by Bea Peterson
The Hoosick Falls Village Board meeting on Tuesday evening, December 13, began on a light note. Sam Wickenden, Karli Granger and Aleah Stowell, in elves hats, addressed the Board. Aleah told them they were from HAYC3’s Youth Impact Jr. program. It’s a leadership program for kids who like to help the community. Sam told the Board that the program helped the community by putting a bird feeder in the front of the Wood Park Senior building and they had a Welcome Desk for the Village cleanup day. They also handed out candy to the community on Halloween and drew Thanksgiving pictures for the community in November. This week they handed out reindeer antlers to members of the community. Whereupon Karli presented Mayor Monahan and each Board member a set of antlers, which they proudly put on. The Board thanked the youngsters for their fine work.
Rogers Avenue Parking Issue
The first order of business was the public hearing on Local Law #3 regarding no parking on the crest of the hill on one side of Rogers Avenue. Rogers Avenue resident Kevin O’Malley said keeping cars off one side of the road would just push them to the other side, specifically onto the sidewalk on his property. Forty-nine signatures had been collected specifying that parking on that section of roadway was a hazard. The police department has reviewed the roadway and does not see a problem if the speed limits are observed. Trustee Ric DiDonato said he would prefer to see no parking on either side. Deputy Mayor Paul Haynes said he didn’t see a safety issue and he was not in favor of the law, preferring to see either no parking on both sides or no parking regulations at all.
Trustee David Borge said when a majority of residents want to see this happen, he would side with the majority. Mayor Monahan said he was concerned no parking on the street would affect property values, something he did not want to happen. Trustee John Hickey suggested the law be tabled for two months. When a vote on passing the law was taken, Borge voted yes, new Trustee Jeremy Driscoll abstained and the rest voted no. The law was tabled until April 2012 since snow along the roadway limits parking on the street difficult in the winter anyway.
Dangerous Dogs
Christine McCart of the Second Ward Neighborhood Association told the Board that four dogs, at the same residence on First Street, are outside and bark constantly. “When they get off their lines they are aggressive,” she said. People are afraid to walk on the street, she added. She said when the owner comes out to stop the dogs from barking, the two pit bulls and the other two large dogs actually cower. McCart said people have called 911 and have not been contacted by anyone as a result of these calls, so they simply don’t call anymore. Village Clerk Ann Bornt said the dog control officer was in the Village on Tuesday and was checking into those particular dogs. Mayor Monahan said he would make sure the County Dispatch knew who to contact regarding dog issues in the Village.
McCart added that the new stop signs are up in Second Ward, but they are being ignored and there is no police surveillance to ticket them. The Mayor said he has also seen cars run the signs.
Job Not Done
A resident of Home Street said he had blacktopped near his mailbox to make it easier for him to clear away the snow in the wintertime. When the road was torn up for sewer line work, he told the crew he wanted the blacktop fixed. Instead they threw down some loose stone near his mailbox. Now he is afraid he will throw up stones and hit his house when he uses his snowblower. The Mayor said they still have a punch list with the contractor and he will see that the area around the mailbox is fixed as it was before.
Griffin Avenue House Again
Neighbors are concerned that the house on Griffin Avenue looks no different than it has in the past with debris covered by tarps in the yard. Bornt said the owner has received seven warnings and one citation and further action is expected.
In other business the Board approved:
• use of Wood Park by the Hoosick Lions Club for the annual road race on Saturday, May 19, from 6 am to 1 pm;
• a motion to table EWA for Clough Harbour in the amount of $8,795.15;
• a motion to approve payment to All Industrial Services in the amount of $15,715 for taking down the old Rensselaer Street water tank; the Mayor noted the cost came in under budget;
• a motion to sign a Local Government Efficiency Grant contract and to advertise RFPs for Dissolution Study.
• a motion to appoint Crystallee Quell and Danielle Crosier part time police officers; the Village had sponsored their attendance to the police academy and now they need to accrue 100 hours of field training.
The Board also passed a resolution to take a Revenue Anticipation Note in the amount of $135,000 at 1.89 percent interest for one year. The note is necessary to cover water and sewer expenses as a result of changing the Village’s water billing from August to August instead of starting it in June as in the past.
Grievance Night
The Village will hold Tax Grievance Night on Thursday, February 23, 2012, from 6 to 9 pm
The Mayor said he wished to congratulate the HFCS sports teams for a fine fall season. The Football team won the Regional title and the Girls Soccer Team won the State title.
He also thanked Bill Shiland, the Town Highway Department and Niel Stowell for their hard work in getting River Road repaired and reopened.