by Bea Peterson
At the regular meeting of the Hoosick Town Board on Tuesday, July 12, Board members advised townspeople to be extremely careful at the intersection of Routes 7 and 22 as construction on the new bridge, and now the roadway, continues. Councilman Mark Surdam started the conversation and other members chimed in as they all related dangerous incidents that have already occurred. They said it is very difficult traveling from Route 22 onto Route 7 to see around the metal guardrails before making a turn.
Turning from Route 7 to Route 22 has also been hazardous. They all wondered if the State couldn’t have devised a better plan. Town Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland said the Town had talks with the State during the planning stages but most of their suggestions were ignored. Perhaps when the work is completed the hazards will be reduced, but during this phase residents are advised to be extremely careful at that intersection.
Big Turnout
There was a rumor around Town that someone from Wastetricity was going to speak before the Board on Monday. As a result of that rumor there was a large turnout of people at the meeting who opposed the first Wastetricity proposal to create a construction debris transfer station on Cottrell Road and were prepared to do battle again. No one from Wastetricity was at the meeting or on the agenda. Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly said there had been no meetings with the company, nor did he anticipate that there would be any. He said the only reason he mentioned he had had a call from them at the last Board meeting was to let the public know that he had heard from them and he wanted to quell any rumors about “secret” negotiations before they started. When asked their position on the project should Wastetricity appear before the Board, Supervisor Cipperly said he was not in favor of the project at all. Mark Surdam said he was still upset over the way the company kept changing its proposal the last time and he was not in favor of hearing from them again. Councilman Louis Schmigel clarified his remarks from the last meeting. He stated he never said he was for or against the project, he simply wanted to hear what they had to say, particularly, he said, since a project of that nature could be beneficial to all the taxpayers. He said he has since read much of the information available on the project and he doesn’t believe he would be in favor of it. The discussion ended before Councilman Jeff Wysocki stated his position. Councilman Bob Ryan was absent. Board members said they believe that every time there is someone new elected to the Board, Brad Landis, or someone else from Wastetricity will be back.
Town Assessor Tony Rice stated the final tax roll was complete July 1 and anyone is welcome to review the assessments.
County Wide Hazard Meeting
Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland said he and other County highway superintendents are attending monthly Hazard Mitigation meetings. By 2012 every town must have a hazard mitigation plan or flooding and other natural disasters will not be eligible for FEMA funding. The County has hired a vendor to put together a plan for each town. However, every month each highway superintendent must complete about 20 pages of paperwork for the vendor.
Shiland also reported that Monday was the last day of fixing spring potholes. Now they will begin work on the summer potholes. He added that the County Health Department has inspected the pool and, “it’s in good shape healthwise.”
Schmigel told the Board he had made some telephone calls regarding the purchase of a new pool liner within the next few years. The project was discussed at the last meeting. Before he can go any further, he said, he needs to talk to Shiland regarding specifics. Supervisor Cipperly said they are also working on applying for a grant to replace the liner and refurbish the pool house bathrooms. The cost of this project could be $400,000.
Cipperly said he had walked along areas of Wood Brook with Laura Oswald, an Economic and Community Development Manager with LaBerge and that he will be talking with Hoosick Falls Mayor Matt Monahan to see about getting a study done on the brook.
Robert and Paula Gannon, owners of property on Brenenstuhl Road complained to the Board that they had been unable to get any response from Building Inspector Ed King regarding the condition of property across the road from their property. They said they had sent a letter to the Inspector to no avail. Both Supervisor Cipperly and King said they never received the letter. Supervisor Cipperly advised the couple to send a letter to King with a copy to him and they would respond to the Gannon’s request.
Laura Sagendorf of Hampton St. wanted the Board and townspeople to be aware that there were several break-ins, particularly of unlocked cars, in the Clay Hill area over the July 4 weekend. Someone tried to kick in her front door and also tried to pry open a window, to no avail. The Sheriff’s Department responded, she said. But she is concerned there are no patrols in the area. “It’s a scary thing,” she said. “And I don’t know where to go from here.” Cipperly said he would contact the Hoosick Falls Police Chief to see if something could be done. When contacted, Sgt. Marc St. Germain of the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Dept. said now that school is out there have been many such incidents reported throughout the County. None of these incidents have been solved at this point.
Vacant Buildings On Website
Supervisor Cipperly would like to show local vacant business properties on the Town website. “When Bennington Paperboard closed, many people lost their jobs,” he said. “I would like to do anything in our power to see some of these factories open again.” Only the buildings would be displayed; no prices, no realtors. That information is available from other sources.
Veterans Memorial Wall
Town Historian Phil Leonard reported that in the last month over $10,000 has been raised for the plaques for the Veterans Memorial Wall in Wood Park. “People want it,” he said. He added that the committee hopes to have all the money raised by November 11, 2010 and to have the plaques and landscaping completed by November 11, 2011.
Leonard then described his latest display board of the Hoosick West Hills, pointing out that where Man of Kent is now
was the former town swimming hole 60 years ago.
Thank You
The Supervisor noted there was a person in need of assistance at the Town Pool recently, and he and the Board wanted to extend their appreciation to Pool Director Janet DeLuca for the great job she did in responding to the situation.
Cipperly also extended his thanks to WCW for installing the new carpet in the meeting room and to Steve Nichols for the new paneling. The project was funded by a Justice grant.
Ribbon Cutting
The Rensselaer County Land Trust will hold events and a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new boat launch on Route 67 on Saturday, July 31. Activities will run from 10 am to 4 pm. Boats and kayaks will launch and travel down the Hoosic River at 1 pm.
Caretakers Road One Way
A Public Hearing was held before the Board meeting began. Since no one spoke against making Caretakers Road one way, the Board unanimously approved Local Law #2 making Caretakers Road one way from Route 67 to the Caretakers Bridge. The new one lane bridge will be two way, accessible from either Caretakers Road or Cottrell Road.