by Kieron Kramer
In Berlin work has started on the replacement of the red-flagged bridge on Southeast Hollow Road with a giant culvert. The bridge was red-flagged by the NYS DOT in June of 2008 because it was considered so structurally unsound that it needed replacement. With the help of the County Engineer’s Office, Berlin Highway Superintendent Jim Winn proposed the giant culvert as a replacement at a fraction of the cost of building a new bridge, which Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger once estimated could cost $500,000. The culvert replacement will still cost the Town around $70,000. The proposal was grudgingly accepted by the NYS DEC, which issues the permits for construction in the waterways of the State, because it felt that the fish in the brook would not swim over the corrugated bottom of the culvert.
Winn reported to the Town Board at its meeting on Thursday, September 9, that the temporary bypass road was completed the week before and has been successfully navigated by residents traveling on Southeast Hollow Road. “The County has put up some signs,” Winn said, and Supervisor Rob Jaeger agreed that the road is well marked even though “it comes on you fast” when going up Southeast Hollow.
This is a large, expensive project; a bill from Abele Tractor and Equipment Company of Albany for $8,105 for renting the heavy equipment needed for excavation so far has already been received, and Winn will be using 160 feet of four foot diameter pipe in the project. Some has been used to let the brook flow under the temporary road and some is being used to divert the brook so that the giant replacement culvert and concrete work can be installed dry. Winn said that four men from the County Highway Department helped earlier on Thursday bolting the pieces of the giant culvert together. There are 1,849 bolts to be placed and tightened, according to Winn.
The Berlin Highway Department has been waiting on Fairpoint to rerun the telephone lines so the work can continue. The telephone lines up Southeast Hollow Road were buried and ran across the old bridge. They will have to be run out of the way while the replacement is being done and then rerun across the replacement bridge.
The I-beams from the old bridge are being stored temporarily on the side of the road as is the tin from the underside and the guardrails. Board Member Richard von Schilgen asked if this metal would be sold for scrap. Winn said that the I-beams would have to be cut into shorter sections for hauling to a scrap yard and that the tin is “too hard to handle” and would be best dealt with by putting it in a dumpster for Waste Management to haul away.
Auntie Jane Honored
Supervisor Jaeger announced that Berlin’s own Jane Fitzgerald is to be honored at the 12th Annual ceremony on October 19 to honor seniors 85 years or older. The event is presented by the Capital District Senior Issues Forum and will honor 47 seniors from Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Saratoga counties. Jaeger said he would contact Fitzgerald and arrange to take her to the ceremony if she wished.
Upcoming Public Hearings
The business of the Town Board’s workshop held on August 26 was reported at this meeting by Supervisor Jaeger. At the workshop the Board discussed the need to schedule two public hearings – one for the users of Water District #2 in order to get input on the recommendations for the upgrade of the water system and one to get comments on the dog licensing law that the Town will have to pass in order to take over licensing activity from the State by January 1.
The hearing on the dog licensing law must be held by the end of the year. The Town is waiting for the development of a model law by the State Association of Towns and the Agriculture and Markets Department. The hearing to discuss the proposed work and goals for the Water District #2 upgrade will be scheduled in the near future and will likely draw a crowd so it will have to held somewhere other than the Town Hall.
Garage Furnace From Morse
The Board voted 4-0, with Carl Greene absent, to purchase a new furnace for the Town Garage from Morse Heating for $2,400. The Board also decided at the workshop to advertise the screener for sale in the Want Ad Digest.
Town Hall Windows
Richard von Schilgen reported that there are only four new energy efficient windows left to install in the Town Hall. Because of the Labor Day holiday it was hard to get volunteers, but he expected to get the last four in on the Saturday after the meeting. Von Schilgen also said that that the exterior trim on the Town Hall has been scraped, primed and top-coated as part of this project, which is funded by the Justice Fund. There is also an individual whose business has changed and who therefore has two brand new dehumidifiers he would like to donate to the Town. This person is only asking for a receipt acknowledging the value of the gift for tax deduction purposes. The dehumidifiers could be used to control the dampness in the Town Hall basement.
Unbearable Noise
Jaeger read two letters, apparently from the same person if the stationery is any indication. One was unsigned without a return address. It complained that the noise on Miller Road is “unbearable” and asked the Town to update its noise ordinance. The second, which was signed and had a return address, demanded that the noise ordinance be enforced and asked who is responsible for enforcement. Jaeger said that he would write back and inform the writer that the Sheriff is responsible for enforcing noise ordinances.
Anti-Bullying Resolution
The Board received a letter from County Executive Kathy Jimino and John McDonald, the Mayor of Cohoes, requesting support for an anti-bullying resolution naming October as anti-bullying awareness month. The Board passed unanimously a resolution in support.
Cherry Plain Cell Tower Grinds To A Halt
When Board Member Sheila Hewitt asked for an update on the cell tower being constructed on the Doug and Melinda Goodermote property on the west side of Rt. 22 in Cherry Plain because there are still no cell phone signals available at the High School, it was announced by Jaeger that the project had ground to a halt. According to Jaeger the work has stopped because there is a legal matter concerning the mining of the gravel being used to build the road to the tower location.
