by Kieron Kramer
The public spent 15 minutes complaining about their cable TV service at the Public Hearing held before the regular Berlin Town Board meeting on Thursday, December 11. The public hearing was scheduled in order to get public input into the Town’s renewal of the Cable TV franchise with Charter Communications, a company headquartered in Worcester, MA. Charter took over the cable franchise from Avalon which in turn had purchased it from Hometime TV, a local company started by the McTagues, which had the first cable franchise in Berlin. Hometime’s contract was negotiated by the Town in 1992 when Ross Bentley was Supervisor.
Thomas Cohen, from Charter, was supposed to attend this hearing, but the ice and snow storms last Thursday discouraged him. As a result, Town Supervisor Robert Jaeger, who is in contact with him, and the rest of the Board listened to the complaints and suggestions. Jaeger will relay these concerns to Cohen and seek some assurances before the Board votes on the franchise renewal in the January meeting. Had the representative from Charter attended Thursday’s meeting, the renewal would have been voted on that night.
Some of the issues raised will be familiar to many other cable TV subscribers in Berlin. According to Board Member Sheila Hewitt, the “transmission snaps off when the temperature falls to 5 degrees and won’t return until it gets really warm. This has been happening for five winters,” she said. Mark Primeau wanted a local response to complaints and “somebody local to check the lines out, not somebody who is 3 or 4 hours away.” A local service telephone number would do. He and others said that their service calls are rerouted to other states and even Nova Scotia. Hewitt said that Charter won’t respond to a complaint unless three customers have called to report the same problem. It was suggested that a telephone tree be established to organize complaints. Hewitt said that if there is a town-wide outage each individual must call in order to get credit for the loss of signal. Tammy Osterhout added that Charter doesn’t follow through on credits that they agree to give. There was a consensus that “Channel 3 is terrible,” referring to the signal not the content.
Supervisor Jaeger said he would pass along these concerns to and also request of Cohen that a cable drop be put into the Watipi Building, which is owned by the Town and in which youth activities take place. There are already free drops in the school, the fire house, the Town Hall and the Town Garage. Some subscribers have been notified of rate increases for 2009. The cost of the basic service will remain the same, but the many of the other services will see an increase of about $1.
The franchise contract will have a term of five years. According to Jaeger, the current contract expired a year ago. TV is so important that it is hard to imagine that the TV cable franchise will not be renewed in January in spite of the many complaints aired at this public hearing.
The Regular Meeting
Since Jim Winn, Water District #2 Supervisor and Highway Superintendent, was out with the Highway Department crew clearing roads during the storm, there were no reports on these matters. However, members of the Board discussed Water District #2 and highway issues.
When the bills were being read for approval, Board Member Jim Saunders pointed out that the electricity bill for the Water District was $400 less than last month. He interpreted this reduction as being caused by the repair of the two hydrants, one near the Bank of America and one on North Main Street, reported at lasts month’s meeting. Hewitt added, “That could have been saved for the last year.”
Several highway issues were raised. Jaeger said he wanted the Board to examine the rates that the Highway Department charges Water District #2 for use of the Town trucks and backhoe. He said the rates now are $35 per hour for the trucks and $15 – 20 for the backhoe. He said the bill for Town equipment for the two hydrants repaired recently was under $1,500. He said the charges should be more realistic, and he thinks $45-50 per hour for the truck is more acceptable. The expenses for Water District #2 are budgeted separately from the Town expenses and are funded by water bill revenues charged to property owners whose water supply is attached to the Water District #2 system. The rates for use of Highway Department equipment will be set at the organizational meeting held in early January.
Truck Purchase Must Be Bid
The 2009 Town Budget has appropriated $38,500 for the purchase of a used truck being sold for surplus by a town in Vermont. Jaeger said that Jim Winn has inspected the truck and felt it is “in real good shape.” Jaeger said a new truck with these specifications would cost $210,000. Because the purchase amount exceeds ten thousand dollars the purchase requires a formal bidding process with the publication of specifications. The published specifications will match those of the truck that the Town has targeted. It had been hoped that because the truck is being sold by a municipality that the formal bidding process could be avoided, but the NYS Comptroller’s Office said that that exemption does not apply to municipal entities outside of New York State. The bids will be opened at the January meeting.
Speaking of trucks, Sheila Hewitt said that people had asked that the Town name be put on the Town trucks. Jaeger replied, “It’s on my list.” Speaking of the Gradall, Jim Saunders suggested that “we get a hold of Ruebel to see what he is going to do.” In the October meeting Henry Ruebel had his bid of $1,125 accepted for the purchase of the G600 Gradall that the Town was selling for surplus. Board Member George Shuhart reported that the insulated, overhead doors for the Town Garage have been ordered and should be installed “any time.”
A Traveler
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported that he had picked up a Jack Russell Terrier. It took about a week to locate the owner. Goodermote also said that a big, white dog is travelling the fields around Old Post Road. Goodermote has gone up there but can’t catch the owner in order to talk. Goodermote said that people should let the dog roam because, in his experience, this dog will bite.
