Berlin Town Board Action – Berlin Enters 21st Century

by Kieron Kramer
It would seem that the Town of Berlin has entered the twenty-first century. At the Town Board meeting on Thursday night, February 11, Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger announced that the Town’s website is up and running. It can be found at http://www.berlin-ny.us (don’t try to Google it). At the moment, it is a bare bones site that mimics the Town of Hoosick website, according to Jaeger, but all the tabs are functioning. He said he has designed the welcome page and is looking for some photographs to put on the pages, particularly one for the banner on the  home page. Board Member Richard von Schilgen thinks a scenic shot of the village from a Plank Road vantage point would be picturesque. He said his school yearbook has such a picture.
Much pertinent Town information like meeting times and the membership of the various Boards is on the site now. The site’s usefulness will depend on the maintenance of the site, that is the updating of information and the uploading of documents like the Town fees, minutes of meetings, transcripts of public hearings and the two cell tower applications submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which include SEQRA findings. In fact, it was the Berlin Library’s decision not to post the ZBA information on their website that prompted Jaeger to move quickly on the Town’s website.  The maintenance of the  site will take constant commitment and there was no statement of who would be responsible for the site or who would do the work. So far, Jaeger is doing it.
Space Talk
If Berlin is in the Twenty-First Century in terms of its virtual space, it’s in the mid-twentieth century in terms of its office space. At this meeting the Board passed a resolution forming an advisory committee to review the needs of the Town for municipal facilities and to provide recommendations for long and short term goals. Jaeger had wanted some specific, immediate goals to be included in the resolution, such as recommendations for renting a Town Clerk’s office or giving Town Clerk Anne Maxon some remuneration for using the basement of her house as the Clerk’s office and for finding new space for the other Town Agencies. “We are tripping over each other,” Jaeger said, and he described how the Planning Board and the Tax Collector were both using the Town Hall on Thursday and  the Assessors and the Town Justices were both using the Town Hall on a Monday.  Most other Board members wanted the committee to begin its deliberations without any preconditions. However, when asked by Jaeger, Maxon said she would like to move the Town records out of her basement “within three months.” Doug Goodermote asked, “What do other towns do?” Jaeger replied that all the neighboring towns have clerk’s offices. And besides, who wants to work in a basement?
As decided at the last meeting Board Member Sheila Hewitt will Chair the advisory committee which will consist of one Board member and four community members. She said that there are some people who are interested in being on the committee. Von Schilgen, who “took exception” to paying the Town Clerk to use her personal property suggested renovating the Cherry Plain Polling Place for use by the Assessors and the Town Clerk. It has septic but no well, and he said some local contractors would donate services to renovate the building. He estimated the renovation might cost $15,000. It would also have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Jaeger pointed out that there was no money in the budget for the project.
There is no sense in crying over spilt milk, but the need for an upgrade in Town garage facilities was underscored when Supervisor Jaeger read a letter from Hoosick River Hardwoods, which everyone still thinks of as Cowee’s, raising the rent on the space the Town has been renting from them to use as a heated garage for the Town plow trucks. Hoosic River Hardwoods is owned by Heartwood Forestland, a real estate investment trust based in North Carolina which purchased Cowee Forest Products in January of 2009. The trucks need to be under cover and heated so that the sand will not freeze when the trucks are not operating. For the trucks to fit into the Town Garage the plows must be taken off every night. Not only is the extra labor costly, putting the plows back on delays getting the trucks on the road. The Town started renting garage space from Cowee’s, which is big enough to accommodate the trucks and plows, in December 2008. Last March the Town Board committed to the rental for a year on a month by month basis. The cost since 2008 has been $300 per month. Hoosick River Hardwoods is raising the rent to $650 per month on a year’s lease starting in March or $1,000 per month if the space is rented only during the winter season. Folks – that’s over a 100% increase! And that is money is also not in the budget. Board Member von Schilgen suggested that the Town pay the March rent and then bring the trucks back to the Town Garage in April. This would give the advisory committee until November to recommend a course of action and keep this year’s rental costs close to the budgeted amount. If the Town decides it needs the space then it can rent it from November to March at $1,000 per month.  Supervisor Jaeger wanted to sign a year’s lease at $650 per month. He worried that the space might not be available in November, then what? The Board voted 4-1, with Jaeger opposed, to bring the trucks back to the Berlin Garage in April.
