Hoosick Agrees To Motorcycle Race On Bugbee Land

by Gary Danforth
With a large contingent of riders and family members from the State Line Riders Club in attendance, the regular monthly Town of Hoosick Board meeting took place this past Monday evening, July 13, in the Hoosick Falls Armory with Supervisor Marilyn Douglas calling the meeting to order at 7 pm. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the minutes of last month’s regular monthly meeting were accepted without having them read aloud. Councilpersons Mark Surdam, Mark Cottrell, Kevin O’Malley and Bob Ryan were present as was Town Clerk Sue Stradinger. Town Attorney Tom Kenney was absent.
The Town Clerk’s report was accepted with four death certificates, three building permits, twenty four dog license renewals, thirteen dog licenses, three marriage licenses and over $2,100 in conservation fees collected being of note.
Under old business, Ken McGuire had addressed the Board last month about his New England Trail Riders having a motorcycle race through the woods within the township on August 29 and 30. The club has had this event twenty three of the past twenty five years within the township, but Douglas had said she had received complaints from neighbors about dust and noise levels related to this event. McGuire had said his club teaches young people to ride motorcycles in a safe manner and that his club was exempt from the Town mass gathering law as his event is educational and not for profit in nature.
The event has 200 to 300 participants and 200 to 300 spectators who buy goods and services within the township and who have helped stimulate the local economy for the past twenty years. McGuire said the event is a family oriented event which takes place between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm with riders racing over a five to six mile course in the woods, thereby keeping the dust and noise levels down by the very nature of where the race is run. McGuire and another rider, an attorney, answered numerous questions from the Board about the nature of the event.
The race will he held on Larry Bugbee’s property. The race is one of nineteen competitive races put on by the parent New England Trail Riders. The club agreed to make a donation to the Town of Hoosick Rescue squad, who would be on standby during the weekend. Also, the club has a contact person for the Town should there be any complaints. In addition, the club will donate some equipment for needy youngsters within the township. With all this new information and plans, the Board agreed to let Bugbee host the event within the township.
Dog Park
Under people to be heard, the Board passed a motion to have Councilperson O’Malley act as a liaison between the Town Board and the Village of Hoosick Falls Board for discussion purposes for a dog park to be located possibly in the township. A citizen brought the matter up for a second time and suggested land behind the current Little League fields off Carey Avenue as a tentative place for the dog park.
Also, the Board passed a motion to make Safe Haven Boarding and Grooming the  Town dog kennel for the remainder of the year. They will charge the Town $12 per day with the Town paying for ten days of dog care. They also charge 42 cents per mile for dog pickups.
There was little to report on any progress on the flooding which goes on as a result of Wood Brook overflows.
Councilperson Surdam reminded the audience that the cut off date for donating items for ten year old Joel Senecal-Moseley’s trip to Uganda to help build an infirmary is July 17. Items may be placed in the Armory lobby and Senecal-Moseley will report to the Board on his trip when he returns from same.
From the Supervisor’s report, summer camps are in full swing. Douglas says she plans to ask the County legislators for money to help the Town run the Town swimming pool since other communities within the County have used the pool for years. Also, bids for the Caretaker’s Bridge restoration will be opened this week. Douglas welcomed VPS Control Systems, a company from Troy which has relocated to the township, with its location on the Hill Road. Douglas reminded persons that a Farmer’s Market is taking place every Friday in the parking lot of Countryside Woodcrafts in Hoosick. The Barnett Homestead is hosting four different youth camps this summer. Douglas said the 40 acre parcel along the Hoosic River in Hoosick is now surveyed, with work progressing on the Route 7 bridge reconstruction. James Hoag was voted in as Chairman of the newly formed Zoning Board of Appeals.
Councilperson Cottrell said he attended a June 30 meeting for Farmland Protection with some interest in area farmers joining together to buy bulk fuel, seed and feed. Councilperson Bob Ryan had nothing to report while Councilperson O’Malley said he was impressed with the passion area farmers had for their vocation and lands.
Finally, The Board passed motions to allow St. Mary’s Academy and HAPPY (Hoosick Area Partnership for Parents and Youth) to use the multi-purpose building and athletic fields on October 4 and 26, respectively.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.