by Bea Peterson
“If the Town is not willing to purchase the Armory,” said HAYC3 Director Aelish Nealon, “then, as a backup plan, HAYC3 (Hoosick Area Youth Center and Community Coalition) is willing to step up and take ownership.” Nealon added that HAYC3 is a community based not-for-profit organization that is concerned with the welfare of the entire Hoosick community. “We don’t want to see the building be empty,” she said. HAYC3 is waiting to hear what sort of decision the Hoosick Town Board makes at its next regular meeting on Monday, May 14, before going any further with a plan.
[private]Nealon admits HAYC3 came into the process late. “I don’t know any of the politics of the whole situation,” she said. By the time HAYC3 became involved the Hoosick Town Board already had qualms about purchasing the building and the Save the Armory Committee was in full swing.
State deadlines meant that it has reached the point where HAYC3 has to make a decision whether or not to purchase the Armory for $1, if push came to shove. To make that decision the HAYC3 Board needed more information. A HAYC3 Ad Hoc committee meeting was scheduled for April 23. Margaret Casey and Hoosick Town Councilman Mark Surdam were invited to attend as representatives of the Save the Armory Committee. Members of the Town Board were also invited. “We were as concerned as anyone about the oil tank (buried in front of the Armory on Church Street), and we wanted answers,” said Nealon. To get those answers she invited Tom Pohl of the Office of Government Services (OGS) and Jim Huelle from the Division of Military and Naval Affairs (DMNA) to attend. DMNA owns the Armory. When the rest of the Hoosick Town Board members, Supervisor Keith Cipperly and Councilmen Bruce Patire, Jeff Wysocki and Louis Schmigel arrived for the meeting, accompanied by Town Attorney Debra Young, they explained they were attending to learn and not to make any decisions.
Margaret Casey said Board members asked many good questions. Unfortunately the general public did not get to hear any of those questions and answers.
Public Cut Out Of Loop
At the last Hoosick Town Board meeting the Board agreed that they would try to arrange a public meeting with OGS and DMNA for either April 25 or May 3. Supervisor Cipperly canceled such a meeting. He said he didn’t feel it was fair to ask those representatives to come back again and say the same things they had said at the HAYC3 meeting. As a result, only the Town Board, Margaret Casey and HAYC3 staff and Board members were privy to what was said.
Oil Tank
Nealon said Pohl told them the oil tank is pressure tested every year and the results have always shown accurate pressure. According to Margaret Casey, Pohl said paying for testing is not something the State does. He also said that if there was a contract with HAYC3 for the Armory, it would state that should there be a problem with the tank, HAYC3 could walk away from the deal. Then the building would be sold at auction, as is, and somebody else would have to clean up any oil problem. Nealon added that the pressure testing is done in May or June and they would like to request in writing that soil testing around the tank be done by someone locally at the same time. Hence, the pressure for some decision making.
Another pressure issue is time related. If there is going to be any purchase of the Armory by the Town or by HAYC3 for $1, the request must be made soon because the decision to sell is made by the State Legislature before they end their session in June.
Maybe More Than $1
Casey gathered from the meeting that should a not-for-profit purchase the Armory, there is a possibility it might have to pay half the fair market value of that property, not just $1. The Whitehall Armory, for example, sold for $167,000. However, said Casey, it had considerably more land around it. The Hoosick Falls Armory would have to be appraised.
Supervisor’s Support
Supervisor Cipperly felt the HAYC3 meeting was very productive. He said Board members attended the meeting as taxpayers and spectators. He reiterated, “That oil tank scares me to death.” He does not want to see the Town be responsible for it in any way. If the Town owned the building and there were oil issues, then the Town could be sued he said; adding, “with a not-for-profit – who do you sue?”
Cipperly said again that he loves the Armory but he doesn’t want to see the taxpayers take it on. He said that the guidelines for municipalities owning the building as opposed to not-for-profits owning it were entirely different. He said, should HAYC3 take over the Armory, in addition to the $14,000 donation the Town gives HAYC3 annually, he would like to see it receive an additional $50,000 over a five or ten year period. He added that the Town would continue to rent space in the Armory for at least four to six months, until HAYC3 got on its feet. “If it worked out, then I would be more than happy to see the Town stay [as a renter].” His concerns are based on youngsters being in the building when Court is in session or when Town meetings are going on.
Cipperly continued by saying that HAYC3 would not have to do any demolition to the building and they could easily encapsulate any lead paint. “They don’t have to restructure the building [the way he believes the Town would have to do],” he said. He added that with the Armory open for more community activities, he doesn’t want the Town to become an event planner.
Cipperly asked, defensively, “When the Armory was closed in ’94, how come the Town didn’t purchase it then? My guess is they knew they couldn’t afford it.”
Credit Given
Supervisor Cipperly said, “HAYC3 has done a wonderful job with the Youth Center. When the Town could not afford to keep it up any more, it didn’t look anything like it does now.”
HAYC3 Plans
HAYC3 Director Aelish Nealon and her staff are enthusiastic about operating the Armory. They know there are many hurdles to overcome, particularly financial hurdles. “Seven years ago we started out in the red,” she said. “For the last five years we have been running very successfully in the black. From a community standpoint, we have
never stopped offering programs and services, all the while making improvements to the building. It would be the same with the Armory.”
“Let’s face it,” she said. “It’s not the buildings, it’s the services. That’s the important thing.” Nealon said HAYC3 has outgrown its present space and needs to expand to more space. They would always continue to use the Youth Center, she said. She and her staff envision many more community events in the Armory. She noted that the Youth Center already accommodates Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, basketball, summer camps, after school programs and much more. They have even hosted a wedding.
Nealon said they want to see the Armory host many private and public events and incorporate many of the ideas suggested by the Save the Armory Committee. “The potential is amazing and exciting.” She added that she would like to see them make full use of every part of the Armory.
What will happen remains to be seen. “We’ll be cool with it, either way,” she concluded.
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