by Kieron Kramer
We learned this year that there are companies and banks that are too big to fail. Now we learn that there are projects that are too small to fund. Town Supervisor Robert Jaeger announced at the Thursday, June 11, Berlin Town Board meeting that neither the Berlin Comprehensive Plan nor the Southeast Hollow Road bridge project would receive stimulus money. New York State administers the disbursement of the federal funds. Both projects will continue however.
Jaeger seemed particularly annoyed that Rensselaer County “put in” for one bridge to be funded, the Caretaker Bridge over the Walloomsac River in Hoosick. He characterized it as “a bridge to nowhere” and added, “Of course it’s shovel ready; it’s ninety percent finished.” Work on the Southeast Hollow Road bridge can begin as early as June 15, the first date allowed by the DEC permit, for which Highway Superintendent Jim Winn has already applied. Winn was less perturbed by the lack of stimulus money. He said that the problem with the stimulus money is that you would have to develop a bid to NYS DOT specifications with engineering plans. “The engineer alone would cost $100,000,” he said.
The Southeast Hollow Road Bridge was red-flagged by the DOT in June of 2008. This obliged Berlin to replace the span. Originally, it was thought that a similar structure would have to be built. Jaeger said that the estimate for a replacement bridge was $500,000. The present plan is to replace the span with a giant culvert. Winn said that according to the County Deputy Engineer the bridge can be replaced by anything as long as the hydraulic flow in the brook remains the same. Winn said he was still negotiating the price of the culvert, the cheapest one so far being a galvanized culvert in two pieces that would be bolted together in place. The other choice is an aluminum single piece culvert. Winn added that the DEC had urged the building of a bridge because a culvert is bad for the fish swimming upstream. This gave rise to a mild surmise about why fish don’t like culverts.
In other Highway Department news Winn said that Berlin would receive “around $75,000” from FEMA to reimburse the Town for the work done cleaning up debris after the ice storm last December. He said the Department was grading and cutting brush and had used 16 tons of blacktop patching Cherry Plain Square. The Department cleaned up around the Town Garage, Winn said, and sold the old sanders and some old cutting edges to Freidman’s for $851. A cutting edge is the metal edge at the bottom of a snowplow. The money will be used to buy American flags for the Town, a 3’ x 5’ flag for the Watipi Building and small flags to be fixed on utility poles that line the parade routes. Len Clapp, a member of the Taconic Valley American Legion Post which has purchased flags for the parades in the past, and others offered plenty of advice about the flags, like get hemmed flags, don’t use plastic brackets, don’t put flags on poles that can be easily accessed from the ground, etc. According to Clapp, the last time flags were purchased they were gotten at a discounted rate from Home Depot at $7.50 each. So $851 won’t provide enough flags and brackets for the route. Jaeger said that money would be put in next year’s budget to continue purchasing flags. Presumably, the new flags will be purchased in time for the Berlin Fourth of July Parade.
Dust Control
Jaeger read a letter to the Board from Susan Womersley complaining about the dust raised by heavy trucks travelling most of the day on Watson Road from the gravel pit to Bly Hollow Road. She wrote that huge plumes of dust leave dust covering her car and yard and even the mail in her mailbox. She wondered what could be used to control the dust. During the public comment later in the meeting Richard Von Schilgen said that Bonded Concrete runs a water truck over the road its trucks travel in West Sand Lake in order to keep the dust down. He wondered if the gravel pit owner or the Town was responsible to control the dust. At this point Billy Hammersmith, who owns the gravel pit on Watson Road, said that he was not responsible past his property line and is prohibited from working on Town roads. Winn said that he couldn’t use calcium for dust control everyday and then added that he was “looking into a different surface.” Winn would not elaborate, but how many choices are there?
Cell Tower
In another letter to the Board, read by Jaeger, Womersley strongly supported the construction of a cell phone tower on Doug Goodermote’s property on the west side of Route 22 in Cherry Plain. The tower is being proposed by Mariner Towers which built a cell tower in Stephentown. Vic Lewin, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), said that the ZBA will hold a pre-application hearing on the Mariner tower at its meeting on June 18 at 7:30 pm.
Going To School
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported on the two court cases involving unruly dogs held since the ruling on Whitey was handed down last month. Goodermote said that one dog will be neutered and then “go to school.” There is a doggy restraining order on the other dog – he will be tied up. Goodermote said that the kennel contract with the Town is up for renewal. The Board voted unanimously to renew the kennel contract. Goodermote charges the Town $200 for the use of his kennel to board stray dogs until the owner is found or they are taken to the Berkshire Humane Society in Pittsfield.
