by Kieron Kramer
The Berlin Town Board meeting on Thursday, April 12, was so without controversy, so business-like, so politically correct that the only really interesting report was the tale of the depressed dog told by Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote.
[private]On a Thursday before the Board meeting residents near the Park Avenue Bridge that runs from Route 22 over the Little Hoosic River heard an uncanny howling from a culvert next to the abutment under the bridge and called the State Police. It turned out to be a beagle. If you’ve ever heard a beagle in extremis howl, amplified and echoed by a culvert, you know why the neighbors were so upset. But, of course, you haven’t.
In the afternoon, the Fire Department and Goodermote were quickly notified and went to the scene. A visual inspection of the culvert revealed nothing. Then, Goodermote said, “They put water to the culvert, but no dog came out.”
The best answer to the canine mystery was the guess that the dog had crawled between the culvert and the abutment, but it couldn’t be seen. Goodermote suggested that they just leave it, but, according to Goodermote, the State Trooper insisted that the dog be rescued. Ah, the role of government in modern society is to save a dog. So the County was called since the bridge is part of the County road. But the County backhoe was at the other end of the County so Berlin Highway Superintendent Jim Winn was called to lend the use of the Berlin backhoe. Beagles and backhoes don’t mix, but, luckily, just before the backhoe was put to use former Town Board Member George Shuhart saw a black nose snuffling in a gap between the rocks at one end of an outlet pipe next to the culvert.
Dog Gone
Apparently the beagle had crawled into the outlet pipe, couldn’t get through the rocks at one end and couldn’t back up. The dog was rescued. Unfortunately, it died later that night. Both Shuhart and Goodermote said it died of old age. Shuhart added, “Its mate died a couple of weeks ago.” Why the grieving dog chose to crawl under the bridge rather than jump off it is anybody’s guess.
Take Back That Rottweiler
Goodermote also reported that a rottweiler that resides near the Stephentown line loves to visit its neighbor’s property. The neighbors don’t want it on their land because it is a big, scary dog. Even though it is a good dog that doesn’t bite, according to Goodermote, he is enforcing the right of people not to be visited by a rottweiler if they don’t want to be. After several phone calls and three trips to the south end of Town, Goodermote told the dog owner, “If I have to come down here one more time, we’re going to go talk to the judge.” The owner then agreed to restrain his dog. “I have very little trouble with dogs; it’s the people you have trouble with,” Goodermote said.
FEMA Projects Almost Finished
Jim Winn reported that some people have complained about the dust that was raised during the sweeping of the Town roads. He assured everyone that the sweeping is over and the sweeper has been returned to the rental company. The Department has also graded and gravelled Cherry Plain Hill Road from the Town line with Stephentown out to Cherry Plain Square. Last month it was reported that this road was severely rutted. There are pot holes around Town that could be patched, Winn said, but he is waiting for the black top material to be available.
The second to last road repair project caused by the damage of the tropical storms last fall has been finished. This is the replacement of the six foot diameter by 40 foot long culvert pipe on 56 Road near Dyken Pond. The culvert pipe is metal and cost $4,000, delivered from Ballston Spa. It is one piece so no assembly was necessary. The maximum diameter of a plastic pipe is 5 feet, said Winn. Although this project, like the 14 or 15 others in Berlin, is funded by FEMA, they were not willing to pay for the replacement culvert pipe because the pipe being replaced was rusted out at the bottom. However, because the FEMA reimbursement rates are high, the bottom line of the 56 Road repair will not show an expense to Berlin in spite of the cost of the culvert. Winn said that if the repair were left to the Town, concrete end walls would not be part of the project but because FEMA standards require end walls and FEMA will fund the end walls, the project included end walls. The end walls were poured by Dave Goodermote Excavating.
There is one FEMA project left, Winn said. That is the repair of the culvert at the bottom of Hilltop Road at Old Route 22. He added, “FEMA has been very generous to say the least; they have been very helpful.” Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger said, “Believe it when we see the checks.” Winn replied that there is possibly a two month delay between the submission of “the blue folder” and the receipt of the money. Jaeger said, “We will come out alright. Thank you for your work on that.”
