Rensselaer County

by Rich Crist Majority Legislative Liaison 

Members of the Rensselaer County Legislature offered reaction to the State of the County address for 2015 delivered by County Executive Kathleen Jimino at the March 10 legislative meeting.

County Executive Jimino focused on ongoing shared services and inter-municipal cooperation agreements that have helped reduce costs and ensured needed services are carried out effectively. The shared services agreements include road repair, snow plowing services, shared technology, energy and purchasing, among other mutual efforts.

She also continued to focus on the rising cost of state mandates and a failure by the state to reform spending requirements for costly social programs.

“The County Executive correctly noted the great efforts made in Rensselaer County to stretch a dollar and provide needed services in the most cost-effective way possible,” said Vice Chair for Finance Phil Danaher.

The Legislature has played a role in protecting taxpayers and creating a foundation for growth. County lawmakers have supported four consecutive county budgets that have remained under the state tax cap and supported policies that have led to upgrades in the county bond rating and positive financial reviews. The Legislature was also instrumental in creating 265 new jobs at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in East Greenbush, extending county sewer service to the site.

The Legislature also organized a re-bid of the county insurance policy, with the policy costing the county less than what was paid in the early 1990s. Legislators also approved a refinancing of existing debt that is expected to save $1.2 million.

“We are working hard during some challenging economic times to protect property taxpayers and encourage job creation and new growth. We are very optimistic about the future of Rensselaer County and what 2015 will bring,” said Chairman of the Legislature Martin Reid.

“Taxpayers demand that we do more with less and make the same difficult choices they make every day in their household or business. We have heard that message in Rensselaer County,” said Legislator Todd Tesman.

Along with success in managing finances, the county has also worked to protect quality of life. The Legislature this year approved a renewal of an agreement between the county and the Agricultural Stewardship Association. The ASA partnership has resulted in more than 3500 acres of farmland and open space being protected in over a decade.

“We are encouraged that more resources may be made available at the state level to protect farms and open space right here in Rensselaer County. Farming remains a big part of the heritage and the future of our county,” said Majority Leader Ken  Herrington.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension Albany County 4-H Program will be offering a four week veterinary science program at the Cornell Cooperative Extension building, 24 Martin Road in Voorheesville. The veterinary science program will take place March 19, 26, April 2 and 9 from 7 to 8:30 pm. Our presenters will be: Dr. John Kearney of the Bethlehem Veterinary Hospital, Dr. Cassidy Sedacca of Upstate Veterinary Specialties, Dr. Kristen Hellreich of the Village Animal Clinic, and Dr. Steve Naile of the Equine Clinic at OakenCroft. The program is open to any youth 10 years and older. There is a participation fee of $10 for each youth. Participants must pre-register and registration will be limited. To register a youth, or for more information, contact Eileen DePaula at 765-3500 or emd32@cornell.edu. For more information about other 4-H youth development opportunities, contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension Albany County 4-H program at 765-3500.

Great folk music can be heard and learned at the 27^th Annual Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest on March 6, 7 and 8.  Concerts, jams, an open stage, and workshops in mountain dulcimer playing are featured.  This event, sponsored by the Dulcimer Association of Albany, takes place at Calvary United Methodist Church, 15 Ridge Place, Latham, New York.  Featured performers Nina Zanetti and Heidi and John Cerrigione will perform in concert Saturday evening.  Complete information is available at www.DulcimerAssociationofAlbany.com/2015.

Tickets for the three-day festival or for individual concerts are available at the door.  Festival admission includes all events: $75, or $35 for full-time students.  Registrations and mountain dulcimer rental reservations may be made by contacting Lori Keddell, 518-762-7516, e-mail: lark119@citlink.net.

The festival is one of only a handful of such mountain dulcimer learning opportunities that take place each year in New York and New England.   Players ranging from beginning to advanced can choose from a broad menu of workshops taught by eighteen talented and experienced instructors.  Events start Friday afternoon with workshops from 3 to 5:15 pm.  Doors open for registration at 2 pm.  A concert by the instructors Friday at 7 pm provides a quality sampling of many styles of performance, followed by a choice of slow or fast jam sessions.

