Village of Hoosick Falls Board Meeting: Dissolution – Town Rejects Police Force

by Bea Peterson
The Hoosick Falls Village Board meeting lasted all of one half hour. It was a good deal for the dozen or more HFCS students at the meeting who must attend Town and Village meetings as part of their Government class.
Mayor Monahan said the Town Board had declined having a Townwide Police Force. Since cost figures were sketchy he has asked that a more thorough study of the Police Department be made so that they have some good final numbers on the cost to Village and Town.
He said the Dissolution Committee will have to regroup and see where to go from here, look at alternatives and wrap up the study.
[private]Three Tabled
Three items, two that might have been cause for discussion, were tabled. The first was approval of the minutes from last month’s meeting. The second was the bids submitted for clearing of the Southern portion of the Greenway. The Mayor and the Board wanted more time to review the bids. The third item was the HAYC3 Economic Development Fund request. Again, the Board wanted more time to study the request.
Village Assessment Rate
Mayor Matt Monahan read a letter from the NYS Office of Real Property Taxes stating that the Village’s tax rate was 12.02 percent of the recorded value on the assessment roll. He noted the assessment was established as such since it has been many, many years since Village properties have been re-evaluated.
Congratulations
The Mayor congratulated the HFCS sports teams for their successes noting that the boys soccer team had gone further than ever and the girls soccer team and the football team were State Champions.
Deputy Mayor Paul Haynes reviewed the Treasurer’s report and reported that all funds are in great shape.
Trustee Bob Downing said that electronic recycling is in place at the Village Transfer Station. He will be attending an ERC meeting shortly to discuss the upcoming organization budget.
Trustee Ric DiDonato said the website is updated and reminded the Board of the New Year’s Eve fundraiser being held at the Hoosick Falls Country Club to benefit the Club and the Greenway.
Trustee David Borge reported that Code Enforcement continues to be busy. Six new building permits were issued and ten warnings were given to property owners this month.
Borge said a subgroup is reviewing the Village’s zoning laws. He said he has also been meeting with energy consultants regarding solar alternatives for Village buildings. The Mayor said he was impressed with the progress made in that area in just a month.
River Road Reconstruction Bid
A motion was approved to advertise for bids for the River Road reconstruction. The reconstruction is necessary as a result of damage that occurred during Hurricane Irene.
A second motion was approved authorizing the Mayor to sign a contract extension until October 20, 2014, with the Hoosick River Greenway. So far the Village has only used $16,000 of the $40,000 grant.
A third motion was approved correcting the 2012 tax bill on 43-45 Center Street. The building was demolished early in 2011 so tax is due for the land only. The Mayor lamented the loss of tax revenue since the owner does not intend to rebuild. The taxes went from $900 to $53.81.
The Board passed a resolution adopting the County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan. It saved the Village from writing its own plan and offers funding for flood and storm damage.
The Board passed a resolution authorizing the Mayor to become a member of the Historic Hudson-Hoosic Rivers Partnership, which was formerly known as the Saratoga and Washington Counties Historic River Partnership. The Partnership will work together to support tourism.
The meeting ended with the Board going into executive session to discuss personnel.[/private]