The gravel is being supplied free of charge to the road construction company by the Goodermotes, on whose property the tower and the gravel bank is located. Goodermote’s mining privileges come from Ag and Markets Law which allows mining on a farm for agricultural purposes with restrictions. According to Jaeger, the complaint of a neighbor of Goodermote’s, who has been opposed for a while to his mining operation, has involved the DEC. The issue is that the DEC has decided that gravel being used for the road is not an agricultural purpose because it will benefit Goodermote commercially and may even be hauled away by the contractor for use elsewhere.
Goodermote, as D&M Sand and Gravel, has applied for a mining permit from the DEC. D&M has proposed to continue mining the old Hopman (sic) Mine by mining around it and working out from the old mine. The DEC has asked the Town if it wants to be the lead agency in the application process, but Jaeger and the Board think the process is too complicated and costly for the Town to take on. Meanwhile, it seems that work on the Cherry Plain cell tower will have to wait until the mining application is approved in order for Goodermote to avoid legal complications.
I Am An Antique
When the bills were read to be approved by the Board for payment, two were discovered to be in error. One was for around $600 from Gorman Bros. that Winn will look into because he thinks it has already been paid.
An amusing exchange occurred when Hewitt questioned a bill from Staples for $134 for the purchase of a typewriter for Town Clerk Anne Maxon. “I asked because it’s such an antique piece of equipment,” Hewitt said. “It is because I am an antique,” replied Maxon.
Gladioli Project To Continue
For the first time the Beautification of Berlin Committee was included on the meeting agenda. Jaeger read a letter from the Committee addressed to the residents of Berlin that appeared in the Eastwick Press on August 6. Then Don Calman, the visionary behind the gladioli plantings along Route 22, announced that the Committee had decided to continue the gladioli work next year in as many new beds as possible using the money that is still to be received from State Senator Roy MacDonald’s office and in the hope that more funding will be available from the Town. “How should I submit my request for funding in the budget?” Calman asked. He also said that now that the flowers have bloomed and gone by the beds will look bad if the bulbs are not pulled out now. This will happen in the next two weeks.
Several testimonials were given in support of the project. Calman and Jaeger both reported that they had been told that several people changed their route driving to work in order to pass by the colorful beds that reach their peak in August. Anne Maxon said that a gentleman riding through Town came into the Bank of America to inquire about the plantings. At first he had thought there was just one gladioli bed planted. Then he saw the others and wanted the story. After being given the purpose and historical significance of the gladioli project, the man was quite intrigued, Maxon said. Calman said that one of the goals of the project is to bring people to town. If Berlin can become a destination point because of the gladioli, it will help business, he said.
At the end of the meeting Kent Goodermote asked Calman if money couldn’t be raised by cutting some of the blooms and selling them. Calman said that it would defeat the purpose to cut the flowers. When Goodermote then asked about selling the bulbs, Calman listed the drawbacks, the first being that the Committee tried to sell the bulbs last year and found that it was not practical. And storing the bulbs for future use isn’t worth it either. Storing them is too labor intensive and the cost is prohibitive since new bulbs are inexpensive. Also, new bulbs are sold by color so you can control the color of the beds. Calman said he has to use 10,000 bulbs and 1,000 bulbs cost $100. The Committee will pull the bulbs and leave them for people to pick up for free in the hope that people will plant them themselves next year.
A Story Of Old Berlin
The storage of gladioli bulbs gave rise to an interesting story of “old Berlin” told at the meeting by Kent Goodermote. The Berlin Firehouse was once a bulb storage building during the height of the nationally known Cowee gladioli business. When the building was obtained by the Town to be turned into the Fire House, Goodermote’s grandfather, Carpenter Art Goodermote, had the job of lowering the roof of the three story building which was still full of bulb drying storage racks. Carpenter Art put the racks outside to be bought for 5 cents each. There were no takers. Then they were offered at one cent each. There were no takers. Then they were offered for free, and the next day they were gone. Russ Goodermote had taken them all, and there were enough racks that he built an entire barn out of the wood.
Other Business
• It was reported that it was all quiet in both water districts
• The Halloween party will start at 6 pm with the costumes being judged at 6:30.
• According to Jaeger the number of first time visitors to the Town website, http://berlin-ny.us, was over 1,500 by the time of Thursday’s meeting, which, he said “is quite a jump.” Applications for local businesses and non-profits to be listed on the website are available on the site to be downloaded.
• Board Member Carl Greene reported for the Little Hoosic River Watershed Association that a few individual projects are to be completed before the permits expire.
• Jaeger, reporting for Ivan Wager, said that the Town had started collecting money for tin can scrap.
• Assessor Allan Yerton reported that for the next two months the Assessors will look at and assess new construction in order to add the properties to the tax list.
• Jaeger reported that the Town had received a check from Mr. and Mrs. Billy Hammersmith to cover the cost of the poll watchers during the referendum vote on the purchase of the Berlin Lumber property for use as a municipal center. The Hammersmith’s had offered to pay this expense at the May 21 Town Board meeting.
• Billy Hammersmith asked why the School District had recently had the Grafton Elementary School parking lot paved, sealed and painted. Jaeger facetiously suggested that it was done to create “curb appeal” in order to raise the selling price of the building.
• The Comprehensive Planning Committee will meet in the Berlin Library on September 20.