by Kieron Kramer
The Berlin Town Board meeting on Thursday, April 10, seemed uneventful on its surface, but on reflection several important, long-standing issues were discussed. Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger reported on the pre-workshop meeting on March 27 with the Petersburgh Town Board in which the Boards discussed Petersburgh’s contract for use of the Berlin transfer station. [private]”At the workshop [afterwards] we came up with recommendations which we forwarded to our friends in Petersburgh,” Jaeger said. “We are waiting for a response.” The Berlin Board also went into executive session to discuss the negotiations with the United Public Service Employees Union, the union that will represent the Town Highway employees. These negotiations have been ongoing since January of 2010. After the six minute executive session, the Board voted later in the meeting “to ratify the memorandum of agreement between the United Public Service Employees Union and the Town of Berlin.” Needless to say, the Board was not prepared to make the agreement public just yet.
No Hoosick Pool
The summer swim and arts and crafts programs are of importance to many Berliners. Director of the Youth Commission, Tammy Osterhout, was not present at this meeting but submitted a written report. Osterhout wrote, “I am waiting to hear from the Bennington Recreation Center and the Troy YMCA regarding swimming lessons this summer, only as a contingency plan to the Town of Hoosick Pool not being ready.” Well, contingency has become a reality; the Hoosick Town Board decided at its meeting the following Monday that the pool would not be ready for use this summer.
Osterhout also recommended counselors for the arts and recreation program. They are Courtney Keller, head counselor, Angela Matson, Joseph Sweener, Jr., Elise Morse and Sierra Maxon. Later in the meeting the Board voted 4-0, with Board Member Dean Maxon abstaining because his daughter is one of the candidates, to appoint these counselors. Osterhout wrote that she hoped to have updates for the summer program so they can be posted on the Town website during the week after this meeting. And she thanked Anne Maxon for making the posters and purchasing the supplies for the Easter Egg Hunt which will take place at the Municipal Center on Sunday, April 20, from 1 to 3 pm.
Board Vacancies Filled
The Town has a Board of Assessors who are voted in rather than a sole assessor who is appointed. There are supposed to be three assessors on the Board, but there have only been two members since Allan Yerton resigned from the Board effective September 30, 2013. A request for letters of interest was published twice. In the March workshop the Board received a letter of interest from David McNally. Before Thursday’s meeting the Board also received a letter from Nancy Sweener, who had been the Chair of the Assessors until she resigned in April of 2010. After the executive session the Board announced that it was appointing David McNally to fill the vacant assessor position. The Board has yet to determine if McNally must stand for election in November 2014. Yerton said that McNally should contact the State to register for a training class which they offer once a month.
Speaking of Assessors, Jaeger announced, on behalf of the Chair of Assessors Patty Baretsky, that property owners who did not file their STAR property tax exemptions by the deadline will be contacted by the State and the entire process will be handled by the State, not the Berlin assessors. This does not apply to the Senior STAR exemption which is handled by the local assessors.
The BAR is finally full – thanks to Town Clerk Anne Maxon. She presented the names of two candidates, Helen Gregory and Thomas Stevens, who were gratefully appointed to the Board of Assessment Review by the Town Board. They will receive a stipend of $100 per year. The BAR met only once last year. Maxon said that she had explained to them that they would need to take a training course and that their terms were for five years. “I told them they could resign if they didn’t like it,” Maxon said.
Heating Oil Bid
After the debacle at the Berlin Historical Center, when the heating system froze and was damaged in early January due to, according to Supervisor Jaeger, the late delivery of heating oil, the Board decided to withdraw from the County bid for heating oil which the Town buys from Main Care Energy. Main Care supplied the heating oil to the Historical Center and the Watipi Building. Bid requests were published April 4 and 11, and the bids are due at the next Board workshop on April 24.
Morse Heating has repaired the heating system in the Historical Center, the former Town Hall on Main Street, and has reduced the repair costs by $1,200 because of the donation of the radiators by Jaeger. The damaged radiators were sold for scrap for $459. Board Member Tara Fisher said, facetiously, “They might have sold for more if they weren’t mustard colored.”
Dog Report
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported that there was a good turnout for the rabies clinic held on April 3. We ran out of dog distemper shots, which means a lot were done, he said. He reported on a “shake up” on Hilltop. “A dog got loose, and people got uptight,” he said. Goodermote also related an incident in Cherry Plain. People who just moved in thought they could let their dogs loose. “I straightened it out,” Goodermote said.
