Board Refers Motorcycle Track Issue to Zoning Board
by Alex Brooks
Quite a few neighbors of the motorcycle track on Eagle Bridge Road in the West Hills of Hoosick listened in to the Zoom meeting of the Hoosick Town Board on Monday May 11, after an emergency meeting was held on May 7 in which the Town Board went into an executive session to review its legal options pertaining to ongoing complaints about the track from those neighbors. The issue seems to hinge on whether the activity at the track is personal use by the owner and his invited guests, or a commercial operation. Neighbors have sent numerous e-mails to the Town contending that it is a commercial operation and that the level of activity far exceeds what would be expected if it were recreational use by the owners and a few friends. Supervisor Surdam and Deputy Supervisor Eric Sheffer met with the owners of the motorcycle track to learn more about their point of view and their plans for use of the track.
At the May 11 Town Board meeting, the Board voted to refer the matter to the Zoning Board of Appeals to review the facts of the case and clarify exactly what the dividing line is between commercial and personal use. They also asked the Town attorney to prepare a legal brief setting out the facts that the Town Board has learned so far pertaining to use of the track and a timeline of what has happened so far, to be given to the ZBA for its consideration.
Bovie Hill Road Repair
At the emergency meeting on May 7, the Town Board also heard from its engineer Wayne Bonesteel of Maser Consulting, who has been working on bid specifications for repair of the collapsed section of Bovie Hill Road. Supervisor Surdam said he was surprised to learn that Bonesteel expects the project to cost up to $220,000. Until then he had been thinking it would be about $150,000. Apparently Bonesteel had suggested a savings of 25% might be achieved by dividing the project into pieces and doing some of it on County contracts, but Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland and others expressed reservations about that idea. Shiland said he thought savings could be achieved by having Town trucks do some of the hauling. However, Surdam said the Town does not yet have all the information it needs to make a decision on how to proceed. There will probably be a Town Board workshop about this in the near future. In the meantime, the Board passed a budget modification transferring $20,000 from fund balance to a budget line dedicated to the Bovie Hill Road Repair Project.
Beck Road
Repaving Beck Road will be the Town’s CHIPS project for this year. An estimate has been received to repave a section over a mile long for $229,000, but that does not include some of the trucking needed. The Town expects to receive $183,000 in CHIPS money this year, so there is a shortfall of $46,000 plus whatever the trucking costs. Surdam said “We need to get this road done,” but the Board did not make any decision about whether to go ahead with the current plan and find the money elsewhere in the Highway budget, or to cut back the project in some way.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland said the Town highway crew went back to work April 27 and is now back at full strength. They have been ditching and grading roads. He said the blacktop plant opened this week and he expects to be patching potholes in the coming week. A collective bargaining agreement between the Town and the Highway workers was presented to the Town Board and was approved unanimously. It is a three year contract, good through 2022.
Pool And Camp Preparations
The Town is continuing to move forward with plans for opening the pool and the summer camp this summer so that it will be ready if they are allowed to open. The Board passed resolutions to keep all pool and summer camp pricing the same as last year, and to keep staff pay at the same levels as last year except those on minimum wage, since the statutory minimum wage will be increasing this year to $11.80. However, much doubt remains about whether either one will be able to open this summer because of restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The Town is waiting for State guidance about this.
Bill Hanselman said he is making arrangements with Manchester Carpet, the company which put down and took up the turf at Riley Rink and will probably do the same for Hoosick, to move the turf into storage at the Reynolds-Gilchrist rink in the Town Park. The turf is currently sitting on the floor of the rink, where it is vulnerable to damage if there were to be any flooding.
HAYC3 Lease Renewal
The Town’s lease of its office space in the armory expires at the end of the year, so it is beginning negotiations to renew the lease. Eric Sheffer and Bill Hanselman agreed to represent the Town in the discussions with Rick Tinkham and Mary Ann Zwicklbauer representing the building management.
NYMIR Insurance Renewed
The Board approved renewal of its annual insurance with the NY Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR) at the same rates as previous years. The premium will be about $1,300 more this year because the value of the Town’s insured assets has risen.
Greenway Grant Canceled
Surdam said the Town received an e-mail on May 5 saying that the State is unable to fund this grant aimed at updating the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, so the Town will need to re-evaluate its plans for this update. Surdam said he is concerned that the State budget crisis may affect other state-funded grants to the Town.
Dog Enumeration
It has come to the Town’s attention that there are unlicensed dogs in the Town and Dog Control Officer Nancy Quell joined the Zoom meeting to talk about what to do about it. She suggested the Town start with a mail-in enumeration, and then proceed from there if they have reason to believe some of the dogs in the town remain unlicensed after that. She said this is a common problem, noting that when she started as the Dog Officer in Argyle there were 300 dogs registered, and they ended up with 100 dogs licensed. Surdam said the public should be aware that any dog over 4 months old in either the Town or the Village must be licensed.
Hemp Plant
Town Attorney Jon Schopf said a letter has been delivered both in person and by certified mail to the owners of the hemp plant in North Hoosick demanding that they cease operation until the odor from the plant can be controlled, but he has heard nothing back from them. Board members said they believed there has been no activity at the plant recently, but they assumed that was because of the Covid-19 shutdown.
Beaty Re-Appointed
Andy Beaty was re-appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a five year term to expire April 30, 2025.