Bly Hollow Problem Settled In Holiday Spirit

by Kieron Kramer
Perhaps it was the holiday spirit, but, after a difficult year with plenty of meetings in which more heat was generated than light, the Berlin Board ended its regular meetings of 2011 with much more light than heat. “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” said Board Members Richard deLeon Jr. and Sheila Hewitt at the end of the meeting.
The best example during the meeting on Thursday, December 8, of a rediscovered sense of community was the very amicable and simple resolution of the contentious issue of the dangerous intersection at Bly Hollow and Watson Roads. This intersection was the topic of several meetings, and a petition, with 121 signatures, asking for a stop sign at the intersection was presented to the Board at the November meeting and was followed by a heated argument pro and con. At this meeting everyone joined in a plan to solve the problem, proving again that it’s always better when people work together.
Perhaps it was Highway Superintendent Jim Winn’s announcement that he had spoken to an engineer and that a traffic flow analysis of the intersection would probably cost $1,750, that focussed the group on a solution. Board Member deLeon asked if there had ever been an accident at that intersection. Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger said that there had been other accidents, one fatal, on Bly Hollow Road but none at that intersection. DeLeon replied, “So I don’t see the justification for it…something could be done to help the situation without spending $2,000.” Doug Goodermote, who was the driving force behind last month’s petition, said, “I agree 100%, Richard. I don’t think you can see up Bly Hollow; there is not enough line of sight, and there is a belly in the road there – it would still be dangerous even with a stop sign so my idea now is to cut back the brush.” And he added, “The landowner is a good guy to deal with.”
The brush that would need to be cut back to provide an adequate line of sight at the intersection is on private property so the landowner’s permission would be needed. Board Member Hewitt asked Winn if he would talk to the landowner. Goodermote said that he thought that the large ash trees along the side of the road were still on Town property. “If the Town told the guy that he could have the ash for firewood [after they were cut down by the Town], he might be very agreeable,” Goodermote added. Billy Hammersmith thought that it would help to straighten out the intersection by taking the corner out. Goodermote agreed. Some people hoped that the landowner might be willing to deed the corner over to the Town to straighten out the intersection. “A lot of bark has been taken off trees when turning around that corner,” someone said.
Brush cutting is not a complete solution, but changing the speed limit on Bly Hollow and putting up a stop sign would require County and NYS DOT approval. Goodermote suggested that if there were no enforcement up there the signs wouldn’t solve the problem anyway. Everyone agreed that some signage would help, though. According to Supervisor Jaeger, the Town can install warning signs and suggested speed limit signs (they are the yellow signs) without County or State approval. The signs would be inexpensive to install and just might help prevent an accident. But the most important solution is the line of sight improvement, and it is hoped that this will be accomplished soon.
The Vermilion Red Truck
In another example of a new era, the Board considered the purchase of a 2012 Vermilion Red Ford F-350 for $21,410 with the trade-in of the Town’s current F-350 with plow. During much of the year four Board members had been, to say the least, skeptical of almost all expenditures proposed by the Highway Department. At this meeting Board Members Sheila Hewitt and Becky Giumarra, who are serving at their last regular Town Board meeting, carefully and enthusiastically reviewed the specifications of the new truck. Happy with the specs, the Board voted unanimously to make the purchase.
Originally the Board had approved at last month’s meeting the publication of requests for bids on a 2011 Ford F-350. Two bids were received – one from Marchese Ford in New Lebanon and one from Carmody Ford-Mercury in Greenwich. Marchese offered a 2011 truck for $27,900 including the trade-in and the good customer discounts. Carmody’s bid was $20,500. There was no explanation for the price discrepancy between the two dealers. Winn said, “I’ve had better luck up in Greenwich with service.” Even more surprising than the price difference, Carmody’s offered a 2012 truck with the same specs for $21,410, only $910 more than the 2011. Recognizing a no-brainer when they see one, the Board ended up voting to buy the newer model.
