by Bea Peterson
At the Town of Hoosick Board meeting on Monday, June 8, Town Supervisor Mark Surdam announced that the pool rehabilitation project has been completed. He said there was a walk through the previous Wednesday with the Rensselaer County Department of Health, Laberge, Watson LLC and Town officials and all went well.
(Bea Peterson photo)
[private] There will be a short ribbon cutting ceremony at noon on June 20 and then the pool will be officially opened. Surdam added that “the pool looks great! I hope the community is happy with it.” He added that there were problems with leaks in the pool pumps and pipes and he said, “kudos to Bill Shiland and the highway guys for repairing the leaks in a timely manner.”
He added that Laberge has put together all the information required by NYS Parks and Recreation and the Town is now waiting on approval to enter into the funding contract to repair the pump and bath houses.
Playground
Surdam said Parkitects has completed the Castle Playground maintenance audit and safety inspection. The Town of Hoosick Kiwanis Club, which has offered to take a lead on this project, will begin an outline of the things that need to be changed, upgraded and repaired and then will be in touch with the Town.
Summer Camp
Town Clerk Sue Stradinger said summer camp applications have been coming in. She said she has heard excellent reviews of last year’s camp and what a well rounded program it was. She expects this will be a really good year for the camp.
The Board approved requests from the North Hoosick Fire Department to use the pool for its annual Pool Dance on July 10. Requests from St. Mary’s Academy for Session 3 swimming lessons, and the HFCS 5th and 6th grades field trip from 9 am to noon on June 25 were also approved.
The Board approved Mark Hacket as a day camp counselor and Shanee Heath as a life guard.
Information on summer camp and the pool is available now and will be available all summer at www.hoosickrecreation.com.
Rain Day Concerts
At The Rink
The Board also approved the Community Band using the skating rink during July and August for Wednesday evening concerts in the event of rain. Last year at least three concerts were rained out.
The Board passed a resolution on an agreement with the Community Band in the amount of $4,700, which had been budgeted.
Town Assessor Tony Rice said Grievance Day went quite well and the final tax role will be ready by July 1.
Town Historian Phil Leonard had a new board on the Noble and Wood Manufacturing Company that was in operation for 80 years. “It was an important company in Hoosick Falls,” he said. The buildings now belong to Oak-Mitsui and are scheduled for demolition at some point.
Deputy Supervisor Jeff Wysocki reported that he had attended the Hoosick Rising meeting with the Supervisor. He advised high school students that graduation time was fast approaching and he asked that they all be safe.
Councilman Dave Sutton echoed those comments, adding, “keep an eye on your pals; don’t hesitate to take care of them.”
Sutton said the Coach Ken Baker events and fund raising planned for this coming weekend are gaining momentum. This year the popular basketball tournament will be held in Cambridge. The dinner and auction will be at the Country Club Friday evening and the Golf and Basketball tournaments will be Saturday evening.
Councilman Bruce Patire said he has had several people ask him about the new internet service proposed by Bouncelinx. He said he has received a lot of positive feedback, but folks also do not want to see cell towers all over the place. He asked that a combined meeting between the Town, Zoning and Planning Boards be held to discuss the issue. Supervisor Surdam pointed out that the issue of one tower is now in the hands of the ZBA and he suggested the meeting be held after the process has played out there.
A candidate for the part time Building Inspector position has declined the job and the Board agreed to re-advertise the position.
There is a vacancy on the Town of Hoosick Housing Authority Board that the Town Board would like to see filled. It is a volunteer position and that Board meets once a month.
The Town Board has been very unhappy with the current phone system, especially with the problems that have resulted in the Court. A motion was made and approved to get a new phone system for under $1,000 and an additional cost of $30 a month. The new phone service will most likely be through Time Warner.
Surdam said Building Inspector Ed King, after much effort, spoke to a representative in the Philippines of the bank owned property on Baby Lane. He sent them pictures of the mess and they have agreed to have the site cleaned up in the next week or two.
Hoosick Sand and Gravel has completed the cleanup of the 26 Brenenstuhl Road property. The Board approved a payment for the work of $6,900. That sum will be added to the taxes on the property.
The Board passed resolutions approving updated Procurement and Investment policies.
Supervisor Surdam said he received a letter from Peg Bakaitis asking that people please take bottles and cans to Nickel Back and request the funds be donated to the Fourth Ward Playground. Bakaitis, who has worked diligently on the project for a number of years, would like to expand some of the equipment. Checks of support may also be sent to her at 192 Ball St., Hoosick Falls.
The Town of Hoosick Youth Baseball and Softball League is still selling tickets to the Valley Cats/Staten Island Yankees baseball game at the Joe on Friday, June 26. If enough tickets are purchased, it will mean support for the local League.
Primary election day is Wednesday, September 10. Polls at the HAYC3 Armory will be open from noon until 9 pm. [/private]