Berlin Town Board Action – No Closing Yet On Berlin Lumber

by Kieron Kramer
Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger was beaming after the Town Board meeting on Thursday, May 10. “We set a record,” he said, referring to the shortness of the meeting; it lasted only 30 minutes. He may have been right although there was a meeting presided over by former Supervisor Sandi Slattery that lasted around 35 minutes and most of the meetings run by Stanton Goodermote when he was Supervisor were very short. This meeting was so short that the people attending milled about the Town Hall without an idea of what to do for the next hour.
[private]Brevity may be the soul of wit, but why should a short meeting seem so satisfying? Well, it means that there were no arguments. There were also few reports and no complicated issues to be discussed.
But there could have been a discussion on a topic brought up at the very end of the evening, almost as an afterthought. The public comment consisted of only two words – Berlin Lumber. In response to these two words Supervisor Jaeger said the same thing he has said for three months now, “It’s still in the hands of the attorneys.” Town Attorney Don Tate is representing the Town in this matter. Deputy Supervisor, and Board Member, Tara Cinney said, “We are still moving forward.” And Jaeger added, “There are still issues to be resolved. When they’re resolved we’re ready to go.” On that note the meeting was adjourned.
When there is no explanation, brevity can be unsettling. The Board voted in January to purchase Berlin Lumber for use as a municipal center. A feasibility study had already been done in 2010 by Laberge. Tenants were already in place to lease the space that the Town was not going use. In February, Jaeger said he hoped for the closing soon and for the Town to be using the facility in the early spring. For months now Jaeger has been waiting for the closing, hoping to announce it at each meeting as it passed by. And, obviously, the expected rental revenue is diminishing as each month passes.
If a negotiation is going on, what is it about? Is there a cloud on the title? What could be holding this up? In a brief interview after Thursday’s meeting Jaeger refrained from answering these questions.
Elusive Leak
Supervisor of Water District #2, Jim Winn, had nothing to report except that the leak near the Fire House is back. It had stopped for a week and resumed its leaking on the day of this meeting. Winn is mystified.
Len Clapp, Supervisor of Water District #1, which services the seasonal dwellings in the Taborton area of Berlin, said that that system was up and running. All the winter damage has been repaired, and the system passed the recent inspection by the County Health Department. “We are doing good,” Clapp said.
FEMA Projects Almost Finished
Highway Superintendent Jim Winn said he had finished all the paperwork needed to file for FEMA reimbursements. He met with FEMA’s representatives and signed all the papers in what he described as “an exit meeting.” Winn expects a total reimbursement of around $348,000. There were a total of 15 projects. The replacement of the culvert on 56 Road near the dam was completed with, Winn said, “An early permit before the water came over the spillway, and it was dry.” He reported that “the stone is all in” on the project at the bottom of Hilltop Road at Old Route 22, but a permit to work in the waterway to replace that culvert won’t be issued until June 15. “Blue Folders” still have to be received and returned to FEMA for each project before the funds can come to the Town. So far one Blue Folder, for around $42,000, has been submitted. Other than that the Highway Department has been grading and gravelling and patching, Winn said.
Dog Control
Over one hundred animals were treated at the rabies clinic on April 19, said Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote. He also reported that he picked up “a nice German shepherd dog.” He almost found a home for it, but the shepherd didn’t get along with the woman’s other dogs so, after two weeks, Goodermote had to take it to the pound.
Fireworks
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton said he had issued a permit for a fireworks display on May 19 at the north end of Town. The fireworks display has happened for a few years now, and many said after this meeting that the show is a good one.
Yerton reminded the public that anything outside that holds water and is over 24 inches deep must have a fence with a lockable gate and a permit. He also said that Verizon is in the process of doing the paperwork for a permit to put their equipment on the cell phone tower in Cherry Plain.
Planning Board Chair Pam Gerstel invited Board Members and the public to come to the combined Planning Board and ZBA meetings from 6 to 7:30 pm on the third Thursday of the month to give input for amending the Land Use regulations.
