Berlin Town Board Expresses Concern About Condition Of Old Bank Building Property
By Doug La Rocque
A broken dumpster left on the bank property for more than a year by Hannan’s Waste Disposal of Wynantskill was a topic of discussion at the Berlin Town Board workshop meeting on Thursday April 27.
[/private]Originally left full of debris near the former drive up window, it was emptied last summer by the company, and eventually moved to the far side of the parking lot.
It is now being used by people who want to dispose of refuse and is again filling up. Several attempts to contact the company about removing it have failed. The Board also expressed its concern about the general deterioration of the property, citing shrubbery that has been left unattended, garbage around the site and an unsightly look along Berlin’s main road, Route 22. The Board decided to ask Town Attorney Donald Tate if there was any legal pressure that could be brought to bear on Hannan’s and the owners of the property.
Who the owners are has been a bit of a mystery until recently. Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger said they have been identified as Odell Roy Management of Gilbert, South Carolina. According to Supervisor Jaeger, they are a company known for buying and selling properties (flipping, as it is sometimes called). Trulia, an online residential real estate site, notes some of the sheet rock inside the structure has been removed due to a water leak, and lists the asking price at $115,000.
The property was included in a real estate auction held in Berlin last year, but remained unsold. The issue is again being brought to the forefront as the annual 4th of July parade draws near. The event is the only such parade in Rensselaer County and often draws participants and spectators not only from the Taconic Valley but also from the rest of the County, Vermont and Massachusetts.
More Town Roads?
Councilman Dean Maxon asked that in light of the recent changes New York State is planning to use road mileage in the town as a key part in determining how much state assistance (CHIPs) each town will receive on a yearly basis; would it be feasible for the town to offer to take over some private roads. Highway Superintendent Jim Winn didn’t dismiss the idea, but said any such roads would first have to be brought up to local and state standards before such transfer of ownership could go forward. Most, if not all, of these private roads fall below this standard.
The Board approved $850 for the TRACS organization, a peer group of students and advisors from Berlin Central School that promotes a lifestyle free of drugs and alcohol. The money is used to send two Berlin students to the group’s annual conference. The students also do volunteer work around the Town’s municipal complex.
The Board also approved the issuance of the quarterly bills for Water District # 2, and appointed Victor Lewin to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Board will be working with the Town of Petersburgh to cut the grass on the fields at the former dump site co-owned by both towns.
The Board next meets in regular session on Thursday, May 11, with a public hearing on the proposed local law to transfer ownership of the Watipi Building to the Taconic Valley American Legion Post. It is slated to start at 7 pm. [/private]