Hoosick Changes Name Of Athletic Field

by Bea Peterson
On Tuesday, December 29, the Town of Hoosick Board, as it was, met for the final time. Members in attendance were outgoing Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas, outgoing Councilman Kevin O’Malley and Councilmen Bob Ryan and Mark Surdam. Outgoing Councilman Mark Cottrell was absent. One of the items voted on during the meeting was a name change to the Joseph Bruno Athletic Field or Town Park. The Board unanimously voted to rename the area the Coach Ken Baker Memorial Sports Complex.
Transfer Of Funds
Supervisor Douglas said she had been working with the auditors to close the end of the year books. “The Town is in good financial shape,” she said. She requested that funds be moved from one account to another and encumbered in the amount of $200,000 to purchase a new truck with hydraulics, sander and wing plow to replace a 1992 International.
Another $250,000 was encumbered for construction of a concrete salt shed at the Town garage. The job has not been put out to bid, but the shed is estimated to cost between $250,000 and $300,000.
The Board approved payment of an audit of the Town’s books for 2009 in the amount of $12,000. Five thousand dollars was encumbered for the 2010 audit. Another $7,000 is in the 2010 budget.
Encumbered next was $100,000 to complete the paving of Beechwood Road. A mile and two tenths of Beechwood was paved last year. The remaining 1.1 miles will be done this year, starting from the Vermont line and working back to where the new paving ended last year. Supervisor Douglas pointed out that the Town has 54 miles of road. “Today it costs $120,000 a mile to pave a road. Just a few years ago it was $60,000 a mile,” she said.
A thousand dollars was set aside for signage on Route 22 once the Route 7 bridge is complete, directing traffic into the Village, and saying located in “Grandma Moses Country.”
Supervisor Douglas said, in addition to the encumbered monies, “There is a $211,000 fund balance on the books.” She added that, over the years, expenditures have frequently been lower than the budget, thus the balance has grown.
Planning Board
The Board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Don Wyman from the Town Planning Board. Mark Cottrell was appointed to fill the remainder of Wyman’s seven year term, which ends December 2014.
The Board passed a resolution supporting the application to Ag & Markets by David and Donna Phippen for an Agricultural stewardship similar to the grant received by the Philpotts last year through the NYS Farmland Protection Program.