by Kieron Kramer
If Thursday night’s Berlin Town Board meeting is any indication, the construction of cell towers in Berlin, especially the one proposed on a service road on Cherry Plain Hill Road in Cherry Plain is going to meet some concerted opposition.
During the public comment period at the end of the meeting, which began at 7:30 pm in the Berlin Town Hall, Don French, Jr., who lives on Cherry Plain Hill Road next to the proposed cell tower site there, argued against the erection of the tower, which he said was his main concern, as well as the one planned for Satterlee Hollow Road. “We are an organic family,” he said, “We cultivate our own garden, eat locally grown beef. People want to move out of the 20th Century; we’d like to stay in the 20th Century,” he said. French said his family has no satellite or cable TV and no microwave oven. It is his understanding that cell phone towers transmit microwave energy which raises temperatures and has the cumulative effect on human health with “cell breakdowns and toxin build ups.” The industry and the FCC say it is safe but the government agencies work in the interest of industry, he observed. There has been no long term testing on the effects of cell phone technology because it is a relatively new technology. He said that the towers will be eyesores, “They are the tallest trees in the forest.” And they will be a distraction to school kids, he said. And all of this without creating new jobs in Berlin just happy customers for Verizon, he added.
French is a member of the Berlin Central School Board so his comments are to be taken seriously. However, earlier in the meeting there had been mention of the van owned by Folmsbee, a company contracted by the County to carry preschool students from Berlin Beginnings, which made big news when it went missing the afternoon of this meeting. The van was found having slid off the seasonal part of North Moore Hill Road in Stephentown near the Berlin border with three pre-schoolers aboard. The bus monitor was unable to contact authorities because there was no cell phone coverage in the area.
Perhaps French’s most revealing comment came at the end of his presentation when he said the tower proposed for Cherry Plain would affect his property value because you can see the tower from his property. “Why am I and my family not protected?” he asked.
In response, Town Supervisor Robert Jaeger said first that this was not the proper forum for the debate on cell phone towers in Berlin because there is a public hearing scheduled in mid-February for input about the tower proposed for Satterlee Hollow Road. He also pointed out that the response to the Comprehensive Plan survey indicated that 75% of the respondents wanted cell phone service in Berlin. French said that he and his wife had never seen the survey. Jaeger replied that surveys were sent to every property owner and out of the 1,100 sent 285 were returned. In the June 2008 meeting he said that 530 surveys had been returned to the Comprehensive Plan Committee, representing a 28% response, which is considered quite high. Last June Jaeger said that in Cherry Plain 31 out of the 51 responses were in favor of having a cell tower.)
Curiously, two other people’s comments implied that they had not received or not read or not remembered the survey. Kent Goodermote asked if there “was a line item for cell phone service on the survey.” And Dave Theriault said that a question about cell phone service could be framed in a way to elicit a positive response. Board Member Sheila Hewitt replied that the survey question was about services residents would like to see in Berlin and included a check box for cell phone service along with about 15 others. Obviously, if the question had been do you want a cell tower next to your property, the response would have been no.
Theriault, who had reviewed Berlin’s Personal Wireless Telecommunications Law, which was passed in 2002 when Joe Rabatoy was Supervisor, said that the Town should restrict Verizon to a tower offering the greatest service area from a Town owned property. The cell tower law does say that the towers should be built on Town property if possible and that cell phone service carriers should cluster their arrays on existing towers. There are no existing commercial cell towers in the Cherry Plain area. Cell Tower companies do signal propagation studies to show the sites that offer the widest service area. Theriault said these studies are on file and should be reviewed by the Town Board. According to Theriault, the Town properties available for a tower site are the Town Hall, the Town Garage, the Transfer Station, the Watipi Building and a parcel on Cowdry Hollow Road. Theriault said that he was not for a tower but if there is to be one, the Town should benefit financially from renting the site to Verizon.
No doubt these issues will be raised again at the public hearings that must be held before the Zoning Board of Appeals can give its approval for these two towers. For those interested in the visual impact of the Cherry Plain tower, there is a balloon test scheduled for January 24. The balloon test for the Satterlee Hollow tower has already been done.
