by Kieron Kramer
Chickens ruled the roost momentarily at the Berlin Town Board meeting on July 11 for the second Board meeting in a row. Last month it was chickens killed by dogs; this month it was former Town Board Member George Shuhart complaining about chickens in the road. “Don’t you eat chicken?” Doug Goodermote asked him. “What are all those chickens doing at Stewart’s?” asked Board Member John Winn, a question that befuddled Shuhart until he realized he was being teased for, allegedly, spending a lot of time in the Stewart’s in the village. After the meeting Shuhart invited folks down to Stewart’s for a cup of coffee.
[private]The chicken issue was not resolved. The irony here, if there is such a thing as irony, is that on the way to the meeting this reporter had to violently swerve to avoid a chicken on Main Street in Petersburgh between the Post Office and Route 22. Why the chicken was crossing the road is anybody’s guess.
Speaking of animals, Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote received his badge at this meeting with as much fanfare as is ever mustered at the Town Board meeting. A tightly wrapped parcel in a small shopping bag was presented to him with cackles of joy all around. Goodermote unwrapped the package and showed off the large, gold-plated badge. “It’s too heavy to carry around, but it’s good,” Goodermote said. Dogwise not much has happened this month other than that the kennel contract with the Town has been signed, he reported. This usually worries him as “the calm before the storm.” “Well, you will be prepared,” John Winn said referring to the badge, “It might stop a bullet.” Whereupon Goodermote told the story of going on a dog call with a Sheriff’s deputy. “When we got there he put on his bullet proof vest; all I had on was a T-shirt,” Goodermote said.
Road Repairs
Highway Superintendent Jim Winn reported that the Department is fixing a road and shoulder collapse at the end of Greene’s Brook Road near Chad Gerstel’s residence. A couple of hundred tons of stone and a culvert has been used in the three day project, he said. The Department has still been helping in Petersburgh but otherwise is getting ready for paving, he said.
A Remote Area
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton reported that the Discovery Channel has picked Berlin as one of the sites for its program on minimal dwelling construction in a remote area. Since the Discovery Channel wants to keep the location secret, all Yerton could say is that the cabin will be built somewhere near the Municipal Complex in Cherry Plain. He has already issued the building permit. Board Member Tara Cinney asked, “Do we need to dress accordingly, like wearing a coonskin cap?” She was referring to the phrase at last month’s meeting that the Discovery Channel was looking for a location in a “desolate” area.
Happy Kids
Tammy Osterhout reported that the summer youth program had started during the week with 16 children participating. Because there is summer school this year enrollment in the Town’s recreation program will suffer, but she expects about four more kids to take part. They love it here [at the Complex] she said, playing all the board games and playing outside. Osterhout was told by one of the children, “If you had this in a tree house, I’d still come.”
Transfer Station
Reporting on doings at the transfer station, Ivan Wager said that attendants there will be watching what is being dumped into the metal recycling container. According to Wager, people have been adding tires, oil and gas to the metal container, and Simms, the Town’s metal recycling vendor, has asked Wager to sign an agreement that this will stop. The newly hired substitute transfer station attendant, Rose Orenstein, has had one day of training and is “ready to operate,” Wager said. He asked Board Member John Winn, who works for the State Highway Department, if the State will cut the brush at the intersection of the road from the transfer station and Route 22. Visibility turning onto Route 22 is the problem.“Someone will get hurt,” he said. Winn replied, “You’ll probably get it done faster if you do it yourself.” The equipment that the State would use is very over subscribed, Winn added.
Old Town Garage To Be Leased
The Board agreed to try to rent the old Town garage as soon as possible. Town Supervisor Jaeger has conferred with Town Attorney Don Tate regarding the procedures required for the Town to lease its property. The first step occurred at the April meeting when the Board declared that the property was not needed by the Town. A lease agreement must be posted ten days prior to adoption and is subject to a permissive referendum for 30 days before going into effect. Jaeger thought that the rent should be a minimum of $500 per month with the utility costs being covered by the tenant. After discussion the Board agreed that $500 rent was a good starting point, that the tenant should be required to maintain the temperature level in the building at 50 degrees, that there should be a background check on the tenant, that the tenant be required to present proof of insurance coverage for the building and that the term of the lease be at least one year in length.
Besides the garage, which has an office, there is also a storage shed and an old Mack truck on the property. The very large, very visible shed has red siding and a metal roof. Jim Winn said that the shed should be “knocked down,” which he can do with Town equipment. The metal roof can be sold for scrap. The heavy, old Mack, which has a lot of metal in it, will also be sold for scrap. Wager said that a container from the transfer station could be brought to the site to help dispose of the refuse. What was not discussed is that the Town’s Time Capsule, to be opened in 2056, is on site.
