By Deb Alter and Alex Brooks
The Village meeting room was packed with dozens of residents for the Village Board meeting on Tuesday December 8. Although there was much regular Village business to attend to, most of the people were there because they are upset at the idea that the Hoosick Falls municipal water may not be safe to drink or to cook with. [private]
And they very urgently wanted answers, and they wanted action to remediate the situation. Some had been to the Open House the previous week, others had not. They came with questions, demands, and accusations.
The overall message from the attendees that spoke out concerned why the Mayor, David Borge, won’t say definitively that the water is not safe to drink, only that “it’s a personal choice.” Many felt that he should actually tell residents not to drink the water and by not doing that, he was putting people’s health in danger. Some blamed the Village government for failing to get the word out quick enough about the dangers of PFOA in the water, saying “You have to tell the truth,” “you’re not giving us all the facts,” and ”there’s a lack of transparency.” Others demanded immediate action to lower the levels of PFOA in the water, saying “you gotta do something…”
Many felt they were being asked to make informed decisions without all the information. People expressed frustration that the Village government was not more proactive in educating the public about the health hazards. Questions were raised about why the November 25, 2015 letter from the EPA had not been distributed at the December 2 Open House and why it was not on the website.
The Village has since updated the website. Links to the EPA letter and Department of Health and other information are there.
Questions about the safety of bathing in Hoosick Falls water were raised, and some said that five gallons per day is not enough. One couple, who live in Petersburgh, have a daughter who just closed on a house in Hoosick Falls last month. They said neither she nor they had knowledge of the water problem until now, and that her daughter would not have bought here had she known. James Martinez, President of the Hoosick Federal Credit Union, member of Hoosick Healthy Water, and a real estate broker, said that brokers are required to disclose the information about the water to potential buyers. The Mayor read aloud the letter that the daughter, Jennifer Plouffe, had sent.
The Village publicly announced one year ago that there are PFOAs in the water, and the Mayor has given updates on the water situation at every Village Board meeting since then, including an extensive presentation at its July meeting. All of these statements by the Mayor and others have been reported in this newspaper.
Another woman was concerned that the Village was negotiating with Saint-Gobain behind “closed doors.” She wanted some kind of assurance that the public can have access to the agreements. Some of the people who had read the recent EPA letter were questioning the Board’s interpretation of information they had gotten earlier in this process. The new letter re-interprets the information that was originally sent, explained Ric DiDonato, Village Trustee and Deputy Mayor.
It should be noted that the New York State Department of Health and the EPA do not agree on the danger of PFOAs at the concentrations that have been found in Hoosick Falls. Although neither agency regulates PFOA, NYSDOH guidelines tolerate much greater concentrations of PFOA than does the EPA before remedial action is recommended. The fact sheet given out by NYSDOH personnel at the December 2 information meeting said, “Health effects are not expected to occur from normal use of the water,” although they recommended measures be taken to reduce exposure anyway. A letter from EPA regional administrator Judith Enck, by contrast, cited the EPA’s “Provisional Health Advisory, “ which recommends that action be taken to reduce exposure if concentrations of PFOA exceed 400 parts per trillion. Samples of the Hoosick Falls water have shown concentrations slightly over 600 parts per trillion. Enck’s letter recommended that residents discontinue use of the Hoosick Falls municipal water for drinking or cooking.
Research into the health effects of PFOAs is continuing. While there is clinical evidence that risk of illness rises with greater exposure, there is no consensus about what level of concentration is dangerous, and what level of concentration is safe. An environmental health research and advocacy group called The Environmental Working Group based in Washington DC released a report in August of this year suggesting that there may be health effects at levels of concentration well below the 400 parts per trillion threshold established by the EPA Health Advisory.
Dr. Marcus Martinez, chairman of the Healthy Hoosick Water (HHW) group, asked about businesses in town that use water, especially food establishments. Mayor Borge said carbon filters are already being installed in all the businesses, paid for by Saint-Gobain. Stewarts already has them in place.
The attorney who represents HHW, David Engel, gave a short history of PFOAs and the EPA’s role and method in determining amounts of PFOA per trillion that are safe. In addition, he was confident that more could be and should be done in Hoosick Falls, including determining where it came from and who is responsible, and stated that he and HHW were ready to work with the Village. The EPA letter from Judith Enck said that the EPA plans to work with NYSDEP and NYSDOH on an investigation of the nature and extent of the contamination and identification of the source, and also a feasibility study of possible remedial actions. How long such an investigation would take or how it would be funded are not yet known.
Engel noted that damages were being awarded in similar situations involving DuPont in Ohio and West Virginia. “It’s a serious situation that deserves serious attention,” he said. He and Dr. Martinez asked to meet with the Board ten weeks ago, which apparently has been a bone of contention. The Board was scheduled to discuss that possibility later that same evening in executive session. “We only want to protect the community,” Dr. Martinez said. Jim Martinez said that as a taxpayer, he wanted to know if the water is safe. He, too, feels that HHW should be part of the discussion with Saint-Gobain.
Mayor Borge said the Village is working as fast as it can to get information out about the water situation and to fix the problem. Free bottled drinking water is available (five gallons per day) at Tops Market and the Village was making sure that bottled water was getting to folks who are homebound, to the Health Center, and to others who cannot get to the supermarket. He said things are moving quickly. He has spoken to the engineers working on the Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filters that are being installed, and they are looking at it being up and running on, or possibly before, October of this coming year. “We’re moving in the right direction,” the Mayor said.
