by Bea Peterson
At the Hoosick Falls Village Board meeting on Tuesday, May 13, the Board approved three Shared Services Agreements with the Town of Hoosick. Mayor David Borge said two of the agreements have been in place for years. However, they have been verbal “gentlemen’s agreements.” Keeping in mind Governor Cuomo’s desire for communities to share services, with the possibility of tax rebates, said Borge, it is important these agreements be more formal. The third agreement involves Green Heights and all those outside the Village who use Village water. The three agreements have been reviewed and approved by Village Attorney John Patterson.
[private]Police
The first agreement involved the Hoosick Falls Police Department. The agreement states that the Department will serve at Town Court and cover planned Town events as it has done in the past and that the Town will continue to pay for these services.
Equipment
The second agreement is the sharing of equipment between the Town and the Village. This often happens in emergency situations, explained the Mayor, giving the example of the Village needing a plow for a short time last winter and the Town having one they were not using. The loan of the equipment saved the Village $4,000.
Water
The most significant agreement, said Mayor Borge, is the water agreement affecting the residents of Green Heights and others living outside the Village. There are a total of 120 properties affected by this agreement. The original contract was a 40 year contract, explained the Mayor. When that one expired, a new agreement was not put in place. Recently a committee was put together to come up with ideas for an amiable new agreement. Since there has been no agreement in recent years the Village has lost thousands of dollars in water revenue as the bills have been extremely difficult to collect. This new agreement will allow the Village to recoup some of that loss. It will be a 12 year agreement that will be reviewed every three years. It reduces the rate charged to those properties from two times the Village rate to one and a half times the Village rate. The water system will still be maintained by the Village.
Copies of these agreements have been sent to the Town Supervisor and will be reviewed by the Town Board and voted on at its June meeting. Mayor Borge will attend that meeting to answer any questions Board members might have.
Police Report
Hoosick Falls Police Chief Robert Ashe reported that from April 19 to May 11 the Department responded to 107 calls. Thirteen were property damage, and 15 arrests were made. He said the bottle bomb prank necessitated a call for a bomb squad. “This is a serious matter,” he said.
The Chief said a doctor in Clifton Park was arrested for writing excessive prescriptions for pain medications. “That case started here,” he said. “We met with the State Police and DEA, and it has not ended yet.”
He noted that the inside glass door to the Municipal offices was smashed. The situation involved alcohol, and the person was arrested for assault and will have to pay $700 for damages to the door.
The Chief added that the night before the meeting arrests were made of two adults riding unregistered ATVs on the Greenway. The vehicles were confiscated. The arrests were possible because someone called and reported seeing the ATVs go onto the Greenway. Once again, he emphasized, if you see something, call right away.
911 Slow Response
At that point Donald and Sandra Sargood of Griffin Avenue said Donald had called 911 on Saturday, May 10, about 3 pm and the phone rang for two minutes and no one answered. Then Sandra tried calling, and it was 20 rings before the call was picked up. Chief Ashe and Mayor Borge both said that that was unacceptable and they would check into it.
Building Inspector Ed Holland reported that work is underway on the second phase of the Village’s nuisance law. He also said they are working to get the water turned off in the vacant properties in the Village.
Brush And Yard Waste
Trustee Bob Downing said that the Village Transfer Station, which is open Tuesdays from 8 am to noon and Saturdays from 8 am to 2 pm, will be accepting brush and yard waste at no charge until May 31.
Downing was also trying to contact the Petersburgh Town Supervisor to see if Petersburgh is interested in joining ERCSWMA, which handles recycling and trash pickup for the Village. “The more people involved,” said Downing, “the lower the rate for all of us.”
Trustee Ben Patten reported he is working with the Bureau of Water to see about funding for the Snow Street project. He expects to have more information next month. He is also talking with a group willing to do a free analysis of the Village’s cable contract, particularly in light of the fact that Time Warner may be purchased by Comcast in the future.
Deputy Mayor Ric DiDonato reported that the north section of the Greenway is finished. He noted that already motorized vehicles, which should not be on the trail, are putting deep grooves into the new surface.
The next phase for beautifying the Riverwalk is putting up trail kiosks. Mayor Borge added that the trail is a beautiful walk.
DiDonato added that Civicure, whose mission is to restore the Wood Block, is becoming active once more. He hopes something will happen and that the beautiful third floor can be restored. He was pleased to report that Brown’s Brewery will create a special brew to honor Colonel Baum and the Baum Trail that will open June 7.
In other business the Board:
• accepted the resignation of Police Officer Michael Walsh;
• approved a motion for the Mayor to sign a services agreement with Camion Association, Inc. for Economic Development consulting;
• granted permission for Hubbard Hall’s touring company to perform Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in Wood Park on Tuesday, July 22, at 7 pm, and
• approved the rehiring of Highway summer employees George Mentiply, Jr. and Segan Sadowski, effective the first week in June.
The meeting began with the usual Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence at which time the Mayor asked that Don and Esther Bogardus have a speedy recovery from their recent car accident.
Street Sweeping
Starting June 2 through June 20 the Village is planning a curb to curb sweep of all streets. According to the Village website, the sweeper is not designed to pick up yard waste. Please be sure none is in the gutters or streets. The sweeper is designed to pick up only road gravel and dirt spread during the winter. The Highway crews will be observing odd/even days and house number sides.
On even numbered days (June 2, 4, etc.) the even side (addresses that end in an even number) will be swept. Residents must park in their driveways or on the odd numbered side of the street where parking is permitted.
On odd numbered days (June 3, 5, etc.) the odd side of the street will be swept. Residents must park on the even numbered side of the street or in their driveways. If you have any questions, please call the Village Highway Department at 686-7431.[/private]