by Chris Tergliafera
At the Monday, June 20 regular meeting of the Petersburgh Town Council three different groups gave presentations to the Council requesting American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The first proposal, which was prepared by the Friends of Petersburgh History and submitted by Town Historian Peter Schaaphok, requested funds for the purpose of preserving the original Town record books, if possible, and making a replica and digital copy of the books for public viewing. Items needed include a laptop, scanner and external hard drive. The requested items total $7,660.37 but an anonymous resident has offered to donate $3,000 towards the cause.
The Parks and Recreation Committee requested funds for items such as two sets of horseshoe pits and two sets of pro-style cornhole games for possible fundraising and tournaments, as well as health and fitness type equipment.
The Fire District and Department requested funds for the purchase of an Argo utility vehicle. Around $10,000 of the total cost will be picked up by Rensselaer County, which leaves the remaining amount needed at roughly $25,000. Argos are designed for the purpose of aiding first responders in getting to locations that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to reach. They are amphibious and can be used for water rescue as long as the current is 2 mph or under. The vehicle is also equipped to handle extremely icy conditions, as well as unplowed roads and trails. The Council said they will take these presentations into considerations and hope to have answers to the requests soon.
Geothermal Bid
The bid for the Library geothermal project will go to Choice Heating and Cooling of Troy. The total cost of the project will be around $152,000. This number is roughly $25,000 more than the estimate last year, due to inflation. Approximately $94,000 of the cost will be paid for by the State. Due to difficulty getting materials due to supply chain issues, the hope is for an October start to the project, with completion expected sometime around the end of January.
New Software
The Council approved the purchase of new tax collection software that will work with current Rensselaer County software. Petersburgh was the last town in the County to make the switch. The software will require an $8,300 initial setup fee with a cost of $3,300 annually thereafter.