It’s Village Budget Tax Season
Board Will Keep It Below The Tax Cap
by Deb Alter
The early part of the March 8 Village Board meeting was about the water. After the TV news cameras left, the Board got down to the regular business of keeping the Village running.
[private]Mayor Borge said that the Village is in the middle of the budget season; a tentative budget needs to be submitted in April, and the final one by May 31. Mayor Borge is working with the Board to stay under or at the tax cap.
American House
Coming Down
A motion was passed to award the contract for the demolition of the American House to Dan’s Hauling and Demolition in the amount of $129,000. Another motion was passed to approve the BAN for the demolition and to William Cottrell Engineering for a total of $132,537.
The Village continues to move forward on the major sewer upgrade, the funds for which ($4 million) were approved a year and a half ago.
Some of the sewer work will take place on the northern part of the Greenway. Archaeological studies which must be done before the sewer work can go forward have been completed, and the northern section of the Greenway has been reopened to the public.
A resolution was passed authorizing the Mayor to accept funds from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for the Hoosic River Greenway. The $107,000 grant is for trail improvements and maintenance. The Greenway group is still developing plans for this grant, but it will probably include informational kiosks, benches, and other amenities.
Trustee Bobby Ryan Thanked the Police Department, Highway Department, Water and Waste Treatment Departments for working so hard and putting in so many hours these last few months. He also thanked the women in the Village Clerk’s office for their dedication.
Trustee Robert Downing has heard that many residents are concerned about hazardous waste disposal. He is working on organizing and implementing a collection day in Hoosick Falls, since the only other ones are in Schaghticoke and Nassau.
Code Enforcement
Code Enforcement Officer Mark Surdam reported that he had finished his building inspector training. He is working on closing some of the older files, some of which will probably have to go to court. Some of the buildings he has been watching have red tags on them, which indicate that the building is uninhabitable and dangerous to go inside; most of them have been secured.
Clerk’s Report
Village Clerk Anne Marie Bornt said that last month saw the sale of five single-family homes in the Village. The Clerk’s office has been very busy answering calls about the water, of course. As of the day of the Village meeting she had received “lots” of absentee ballots for the Tuesday, March 15 election. She has also been working with Surdam on bank and mortgage searches, in an attempt to find owners of foreclosed or abandoned buildings.
More About The Water
After the general business was over, the Mayor opened up the floor for more questions and comments from the audience.
Richard Hunt, the Hoosick Falls Fire Commissioner asked about who would be responsible making the decision to “throw the switch” to bypass the filters should an unusually large fire break out in the Village. Deputy Mayor DiDonato said that the Fire Chief would tell Village officials that more water was needed, and they would be the ones to make that decision, not a volunteer fireman.
There was also some discussion about home values dropping because of the water. Trustee Karen Sprague said that it will not be on anyone’s radar or be an issue at all after about four years. In fact, the clean water will be a selling point. Rick Tinkham said that houses were selling in the Town. Mayor Borge has met with the banks to get them to start issuing mortgages again, which they will when the filters are up and running and the DOH gives the “all clear.” The Mayor also said that the Governor’s office and other government representatives have also intervened.
Some of the fire hydrants in the Village are wrapped; they are ones that need to be fixed, which was discovered during the flushing process.
Marion Stevens thanked the Board for the clear communications during the flushing process. She also said that the Saint-Gobain should be paying people to deliver water, as they are doing in North Bennington. (less than a week later, the Governor announced that this would happen)
Kevin Allard said that the community is creating a change in the way state officials handle crisis, and thanked the press for helping draw attention to Hoosick Falls. He also invited them to come back to Hoosick Falls for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and experience the good stuff about Hoosick Falls.
The next Hoosick Rising meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, the location TBD. The Village’s Organizational meeting will take place at the April 12 Board Meeting. There will also be a public meeting on the budget at that time.[/private]