Dates Set For Summer Youth Programs
Tammy Osterhout reported that the arts and recreation program will start on July 16 and run through August 3, Monday through Thursdays. The swim program will begin on August 6 and run through August 17. Applications for the summer programs are available at the Berlin Library, the Bank of America and on the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us/), Osterhout said, and added that the Berlin Elementary School would not allow applications to be distributed at the school. Town Clerk Anne Maxon offered to take some applications to be available for pick up at the Town Clerk’s Office, which is still at her home on Main Street.
Workshop
Supervisor Jaeger reported that the Town Board passed a resolution at the Workshop on April 26 to have Daryl Maxon continue to mow the Town’s lawns, as he did last year, for $300. Jaeger also said that Jim Winn reported at the workshop that the Town will receive the same amount of CHIPS (Consolidated Highway Improvement Program) money as last year. Therefore, Jaeger said, there will be no changes in the highway budget.
Gladioli Time
Tara Cinney said that the Beautification Committee had met on Tuesday and decided to plant the gladioli bulbs on May 23 and 24. The beds will be prepared for planting on the two weekends after Thursday’s meeting. Cinney suggested that people planting their own gladioli at their homes do so at the end of May so all the gladioli in town will bloom at the same time. The Beautification Committee will also assist with the whisky barrel plantings. Seagroatt’s will again donate the flowers to be planted in the barrels that will be dispersed in the village. Cinney said that there might be an adopt-a-barrel program through which homeowners can arrange to have a barrel in front of their home if they commit to caring for the flowers.
Transfer Station Head Ivan Wager said that “everything’s fine” at the station and that he had received credits from Waste Management for their billing errors.
Chair of the Assessors, Allan Yerton, said that the tentative tax roll has been completed and the public can review the roll on Monday evenings and on the Town website. Grievance Day is set for the fourth Tuesday of the month, May 22. Yerton added that there is a slight decrease in the tax rate because the uniform percentage of value in Town has gone up from 24.5 last year to 24.6 this year.
Gibson To Visit Berlin
Jaeger announced that he had received correspondence from Sean Gallivan of Green Renewable informing him that US Representative Chris Gibson will tour the facility at Green Renewable on May 23 at 11 am. Jaeger said he hoped that Steve McLaughlin, candidate for NYS Assembly from the 108 District, will also attend. McLaughlin came to the last Berlin Fire Department breakfast. “He is a very personable gentleman. We lost Tony Jordan due to redistricting,” Jaeger said, “Steve is the new representative.” Actually, McLaughlin is a candidate for the new 108th district.
Speed Zone
The longest discussion of the night had to do with establishing a speed zone on Route 22 in front of the Berlin High School/Middle School. Board Member Dean Maxon has been the point man on this issue. “We are not looking for a full blown speed drop,” Maxon said, “we are looking for a speed reduction only when buses are entering or leaving the school.”
The New York State Department of Transportation regulates the speed on State highways like Route 22. Former Town Supervisor Joe Rabatoy attempted to establish a speed zone at the school in 2000, but the DOT did a study and decided that a speed zone was not necessary. When former State Senator Joe Bruno contacted the DOT on Berlin’s behalf the DOT agreed to establish a no passing zone at that location. At present the DOT maintains that nothing has changed since 2000 so there is no reason to reduce speed there, but they will issue a permit for flashing lights on signs in front of the school.
However, Jaeger and Maxon have come up with a tactic that might work. According to Jaeger, “quite a few kids bike or walk to school and back home.” Jaeger asked the Board for a resolution authorizing the Town to seek the DOT to install a crosswalk in front of the school. The Board voted 4-0 to do so with Board Member John Winn, who works for the NYS DOT, abstaining. Jaeger will now follow up with a letter to the DOT.
According to the DOT there have been no accidents or incidents on that stretch of road. Supervisor Jaeger, who drives a school bus, said, “I have been passed while stopped [while turning into the Middle/High School] and almost broadsided once.” Dean Maxon said, “I want the Town to be pro-active to avoid what might be a serious incident. Why wait until somebody broadsides a bus?”
The meeting adjourned at 8:03 pm, 30 minutes after it began at 7:33. The Board will hold its next regular meeting on June 14 at 7:30 pm.[/private]