The sander used in the present truck will be installed in the new truck, but a new plow will have to be purchased because the old plow will not fit the new truck frame. The plow will cost $4,701 according to Ivan Wager, who said at this meeting that he had just bought one. Winn has been selling scrap metal from the various bridge repairs done this year. The steel culvert from the Walnut Lane repair will bring almost $2,000, Winn said, and the ibeams from the Southeast Hollow bridge repair are very heavy steel. Privately Winn said that he thought the sale of scrap would come close to covering the cost of the new plow. Referring, during the regular meeting, to Winn’s scrap metal salvage, Jaeger said, “You’re giving Sanford and Son a run for their money.” Winn, however, does not exactly resemble Redd Foxx.
Other Business
Referring to the snowfall on the Wednesday before the meeting, Winn said, “We made our first trip in a while; everyone got back and everything worked out well.” Nancy Baker of the DEC came out to do spot inspections on the permits for the repair projects related to the September storm damage. “She was really happy,” said Winn. Regarding the Walnut Lane bridge, Winn said the walls are up; one needs to be back filled. The steel arrived the day before this meeting, and Winn hopes that the deck can be poured the following week. He said planks would be put down to spread the weight so that cars can use the bridge right away. Heavy trucks will not be allowed over the span for another three weeks, by which time the concrete should be fully cured.
As Supervisor of Water District #2 Winn said that the system had passed the five year inspection. “Everything was good; some sampling still has to be done,” he said.
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported that his kennel had been inspected by the State. He also “adopted out” a dog this month, and he marvelled that the State no longer cares about dog adoptions without licenses. On January 1 the State turned dog licensing authority over to the towns.
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton said he had just completed 24 hours of in-service training in Albany and while there had learned that the response to the Hurricane Irene emergency went smoothly because of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) training and the chain of command that so many towns in the area had established. Echoing this sentiment during his report on Berlin’s disaster plan Ivan Wager said that Joe Rechen will be offering NIMS training in January and that the newly elected Board members need to participate. “I’d go through the course with Joe rather than on-line,” said Wager. Jaeger said that you learn lots of practical applications from Rechen’s course which, he said, was very useful when responding to the Irene emergency. The training is open to anyone who is interested, said Jaeger.
Yerton, as Assessor, said that applications for STAR property tax exemptions will be accepted from January 1 to March 1.
Wager, reporting on the Transfer Station said, “Everything is fine; we’ve been busy; Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the guys.”
Jaeger suggested that people go to the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us) to read stories about Berlin by Town Historian Sharon Klein.
Planning Board Chair Pam Gerstel announced that that Board is on the last page of the 1988 land use regulations that they are revising but that the final revision will take a while longer because some elements in the Comprehensive Plan that was adopted in the September meeting need to be added. The Planning Board and the ZBA have been working together on this revision. Gerstel also said that three members of the Board had interviewed Ann Crisp, who is interested in serving on the Planning Board. They recommended that Crisp be appointed, and the Town Board voted unanimously to do so.
Sheila Hewitt announced that a DVD by James R. Jones on the history of the Rutland Railroad, also known as the Corkscrew Railroad which served many of the towns in the Eastwick area, is on sale at Hewitt’s Market for $19.95. It would make a good Christmas present she said.
The Board went into a half hour executive session to discuss the contract negotiations between the Town and the union representing the Highway Department employees.
As she has done at most of the previous meetings this fall, Pam Gerstel raised the question of lack of cell phone service from the Cherry Plain tower by asking for Chris Ciolfi’s phone number. Ciolfi represents Mariner Tower, the company that erected the cell tower in order to rent space to cell phone carriers. Goodermote, on whose property the tower stands, said he had talked to Ciolfi that afternoon and that Ciolfi was pretty sure that a carrier will be “hooking on” early in the year and that Verizon will “hook on” in the spring. Jaeger, who said that he was writing a letter to the lawyer who represented Verizon during the permit process because “it’s been a year now,” speculated that the upgrade from 3G to 4G networks across the Verizon system accounted for the delay.
Jaeger reminded everyone that settlement night is December 29 at 7 pm in the Town Hall. He also announced that the swearing in of new Board Members and Town Officers will take place in the Town Hall at 6:30 pm on January 3. The organizational meeting will be held at 7 pm after the swearing in.