Police Related Issues Main Focus At Village Board Meeting
by Doug La Rocque
It had nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter movement or Defund the Police, but more simply the fact the amount of service calls being answered by the Hoosick Falls Village Police Department continue to go up. According to Police Chief Bob Ashe, tops on the list are domestic related calls. He blames some of this on the stress and isolation that has gone along with the COVID-19 pandemic. He also expressed concern about the number of child related sex cases, pointing in particular to the recent arrest of a man for endangering the welfare of a child and disseminating indecent material. He asked the village board rhetorically, how do we stop this. His answer was education and some heart to heart talks with our children.
Public comment brought a complaint from Patricia Peters who claims she was struck by a vehicle while walking in the Tops Market parking lot. She was quick to point out she was not hurt, but was upset with the reaction of the driver and passenger in the vehicle that allegedly struck her, and the response from two village police officers. She claimed one officer was even laughing with the driver, and that perhaps that officer was acquainted with the passenger, as she contends he owns a house the unidentified woman may have lived in. She also questioned why the driver was not checked for any alcohol or drug impairments. To that, Chief Ashe responded those actions can only occur if there is probable cause, and according to the report filed by the officers, there was not.
Ms. Peters said she has requested, even filed Freedom of Information Requests, for a copy of the 911 call, which she says was made by the driver of the vehicle, and other supporting documents, only to have all requests denied. She also claims to have tried to contact Mayor Rob Allen, but with no success. She claims she made the same attempt to contact Chief Ashe.
The chief asked to meet with her very soon and said he would call the County 911 Center to request the records. The mayor promised to contact her within the next two days.
In this age of video cameras everywhere, everywhere did not happen to include that portion of the parking lot, so no surveillance tapes were available for viewing.
Chief Ashe also wanted to express his thanks to the 25 agencies involved in the recent search for 94-year-old Edward Taylor, who went missing on the evening of July 25. The search ended tragically when his body was found along Route 22.
Chief Ashe asked the board to approve the hiring of three part-time officers, which it did. Joining the department will be Matthew Patire, Brian Cross and Morgan Fisher.
Vacant Buildings A Concern
Building Inspector Mark Surdam also had a longer than usual report, noting there are currently 35 structures in the village red tagged as uninhabitable, with one being repaired and a building permit for demolition issued for another. He also noted there were 12 vacant properties he has open codes cases on, and five listed unsafe to enter. The most prominent of those being the former Specialty building at 1 Center Street. Mr. Surdam says the outside of the large former production facility is sturdy, but there have been several roof collapses. He did say a foreclosure status has been cleared and is hoping to see some activity soon.
Community Service Is Out of Service
Community Service Director Jerry McAuliffe says the program was shutdown in March under the executive orders issued by Governor Cuomo, but wondered if the most recent changes in regulations would allow the program to be restarted. The question was posed to Village Attorney Andy Gilchrist, who did not offer an immediate answer, but promised to research it.
Ceiling Fans For The Highway Department
Department of Public Works Superintendent Niel Stowell has asked the board to consider the purchase of three large ceiling fans for the new garage area. He said they were part of the original plans, but removed during some of the cost cutting process. He submitted a proposal from J.A. Bradley that would cost $10,300 and says he has the money in the budget to pay for it. Mayor Allen asked how that fits with the village’s procurement policy, and posed the question to attorney Gilchrist. The answer was anything over $9,999 needs to be put out to public bid, and expenditures between $5,000 and $9,999 needs at least three bids secured by the department, for the board’s review. It was decided the procurement policy would be forwarded to J.A. Bradley to see if he would revise his proposal, and that Superintendent Stowell must also look for at least two other bids.
Resolutions And Motions
Earlier this year, the Trustees debated how to handle a request from the Civicure Association, to forgo the cost of a building permit for roof repairs to the Wood Block Building. The advice from Attorney Gilchrist was they could not legally do so, but they could accept Civicure’s check and in turn make a donation to the organizations for $649, the cost of the permit. A resolution to do just that gained unanimous approval.
The board also approved its part in the County Hazard Mitigation Plan, which comes around every five years. The village has identified the Woods Brook and storm water containment as the major issues it must continue to address. Trustee Craig Pine expressed some reluctance as no board member had yet seen the resolution, which only came in from the county the evening before, and needed to be approved before their next meeting. Other trustees said they held similar concerns, but felt comfortable with moving ahead.
The board approved extending the time for payment of water bills issued during the Emergency Declaration until October 16 of this year and authorized payment of unused vacation time during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Efforts to purchase garage containers for placement around the village remain stalled over no money yet while waiting for a grant, and members again tabled discussion about household garbage and adding costs for recycling.