by Chris Tergliafera
At the April 18 regular meeting of the Petersburgh Town Council, more was revealed about the upcoming project to replace the bridge on Rt. 2 and 22. Engineers have said the bridge can be taken down in one day if the crew is allowed to work through the night, which would require special approval from the Town. Otherwise deconstruction would take roughly two days. How traffic will be rerouted is still to be determined. Efforts are being made to ensure the design of the new bridge will fit with the current bridge’s look. It’s believed that the project will fall within the $4.5 million budget. A presentation to the Town will be scheduled once the next design of the bridge is completed. Once started, the project will likely take about five months to complete. More details should be available by early summer.
Cemetery Clean Up
No bids were received for cemetery mowing and upkeep. The Council discussed the possibility of reaching out to the court in order to see if those who need to serve community service can do so by maintaining the cemetery.
RPA Dill Brook Project Update
The RPA has told Petersburgh they don’t currently have plans for the Dill Brook Forest and will leave that up to the forest’s Community Committee consisting of community and RPA members. The RPA has asked that a member of the Town Council join the committee. Whatever the future holds for the Dill Brook Forest, two things are known: fishing and motorized vehicles won’t be permitted on the property. Discussions are ongoing about Petersburgh receiving a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from the RPA for the land.
Summer Camp
No letters of interest were received in regards to the Summer Youth Director position. The Council will continue to advertise for the position. The past two years Petersburgh has partnered with Grafton to send kids to their summer program. The Council will look into this option as a contingency plan for 2022 and look into the cost of transportation to get Petersburgh youth to Grafton.
Town Hall Window Replacement
Petersburgh received six estimates for the cost of replacing 14 windows in the Town Hall. Of the six, three are considered viable options, and will be discussed further once information is verified about one of the estimates.
Audit Update
After a presentation by FAZ CPA’s at the March meeting, the Council approved a resolution to conduct the forensic audit, at a maximum cost of $13,000. If it ends up costing more, the Council will have to approve the additional funds.
Other News
The Memorial Picnic has been scheduled for Saturday, May 28, from noon to 4 pm, at the Town Park. In the event of rain, the picnic will be moved to the Petersburgh Veterans Memorial Community Center.
Hydrant flushing will take place in May. Residents will be notified of the date and time.
The annual water quality report will be available at the Town Hall sometime in May.
The Council approved a resolution retaining Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC to represent Petersburgh in an ongoing PFOA class action lawsuit taking place in South Carolina.