Highway Superintendent Tenders His Resignation
By Doug La Rocque
Herb Hasbrouck decided earlier this year, that 2019 would be his last in office, bringing to a close a 38-year long tenure at the driver’s seat of the town’s Highway Department. He had earlier notified the town’s Republican Party he would not be seeking re-election. At the Monday night, October 21 Town Board meeting, he announced he was leaving office sooner than expected, on October 31. He had officially tendered his resignation to Town Clerk Vicky Burdick earlier in the day. Mr. Hasbrouck thanked all those he had worked with through the years, particularly in hard times such as Hurricane Irene and the great snowstorm of 1986. When asked in public comment if the board intended to honor Superintendent Hasbrouck, Town Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum said they had been planning a sendoff toward the end of the year, but now they would have to look at moving it up a bit.
Tri-Town Ambulance
The Board approved a motion to move forward with a multi-town ambulance service, serving Grafton, Petersburgh and Berlin. The loss of the Berlin ambulance was the impetus for the proposal, which would see the Berlin Fire Department transfer its Certificate of Need to the Grafton Rescue Squad, who would in turn organize a five day a week, 12 hour a day, paid EMT staffed ambulance, that would be ready to respond to any of the towns. The Berlin Town Board has already approved its participation, as did the Petersburgh Town Board on Monday night as well. The logistics are what remain to be worked out.
Meanwhile, the Grafton Rescue Squad reported 14 calls for the month of September, and noted they were able to respond to all of them. This included two mutual aid calls to Petersburgh and one to Poestenkill.
Supervisor Gundrum also said they have been notified that everything is now in place for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) to issue a check for the $150,000 grant for the town’s new ambulance, a payment the Town and DASNY have been battling over for more than a year.
Serious Roof Concerns
Earlier this year, the roof on the town hall was damaged by high winds. A repair was made, but it became known the roof had to be replaced, soon. Last week’s high winds again blew shingles off, bringing the matter to the critical stage. The Board voted to send out a request for bids to make the replacement as soon as possible.
The Board also approved a resolution to take down the former Gardy residence on South Road because of unsafe conditions. The Town will now seek bids, and if the owner does not pay for the demolition, it will be charged back on county taxes, with the county eventually making the town whole once again.
Summer Camp Issues
At the last budget workshop, the board had discussions about some deep cuts in the Youth Commission budget. Just before the start of this year’s summer program, there was an attempt by Councilman Eric Buckley to cancel it, because it turned out the Town was not meeting state requirements and he had serious concerns about liability. The program went forward, but it has since been learned it was previously simply an arts and crafts program, where participants brought their own lunch. Feeding the children this year seems to have been one of the problems.
When questioned as to whether there would be any program at all next summer, Supervisor Gundrum responded yes, but indicated it would be a subject for discussion at the following night’s budget workshop.
The meeting was adjourned in memory of Robert Moon, Gilbert Payette and Steve Porteus.