Get Your Paperwork Done
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton said he went on a fire inspection Saturday on Adams Road. After a fire a Code Enforcement Officer inspects the premises to see if it is safe for the occupants to move back in. In this case sparks flew out of the owner’s chimney in his addition and lit up dry grass. There was slight damage to the building – a cracked window and damaged siding. Yerton said that the stove had been properly installed, but a certificate of compliance is needed for heaters that burn solid fuel. Also, the term of the building permit for the addition ran out. Without this paperwork the owner’s claim could be denied by the insurer. Yerton encourages everyone to get their paperwork in order in case they ever have to make a claim.
Planning Board Public Hearing
Planning Board Chair Pam Gerstel reported that there would be a Public Hearing on the subdivision application by William and Tiaira Greene. They wish to subdivide their 20 acres on Cold Spring Road. The hearing will be held at 6 pm in the meeting room of the Municipal Complex on April 24.
Gerstel also said that the Planning Board had heard an informal discussion on a lot that a family would like to subdivide. The lot is too small to subdivide without a Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) variance first.
Chairman of the ZBA Nicholas Adams reported that Roger Vincent has gotten the permit from the NYSDEC for the Vincents’ mine on Plank Road. We will discuss this next week at the ZBA meeting, Adams said.
Other Business
Ivan Wager, Head Transfer Station Attendant, has just returned from his wintering in Florida. He reported that some containers at the transfer station will need to be repaired.
Jaeger reported that five of the eight security cameras have been mounted at the Municipal Complex. The video, seen on Anne Maxon’s computer, is very clear.
Water District #2 Supervisor Jim Winn reported that the district “is all quiet as far as I know.” “Nothing bubbling up yet?” asked Jaeger.
During public comment time Pam Gerstel thanked the Board for allowing the Taconic Valley Soccer Club to use the Town Hall for its meeting. She said the Club had voted to do work on the fields but hasn’t figured out what to do yet. “It would be nice to see the kids out there using it,” Jaeger said. Gerstel said there are about 150 kids enrolled in the soccer club. Tom Bassallo has taken on the responsibility for improving the field, she said, and added, “I told them that whatever they decided they must come before the Board for approval.”
Rockathon
Dianne Mosher requested use of the area outside the Town Hall and the Town Hall itself for the FCCLA’s Paint the Town Purple event on May 2. The Berlin FCCLA will join the Berlin Bears Relay for Life Team to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The festivities are open to the public. There will be music from 6 to 11 pm. From 6 to 9 pm there will be pulled pork and chili to eat. From 11 pm until 6 am students will be rocking on rocking chairs to raise money. Board Member Fisher said, “On a full belly?” Jim Winn suggested that the FCCLA use the garage. They’ll have more room, he said. “And it’s closer to the bathroom,” Town Clerk Anne Maxon added.
The Board voted unanimously to allow the FCCLA to use the facility contingent on their providing an insurance bond.
Highway
“We have been sweeping, patching, fixing, brushing and taking the trucks apart,” Highway Superintendent Jim Winn said in his report. Board Member Steve Riccardi asked if Winn had been able to get the trucks all back together. Winn replied that one truck still has the sander on it, and the new truck has sand in it. “We put new brakes in my truck and a new wheel bearing in the 550,” he said. “The trucks are getting hammered going down the road here.” He was referring to the poor condition of Route 22. He said he was hoping to start grading soon “since the roads have dried out a lot this week.”
This all seemed satisfactory until after the reading of the bills at which point Board Member Dean Maxon criticized Winn harshly for renting a truck to haul material from Peckham’s to Berlin. “There is no reason to bring material down now,” Maxon said. Board Member John Winn, Jim Winn’s brother, added, “It’s overkill to pay $80 per hour to rent the truck.” Jim Winn said he was doing what he did last year in obtaining the material for use later. He said the price was going up 50 cents per ton on April 1, and he wanted to buy it before then. He agreed with Maxon and his brother John that the savings did not offset the expense of renting the truck. After this exchange the Board voted unanimously to pay the bills. In his highway report Winn had described the present condition of the Town trucks.
At the end of the meeting Jim Winn suggested that the Highway Committee get together with him to discuss these issues rather than springing them on him in the meeting. “That’s why we have a committee,” Jim Winn said. The Highway Committee is made up of Board Members John Winn and Dean Maxon.[/private]