Berlin Town Board Gets Comprehensive Plan

by Kieron Kramer
After almost five years of work and input by Berliners, including survey information, the Berlin Comprehensive Plan is now in the hands of the Berlin Town Board, ready to be acted upon. Thanks to the expertise and professionalism of Rensselaer County Economic Development Planner Linda von der Heide during the last stages of development and presentation, the Plan was completed in July in time for the Board’s regular meeting on July 14. Von der Heide made the presentation at Thursday’s meeting. Since it is in their hands now, the front page of the final draft of the Plan lists the names of the Board members, who now have 90 days to schedule a public hearing on the Plan.
Von der Heide did not discuss the broad outlines of the Plan let alone the details. The Plan is available to be downloaded as a pdf file on the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us/) and can be read at the Town Clerk’s Office or at the Berlin Library. Instead, she listed what actions must be taken now.
The Town Board will be expected to review the document at its next workshop or regular Board meeting. Since there is no other agency involved, the Town Board becomes the lead agency by default in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process. It will declare the adoption of the Plan as a Type 1 action and decide whether a long Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is needed. After the Board decides that the Plan has no significant environmental effects, the Plan may be sent to the Planning Board for review. The Plan will receive public review and comments at the public hearing. It will also be sent to the County Bureau for Economic Development and Planning for review, and notices will be sent to neighboring towns and agencies that may be interested, not only as a courtesy but also to avoid any conflicts or legal ramifications in the future.
So, by mid-October a public hearing will have been held. Presumably, the Board will vote on the Plan right after the hearing unless significant changes are necessitated by comments made during the hearing. If the Plan is adopted a copy will be filed with County Planning. Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger said that the Plan will be reviewed at the workshop on July 28, and he thanked Linda von der Heide for her work.
The Watipi
Having been charged by the Space Committee as point man in the development of a plan to use the Watipi Building for Town Offices, Dave Theriault continues to work hard on the project in spite of the fact that support on the Board seems to be dwindling and support by the public, at least the public at the meeting, is nonexistent. Theriault contacted the Rensselaer County Health Department regarding the upgrading of the septic system at the Watipi. The Health Department suggested that Theriault hire an engineer to assess the current system and decide what is needed to bring it up to code for use in a public building and submit a formal application for a permit to do the work. He contacted two engineering firms to get a ballpark figure as to how much it would cost to get an assessment. Clark Engineering of New Lebanon offered to do it for $3,500; Hudson River Valley Engineering, of Mechanicville, would charge $1,900. The current septic system was described as “laid up timbers, a dry well and a tank next to the building.” It is located where people now park to use the building.
Replying to this, Supervisor Jaeger reiterated what he has said in prior meetings. “I personally have had a lot of feedback, and the public response for putting money into the Watipi is not good,” he said. Board Member Richard de Leon Jr. said, “I’ve had the same response. We angered the Town once. We don’t want the Town angered again; maybe it should go to the Town [for a vote] before spending any more money on engineers.” Theriault pointed out that it’s hard to vote without the numbers to vote on.
At one point during the discussion Jaeger asked for a show of hands. No one in the room voted to spend more money on the Watipi, and three people voted to tear the building down. “See what Stephentown did with their old train station,” Doug Goodermote said. Stephentown tore down their railroad station in early April of this year.
Tearing down the Watipi seems an extreme measure. It is still used by the Berlin Senior Club, the Town Board for its workshop meetings and the American Legion, and, as Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton said in a prior meeting, can continue to be used without being brought up to code if no major renovations are done. It was suggested that the Town donate the building to the Legion. Len Clapp, Commander of American Legion Post 937, did not leap into the air at the prospect. He wondered if the building would have to be brought up to code if there were a change of ownership, which might be considered a change of use. Yerton suggested that if the Legion were a government agency it might be able to obtain code variances. Clapp said that the Legion was in fact a government agency. “The VFW and the American Legion are controlled by Congress,” Clapp said. Even if it makes economic sense for the Legion to take the building we should still put it to the public, Jaeger said.
The Town will still have to spend a chunk of money on the Watipi. Both Town Attorney Don Tate and Supervisor Jaeger agreed that since the severe mold problem in the Watipi has been identified and is a matter of public record the Town must do the mold abatement, work which was quoted at last month’s meeting at $4,480. The Town might be liable if groups are allowed to use the building without the Town making an effort to fix the mold problem. “Insurance will not cover the mold abatement, but it’s money well spent to protect the townspeople,” Jaeger said. Ivan Wager suggested the contract could be awarded under the State bid. Tara Cinney-Fisher said that they had done mold abatement at Hoosick River Hardwoods and that she would give Jaeger some contractor names and numbers. Town Attorney Don Tate suggested that this could be considered an emergency and so the bid already received would be adequate. Jaeger said that the Board would decide who to award the contract to at the next workshop meeting.
Six Tires
Highway Superintendent Jim Winn told the Board that six new tires are needed for the grader. “One on the front and one on the back are showing canvas,” he said. Bias ply ties will cost $576 each, for a total of $3,456, and radials would cost $1,054 each. It will cost about $750 to mount the tires on the grader. “We’ve never changed the back tires since I’ve been here,” Winn added. Board Member Sheila Hewitt asked if there was any advantage to buying the radials. Winn replied, “Nobody puts radials on, but he gave me a price anyway.” Jaeger said that the Town had no choice but to buy the tires because it would be an OSHA violation. Board Member Becky Giumarra asked who will take the old tires. Winn said, “We have a transfer station.” Head Transfer Station Attendant Ivan Wager said, “I have a special on six tires.” There was some banter about the tires being big enough to use as a kids sandbox. The Board voted 4-0 to approve the purchase. Board Member Jim Saunders was absent for medical reasons.