A Bit Of Community Spirit
A business that is owned by a member of the Berlin Community, Billy Hammersmith’s Quality Construction in Cherry Plain, offered an extremely reasonable bid price for the Town’s highway materials. Only two bids were received, the other was from John Senter of Stephentown. Senter’s bid was $9 per yard for sand picked up at his facility (FOB) or $12.50 delivered; Hammersmith’s was $6.75 FOB, $9.75 delivered. Senter’s bid for stone was $12 per ton FOB, $15 per ton delivered; Hammersmith’s was $4.75 FOB, $8 delivered. Senter’s bank run gravel would cost $8 per yard FOB and his screened gravel $11.50 FOB. Hammersmith’s bank run gravel would costs $4.75 and his screened gravel $6.75. The Board voted immediately and unanimously to accept the Hammersmith bid.
Amanda’s Law
Town Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton announced that Amanda’s Law will take effect on February 22. The law requires that all dwellings regardless of date of construction or sale have carbon monoxide alarms installed in accordance with NYS regulations. According to Yerton, the only exemptions are dwellings that have no carbon monoxide sources, but many household appliances are sources of CO. The regulations can be found by searching the NY Department of State website, www.dos.state.ny.us. Yerton will have to enforce the new law. “How we are going to do that is another matter,” he said. This was followed by a series of conjectures as to how well received a government functionary would be by Berlin property owners when he comes to inspect their homes.
Water Talk
Von Schilgen said that he had selected three people to be members of the Water Advisory Board. They are Jim Winn, Water District #2 Supervisor, Ivan Wager, County Fire Coordinator, and Doug Feathers. Von Schilgen said that he has talked to private grant writers and has received lots of input from Winn, Wager and Keith Westfall. Jaeger said that the Water Supervisor from Hoosick came down to demonstrate a leak detector. “It is very effective but costs $3,000,” he said.
Old Dog, Old Tricks
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported that the same dog that got caught in three traps at once down near Cowee’s in December got caught in a trap at the same location. “He hasn’t learned his lesson,” he said. Goodermote said he has been getting a lot of calls about animal abuse since the recent publicity about Buster’s Law. Goodermote asked for and received permission to hold a rabies clinic in the spring.
Push For Youth Events
Board Member Sheila Hewitt announced that there would be a meeting in early March to try to “revive” the Berlin Youth Commission. She wants to get parents involved to develop new things for the kids to do. Hewitt reported that Tammy Osterhout, who has run the program for years, wants to be less involved in it. It was agreed that the community’s involvement with its youths was critically important considering the facts revealed at the recent TRACS meeting about the behavior of kids in the Berlin School District.
Other Business
Kent Goodermote reported that 25 people showed up and “passed around ideas” at the Comprehensive Plan Workshop on January 27. The Committee is now going over the ideas offered at the workshop. Also, the Board voted to authorize the use of time spent on the Comprehensive Plan in lieu of money to be used for matching grants from the Hudson River Greenway.
Board Member Carl Greene announced that the precise date has not yet been set for the Little Hoosic River Watershed Association’s annual meeting at the end of March.
The Board voted unanimously to appoint Susan Womersley as alternate to the Zoning Board of Appeals. When the bill in the amount of  $4,194 for Mark Hitchins was read Jaeger asked ZBA Member Vic Lewin if Mariner Tower had been billed to replenish their deposit. Hitchins is the engineer hired on behalf of the ZBA to review the Mariner Tower application for the cell tower construction in Cherry Plain. His expenses are paid out of the escrow deposited by Mariner Tower according to the Town’s cell tower law, and there is a threshold for replenishment. “Last time we had to bill Verizon $9,000 when they should have been paying all along,” Jaeger said.
The Board rejected the request by the Berlin Central School District to be a partner in a shared services application. Jaeger said that Petersburgh and Grafton had  already “passed on it.” “We want a salt shed and a fueling station and this can be done with the County,” Jaeger added.
Board Member Greene thanked Town Clerk Anne Maxon for distributing the minutes of the meetings so promptly, giving Board Members plenty of time to review them.
Supervisor Jaeger reported that the meeting between the Berlin and Petersburgh Town Boards would take place on February 22 at a location as yet to be determined but probably in Petersburgh.
In a discussion without any heated exchanges it was determined that some people have been misusing the programmable thermostats in the Town Hall. Some Town officials reported that when they have come into an empty Town Hall it has been sweltering.