Bovie Hill Road Repaired
by Alex Brooks
At the Hoosick Town Board meeting on July 13, Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland said 90% of the repairs to Bovie Hill Road have been completed, and he is 99% sure that he found and fixed the problem that has been causing the road to collapse. A brand new culvert has been installed and the road has been reopened. He said there is a little more work to do – they will be bringing a little more gavel up there to finish it off. The plan is to let it sit until the fall to make sure there will be no more episodes of sinking or collapsing, and then to pave it and put up the guardrails to complete the project.
Pool And Summer Camp Open
The Hoosick Town Pool opened in late June using COVID-19 safety precautions advised by the NYS Department of Health and the US Centers For Disease Control. The details of these protocols may be viewed at the town website in a four page safety plan written by Pool Manager Kim Brownell. Brownell said things are going well at the pool. She said the reaction from the community has been great and patrons have been cooperative about following the new safety protocols. She said they are frequently sanitizing everything. Information is being collected for contact tracing in case anyone who has been at the pool tests positive for COVID-19. Surdam said if that were to happen, the County Health Department would take over and do the actual contact tracing, but the Town must have the contact information available. Brownell said the staff is great and morale is high. She said they have had about 90 people per day using the pool Mon-Fri., and about 60 per day on weekends.
Swimming lessons are up and running. There are 8 kids in each session and there are still openings available for swim lessons.
Ashley St. Onge and her crew were zoomed in to the meeting to tell about the Summer camp, which had just completed its first week at the time of this meeting. She said it is going great – the kids are happy and the parents are happy and the camps are completely full for the whole summer.
The Board made some new appointments to the pool staff. Bauer Ward and Kasey Billert were appointed as lifeguards, Katherine Danforth for Pre-K swimming lessons, and Ayla Fauler for admissions. Brownell said she set up a training class for the lifeguards before the pool opened so that they could get their lifeguard certification. This had been scheduled for early spring at Hoosac School’s indoor pool, but had to be canceled because of the pandemic.
Purple Heart Community
The Town Board unanimously approved a resolution proclaiming the Town of Hoosick a Purple Heart Town committed to honoring the service and sacrifice of the citizens of Hoosick who have been awarded this oldest and most prestigious military honor, first created in 1782 by General George Washington. Friday, August 7 is designated as the day to remember and recognize recipients of the Purple Heart medal. A ceremony will be held that day in Wood Park at 6 pm. Assemblyman Ashby, State Senator Jordan, County Executive McLaughlin and other dignitaries have been invited.
Rescue Squad Funding
The Town has received a letter from The Town of Hoosick Rescue Squad requesting increased funding on an annual basis. The letter said the Squad house needs a new roof and a new furnace, and the squad needs new equipment and medical supplies, and the current income of the Squad is not going to be enough to cover those things. The letter requests that the annual funding appropriation from the Town be increased from $9,700 to $15,000 annually. Surdam said it was “not an unreasonable request,” and the Board agreed. They passed a resolution agreeing to the higher funding going forward. Surdam said in order to increase funding for this year, the Board will have to take money from the fund balance for that purpose, and that will require an additional vote for a budget modification at next month’s meeting.
Sled Park
Surdam said he had received a proposal to establish a Town sled park on the Hoosick Falls Country Club’s hill above the Town Park. He said the new owner of the Country Club wanted to make the hill available but wanted the Town to sponsor the Sled Park, suggesting that the Town might lease the hill for a buck. Councilman Eric Sheffer checked with the Town’s insurance provider, NYMIR, and found that town sponsorship of such an activity could be included in the town’s coverage for little or no additional cost. Surdam concluded that offering a new sledding hill might cost something, but “nothing prohibitive.” He said it might go well with the skating rink to expand winter recreational offerings at that site if citizen volunteers could be found to make it happen. The Board seemed agreeable but non-committal and presumably discussions about the idea will continue.
Zoning Board Letter
The Board has received a letter from the Zoning Board about the issue of personal use versus commercial use brought up by the recent revival of the motocross track in West Hoosick, but Surdam said he had not seen it yet, so discussion of it was put off to the next meeting.
Town Historian
Town Historian Phil Leonard said the Louis Miller Museum in Hoosick Falls is now open again, weekdays from 11 am to 2 pm. Leonard said the museum has had a good deal of work done on it recently and it really looks nice. He said many of the exhibits have been redone, and he urges the public to come in and have a look. Leonard also had some kind things to say about this reporter’s newly-released book about the life of George Holcomb, a Stephentown farmer who kept an autobiographical diary in the first half of the 19th century.
Peddlers Permits
Surdam said there have been some food trucks operating in the Town. He mentioned one associated with Bistro 42 and a hot dog cart that has been operating on Route 7. He said the Town has an existing law concerning mobile food vendors which requires a fee of $50 per week unless the truck is run by a business with a retail location in Town. He suggested that the existing law was conceived mainly in response to ice cream trucks coming from out of the area and competing with locally established ice cream shops, and suggested that the Board might want to revisit that law with a wider perspective, perhaps switching to an annual license for mobile food vendors. Town Attorney Jon Schopf said he would take a look at other town’s laws and draft a law for the Board’s consideration.
In other news:
• Councilman Bill Hanselman suggested that the Town hold off on laying down its newly acquired turf in the skating rink until next spring, and the Board agreed.
• Councilwoman Jackie Houghton said the Town Employee Handbook update has been finished. This is the first update to this document in about 15 years. Supervisor Surdam said that he had not read it yet and asked that a vote on adopting the new handbook be tabled until the next meeting.
• The Board voted to open the Town playground and courts for public use.
• Eric Sheffer reported that a group of volunteers cleaned up the island at the corner of Routes 7 and 22 where the Town sign is. The group was led by Sheffer, Jerry McAuliffe, and Dave Sutton, who were assisted by about a dozen volunteers who stopped by to help at various times during the cleanup.
• The Board agreed to move forward with getting a mail machine for the office because it will save the Town money on postage, but they did not yet have a specific proposal from the company ready for them to vote on.
• Supervisor Surdam passed on information about a free lunch program offered by the County. Ready to eat lunches are available without charge for pickup at the former Grafton Elementary School (at the corner of Route 2 and Babcock Lake Road) for all kids 18 years of age or younger. The window is open for pickups Monday through Friday from 11:30 am until noon through August 31. If further information is needed, call Doug La Rocque at 518-491-1613.
• Surdam also mentioned a guide to Rensselaer County Farms put together by the County which offers comprehensive information about where to purchase food fresh from the farm. It lists ten farms in Hoosick offering products to the public, and many more throughout the County. The guide is available through a link posted on the Town of Hoosick web site.