Jaeger wanted to publish a request for bids so as many people as interested can respond. It needs to be published for two weeks, he said, and the bids will be opened at the next regular Board meeting on August 8. Board Member Richard deLeon wondered whether bids should be submitted before the shed is removed. The implications are that some lessors might want the shed and some won’t bid until the property is satisfactorily
presented as is. DeLeon’s concern was brushed aside. “The main thing is to get this moving,” Jaeger said.
Flag Pole Donated
Jim Winn reported that Phil Bradley, a proprietor of Hoosick True Value Hardware in North Hoosick, offered to donate a 20 foot aluminum flag pole and a 3×5 foot flag to Berlin. “He is appreciative of business from Berlin and wants us to have the flag pole; it’s a pretty nice gesture,” Winn said. Winn had the pole and flag in his possession. Although it does not have the 25 foot height that the Board hoped for it can be used for other flags, like the State flag, if the taller pole is installed.
Problems Along Route 22
Cinney asked Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton if he had asked the owner of the four cars parked on the shoulder of Route 22 across from the old Town garage if he would move them. Yerton said he had spoken to him and “he just laughed.”
Although it’s dangerous the cars are legally parked on the shoulder of the highway so the State Police can do nothing about them, either.
Speaking of Route 22, there was a hue and cry about the condition of Route 22 from Berlin to New Lebanon. Compared to the repaving done in Petersburgh, resurfacing the road south of Berlin village is a major construction job since the road base has deteriorated so much that it will have to be replaced. Construction on the road has been scheduled by the NYSDOT for 2017. Folks were puzzled by the DOT’s explanation that repairs are done on an as needed basis based on traffic volume and the volume of traffic, 7,000 cars per week, is too low there, but when Berlin asked for crosswalks at Berlin Central School the DOT said the volume was too high for a crosswalk. Jaeger said that he knew of one person whose car was severely damaged by the condition of the road south of Cherry Plain.
Command Center
Ivan Wager, who is in charge of maintaining and updating Berlin’s Disaster Plan, asked the Board if there was a location at the Municipal Complex that could be used as a command center in case of an emergency. Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger said that there were several rooms in the Town Hall that could be used, and the Board agreed that the location of the command center should now be in the Town Hall in Cherry Plain. The Town officials in the chain of command will have a room, complete with a bank of telephones, where they can make decisions and communicate with various State and County agencies. Wager said he would arrange with the telephone company for a hookup at the nearest utility pole for the extra phones so they can be set up when they are needed.
Parade Committee To Be A Town Committee
Jaeger said he had written a letter to the July Fourth Parade Committee thanking them for “the great parade.” “It was the biggest ever,” he said. However, according to Jaeger, the Committee ran into some snags getting a permit from the State for the parade. “We [the Board] have always endorsed the Parade,” he said, but Jaeger thought the Town should apply for the parade permit next year. This would avoid the posting of an insurance bond, which was at $4 million this year, since the Town’s insurance would cover the event if it is official. He suggested that the Board make the Parade Committee an official Town committee, naming the committee members, at the organizational meeting in January. Doing this would also help the Committee raise money The rest of the Board seemed to think this was a good idea.
Harvesting Wood Continues
Jaeger reported that the Town has received another check from Wagner Forestry Management, this time for $14,072.81. The total received so far is $32,174.61, and this is income just from harvesting the softwood. “They did a good job of hauling everything off,” Jaeger said. The recent wet weather has slowed the harvest of hardwood trees.
Hydrant Flushing
Jaeger announced that the fire hydrants in Water District #2 in the village would be flushed on Tuesday, August 6. Water District #2 Supervisor Jim Winn commented, “We’ll be fixing hydrants the Wednesday after.”
Other Odds And Ends
There was no report on the Board Workshop because the workshop was not held in June. Jaeger was in hospital at the time. He did report that there had been 19,402 hits on the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us/) as of July 8. Jaeger is looking for pictures of the July 4 Parade and of the Open House at the Municipal Complex to put on the website.
Both water districts are in good shape at the moment, their supervisors report. There were no other comments from Town officers or committee chairs.
Condolences
The Board offered its condolences to J. Nicholas Adams, Chairman of the ZBA, who went home after last month’s meeting to find that his wife had been killed in an automobile accident while walking near their home.[/private]