Four Legs
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote announced that he had not taken Tom Connally’s dog to the pound. Apparently someone had misinterpreted the statement in April’s Town Board report in the Eastwick Press about a beagle possibly from Melrose being taken to the pound and told Connally that it was his lost beagle. “It got him all fired up,” Goodermote said. Goodermote mollified him. After the meeting Goodermote guessed that the misreading might have had something to do with the $1,200 reward that Connally was offering.
Goodermote received complaints, not for the first time, about a dog on Southeast Hollow Road. The four legged rascal roams up and down the road. He also wondered, and asked Town Clerk Anne Maxon, if neighboring towns could find a way to share their dog license databases so that when he finds a stray dog with a tag he can look up the owner more easily. Whether the towns, which now have been given the responsibility for dog licensing by the State, have databases at all is another question.
More upsetting news is that Goodermote picked up a mixed dachshund stray on a Tuesday night, and it was dead by Wednesday morning. He is sure it had parvo. “They die very fast,” he said. He said people mix up parvovirus symptoms with poisoning. The symptoms of parvo are vomiting and blood in the stool. Foxes and other wild animals can carry the parvovirus, and the foxes are rampant this year. Goodermote suggested that dog owners should have their pets inoculated by a veterinarian if they haven’t already received the shot at one of the area rabies clinics.
Town Hall Water Works
Board Member de Leon has had Dwayne Goodermote look at the surface water that runs off the incline behind the Town Hall and around and sometimes through the building. This has been a perennial problem. Goodermote will dig a little ditch with drainage pipe to bring the water from the back to a sink hole filled with crushed stone in the front of the Town Hall. “We will lose some grass and will have some crushed stone instead,” de Leon said. It is hoped that the sink hole can be attached to the mythical drainage pipe that would carry it to the storm drain out by the street. De Leon does not have an estimate for the work yet, but Jaeger guessed that the cost would be under $3,000 and that about $1,600 from the Justice Fund grant surplus could be put towards the project. The Board voted 4-0 to have Dwayne Goodermote start work on the water diversion project. Dave Theriault added that Joe Burdick has estimated the cost for guttering and venting the back roof of the Town Hall.
Reports
Both Water Districts are running smoothly, Clapp and Winn said.
Code Enforcement Officer Yerton said that it seems that more people are apt to apply for building permits since they can download the permit application from the Town website.
Planning Board Chair Pam Gerstel reported that the Board held a public hearing last month and it went very smoothly. She expects Caleb Carr to apply for a subdivision permit this month so he can give a parcel to his brother Simon. Gerstel also said that a Planning Board alternate “may be moving.” So now two Planning Board alternates are needed.
Since Al Maus resigned from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) alternate Susan Womersley was appointed to take his place. That means that two alternates are also needed for the ZBA.
Tammy Osterhout reported that the summer arts and recreation program is “up and running.” Twenty-two kids attended Monday through Thursday and 25 on Friday. “The kids love making a mess but hate cleaning it up,” she said. She said that there is “much interest” in the swimming program, which begins in August. She also said that the County had reimbursed Berlin for 10% of the cost of the Youth Program, about $900, even though she did not file the paperwork this year. She doesn’t know how it was awarded. No one was keen on worrying about that too much.
Reporting on the last workshop, Jaeger said that the Board agreed to emphasize that there is to be no parking in front of the Watipi Building because that area is needed for Fire Truck access to the fire house across the street. The forester did not show up for the workshop, but Jaeger corrected what was reported in the Eastwick last month about the forester charging $20 per acre to inspect the Town’s 120 acre woodlot. Actually, the forester will charge $20 per acre to develop a management plan; his inspection of the parcel is free.
Ivan Wager reported that “everything is going good” at the Transfer Station. He is happy with the new recycling vendor who is taking the electronic equipment, most of the propane tanks and a good share of the batteries but has not dealt with the tires yet. Wager said that they can’t get the little augie working. Jaeger said there may be grant possibilities of $5,000 to $6,000 available to purchase a new one.
Jaeger said that there have been 4,058 first time users of the website as of earlier Thursday. An event page has been added to the website and the Fourth of July Parade information was on it. He thought other community events could be added to the event page.
Tara Cinney-Fisher said that the water meter at Hoosick River Hardwoods is broken and needs to be fixed. “We need to sit down and estimate water use, perhaps using last year’s figures; I’ll be generous,” she said.
Public Comment
Doug Goodermote said someone might get hurt at, what he described as, the dangerous intersection of Bly Hollow Road and Watson Road. Winn said he would check with the County to see about a stop sign there. Billy Hammersmith, whose gravel pit is on Watson Road, said it would be hard to get a big truck moving after it comes to a stop there and with “people flying down Bly Hollow” it might be more dangerous. Winn thought that a “Trucks entering” sign on Bly Hollow might be better than a stop sign.
Pam Gerstel asked about the cell phone tower in Cherry Plain. It is still not operational. Jaeger said that he had called the “head honcho” at Verizon, the company expected to put the first antenna on the tower, and was told that the maintenance money earmarked for the project last year was spent elsewhere because of the delays caused by the Town’s review of the project. Doug Goodermote, who owns the property on which Mariner Tower built the cell tower, said he talked to Chris Ciolfi, who manages the project for Mariner, who said Verizon was “dragging their feet.” Ciolfi wants to see them get the antenna and cable up as soon as possible because he is losing revenue. Goodermote said that he had heard that AT&T will locate on the tower, too. Jaeger said he will call again. Concluding the discussion, Gerstel said she was worried that there will be no cell phone service again this winter.
At the start of Thursday’s meeting Supervisor Jaeger thanked the Fourth of July Parade Committee for “an excellent parade this year.” Everyone agreed.