Odds And Ends
As Supervisor of Water District #2 Jim Winn reported that a new leak emerged on Tuesday by the Fire House. He said the leak would be fixed on the Monday or Tuesday after this meeting.
Board Member Dean Maxon reported that he had received an email from Tammy Osterhout regarding the Youth Commission’s summer programs. No dates have been set yet for the art and recreation program or the swim program, she wrote. When the dates are set they will be posted on the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us/) and in the Bank of America. Applications for the programs will be available in the schools’ guidance offices. Osterhout is vacationing in Maryland and is, according to Dean Maxon, enjoying her time there.
Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger said that the money left to the Town by Margaret Kinn had been received. Five thousand dollars is earmarked for the Youth Commission and has been put into that fund, he said. Twenty-five thousand dollars is an unrestricted gift, and Jaeger suggested that it might be used toward turning the current Town Hall into the Town history museum since history was a special interest of Margaret Kinn.
Jaeger reported about the busy Town Board workshop that was held on March 22. The Board:
• heard and discussed suggestions made by Claudia Brown;
• recruited Claudia Brown for the Beautification Committee, which will again be planting gladioli beds along Route 22 this spring;
• agreed to allow the Little Hoosic River Watershed Association to use either the Town Hall or the Watipi Building for their meetings once they have presented their insurance bond to the Town;
• authorized the relocation of the speed signs from the former Grafton Elementary School on Route 2 to the Berlin Middle/High School on Route 22. The vote was 4-0 with Board Member John Winn abstaining. There was a brief discussion about school buses that enter into the traffic on Route 22 without stopping first.
Jaeger also announced that the Board voted at the workshop to adopt the Wind Power Law. The public hearing for this law was held before the Town Board meeting on October 13, 2011. Town Attorney Don Tate has sent the law to the State to be filed. It should be in effect ten days after filing so the Planning Board can begin accepting applications shortly. Jaeger said the highlights of the law are a $100 permit fee for residential wind turbines and a $500 per kilowatt output fee for commercial wind power installations, whose developers will also be required to deposit $7,500 in escrow to cover the Town’s site plan review expenses. The law is posted on the Planning Board page of the Town website for those who are interested in the details of the law. Like the fees for building permits and cell towers, the amount of the fees for wind power installations will be included in the Town’s fee structure so if the fees are changed, the law won’t have to be rewritten and go through the adoption procedure again.
Ivan Wager has returned from his vacation, and he thanked the transfer station workers for the good job they did while he was away. He is resolving minor discrepancies in the bills from Waste Management which amount to around $30, he said. Wager said he will have to order materials to fix the door on a container and to replace a few rollers. Jaeger told Wager, “Thanks for your efforts; we are getting a number of good checks from recycling.”
The TRACs liaison, Ralph deLeon, reported that the TRACs grant proposal is almost ready and that the teen dance scheduled for this month was postponed for a month because of spring break.
The Board of Assessment Review (BAR) is now filled. Ann Crisp, who is also a member of the Planning Board, and Mike Winn, who was drafted for the BAR at this meeting, are the new members.
Almost immediately upon the arrival of Town Attorney Tate at 8 pm, the Board went into executive session to discuss the contract with the union that represents the Town Highway Department workers. The session lasted 45 minutes.
Upon its return, the Board voted unanimously to pay the bills as read by Town Clerk Anne Maxon.
Pam Gerstel asked if there was any progress on establishing cell phone service from the tower on the Doug Goodermote property on the west side of Route 22 in Cherry Plain. Goodermote said that Verizon employees drove up to the tower, spent some time and left. The hold up now is that Verizon must do their own survey of the site. “They’ll do anything to drag their feet,” said Goodermote.
The closing of the Berlin Lumber property, which is being bought by the Town for use as a municipal center, has still not been scheduled. The paperwork remains in the hands of the attorneys, Jaeger said.
Thursday’s meeting had begun on a sad note when Jaeger offered condolences to the family of Laura Hill, who died recently. Laura Hill’s daughter, Sandi Slattery, was the Berlin Town Supervisor before Jaeger.
[/private]