by Doug La Rocque
Former Hoosick Falls Village Police Chief Bob Ashe was suspended in December of last year after it was revealed he was under investigation by the NYS Police as part of a ballot-fraud allegation. Chief Ashe resigned his post on Friday, May 13 and three days later pled guilty to a misconduct charge in Village Court. Since that time, Officer Paul Aleksonis has been Officer in Charge running the day to day operations. Following the Tuesday, June 14 meeting of the Board of Trustees, The Eastwick Press spoke with Mayor Rob Allen about the status of the replacement efforts. He told us the Board has been having discussions about it, and is ready to move forward with the search and/or any other options that might be brought to the table. At the meeting, Trustee Kevin O’Malley disclosed that revisions to Civil Service Law dictate any new Police Chief must be a full-time appointment (Chief Ashe was considered part-time). The Trustees also discussed looking into obtaining sample contracts that might be used for any replacement candidate.
Resignations
At the meeting, the Trustees accepted the resignations of four part-time officers from the Police Department, those being Justin Ashe, Thomas Bass, Nicholas Colaneri and Cory Wagner. Asked if this draws down coverage for the Village, Mayor Allen said no, that other officers have stepped up by taking on more hours.
Officer Aleksonis also stated at the meeting he is considering other applicants to send to the Police Training Academy and is an open to any other potential inquiries.
Review Board Appointments
In April of last year, the Trustees met a State requirement to put a review and reform procedure in place for any municipality that has a Police Department. They accomplished that by deciding to form a Police Review Board and since that time have been honing their role, responsibilities and what, if any, administrative decisions they would be capable of making.
In the final draft, the name was changed to Civilian Review and Reform Board (CRRB) and the Trustees instituted a confidentiality agreement holding that members of that Board would not be allowed to discuss any matters before them except with other Board members or as required by court order. The CRRB will be made up of five members, four of which were appointed at the meeting, those being Jasen VonGuinness, Doug Sauer, Tris Bloomer and David Borge. One more member will be appointed at a later date. It was agreed the CRRB would have no disciplinary authority.
Bond Revisions
Mayor Allen presented two resolutions changing the term limits on two previous approved bonds. The first involved a $161,650 five year bond for the Leachate Collection at the landfill site, giving the Village the option of extending it to 20 years. That was approved by a 6-1 vote, with Trustee O’Malley casting the lone negative ballot. The second resolution involved extending the $19,271 bond for the Sewer Vac Truck to 15-years. Many Trustees felt this was too long, as they might be still paying for the vehicle long after its usefulness has passed. That resolution failed with six negative votes, Mayor Allen the lone yes vote.
Unsafe Structure
Codes Enforcement Officer Mark Surdam expressed concern about a building at 59 Church Street, where he says part of the roof has blown off and is separating from an exterior wall. The Board passed a resolution ordering its repair and discussed the possibility the Village may have to take on the project and bill the owner through a tax levy.
Unhappy Residents
A couple that appeared before the Board last month discussing noise issues with their neighbor were back, again indicating they feel they are the victims of harassment. Several Trustees have been discussing the noise ordinance that might have some teeth with Town Attorney Andy Gilchrist and hope to have more info for their July meeting.
Jim Martinez was also back expressing his concern about the placement of propane tanks near his building and parking area, complaining a promised response from the Mayor was never forthcoming. Codes Enforcement Officer Mark Surdam had an “expert” consultant look at the placement and lack of bollards, but never received the report. Mayor Allen has promised there will be movement on the issue by the next meeting.
ARPA Monies
After some back and forth as to what projects to fund with the remaining monies in the first installment of the American Rescue Plan Act, the Trustees decided to accept a bid from Goldstein Construction of Petersburgh for the Wood Park Gazebo rail replacement project. The bid was for $8,510 and is for vinyl railings. Funding a parking study for the Village was put off until the second round of ARPA funding is received, hopefully in July, and $10,000 was earmarked for Hoosick Rising tourism related and economic development efforts.
Juneteenth
The Village is giving employees Monday, June 20 off to mark the new National Holiday of Juneteenth. Mayor Allen will work with union representation as it applies to those who fall under the collective bargaining agreement.