by Bea Peterson
Two Hoosick Falls Police reports surfaced last week regarding criminal mischief at the Armory. One was an incident that occurred on Saturday, February 16, and was reported to Police by HAYC3 Executive Director Aelish Nealon on Thursday, March 7. The incident involved a “destroyed/damaged/vandalized door handle.” The second report of criminal mischief in the fourth degree was made by Nealon on Thursday, March 14. [private]The Police report describes an incident that occurred “sometime Monday night after a town board meeting S/ [suspect] allegedly broke a latch lock holding a door shut. All parties interviewed.” The March 7 report names Hoosick Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly as an “associated person.” The March 14 report names him as the “suspect.”
The February Incident
According to Town of Hoosick Supervisor Keith Cipperly and the Town’s maintenance person Don Morin, he and Morin showed Nealon where a lock was removed from the door housing the Town’s cleaning supplies. The door was painted, but the lock was not replaced and no one came forward to say they broke that lock.
The March 11 Incident
“I told Aelish I did it,” said Cipperly. “I apologized and said I would pay for the lock.”
Cipperly said he has used the trap door in the back of the Armory to get downstairs “at least 20 times” over the years, even when the National Guard had items stored downstairs. Since HAYC3 has owned the building he has continued to use it, especially when Morin could not find his brooms or mops and Cipperly would search the various rooms to locate them and return them to Morin to use in cleaning the Town’s portion of the building.
About the night in question Cipperly said Councilman Mark Surdam had left and he and the remaining Councilmen were interested to see what progress had been made on the lower level since none of them had attended any of the workshops or events that have transpired in the last few months. “I did go down when they were jackhammering the wall,” he added.
When Cipperly went to lift the door he thought it was stuck and continued to pull on it. When it opened he had broken the lock, which had not been there previously. “Absolutely,” he said, “It was a lack of good judgement. I made a mistake.”
Looking Around On HAYC3 Property
The men did, however, continue downstairs for a look around. The downstairs contains businesses, a Café that is open when HAYC3 offers entertainment, a kitchen painted by a Boy Scout, his troop and folks from All Saint’s Episcopal Church as part of his Eagle Scout project and two Art Galleries. One currently contains several thousand dollars worth of photographs by world renowned photographer Kevin Bubriski.
Cipperly noted that there have been at least five break-ins inside the building and they have all been handled internally. He added that there was an attempt to jimmy the door of the Town’s Records Room and another time “50 feet of Time Warner cable had been taken out.”
“I don’t feel comfortable in there [his office] any more, knowing 20 people have keys to the building and can walk in,” he said.
No Comment From HAYC3
When asked by email to comment on the Police incidents Nealon had no comment. She later emailed the following, “HAYC3 remains invested in working with the town on our continued efforts to sign their lease. Payment of rent and our agreed upon $10,000 for five years will be forthcoming. We are told we can expect all back rent payments to be made current any day now.”
When emailed a request to speak with HAYC3 Board President Mike Baker, she responded, “Mike and the entire board have no comment. I forwarded you our statement last week.”
Lease Issue
At the close of the Hoosick Town Board meeting on Monday, December 10, 2012, the Board went into executive session to review a lease agreement with HAYC3. At the conclusion of the session the Board tabled the agreement until they could meet with HAYC3 again. To date no agreement has been signed. This subject, though an issue, does not appear to have any connection to the Police Reports.
In the April 12, 2012, issue of the Eastwick Press Cipperly is quoted at a meeting with HAYC3 stating, “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],” he said.
This week Cipperly confirmed those were his comments, but that a decision on the amounts was up to the entire Board. “I would hope they would support my idea, but it is a Board decision.” He again said the $50,000 could be over five or ten years. “The $1,500 a month rent is no problem,” he said. “And in January we paid the Youth Center the annual $14,000,” he added.
“If HAYC3 wants us to,” said Cipperly, “we would be happy to leave.” He has no idea where the Town offices would go if they were not in the Armory. “I haven’t even thought about it – maybe in a year or two years.”
Morin had the best solution regarding space, locks, rent, etc. “Why don’t the two sides just sit down together at a table and work it out.”[/private]