Petersburgh Town Board Action – NYS To Close Route 2 For Two Weeks

by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Town Board convened their regular meeting on June 17 with just three members of the Town Board present – Supervisor Siegfried Krahforst, Richard Snyder and Bill Seel. Duane Goodermote and David Alderman were not present.
Petersburgh Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said the State DOT has alerted him that they will have to close Route 2 for two weeks to repair the damage from the June 5 downpour. [private]The problem spot is next to Lone Oak Lane where it is currently a one lane road, with a light allowing east and west bound traffic to alternate. Harrison said the State engineer told him they need to dig that up and put in a culvert, because “it keeps collapsing.” The ground drops off dramatically on the south side of Route 2 at that spot, and half the roadway is gone at the moment. The State plans to close that section of Route 2 down on July 8 and expects it will take about two weeks to finish the work. Motorists presumably will be able to get around the closure by taking a detour around East Hollow Road.
Harrison said 14 of Petersburgh’s Town roads were washed out in that downpour, and he has needed to call in help. He said he wanted to thank Jimmy Winn and the Town of Berlin for all the help they have provided. Winn brought a crew and his own equipment and has been repairing Petersburgh roads for most of two weeks. The County also sent a crew and equipment and helped repair roads for several days, and Harrison thanked them also. Harrison said he hired Duane Goodermote, who replaced some culverts for him.
Supervisor Krahforst said there have been some complaints, and he said he feels the highway crew is not being appreciated. He said they worked 24 hours straight, right through the night, right after the storm. Krahforst said he himself was out late that night assessing the damage and he found members of the highway crew working a shovel while knee deep in cold water at nearly midnight. He believes they deserve thanks rather than complaints for that kind of effort.
Meeting On Road Complaints
Krahforst said he is calling a meeting for Saturday, June 22, at 9:30 am at the Town Hall at which any citizen with a complaint about the roads may bring it to the Supervisor and the Highway Superintendent, who will both be present. Although Bill Seel expressed his opinion that such a meeting was “not a good idea,” Krahforst was not to be deterred, and the meeting will be held. Krahforst feels that anyone who is dissatisfied with the Highway Superintendent should come in and state their case in person so that the Highway Superintendent can respond and they can converse about it. (Note: After the Town Board meeting, the Town posted an erroneous date on their website for this meeting. Please check with the Town Clerk to confirm the date before coming to this meeting.)
Derelict Buildings
The Town received a message from Bill Film, a Real Estate Specialist for the Rensselaer County Bureau of Finance. He said he has contacted the Rensselaer County Highway Department about taking down the remains of the “Shirt Factory” in the Millyard. He said the County plans to proceed with removal of the building because they plan to sell it at auction in September as a vacant lot.
Concerning the Leaning Garage, he said, “We are in the process of foreclosing it, and when we do own it we could then address it,” but he said the chances of the County tearing it down before they own it are “slim at best.” However, he went on to say that if the Town puts the demolition out to bid and invites the County to bid on it, the County “would likely be the low bidder.” In that case, he said, the Town would pay the County for the demolition but would be reimbursed next April/May when the County covers unpaid tax bills.
Based on this, Supervisor Krahforst wanted to put the demolition of the building out to bid without delay. Bill Seel said he did not want to put the job out to bid, but he said he couldn’t explain why in public session. Therefore, the Board went into Executive Session to discuss that. When they came back, they took no action on the Leaning Garage. Krahforst said, “We have a few more legal things to go through.”
Youth Program Hiring
The Town advertised for people interested in applying for paid positions in the Youth Program, as they are trying to do with all Town jobs. They had received some applications, but they were concerned that the Youth Program Director, Cindi Mars, already had people in mind for those positions. There was some discussion of what to do about this until Bill Seel said it made no sense to even discuss the matter unless Cindi was there to take part in the discussion.
Ethics Committee
Ethics Committee Chairperson Deidra Michaels said she had sent suggested revisions to the Town’s code of ethics to the Town Board and was awaiting a response. She said another complaint has been filed in regard to the Planning Board and an investigation will be started on that soon.
Krahforst said the Town is still looking for a Deputy Building Inspector. He said he has made some inquiries but has no applicants yet.[/private]