Regular Business
The Board attended to regular business items on the agenda before opening the meeting to comments and questions about the water.
Police Chief Robert Ashe reported that Officer Nick Colaneri is in remission.
The demolition process of the American House is moving forward. The Village has been granted the variance they had sought from the Department of Labor that will help keep the cost of demolishing the building down. A motion to advertise for Requests for Proposals (RFP) for demolition of 65 Elm Street (The American House) was approved. The ad will specify that the contractor must be a NYS Certified Asbestos Contractor, and once they are received, and a proposal from a certified contractor has been accepted (and depending on the weather) work will commence.
The Railroad company will put up signs on their property on the southern end of Railroad Avenue. If someone parks there, they will be considered trespassing and if reported by the Railroad, will be issued a ticket by the Hoosick Falls Police. Chief Ashe will be meeting with the railroad representatives to further define the roles that the railroad company and the HF Police Department will have.
There was a discussion about “Code Blue” for the 2015-2016 winter season. Last year Immaculate Conception Church served as a place people who needed to could go for short-term stays in case the temperatures drop below 20 degrees and/or there is a foot of snow or more. Joyce Brewer, President of HACA, said they were looking for more places people could go, places that are handicapped accessible. There is a Code Blue center in Cambridge that will accept people from Hoosick Falls, but transportation could be an issue. The Hoosick Rescue Squad facilities have been used in the past and at least one member offered to transport people to Cambridge if needed. Brewer will continue to look for appropriate places and work with the Village to set up the program.
The Board discussed whether to extend Camoin’s contract for another year, as the original 15-month contract had expired. Camoin is the economic development advisory group that has been helping with the Hoosick Rising initiative. The one-year contract would cost $7,100, which would come from the Economic Development Fund. This fund is not part of the Village’s budget and is not funded by taxpayers. The fund was originally set up with grant funding, and is now replenished by loan repayments. Ric DiDonato said that their expertise, particularly that of Christa Franzi, has been invaluable in helping with grants, advice, and organization. The motion was approved.
There was also a discussion on the possibility of the Village creating an Economic Development position. This person’s role would be to focus solely on economic development in the greater Hoosick area. The job description would include grant writing, advanced planning, and meeting and working with the appropriate people who could help revitalize the business districts and promote the community. The qualifications would include direct experience and the ability to make crucial and valuable connections. Trustees seemed to think this might be a good idea, and agreed to continue the discussion at a later date.
Trustee Robert Ryan met with Ken Facin and Pam Hatfield from Hoosick Falls Central School about the Village garage and the District’s bus garage and looking for grants that would benefit a joint project. Hatfield said that all the grant money has dried up for that kind of collaboration, but she will keep looking. Ryan has also reached out to Representatives Kathy Marchione and Steve McLaughlin for help with financing the Village Garage project.
Kevin O’Malley reported that Village elections will be on March 15, 2016. New laws state that the old lever voting booths are no longer acceptable, and that the Village needs to decide whether to use paper ballots or lease the scanning voting equipment from the County.
Trustee Ben Patten spoke about the Time Warner/Charter merger and how that will affect customers in Hoosick Falls. Public comments at an open meeting in Delmar seemed to be positive, he said, but there is no way to know how HF will fare in the merger. He also reported that the contract with the current phone company the Village uses is up soon and that it would be a good idea to look into using a different company. Patten said he would look into different companies, looking to switch for savings. There’s a provider in Bennington who is a possibility worth checking out.
Police Report
The Police Report included 109 calls last month, including five drug possession arrests, two DWI’s, five code violations, and seven domestics, among others. Chief Ashe reminded people to be aware of scams which are especially prevalent this time of year. The new police vehicle is here and ready to go as soon as the radio is installed. Chief Ashe thanked the East Greenbush Fire Department for donating the vehicle, which he estimates is worth about $17,000. The Chief anticipates losing up to three officers next year. He requested the Village recommend two candidates, Colin Winters and Mark Carol, for the police academy. This will not cost the Village anything. The Board voted to approve the request.
In Other Business:
• The 2016-2017 Budget process will begin in January at that month’s Board Meeting.
• Code Enforcement Officer Mark Surdam reported that about 30 to 40 cases are open and he is following up on them. Oak Mitsui will be installing a sprinkler system in their empty building.
• A motion to extend the appointment of Tony Rice as part-time assessor until the April 2016 Organizational meeting was approved.
• Documents approved for disposal per schedule were shredded on December 2 in conjunction with the Town of Hoosick.
• A motion authorizing the Mayor to sign the Enforcement Crackdown Agreement with Rensselear County in an amount not to exceed $2,541 was passed. The “crackdown” refers to random sweeps that the Village Police do to check for DWI’s. The County reimburses the Village for the expense of the program.
• The Skorupski Landing property was removed from the Village tax rolls. The 2015-2016 taxable properties were adjusted by $83.24.
• As there were no comments about Local Law #3 of 2015, repealing a 2005 law and creating a new law for flood damage prevention within the Village at the Public Hearing, the Board passed it unanimously. They then went into executive session. The next Village Board Meeting is Tuesday, January 12, 2016. There will also be a Public Hearing on the new Proposed Zoning Laws (available for download on the Village website) on that date at 6 pm.[/private]