Berlin Town Board Action – Open House At The Berlin Municipal Center

by Kieron Kramer
There will be an open house at the Berlin Municipal Center from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, June 8, so members of the community can tour the facility first hand and enjoy some of the activities that will be taking place. The open house was announced at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, May 9. [private]According to Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger, the Taconic Valley Soccer Club will be active on its new fields Saturday from 9 to 10:30 am. The soccer goal posts have already been moved to the fields in Cherry Plain. Also, on Saturdays the Our Valley Community Farmers’ Market (OVCFM) sets up tables to sell local foodstuffs and products. Tammy Osterhout, who administers the Berlin Youth Commission’s summer programs, has already set up the art and crafts area on the second floor of the Town Hall, and she will be present at the open house to show parents around and answer questions about the summer programs.
Jaeger said that there would be vendors present, and he hopes there will be musical entertainment. Food will be available, too, some provided by the FCCLA under Dianne Mosher’s leadership and some provided by the Town. The Town Board agreed to spend “a couple of hundred dollars” on food for the event. “It will be a good time to have everyone gather,” Jaeger said, “and to take people through the facility to see what we’ve got.” “Pray for sunshine,“ Jaeger added.
The Town Board meeting began at 7:30 pm sharp thanks to the “timekeeper.” The “timekeeper” is Kathy Jaeger, the Supervisor’s better half, who directed him to begin the meeting. “May 10, fifty years ago is the date we met,” said Supervisor Jaeger, “so much for that blind date.” They will celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary in August he said.
Miracle Dog
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported on a busy Sunday with a pit bull. At the request of the Dog Officer in Sand Lake to carry out a court order Goodermote picked up a pit bull with a cast on one of its legs. He took it to Sand Lake who didn’t want it. Then he took it to Pittstown and then to the Veterinary Clinic in Troy. Nobody took it there either. “No one wanted this dog,” he said, “so I got it.” Goodermote was told that the dog needed to have its leg amputated and was discouraged from removing the cast because it was expected that the leg would be putrid. Back in the kennel in Cherry Plain the dog ditched the cast overnight by gnawing at it and was running around the next day with, according to Goodermote, no leg problems at all. Like a bad movie the dog had been miscast.
There was a dog problem on Dyken Pond, Goodermote said. There had been a court order 2½ years ago mandating that the dog be tied up. “They thought the order had worn off,” he said. Goodermote went up and reinstituted the order. There have also been lots of calls on lost dogs, but most found their way home, he said. There was quite a “strong” showing at the rabies clinic, he reported, and moving the clinic down to the Municipal Center in Cherry Plain had no bad effect, he added.
At last month’s meeting, Goodermote told a story about a dog call incident at the Crowe home. “I was just trying to inject a little humor, “ he said. The reaction at the time by those in attendance indicated that the injection worked. Apparently not everyone thought it was funny. “I caught hell for it,” Goodermote said.
Hearing On Dog Law
The revisions to the Dog Law that Goodermote has been seeking for months have been formulated and will be presented in a public hearing at 7 pm on June 13 before the next regular meeting. Local Law #2 of 2010, dealing with dogs, will be revised and “an ordinance to enforce peace and order, restrain dogs and generally regulate dog owners responsibilities in the Town of Berlin” will be presented. Both documents will be accessible on the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us/) before the hearing.
Fire In Garage Burns Down House
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton said he had been called to a fire at “the top of the mountain” where a garage burned and took the house with it. According to Yerton, the connection between the two structures was constructed without a firewall. “Sometimes people are bothered by getting a permit, but they could use a little advice,” he said.
As happens every spring Yerton reminded people that a swimming pool with two foot high walls must be fenced. A pool with four foot high walls need only have the ladder fenced. Both pools must have a motion sensor alarm. The alarm must be audible inside and outside the building so it is very loud and shrill. Outdoor hot tubs must be fenced unless they have a locking lid. Yerton said that 84 infant lives had been saved in NYS in the last two years because of these regulations.
Ready To Go
Tammy Osterhout reported that the summer youth programs will be ready to go once the young adults are signed up to supervise the crafts and activities. Osterhout will, of course, have crafts for the younger kids but also wants to provide crafts for the older kids. The crafts theme for them will be “recycling,” and Osterhout is looking for donations of plastic materials like lids and especially plastic rain gutters. She hopes that the gutters can be turned into flower boxes for the new Town Hall. The Board voted to appoint Caitlyn Hungerford, Courtney Kellar, Joseph Sweener Jr. and Amanda Cinney to work in the summer program. Osterhout would like one more appointee, she said, but these were the only people who approached her.