Truck Purchase
The Berlin Town Board voted unanimously to accept a bid submitted by Delurey Sales & Service of Hoosick for a 1999 International Paystar heavy duty, four-wheel drive truck with a combination dump body/sander, with an Everest one way highway plow and an Everest wing and with all necessary hydraulics and attachments. This is the truck that Highway Superintendent Jim Winn and the Town Board have had their eyes on since November when money was allocated for it in the 2009 budget. Delurey’s bid met or exceeded the specifications published by Berlin in its bid request. The cost of the truck is $38,500, and the truck is red.
Winn arrived at the meeting late because he was plowing and treating roads made hazardous by the frozen rain and snow. So there was no Water District #2 report and Supervisor Jaeger commented on Highway Department activity. He said that the Highway crews were out early in the morning and had struggled to keep the roads open. “As a school bus driver, we really appreciate their work,” he added. Jaeger also reported on a fender-bender involving one of the Town’s Mack plow trucks. According to Jaeger, Mr. Oakes’ car was stuck in a snow bank and temporarily abandoned on the hill on Satterlee Hollow Road when one of the Town’s Macks stopped to investigate and then slid on the icy surface into the car. There was no damage to the Mack, but Oakes’ car received some dents and a broken window, Winn said later.
Board Member Carl Greene, a member of the Board’s Highway Committee, asked the Board to consider selling one of the two old Macks as surplus equipment. The purchase of the 1999 Paystar makes one of the Macks expendable. Greene suggested that this be decided in the February meeting. Greene also addressed the issue of lettering the Town trucks, which was raised at last month’s meeting. Jaeger said he had called Mark Graphic. They will come to the garage to letter the trucks. Jaeger wants them to replicate the Berlin logo that is now on the Macks. “It’s a nice logo,” he said, “and makes Berlin special” versus those towns that only have lettering. He is hoping the cost won’t be prohibitive.
Greene also said that the Board has had success analyzing the details before making decisions and should continue to do so. He gave as an example Jim Winn’s research into the replacement of the bridge on Southeast Hollow Road with a large concrete and culvert structure that can be done at less than half the cost of a bridge. Because more analysis and research will save money, Greene said, he would like to develop a spreadsheet to “break down” expenses. This will require more precise coding of bills by the bookkeeper. Greene asked Jaeger, as Chief Financial Officer of the Town, if he would be willing to work on this project.
Greene also wants to plan for fueling options in the long run and wants to update the current system of purchasing fuel and tracking its use. Jaeger said that the Town may start buying fuel from the Berlin School District right away, and he added, “We may have to pass a resolution so they can accept money from us.” Jaeger also mentioned that the shared services agreement is still on track and may result in Berlin, Grafton, the BCSD, the New Lebanon School District, the Hoosick Falls Central School and the Rensselaer County Highway Department buying fuel together. In one year Berlin uses about 15,000 gallons and the BCSD uses about 80,000 gallons, Jaeger said. With these other entities, the demand might be as high as 400,000 gallons per year which would give the group immense buying power, lowering prices and therefore saving on property and school taxes. Green also said that the Town should check prices rather than just using State or County bid prices. Some vendors are “selling cheaper” than the bids they locked in earlier, he said.
Regular Phone System
With Ivan Wager having to leave the meeting, Jaeger mentioned the December 11 ice storm as an example of the kind of event that a disaster plan will address. Three hundred and seventy-five units lost power during the storm in December mostly from the top of the mountain as far down as Kenny Masterson’s, Jaeger said. Their power comes from Averill Park whereas in the valley the electricity runs along Rt. 22. There was no central phone number to call in Berlin for information, he said, and the Berlin phone system should be upgraded to accommodate people who may be without electricity, food, water or heat but who do not require a 911 emergency response. Board Member George Shuhart said that the County is establishing a phone number for emergency information. Luckily, during the December storm, no one requested assistance, Jaeger said, quoting Ivan Wager, and no one asked that the Berlin Fire House be opened as a shelter.
Regarding the phone system upgrade, Jaeger wants a voice mail system with rollover capability. “This eliminates anyone messing with the answering machine; messages disappear,” he said. Goodbye, answering machine. He wants a full range of services from Fairpoint. Each department will be able to leave its own greeting message and retrieve its own messages. There would be an extension for the Justices, the Assessors, the Transfer Station, the Highway Department and the Town Clerk. “So, we don’t have to be information central anymore?” said Highway Superintendent Jim Winn. Jaeger said, when someone calls the Highway Department they can either leave a voice mail or have their call passed through to the Highway Garage. Board Member Sheila Hewitt is looking into the cost of these services. Since Jaeger wants the service to begin as soon as possible, the Board voted to authorize him to complete the deal with Fairpoint if the service costs $30 or less.
