More Problems With the Rensselaer Street Pump Station
By Doug La Rocque
The failure of an air compressor at the Rensselaer Street Pump station Monday morning, December 10, was the first topic of discussion at the Hoosick Falls Village Board meeting on Tuesday, December 11. Mayor Rob Allen said it took most of the day to repair the situation and get the water flowing up the hill once again, but things are back to normal now. This is not the first time the pump station has failed, and the village is looking to use left over money from a state grant that funded the Snow Street Water Main project to help pay for new pumping equipment. The catch is, the Village is still waiting for approval from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), which oversees such grants, to give its approval. Mayor Allen said all paperwork they have requested has been sent in, and is hoping for an expeditious decision. The rest of the money for the $93,000 project would come from funds in the Water Department budget. The Board passed a resolution at this meeting to sign a contract with CFI Contracting, Inc. for the work, contingent upon DASNY’s confirmation that the remaining grant monies may be utilized for the added alternate item.
Disappointed With Ice Rink Decision
The Board and the Mayor expressed their disappointment with the Town of Hoosick’s vote the prior night, not to move forward with a funding request for repairs to the Ice Rink. The vote by the Town Board was 2-2, effecting defeating the measure at this time. Town Supervisor Mark Surdam, who was in attendance at this meeting, and who supported the project, said the tie vote does not preclude the matter from being raised once again, however they are up against a deadline to do so. See the complete story on the Ice rink in the Town of Hoosick Board Meeting report on this page.
Signing an MOU
The Village Board authorized Mayor Allen to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Town of Hoosick regarding the Community Development Building Grant (CDBG) for the Woods Brook Drainage Improvement Project. Under the MOU, the village would be the lead agency for the project. They also approved a motion for the Mayor to execute the agreement for the engineering services with Barton & Loguidice.
Unsafe Structures
The village has received and opened bids for the demolition of three structures, deemed by the Codes Department to be unsafe. The bid request called for pricing for each structure individually, and as a group. As it turned out, the lowest bids for each structure, and the low bid for the entire project, were not from the same companies. Village Trustee Ben Patten urged the bid be split, noting it would save the village $5,400. The Mayor and the rest of them board were in favor of the group bid, citing the expediency of using one company, that being Dan’s Hauling. They voted 6 to 1 to accept that company’s bid of $53,900 for the structure at 6 Spring Street, with Trustee Patten opposed. They also accepted the bid form Dan’s Hauling, which was the lowest of the four, for the 22 John Street structure. All voted in favor of that, which amounted to $22,700. Codes Officer Mark Surdam indicated the owner of that building is considering handling the demolition himself, and the board made the award contingent upon him not filing a demolition permit before December 31.
Another structure at 5 Waldron Avenue was also included in the bids, but Mr. Surdam is currently working with the owners of that building, at the board voted to table the bid award at this time.
Opting Out of Family Medical Leave
Starting this year, New York State is allowing municipalities to opt out of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), provided they maintain their disability coverage for employees. If they do so, it does reduce some of the employee insurance contribution that is deducted from their pay, resulting in a small increase in take home monies. It also reduces the municipalitie’s overall costs.
The board voted to move forward with removing the FMLA coverage, indicating that in some discussions they had with village employees, many indicated they were also in favor of it.
Buying a New Excavator
The board accepted the lone bid from Capital Tractor of Greenwich for the purchase of a new excavator for the Highway Department. The cost of the new piece of equipment is $113,135.20, with $100,000 coming from a state grant obtained from former Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin’s office, and the rest coming out of CHIPs funding.
There were several other items of business on the agenda as well, and they will be covered in next week’s edition of The Eastwick Press because of space considerations.