New Village Highway Garage Hits A Bump in The Road
A Sour Note Heard On Mr. Ding-A-Ling’s Application
By Doug La Rocque
Meeting in a special session, the Hoosick Falls Village Board on Tuesday, March 26 voted to accept four bids needed to begin the actual construction phase for a new Village Highway Department Garage.. All the bid awards are contingent upon Hayden Plumbing and Heating of Bennington, filing a non-collusive certificate for their Plumbing and HVAC bid.
On Thursday night, March 28, meeting in an emergency session, the board voted to rescind those bids, because it turns out the engineering firm MRB, hired to handle the bidding process, had not yet certified or reference check the bidders. The trustees now hope to award the bid at their April 9 meeting. As it currently stands, Hayden Plumbing and Heating of Bennington had the low bid for plumbing services at $78,701, and for HVAC the figure was $86,794. J.A Bradley & Sons of Hoosick Falls stands to be awarded the electrical service bid for $178,000, and Bishop & Beaudry Construction of Schenectady, the general construction bid for $716,710. These bids were generated from a second request for bids, the Trustees rejected all the first bids as too high. The second round of bidding also including the adding of two alternatives and several deductions from the general construction phase, reducing that bid by more than $500,000.
The total bids this time around came in at $1,060,205, not including the $153,000 already spent on engineering services and bidding costs. That brings the total cost of construction to $1,213,205. The town has been awarded a grant from New York State for $1.1 million dollars, bringing the shortfall to $113,205. Mayor Rob Allen stated before the vote, the village would cover the shortfall by applying some unspent funds from this years budget, and make some changes in the proposed new budget, so there would be no added cost to the tax payers.
Changing Mr. Ding-A-Ling’s Application
At the board’s March 12 meeting, an application by the franchise owner for the Mr. Ding-A-Ling ice cream trucks was tabled while the board considered issues such a music volume, and when it could be played, parking and days of operation. Between then and Tuesday’s meeting, Village Attorney Gilchrist discovered that a local law governing peddler’s licenses was changed back in 2003, taking the power to grant the license away from the village board and giving it instead to the village clerk. Who knew or who remembered anyway? That same law changed the application to include background checks for such items as sexual abuse, drug distribution and several other crimes, that might deem the truck driver or applicant unsafe to operate in the village. The application that has been used for the past years contained none of this. The trustees decided to ask Village Clerk Marie O’Neil to draw up a new application according to the guidelines set down in the 2003 law, run it past Police Chief Bob Ashe and the Village Attorney, and get it in the hands of Brian Collis, franchise owner, as soon as possible.
Mr. Collis has asked to begin operation in the village on April 15. The board expressed their hope the process can be completed in time so both the applicant and the driver can undergo the background checks. Deputy Mayor Bob Ryan said he would contact Mr. Collis to explain the situation.
Other Action
The Village Board declared itself lead agency for the Hoosic River Greenway Trail Enhancements Project, and then declared a negative environmental impact, further clearing the way for the work to begin this spring. A motion to grant some credit to an enormous water bill incurred by a resident of Church Street was tabled for further discussion, and the board approved a motion to hold a public hearing on the tentative 2019-20 budget on April 9 at 6 pm. Mayor Allen tells the Eastwick Press, the budget should be finalized soon, and will be posted on the village website.
Honoring the Late Village Clerk
Deputy Mayor Ryan said he was approached by former Mayor David Borge about naming the board room in the Village Hall after long time clerk Ann Marie Bornt, who passed last year.. The idea met with favor from the board, but questioned whether it would be legal, since the room also houses the Village Court. It was then suggested the entire Village Hall be renamed. The Village Attorney agreed to look into the legal ramifications of both, and report back at the next meeting.