by Doug La Rocque
At their February meeting, the Hoosick Falls Board of Trustees heard several comments about a lack of overnight parking in the Village, forcing more cars onto the street. At that time, the Trustees promised to look into the matter, and returned at their Tuesday, March 8 meeting with a proposal to change the rules for the Church Street parking lot. The Board approved a resolution that converts the 14 parking spaces in the middle of the lot from time restricted to 24 hour parking, hoping this will help ease the problem.
Police Review and Reports
In March last year the Trustees approved the State required police review plan. Part of that plan was the establishment of a Police Review and Reform Board for the Village. After a year of work putting together all the pieces, a local law was introduced to formally establish that Board. It will consist of five members, all serving one-year terms and appointed by the Trustees. The Village Clerk and the Deputy Mayor will serve as non-voting members. A public hearing will be held at 6 pm on Tuesday, April 12.
The number of calls handled by the department was up over February of last year, and 15 officers have been enrolled in the Police One Training Program, paid for by drug seizure monies.
Shedding New Light on the Streets
The Trustees heard a detailed proposal from a company called Real Term Energy about converting the 400 plus street lights in the Village to LEDs. Representative Steve Harriman indicated their program, which could include the purchase of the light poles, would show a 73% overall operating savings. The Board and Mayor Rob Allen indicated they wished to look at the cost of implementing the program and the long term savings before committing to anything.
Another presentation that evening was made by Bob Murphy of Barton & Loguidice. He update the Board on the Greenway North Trail head landscaping efforts and construction of a kayak launch on the southern portion of the Greenway project. He also made a pitch for the Village to consider hiring his firm to put together a NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative Grant application. The cost of the application preparation might be eligible for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies. Mayor Allen said of the proposed application, “It’s a lot of work but has a huge carrot at the end of the process.” The full Board plans to discuss the matter in future meetings.
ARPA Forum
Trustee Bob Decker had prepared a list of items the Village might look to use its ARPA monies on, which include public safety, the Youth Center, Civicure, sidewalk safety issues, the landfill leachate collection system and the Rogers Avenue Water Tank. The Board set a special meeting for Wednesday, March 30 to serve as a public forum to hear residents’ ideas on how to best spend the money. It will start at 6 pm.
Other Items
The Board approved two change orders for the Woods Brook Drainage Improvement Project, totaling more than $54,000. The money left over from the State grant being used to pay for the project will cover the additional cost.
The Trustees, at Mayor Allen’s request, are considering spending up to $8,000 to replace five computers in the Municipal Building that the Mayor says are about 9 years old and showing their age. Mr. Ding-a-Ling’s Ice Cream truck will be back on the Village streets again this summer, the permits having been approved by the Village Clerk, which is by law. More discussion about feral cats was tabled until April. Mayor Allen reminded residents the annual Village Elections will take place Tuesday, March 15, from noon to 9 pm at the Municipal Building. There are three two-year and one single year Trustee seats on the ballot, all of which are unopposed. There is no one listed on the ballot for the four-year term as Village Justice, so it becomes a write-in election.