Berlin Town Board Action – Berlin Lumber Referendum Set For July 19

by Kieron Kramer
Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger announced at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 10, that the referendum on the Berlin Lumber purchase will be held on Monday, July 19, from noon to 8 pm in the Town Hall. Absentee ballots for the referendum can be picked up at the Town Clerk’s office or requested in writing.  July 9 was chosen as the last date to request an absentee ballot since they must be returned by the 19th.
Spelunking
Jaeger and Board Member Carl Greene attended the dedication for the Bentleys Cavern Preserve on June 6 with Robert Bentley and his daughter Randi Bentley and members of the Northeastern Cave Conservancy. (The story on the dedication and the history of the cavern appeared in last week’s issue of the Eastwick Press; or search on www.eastwickpres.com). Jaeger passed around a detailed, laminated map of the cavern which he wants to frame and hang in the Town Hall. He said that a lady from the agency (Emily Davis, Conservancy Office Manager) decorated a beautiful cake with the map of the cavern for the dedication but the rain and humidity on that Sunday melted the icing. Presumably the cake tasted good anyway. According to Jaeger, the Bentleys Cavern is one of six caverns the Conservancy manages, four were purchased, and the Bentleys Cavern is one of two donated to the Conservancy.
Jonah Spivak, the Program Manager of the caverns, lives  on Johnson Hill Road in Hoosick. He will lead an exploration/spelunking event into the cave on July 10. The Conservancy will also contact the Berlin Central School to develop educational projects in the cavern. Jaeger said that Spivak wanted to thank Tim Giumarra who put in the road leading from the Preserve’s parking lot on Route 22 to the clearing where the kiosk is located. It must have been a good job, Jaeger said, because nothing washed out during the heavy rains.
The large chamber in the cavern can hold 150 people, according to Jaeger, but you have to crawl through a low ceilinged stream to get to the main chamber. Former Board Member and Fire District Commissioner George Shuhart recalled that Pat Sweeney had to go into the caves years ago to “get a guy who had blown up.” Sweeney just had to talk to him and calm him down. There is parking off of Route 22, and there are rules and regulations for visiting the cave posted on the kiosk, like what equipment to use and that one should leave one’s name and address in the car so people will know you’re in the cave. Shuhart said, “If your car is down [in the lot] on Route 22 for two or three days, we’ll figure it out.”
Pettibone Appointed Assessor
A letter of interest to fill the Assessor’s position, vacated in April by Nancy Sweener, was received from Stanley Pettibone. Since his was the only letter received, the Board unanimously appointed Pettibone to fill the vacant Assessor’s position for a term to end on December 31, 2010. The position will be up for election in November and candidates can vie for a full term at that time.
Community Action To Beautify Berlin Commended
Former Town Supervisor and current member of the Berlin Beautification Committee Sandi Slattery sent a letter, which was read by Jaeger, “publicly thanking Jim Winn and his crew and Ivan Wager and his men at the transfer station for all their help in planting the gladioli this year. Each of these men went far beyond their duty as public servants,” she wrote. Slattery also thanked “Hartland Designs and Dwayne Goodermote for prepping and planting almost 7,000 bulbs, the generous benefactor and each of the landowners who allowed the use of their land.” She gave “a special accolade to Don Calman for his vision of the beautification project and the will to carry it out with little initial support.” Slattery concluded, “These gardens provide a sterling example how a community can work together for the benefit of all its people.”
Dog In The Mist
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported that he had received a call from the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department at 6 am Wednesday morning about dog trouble on the top of Bly Hollow Road. Goodermote said that a pit bull “came out of nowhere, tore up a dog, scratched a man, bit another man on the hand and kept on moving through. We hope not to see it again,”  he said. Goodermote also told the Board that according to NYS it was time for the Town to renew the kennel contract. The Board will renew the contract.
Other News
Highway Superintendent Jim Winn reported that the CHIPs (Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program) money has been approved. Berlin will get $321 more than last year. This means that the planned replacement of the Southeast Hollow  Bridge  with a huge culvert can go ahead. County Engineer Wayne Bonesteel is finishing the application to the DEC for a permit to do the work, and the Highway Department is ready to get started, Winn said.
Winn also reported that the Department “has fixed the mess on Bly Hollow Road.” The drainage is poor along one stretch, and the road had to be dug out and filled with quite a lot of stone and gravel.
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton reported that the County Tax Services Department which owns the dangerous structure on North Main Street having taken it for nonpayment of property taxes, responded quickly to Yerton’s request that something be done about the building. The County agreed to send someone to board up the building, although this has not yet happened.
Reporting for the ZBA, Vic Lewin said that a man on Bly Hollow Road has done home brewing and “wants to set up a nano-brewery where people can come and buy or drink brew on the premises.”
Pam Gerstel and the Planning Board have been reviewing the 1988 Land Use regulations for possible updating. Gerstel, Yerton and Planning Board Member Bonita Maxon went to a conference on planning and zoning and learned a lot about the SEQR. Gerstel also said that it was suggested that Berlin pass a moratorium on windmill construction that could last until regulations controlling their construction could be established. She has been looking at other towns’ windmill laws. The Board agreed that a moratorium would be a good idea and put the moratorium on the agenda for the workshop on July 24.
Jaeger reported for Tammy Osterhout, Youth Commission Director, who, he said, was at a “Fire Convention,” that thanks to Hoosick Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly and County Legislator Stan Brownell, the swim program will be able to use the Town of Hoosick Pool for the same cost as last year. Jaeger said that the dates of the Swim Program will be posted on the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us/) which Jaeger said, has registered 760 first time users as of the afternoon of the Town meeting.
Several proposals for the replacement of the windows in the Town Hall with energy efficient windows were examined at this meeting. Not all the issues have been resolved, but the cheapest proposal by far was one from Modern Vision for $3,700 which includes the cost of the attractive round top window at $971. This proposal, however did not include labor. Board Member Richard von Schilgen, who is supervising the project for the Board, has notions that a lot of the labor might be done by skillful volunteers. The highest costing proposal was from Window World, which included labor but not the round top window, at $6,000. Board Member Jim Saunders will assist von Schilgen in moving forward with this project.
The new Chair of Assessors, Allan Yerton, reported that “we got through grievance month.” Three cases came to the Board of Assessment Review (BAR), he said; on one the assessment was lowered, one was unchanged and one was a continuation from last year.
Supervisor Jaeger thanked the Seventh Day Baptist Church for organizing clean up day on May 29. Jaeger participated, for which Board Member Carl Greene commended him. Jaeger said that he had picked up more cigarette butts than anything else; he had half a garbage bag full. Jaeger said that not only was this an excellent event for the Town, but everyone seemed to have good fun, too.
The Board went into executive session for about seven minutes to “discuss a legal matter.” A short time after they came out, the Board passed a resolution unanimously and without discussion to transfer $3,000 from the contingency fund to a line item for attorneys’ fees “in regards to work with the union.” The Highway Department employees unionized in January of this year, and contract negotiations are underway. The Town has hired an attorney who is an expert in labor relations to negotiate with UPSEU.
LaBerge Engineering Consultants has offered to come to Berlin for a free consultation to look at the Water District #2 system and make suggestions, von Schilgen reported.
At the end of the meeting it was agreed that an American Flag should fly 24/7 from the Town Hall.