Saturday registration starts at 8:30 am and classes run all day.  New players can rent mountain dulcimers.  An open stage for all interested musicians starts at 4 pm.

The Saturday evening concert features Nina Zanetti and Heidi and John Cerrigione.  Tickets for this 7:30 pm concert only are $12 and $5 for children 12 and under and are available at the door.

Nina Zanetti, National Mountain Dulcimer Champion of 2008, is especially fond of the “softer side of dulcimer” and shines with Shaker tunes, American folk hymns and Irish harp melodies.  This Guilderland resident plays regularly at churches, historic sites, and community events and has taught workshops at dulcimer festivals throughout the country.  She has made several recordings and tablature books.

Heidi and John Cerrigione, of Ellington, Connecticut, present the best of traditional music and old time sentimental songs, played on mountain and hammered dulcimer, guitar, autoharp, banjo, and string bass. They blend their voices in songs drawn from many traditional sources, including fiddle and dance music of early America, the British Isles and Switzerland.  They have taught week-long classes and festival workshops for the past 15 years at various programs across the country and have many recordings, as a duo, as half of the quartet Doofus, and with Atwater-Donnelly.

Refreshments and pre-ordered lunches will be available.  There is also a sales area with recordings, books, and other music-related items and a sales corral of gently used musical instruments of all sorts.  Dulcimer builders George Haggerty, Bernd Krause, Jeremy Seeger, and Dwain Wilder will have beautiful hand-crafted dulcimers for sale.

Members of the Rensselaer County Legislature welcomed news of significant job creations at Regeneron Pharmaceutical in East Greenbush in 2014, and said the growth demonstrates the value of infrastructure improvements.

The Legislature approved extension of sewer lines to Regeneron that proved to be crucial for a major expansion at the pharmaceutical company’s East Greenbush campus.

Regeneron announced the creation of 265 new jobs in East Greenbush during 2014, following the sewer expansion project that was started in 2012. The project was introduced by Chair of the Legislature Martin Reid, and continued with construction during 2013.

“The news of Regeneron’s job growth during 2014 demonstrates the value of the sewer expansion approved by the Legislature. This is very good news for Rensselaer County and the Capital Region,” said Reid.

“We are hopeful there will be more job growth at Regeneron as the company continues to build a name in the pharmaceutical industry on the international stage,” added Vice Chair of the Legislature Phil Danaher.

The move to accommodate the Regeneron expansion was necessary because the expansion exceeded the amount East Greenbush’s sewer facility can handle. Incorporating Regeneron is expected to help the town with town sewer issues and capacity.

The project includes extension of a sewer pipeline from the Regeneron campus on Route 9 and 20 approximately one mile to the county sewer district pump station on Aiken Avenue in the Fort Crailo neighborhood of Rensselaer. The project is in the final stages, and much of the work was accomplished on a tight deadline.

District 2 legislators Danaher, Leon Fiacco, Rob Bayly and Kelly Hoffman have continued to make the Regeneron sewer expansion a priority.

“Regeneron is an important part of the economic climate in Rensselaer County and the Legislature is proud to have played a role in that job creation. The Sewer District is an important tool in job creation, and the Regeneron expansion is proof of that work,” said Fiacco.

Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen M. Jimino has announced that the County will proceed with a plan to refinance current debt and save the County over $1.2 million without extending the life of the bonds. This would be achieved by refinancing the current debt of approximately $12 million at a rate that is expected to be 2.2% as opposed to the 4.22% currently paid in interest.

Under a directive from the NYS Commission on Corrections the County was required to add an additional 192 cells to the jail.  To pay for the required expansion the County borrowed nearly $50 million over the course of four years to complete the construction project that also included expansion of the kitchen facilities, services area, locker rooms for Corrections Officers as well as upgraded security features and the existing jail facility.  The construction project was completed in the fall of 2011.

“Our efforts to cut costs and adhere to strict fiscal controls has been recognized by bond agencies,” said Jimino. “They have raised our rating, which gives us a better interest rate”

In April of 2014 Standard and Poors raised the County’s bond rating by stating, “We view the County’s management conditions as strong with good financial practices”.  According to Standard and Poors any entity achieving an “AA” rating means they have a “Very strong capacity to meet financial commitments”.