The Board heard:
ź Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote report that “everything is quiet, which is normal this time of year.”
ź Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton announce that he would complete his training and be certified by the end of the month. He will also have to take “a code update class” and participate in 21 hours of in-service training every year starting in 2010.
ź Planning Board Chair Pam Gerstel say she is waiting for a letter of interest from a prospective alternate for the Planning Board. Her Board will then interview the candidate and make a recommendation to the Town Board. The Planning Board will meet on January 22 at 6 pm during which time they will address “quite a bit of business,” Gerstel said,
ź That the Youth Commission will begin advertising for people to work in the summer arts and rec program and swim program.
ź From George Shuhart that the Town Garage doors are in. “They are nice doors,” he said, “the furnace shuts down now.” Jaeger added, “What a difference those doors make.”
ź From Carl Greene, speaking for the Little Hoosic River Watershed Association, that Peter Wright, of the US Natural Resources Conservation Service, will look at the flood control in the river with area and County engineers on February 11.
ź From Jaeger that Ivan Wager is going on vacation later in January until April 1. Wager will be in touch weekly with Ed Jones, who “will take care of things” while Wager is away. Wager reported to Jaeger that “Everything is fine” at the transfer station.
ź From Head of Assessors Nancy Sweener that all property tax exemption forms have been mailed and that the Assessors will be available on Monday nights from 7 to 9, when people can call 658-2020 with questions. The exemption applications are not due until March 1.
ź From Jaeger that Fairpoint will be upgrading their DSL system in Berlin on January 14 at 8 am. DSL users must reconfigure their DSL modems after their last use on January 13 in order to avoid an interruption in service.
ź From Jaeger that the Supervisor’s Annual Budget Report is due in 60 days.
ź From the Town insurance agent, Rose and Kiernan, that there will be a rebate of 75% of the Capital Inventory insurance spread over the next 3 years in the form of a premium credit. This will result in a 10% reduction in this year’s overall insurance renewal cost, Jaeger said.
ź From Jaeger that Charter Cable has not responded to his list of concerns expressed at last month’s meeting. The Town will not decide anything until Charter responds, he said. Sheila Hewitt said she had heard that Charter may be one of the companies going bankrupt. “The service is getting bad, too,” she added.
ź Board Member Jim Saunders ask if the Gradall that was sold for $1,125 as surplus in October was paid for. No money has been received yet. Shuhart said that young Henry [Ruebel] said his father was going to pay. A payment and pick up date were not part of the sale terms.
ź Sheila Hewitt say that Steve Riccardi found an ad to give to Wager for two used augies at $4,500 each or best offer.
Five Year Plan Workshop
The Board will hold a workshop on January 22 at 7 pm in the Town Hall to begin formulating a five year plan. Jaeger said that people who have suggestions should contact Board members to bring them up at the meeting. Carl Green asked Jaeger earnestly, “Do you have homework for us?” Jaeger said that he wanted the Board to “brainstorm things.” The five year plan will be dovetailed with the Comprehensive Plan, he said. Some issues to be addressed are emergency planning, whether or not a new highway garage should be built, consolidation of services and future truck or equipment purchases. Long range budgeting can set aside funds for large expenditures like a new truck and avoid precipitous tax increases. The workshop is open to the public but not to public comment.
Kent Goodermote asked why there is no Justice report included in the Town Board meeting. Jaeger said that the Justices send a list of fines, a check for them is directly deposited. The State requests their share by electronic transfer within four days. Jaeger said, “We get all of the fines for parking on the sidewalks, but the State gets a large percentage [about 60%] of the speeding tickets.” According to Jaeger, the Town received $13,907 in fine income from the Justice Court last year. Town Justice Joe Rechen said that it was at the Board’s discretion if they wanted the Justice funds reported monthly. Stephentown does, he added. Justice funds go into the general account, but JCAT and other grants stay in the Justice accounts, Rechen said. Town Attorney Donald Tate said he didn’t see the relevance of having a monthly report on the Justice funds, and the Board did not decide to have the reports included in the meeting.