douglas read a letter from a young person thanking the Town for leaving the lights on at the basketball court through the month of September.
Eagle Bridge Board
Town Historian Phil Leonard said he and Charlie Filkins had been creating topic boards for the Town since 2002. So far they have 84 of them. The first one they ever made was of Eagle Bridge, and he displayed that Board Tuesday evening. He said Filkins is researching the creamery in Eagle Bridge and if anyone has any information about it, they would like to know at the Miller Museum. He noted that in 1876 three railroads ran through Eagle Bridge and the community had three hotels.
Barnett Homestead
Douglas said the Barnett Homestead closed out the season with a fashion show. A meeting will be held in the Town Hall on Monday, October 27, at 7 pm to lay out the schedule for next year. The public is invited to take part in this meeting.
Bennington Paperboard
Supervisor Douglas read a report from Bennington Paperboard stating that all chemicals had been removed from the building and that cleanup will continue into November. By mid-November the building will be buttoned up for the winter.
Land Use
Land Use meetings have been held in Buskirk and North Hoosick. One will be held this week in Hoosick and next week in West Hoosick. “The residents are helping us draw up maps and deciding what they want their communities to look like,” said Douglas. Councilman Kevin O’Malley hoped all residents understood that what they are working on now is just a draft of the law, it is not the law. Supervisor Douglas went on to say that it’s good to get comments now before the law is completed. “We have had a lot of open discussion trying to get everyone’s opinion. We’ve received some excellent suggestions.” Councilman Mark Cottrell said land use scares many land owners.
Hoosic River Bridge
The Board passed a resolution allowing the State to purchase 30,000 square feet of Town property for the sum of $2,900 for the Route 7 bridge project over the Hoosic River. Douglas said bids for the bridge will not be let until March 19, 2009, and they don’t expect work to begin until 2010. She asked that any money received for the land be set aside to plan future uses of the rest of the adjoining Town property. The Board approved.
Condemned Property
The Board passed a resolution to have the condemned property at 3335 NY 67 in Buskirk taken down and removed. The cost will then be added to the property owner’s tax bill. A discussion followed on how long a property can remain standing if it is condemned. They wondered if three months or six months time was sufficient to clean up a property or to show progress on cleaning up a property.
Halloween Parade
O’Malley said the Town Halloween Parade will be held on October 30 at 6 pm in Wood Park. The event is sponsored by the Town and the Hoosick Falls Police Benevolent Association. Costumes are judged by the HFCS Key Club and refreshments are served after the parade. O’Malley said last year over 600 people took part.
Time Warner
The Board approved Douglas signing the contract with the Time Warner Cable Company. O’Malley noted they were a public service, but it was frustrating trying to get anything out of them.
Public Hearings
On October 29 public hearings on fire department budgets will be held in West Hoosick at 6:45 pm and in North Hoosick at 7:30 pm.
On November 6 at 6:30 pm the Town of Hoosick will hold a preliminary budget public hearing at 6:30 pm.
The Hoosick and Hoosick Falls Fire Commissioners will hold public hearings on their budgets on October 21.