by David Flint
In yet another indication that voters in this economic climate are wary of anything that smacks of new taxes, the proposal for the Town of Berlin to purchase the vacant property of the Berlin Lumber Company suffered a crushing defeat in Monday’s Special Election. The vote count was 131 Yes to 210 No in a rather light turn out.
Passage of the referendum would have authorized use of a Capital Reserve Fund, which now totals $587,000, for the purchase of the Berlin Lumber buildings and land for a municipal center. The asking price for the property is $569,000.
“The people have spoken. It’s done!” said disappointed and discouraged Town Supervisor Robert Jaeger, who back in July originally proposed that the Town look into purchasing the property for a municipal center to include a new Town Hall and a new Town Garage. Jaeger said the intent of the referendum was to get the proposal out to the public and let them decide. He thought the vote was unfortunate though, because he believed that it was an opportunity that the Town would benefit from.
He noted that this is now the second time that residents voted down a proposal to purchase property for new facilities, referring to an earlier vote not to buy land adjacent to the Transfer Station for a new town garage. He said enough time has been wasted and it is clear that the people of Berlin do not want to pursue the matter of new town facilities. “So we will leave the money in the bank.” He pointed out, however, that the money in the Capital Building Reserve Fund was set aside for a new highway garage and/or a new Town Hall and must be used for that purpose. It cannot come back to the General Fund.
Jaeger felt that a “once in a lifetime opportunity” had slipped away, and he doubted that the Town would have the money to do anything else that would so fit their needs for a highway garage, a town hall and a community center. He estimated that building a new Town Garage alone would cost a minimum of $600,000. He noted that a plan prepared by a consultant was for $1.7 million to buy land and build a suitable structure, and he pointed out that the Town of Schodack had paid $2.5 million for a new garage. Berlin, he said, cannot afford that, and he wondered where the Town could find another property, even just the land, that would be big enough and affordable. The Berlin Lumber site, he added, made sense and, located in the center of the Town, it could have provided facilities that were no longer exclusionary for residents in Cherry Plain and Center Berlin.
Jaeger said he thought that the vote would be closer but he realized that the timing of the vote was bad coming so close to the defeat of the Berlin School District’s construction bond and preceded immediately by a move from Governor Paterson to cut funding to municipalities and school districts. He realized that people are concerned. On the other hand he noted that a number of Berlin’s senior citizens have spoken to him of the need for the Town to expand its horizons and spark some revitalization. He noted that at the Republican Caucus recently people could not fit inside the Watipi Building and had to stand outside. In contrast to neighboring towns such as Grafton, Petersburgh and Stephentown with their upgraded town facilities, he said, “We look like poor cousins.”
Councilman Elect Richard von Schilgen, who had opposed the proposal, did not agree that the Berlin Lumber proposal was dead in the water. He sees it as just a decision postponed. He doubts that the property will be snapped up anytime soon; with manufacturing and industry at a stand still in this valley, he believes there are too many potential commercial sites available in the area.
Von Schilgen said he had heard from many people that they felt the Town was being rushed to make a decision while there were still too many unanswered questions. They felt the Berlin Lumber property was more than the Town needed or could support. The proposal first surfaced last July but figures started coming to light only in November. Then there were only two days notice given for people to view the property.
He realizes that the referendum did not resolve the Town’s problems. The Town is still under the gun from the State to comply with regulations concerning such things as wash stations and salt shed coverings. He wants to form a committee to study the matter further, look into what has to be done, what the space needs are, what are all the viable options – Berlin Lumber possibly being one of them – and what they would cost.
As presented, von Schilgen felt the proposal was too vague on a lot of things such as space needs versus the space being purchased, heating costs – figures on heating the house were for the last year of operation when only the downstairs office was used – and the cost to renovate the house and garage building to a usable state. Estimates on the latter, he said, went from $60,000 to $80,000 and then to $93,000.
Other options need to be considered, he said, not just this “Cadillac” of options. An appointed committee could determine what these options are. Retrofitting the existing Town Garage might be one of them. Another is the possibility of the Fire District building a new firehouse and transferring the existing firehouse to the Town.
“I’m taking office in January,” von Schilgen said, “and I have a lot of catching up to do. I need to find out how everything works, what the Highway Department needs are, etc. I will get going the first of the year and will suggest at the January (Town Board) meeting that a committee be formed to research our needs and what the costs will be.”