The Board voted to sponsor a local youth to the Youth to Youth TRACs summit. The cost is $425, and the money would come out of the Youth Commission budget. The fee includes transportation, a motel room and meals, Osterhout said. She also said that only one youth submitted a letter requesting sponsorship. Board Members Richard deLeon and Tara Cinney both thought it would be nice if the young person would come to a Board meeting to report on the experience and what they learned at the summit. Cinney said, “This is money well spent.”
Municipal Center Work
Only one proposal to renovate the public and staff bathrooms in the Town Hall was received. It was from Joe Burdick, and the Board voted to accept the proposal. The final cost was not disclosed at this meeting. The work will start on June 6, and the job should be finished by June 11.
There was an extended discussion concerning the purchase of a mower to mow the fields at the Municipal Center. Due to FEMA reimbursements Highway Superintendent Jim Winn has enough money in his fund to purchase the mower. He wants to buy a commercial grade Ferris mower with a 61 inch deck for about $9,200. Winn thinks that the size of this high quality machine will give the best value considering the size of the area to be mowed. He feels that the Town will have to be prepared to mow the fields that the Taconic Valley Soccer Club committed to mowing. Mowing expenses was one of the considerations of those opposed to the purchase of the complex in Cherry Plain. Board Members deLeon and John Winn were not convinced that spending $9,200 on a mower was worth it. Finally, the Board voted 3-1 to authorize the mower purchase with John Winn voting no.
At a prior meeting, Cinney had suggested a running account of the money spent from the Capital Fund and Justice Grant on the complex. Jaeger presented her and the Board with a written accounting which was not made public at this meeting. For their community clean up day the Seventh Day Baptist Church has offered to do maintenance work and painting at the complex on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
Energy Bids
At this meeting it was determined that if the Board wishes to receive a bid for diesel fuel from Eagle Energy, as had been suggested by Kent Goodermote a while ago, it will have to wait until next February to start the process. At present the Town is part of the County bid for diesel, which it buys from Main-Care Energy, and can’t withdraw at this time. Participation in the County bid seems to be automatically renewed, but next year the Town can notify the County and withdraw from the County bid if done so by March.
Cars And Guinea Hens
Board Member John Winn asked what could be done about the cars parked on the edge of Route 22 across from the former Town garage. He has been getting calls from people about them who consider them a hazard. Jaeger said there are about eight cars parked there. Yerton said that the cars were not only parked on the State right of way but that some were registered and others are collectibles so the Town’s junk car ordinance does not apply. However, Yerton will ask the owner if there is any way he can park the cars elsewhere. And, apparently, an accident almost occurred there when people stopped to watch the five guinea hens from the property cross the road.
Other Business
Ivan Wager reported that some containers at the transfer station need to be repaired. He also said that Ed Jones is on sick leave and may not be able to return. Wager does not want to replace Jones if he can come back.
Chairman of Assessors Allan Yerton reported that no one came to the first grievance meeting.
ZBA Chairman J. Nicholas Adams said that he had received two inquiries on two different properties.
Water District #1 Supervisor Len Clapp said that the seasonal water system is up and running and has passed the annual inspection by the County Health Department. Water District  #2 Supervisor Jim Winn said there “was nothing new” in that system.
As Highway Superintendent Winn said that the Highway Department has been grading and patching. “The [Cherry Plain] Square has been patched up so we can drive over it,” Winn said, and material has been put down in spots. Fifty tons of blacktop have been used so far.
Public Comment
The only public comment was a presentation by JoAnn Kellar. It was, essentially, the same as the letter she sent to this paper shortly after the story on last month’s Board meeting was published on April 19. She may have felt compelled to make the presentation because her letter was not published in the following issues and she did not know that it had appeared in the paper the very day of this meeting. She was quite nervous reading her statement, which made it more effective. After she finished the audience applauded and Board Member deLeon said, “Thank you for your support; I really appreciate it.” Referring to the resolution passed last month affirming support for the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Supervisor Jaeger said that 54 counties and 242 towns in the State “have done what we have done.”
Just The Facts
One of the things Kellar asked for from this reporter in her presentation was no opinions – ”the facts, just the facts” So here is a fact – there are 932 towns and 62 cities in New York State.[/private]