Mayor Wants to Save Ice Rink Refrigeration Project
by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Town Board meeting began with Hoosick Falls Mayor Rob Allen speaking to the Board about the million dollar grant for upgrading the ice rink and installing refrigeration equipment. The Town Board had studied that project for over a year and hired a consultant to do a feasibility study, and finally came to the conclusion that the upgraded rink would be likely to operate at a significant deficit every year and the Town would have to fund the deficit with tax dollars. Since the town pool is already costing the taxpayers a sum in the neighborhood of $50,000 each year, the Town Board had no appetite for another deficit-producing enterprise.
Allen said he didn’t think the Town should give up on the ice rink project. He said he had a group of people who want to meet to see if they can “find a way to make this work.” While acknowledging that he was getting involved way too late and apologizing for that, Allen asked the Board not to take any action on the matter for a few weeks or a month so that his group can take that time to try to put together a plan.
Supervisor Surdam said, “It’s a little late.” He emphasized that he and the Board have been exploring ways to make it work pretty intensively since they received the consultant’s report last May. He noted that one of the experts he has relied on is Hoosick resident Tom Marciotta, who has worked on many pools and skating rinks across New York State for many years, and is currently working for the skating rink in Manchester Vermont which is having financial troubles. Marciotta said he thought the report done by the Town’s consultant had painted a very accurate picture. He said the rinks in Troy and Manchester are struggling. He said Riley Rink in Manchester, where he is working now, is struggling financially even though it has some very wealthy donors who are committed to keeping it going. He also said the grant money alone would not be enough to upgrade the rink enough to host a team like that of Hoosac School. He said the grant would pay for the refrigeration equipment and perhaps the engineering and upgrades to electricity and lighting that would go with it, but a significant building addition would also be needed for locker rooms, showers, seating for spectators, etc. The Town does not have a detailed estimate for work of that kind, but they did get a rough estimate of the cost of such amenities, which was $600,000.
Surdam said the Town Board could wait a few weeks before committing to repurposing the grant for improvements to the swimming pool and the area near it, but by next month’s meeting he needs to have the matter resolved, because Senator Marchione, who secured the grant for the Town, is leaving office at the end of the year, and Surdam wants to have the grant “locked down” before she leaves office.
Kevin Allard then stood up to address the Board, and said he is disappointed that the Town and the Village don’t work more closely together on projects that affect both entities. He said when the Mayor said that he learned of the Town’s intention to give up on the rink refrigeration project from a newspaper story, he thought it showed a level of communication between the Town and the Village that is nowhere near what it should be.
Highway Report
Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland said the State “Yellow Flagged” the Cottrell Road bridge this month, because the river has washed away a piece of river bottom under one of the footings. He said no action is required at present, and it does not immediately affect the Bridge’s weight rating, but it is, of course, a sign of trouble for the future. The Town submitted a preliminary application for BridgeNY funding to replace the Cottrell Road Bridge over a year ago and were told that a round of funding under that program would be offered last summer, but it didn’t happen. It is not known when the next round of BridgeNY funding will be offered, but it will certainly be no sooner than January, so the earliest that the bridge could be replaced is probably the summer of 2020. He said he hopes not to spend any large sums on repairs to the existing bridge if it is going to be replaced in a couple of years, but the continuing deterioration of the bridge could be trouble in the short term.
Shiland also said he has two culverts to replace on Foxhollow Road and “then we’re about done there.”
Hoosick Rising
Jean Andrick and Joe Shaw came to speak to the Board about Hoosick Rising. They said a decision had been made to become a 501C-3 tax exempt organization and elect officers so as to give the group the ability to hold money and pursue long-term goals effectively. They said they need “startup” money to get the organization launched, and asked the Town Board to contribute something to help them get started.
Andrick said the basic idea is to build on the Camoin Study, an economic development study written by a consultant a few years ago. The group wants to pursue implementation of the recommendations in that report. Town Board member Eric Sheffer said Hoosick Rising has had some “uncomfortable” meetings where they had to think carefully about what they needed to do to be effective, but he said they are ready to move forward now. “We now feel like we have a clear path and we know what to do next,” he concluded.
Supervisor Surdam made a motion to give Hoosick Rising $3,500 to help them get started, and the Board approved it.
Bennington College Intern
Supervisor Surdam proposed that an intern from Bennington College be hired during the College’s 7 week Field Work term to work on two highway – related projects. One is to do a thorough analysis of the long term cost of purchasing and maintaining vehicles and equipment versus leasing, and the other is to use software from Cornell University to collect and input information about town roads to set up a long-term road maintenance budget plan. The cost was estimated at $3,150, which would be for paying the intern for the 210 hours that he/she would be available during the field work term, from January 2 through February 15, 2019. Surdam made a motion to go forward with this plan and the Board approved it, so Surdam will seek to recruit an intern from the college to take this position.
Welcome to Hoosick Sign
Town Board Member Eric Sheffer said he has been pursuing the problem of the deteriorating sign at the intersection of Route 7 and Route 22 for a very long time, and he is losing patience with the St. Etienne Gallery and the lengthy process of getting permission to use a Grandma Moses image on that sign. He has obtained a proof of a proposed design for that sign from The Sign Studio which he thinks is a very attractive sign, but which does not contain a Grandma Moses image. He said he would like to have this sign made, at a cost of about $650, and install it before winter comes. The Board looked over the design, and approved it, authorizing up to $1,000 of expense to have the sign made and installed.
The Board scheduled its next meeting for Tuesday, November 13 at 7 pm. It also scheduled a Public Hearing on the proposed Noise Ordinance for 6: 45 that same night, and a Public Hearing on a Zoning Law update that includes regulations about solar installations for 6:30 pm that same evening.
The Board had previously scheduled a Public Hearing on the 2019 Budget for Thursday, November 8 at 6 pm.
Supervisor Surdam said the opportunity to have blood tested for PFOA level has been extended to the end of the year, and he encouraged everyone who drank the local water to get their blood tested. He said you can call 800-801-8092 during weekday business hours to get signed up, or you can do it through the NYSDOH web site.