Looking For Rink Manager
by Alex Brooks
We could not fit all of the material on last week’s Hoosick Town Board meeting into last week’s article, so here is the rest of the story.
Rink Manager
Supervisor Surdam said he had talked to two people that were considering taking the Rink Manager position, but neither one worked out, so with skating season rapidly approaching, the Town is very actively looking for someone to fill the position. In the meantime the Board appointed Leo McGuire as rink staff and named him the official “Ice Curator.”
Truck Lettering
Eric Sheffer said it appears that the best way to put the Town’s name on its equipment is to have the large letters painted on the big trucks, which he said will cost $300 per truck, and to have a supply of printed emblems for all the other Town equipment. He is working on getting the paste-on emblems made up.
Online Town Code
Supervisor Surdam said putting the town laws online would cost about $11,000 but it would be a three year project, so that cost would be spread over the three years and the budget impact will not be too big. After that, the annual cost for maintenance of that site is $1200 per year for full-service, or $700 for basic online hosting. He also said the Town is researching the idea of having an independent contractor do the Town’s Employee Handbook. The current employee handbook is from 2004. He said it is certainly time to update it, and it would be nice to have it professionally done by someone familiar with State employment law.
Solar Law Revisions
Surdam said the Board and the Town Attorney have realized that revisions are needed to the recently-passed Solar Law, and while they are at it, they should add regulations for battery energy storage, which will be a component of many solar installations in the future, and do involve some hazards that should be looked at. So this is on the Board’s agenda in the coming months.
Historical Report
Town Historian Phil Leonard showed “then and now” pictures of various locations around the Village.
He also mentioned major improvements that have been made to the Louis Miller Museum building. 21 new windows have been installed. The museum is now adding additional insulation in the attic, and upgrading light fixtures to LED under a subsidized National Grid program.
In other news:
• The Board transferred funds to cover the cost of the Cornell Roads report. Surdam said the cost was a bit higher than anticipated, but he feels it was a solid investment, as it gives the Town a well thought out way to take charge of its road maintenance problems. The cost totaled about $16,000, of which $9,500 was to pay intern Michelle Gocio, and $6,500 was for other stuff. A Town Board workshop on the Roads Report is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3 at 6 pm.
• Surdam said a study of traffic problems on Route 22 in front of the Hoosick Falls Central School requested by the school has been completed by the NYS Dept of Transportation, and it concludes that no new traffic control devices are needed.
• Surdam said an update to the property valuation data does not need to be done in 2020, but will probably be done by GAR in 2021.