Attention Spelunkers
Pamula Gerstel, Planning Board Chairperson, reported that the Board will hear a presentation at their meeting on June 25 regarding a subdivision of the property owned by Robert and Ellie Bentley. The Bentleys wish to subdivide 5 acres from their property and donate it to the Northeast Cave Conservatory, Inc., and the Hudson-Mohawk Land Conservatory Trust. The parcel has a cave on it that has been used often by spelunkers. Access to the cave is a logging road off of Route 22 just south of Southeast Hollow Road. The parcel will be used for recreational purposes only.
Page Missing For 21 Years
The last page of the Berlin Land Use Regulations which were adopted in 1988 has been missing from the copy filed with the State all this time. Vic Lewin had a copy of the page that various Planning Board members have been trying to find for years. The article on the last page mandates that the Land Use Regulations be reviewed and updated every five years. There has been no update in the intervening 21 years in spite of the efforts of many Planning Board Chairmen to revise them. Gerstel said that the final page has now been filed with the State. She also thanked the Board for a letter empowering the Planning Board to use section 271 of the NYS Town Law to govern their decisions on subdivisions and other matters.
Comprehensive Plan
In spite of receiving no stimulus funds the Comprehensive Plan Committee continues its work. They will be filing for additional Hudson Greenway money for the in-kind services performed by the Committee and will be looking for alternate funding sources. Another public meeting with CT Male, the Town’s consultant in this effort, is scheduled for mid-September, preceded by a presentation about the history of Berlin by Town Historian Sharon Klein.
Summer Youth Program Applications Available
A written report by Tammy Osterhout announced that applications for the summer recreation program are available at the Bank of America and Hewitt’s Market. The summer recreation program begins on July 6 and runs through July 24. It will be located at the Watipi Building. The swim program begins on July 27 and runs through August 7 at the Town of Hoosick pool. Berlin will be sharing time with Petersburgh. The cost is $40 per kid and there is enough money in the budget to pay for 60 kids, Osterhout wrote.
Mill Street Speed Limit
Jaeger announced that a homeowner on Mill Street requested that a 20 m.p.h. speed limit be posted on that street. Winn said a speed limit change must go through the County. They will have to monitor the traffic on the street with strips. Jaeger asked Winn to start the process.
Polling Place Put To Use
The next Town Board workshop will be held at the Cherry Plain Polling Place on June 25 at 7 pm. The Town is deciding what to do with the property. The Board voted unanimously to have Cindy Brewster assess the property for $150, $100 below her usual fee. One suggestion is to use the Polling Place to store the Town archives, but there are State regulations regarding the storing of historical items that may not be able to be met at the Polling Place. The moisture level in the structure is one of the big problems. Board Member Carl Greene suggested the meeting there. “If we are talking about it, it makes sense to all be there,” he said. Jaeger jokingly asked Greene to air out the building for 24 hours before the meeting, which is open to the public.
The Board was asked by Richard Von Schilgen, “What’s going to happen with Mike Crow on Elm.” Apparently Crow has moved his trailer filled with junk off of Town property on to private property that has been foreclosed by a bank. Jaeger said he would search out the bank that owns the property and inform them of the problem and that Crow is trespassing on their property.
The Board will proceed to put out bids for the electrical work at the Watipi Building. The entrance connection has been repaired and electricity has been restored to the building. The Board wants to move the service panel, detach the hot water heater from the furnace switch and install five new florescent light fixtures. Greene suggested that the Town get an energy audit from the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency. The audit would cost $100 but would be recouped with NYSERDA funding of some of the project.
In other business the Board:
• heard that Bonded Concrete will replace the concrete and supply the labor to repair the sidewalk near Hewitt’s that was deemed to have poorly mixed concrete.
• voted to buy a copier for the Town Clerk’s office at a price not to exceed $300.
• heard from Jaeger that the installation of water meters in Water District #2 might cost as much as $80,000 not including the cost of the special meter needed at the school and the computer to run the monitoring software. Jaeger said the water meter issue would be included in the discussions of the 5 year plan.
• heard from Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton about a good fireworks display and that “it was a pleasure to deal with them; they complied with all aspects of the permit and regulations.”
• heard from Allen Yerton, Assessor, that grievance day went smoothly. “There were only a handful of grievances, and all were settled with a minimum of changes. Considering the economic climate, it’s not too bad,” he said.
• heard from Carl Greene that the surveying of the Bentley project on the Little Hoosic River was complete and that Trout Unlimited and Leonard Clapp did a lot of work on the project.
Board Member Jim Saunders was not at the meeting. It was announced by Supervisor Jaeger at the beginning of the meeting that he had been hospitalized for a massive infection. “Our prayers are with him and his family,” Jaeger said.