No Tax Increase In Proposed Hoosick Falls Budget
Water Rates Will Go Up Slightly
By Doug La Rocque
A rather lengthy meeting of the Hoosick Falls Village Board on Tuesday, April 9, began with a public hearing on the Village’s proposed 2019-20 budget, at which there were no speakers. Mayor Robert Allen identified three major points in the budget, chief amongst those was news that the Water District funds are critically low. He blamed this on recent expenses and a drop in both the number of residential and commercial users. He is proposing a 2% increase in rates, which he said for a six-person household, averages out to about $12 a year more. There will be no increase in the Sewer District rates.
Because of this, and because the recent re-evaluation assessments are coming into play for the first time, the Mayor said he felt it important to hold the tax rate where it is. He also mentioned that he is very concerned about the pay scale for salaried employees, noting it remains well below villages comparable to Hoosick Falls. He is proposing their pay be increased to the average of villages included in a 2016 study, and that they continue to bring compensation levels up over the next few years.
The trustees set a special meeting for Monday, April 29 at 6 pm to adopt the budget.
PFOA Updates
The Mayor said an Interim Remedial Measure will be undertaken at the McCaffrey Street Saint Gobain location, in the form of ground water capture and treatment. The goal is to prevent the pollution at the site from moving closer to the Village’s well field. Water pumped from the capture wells will be treated and then discharged into the Hoosic River.
The recent stack testing was completed in late March and early April. A summary of the report, which will be qualitative and not quantitative will be available in July.
The Mayor also said the second round of blood testing was completed in March and that the NYS Department of Health is looking to release the data, along with a comparison to Round 1’s figures, sometime in June. Residents can still get their blood tested for PFOA levels, but the results will not be included in the report.
Speak Sooner Support
Board members had various opinions on whether to give $500 to the Speak Sooner program, that is sponsoring Saturday’s “When the Doctor Becomes a Patient” at HFCS. There was some question about the legality of it, and how do you decide what to give to and what not. On an initial motion not to make the donation, the Board was tied. Village Attorney Andy Gilchrist said they could approve the donation, tentative on his research into the legal question. That the Board agreed to do.
No More Village Assessor
Even though the board voted to re-appoint Tony Rice as Assessor, they introduced a local law that would eliminate the position, at the urging of the Rensselear County Department of Tax Services. Hoosick Falls is the last village in the county to maintain its own independent assessing unit, and that is creating problems for the county, primarily because of the different tax times between villages, towns and the county. They have indicated they will no longer solely process Hoosick Falls tax roles. If approved. the local law would see the Village assume the Town of Hoosick’s roles as its own. A public hearing on the law was set for the board’s May 14 meeting at 6 pm.
Other Developments
The planned demolition of two unsafe structures was pushed back, because the firm hired to do the work had an emergency situation to deal with first. Demolition should begin shortly.
Drawings for the new Rensselaer Street pump station have been completed and submitted. The station is currently being built, and should be on site in June. Phase 1 of the Sewer Project will begin shortly, primarily pipe being laid between Lyman Street, down the northern end of the Greenway to the water treatment plant. A construction notice will go out shortly, and any residents or businesses directly affected for a short time, will be notified by the contractor.
Completed surveys, appraisals and environmental assessment documentation have begun to go out to property owners who have expressed an interest in the Woods Brook buyout program.
The bids for the construction of the new Village Highway Garage, that were approved at a special meeting and then rescinded two days later, have been re-awarded, now that all the bidders have been properly vetted by the MRB group.
The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency were also in attendance. They indicated that leachate from the Hoosick Falls landfill was showing high levels of PFOA, (nothing that wasn’t expected), and that they have begun to work on remediation efforts, as well as drilling test wells to see how far the contamination has spread. DEC is looking at the Walnut Street location as a potential Class 2 Superfund site.
The Tuesday night meeting also served as the board’s Organizational meeting. Mayor Allen along with Trustees Kevin O’Malley, Robert Ryan and Brian Bushner were all sworn in for new two-year terms. Trustee Ryan was again appointed Deputy Mayor. All current appointments were continued, and the board will continue to meet on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 pm.