Village Working With Saint Gobain To Fix Water Issue
HF Garage Needs Upgrades, American House Is Officially Condemned
by Deb Alter
The Mayor announced at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday, November 10, that they have been working with Saint Gobain to solve the PFOA contamination problem in the village water. [private]Philip Guy, Business Manager of the Hoosick Falls Saint Gobain plant, and Kirk Moline, of the engineering firm C.T. Male Associates, P.C. made a presentation to the packed room about water and soil testing around the McCaffery Street plant. Saint Gobain has agreed to pay for a two-million-dollar-plus carbon water filtration system for the Village’s water plant and bottled water for residents who want it until the system is installed. Negotiations concerning the details of the deal are still ongoing, but Mayor David Borge said they have been positive.
Village Garage Needs Work
The Mayor spoke about the state of the Village garage. There has been little maintenance done on it in the last 30 years, and it now needs some major work. The engineer’s report showed that to build a new garage from scratch would cost about $1,000,000, and to keep the current building and make the necessary repairs would cost approximately $940,000. He said that the Hoosick Falls Central School needs to do some necessary upgrades on the District’s bus garage and that there is the possibility of the municipality and the School working together on grants to upgrade both garages. The Village Board voted unanimously to move forward with this. Trustee Robert Ryan will be the liaison.
Railroad Avenue
Police Chief Robert Ashe reported that the Railroad company will allow “no parking” signs to be posted on the east side of Railroad Avenue. Several people who live in the area have expressed their concerns about too many cars parking too far into the road on that side of the street, creating a problem for emergency vehicles. Ron Hyde, representing his brother who owns a building on that part of Railroad Avenue, felt that as taxpayers, they should be allowed to have on-street parking. Ashe and several Board members said they understood, but emergency vehicle access was necessary, and that since the Railroad company owns the property as far out as the middle of the street, they could post the signs. Chief Ashe and the Village Attorney will work with the Railroad Company to determine who will actually install the signs and how the no-parking rules will be enforced.
American House
The Village is proceeding with the demolition process of the American House. The application to the Department of Labor for a variance concerning the asbestos has been submitted and as soon as they hear back, they will put the project out for bids. The building has been officially condemned.
Waste Management
The contract with the ERC Waste Management Authority has been extended for another year with no cost increase. There will now be a charge for dropping off electronics at the Transfer Station effective immediately. Trustee Ric DiDonato responded to questions about recycling from residents who have seen the trash pick-up drivers put the regular trash and the recycling into what appears to be the same compartment in the truck.He explained that the truck has a mechanism that divides the two sections inside and the driver flips it according to what’s being picked up, so that recycling and trash are, in fact, being separated.
Police Report
There were 109 calls last month, including seven arrests and a DWI. There was one death from a heroin overdose. Officers did what they have been trained to do in heroin OD situations, but although they were able to keep the victim alive for a while, the young person died in transit between Bennington Hospital and Albany Med. A Village police officer responded to an emergency call from the Town outside Village limits near the intersection of Routes 67 and 22, and saved a resident from cardiac arrest. Problems on First Street continue to be addressed by local police and the County Sheriff’s Department, who made an arrest recently.
The fatal accident near River Road and Smith Street is still an active investigation, Chief Ashe said. He had no updated information to share.
In Other Business:
• The water restrictions have been lifted.
• Dog owners are asked to abide by the law and keep their dogs on a leash and pick up after them.
• The new surface on the River Street Bridge is finished, but there is still work to be done underneath. Trustee DiDonato has asked the State Highway Department if they can add some lights and widen the path in that areas while they are working underneath the bridge. This is something that can probably be accomplished.
• Trail signs are up for the Greenway Trail, thanks to the Highway Department. Snow Emergency signs are also in place.
• A motion was passed to purchase a new blower for the waste water treatment plant.
The next Village Board Meeting will be at 6 pm on Tuesday, December 8 at the Municipal Building. There will also be a Public Hearing at that time concerning the new Flood Plain law.[/private]