Other Reports
Planning Board Chairperson Pam Gerstel reported that Board had “been a little busy.” They will deal with a subdivision “at Howie Commander’s place” at the next meeting in January.
For the Comprehensive Plan Committee, Jaeger reported that he will meet with Chuck Gloss of CT Male Associates, the Town’s consultant, to tour the Town next week. CT Male has started work on mapping and setting up the GIS (Geographic Information System) for the Town, he said. Jaeger has also discussed the $25,000 grant applied for through the Community Development Block Grant Program for 2008. He thought it was a good sign that the agency has requested more information in response to the Town’s initial submission.
Reporting on the Youth Commission Tammy Osterhout said that she had discovered that there was some money left over in this year’s budget which she would like to use to buy supplies. She said there was a dance planned for January although the location has not yet been set. Osterhout will apply for a Stewart’s matching grant. Last year Stewart’s awarded Berlin $700; she hopes for more this year.
Board Member Carl Greene reported that the Little Hoosic Watershed Association was going through the Town records to establish the relationships of the Association with government entities and to find precedents for its actions. He said the Us Fish & Wildlife Service will be surveying the “main chunk” of the Little Hoosic to verify their topographical maps and make sure their calculations of water flow, etc., are correct.
Ivan Wager reported that “everything is running ok at the Transfer Station.” The tires, refrigerators and brush have been cleaned up, and the augie has been put away for the winter. “From the guys at the Transfer Station, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” he announced.
Jaeger reported that there will be a 22% increase in the health insurance rates charged by Empire Blue Cross. He said that the increase was budgeted and that the Town elected to stay with Empire. Because this increase is budgeted there will not be any impact to the Town employees. Jaeger also reported that the Board had received a thank you letter from the Berlin High School Class of 2009 for the Town’s donation to the After Prom event.
Meetings Scheduled
The Board scheduled Settlement Night, a meeting in which the Town settles outstanding bills to be paid for in the current fiscal year, for Monday, December 29, at 7:30 pm. The Board also scheduled a workshop on the five year plan for Berlin for Thursday, January 22, at 7 pm. Both are public meetings but not open to public comment.
At the recommendation of the Berlin Fire Commissioners, the Board will recommend to the Rensselaer County Legislature that Joseph Sweener be appointed to the County’s Fire Advisory Board with Jack Kanopka as the alternate.
Pick Up Your 911 Signs
Fire Commissioner Bruce Hake Jr. announced that all but 25 of the 911 signs funded by the Town and a grant from then NYS Assemblyman Roy McDonald’s office have been made by the Fire Department. Hake wanted to know if the Board would like to extend the program until every property in Town has a sign. He said that there are quite a few low numbers in Berlin so the Fire Department still has plenty of digits that can be used on the new signs. The Department would be willing to continue making the signs, Hake said. The signs that have been posted have been very helpful in finding the location of the calls, he added. The Town would buy more metal sign plates that come 25 to a box. Town Supervisor Robert Jaeger asked Hake to do the research to determine the actual number of signs that are needed to finish the project. Hake said he would do that.
During the first phase of the 911 sign project Berliners were able to call or send in their requests for signs which were made and given to them free of charge. Hake reported that 50 of the people who ordered signs have not yet picked them up. He announced that these people should pick up their signs at the Fire House as soon as possible.
New Carpeting
Noticing that the carpeting in the Town Hall was its old drab self and remembering from the September and October Board meetings that Town Justice Joe Rechen had obtained a Justice Court Assistance Program (JCAP) grant for improvements to the Berlin Court, which meets in the Town Hall, Dave Theriault asked about the grant. Rechen said that the grant was for new carpeting, for new linoleum for the bathroom and for replacement of the old air conditioner, with some added money to purchase certain Justice Court equipment. He said the check will be delivered to the Town on or immediately after January 20, 2009. The Town Board can decide what style and color the carpeting can be, he added.
Selling Cherry Plain
Polling Place?
Rechen also raised the issue of storage for the files that are required to be maintained by the Court. There is very little room left for storage, he said, and the files cannot be stored in the Town Hall basement because it is too wet. He thought the Cherry Plain Polling Place should be considered for storing the documents even though it would need a dehumidifier. Jaeger said that the mold problem in the Cherry Plain Polling Place is very bad and he feared the files would get moldy. Jaeger also said that the Town should consider whether to keep or sell the Cherry Plain Polling Place since it is not very useful. This is one of the topics he would like to discuss during the workshop on Berlin’s five year plan scheduled for January 22.
Cell Towers
The public discussion turned to the imminent construction of a cell tower in Berlin. The cell tower will be located on the Henry Seagroatt property at 1 Satterlee Hollow Road. There was a balloon test on Saturday, December 13. This is required by the Town Cell Tower law so that residents can imagine the visual impact the tower will have. The balloon is floated marginally above the height of the proposed tower, 124 feet, for eight hours.
Jaeger said that cell tower developers have been contacting him and Planning Board Chairperson Gerstel inquiring about the Town, its terrain, its businesses, its population and its cell tower regulations. Jaeger said that the Town regulations give the Town a lot of leeway to adjust the application fees so that it is not an impediment to development. Even though the property owners and not the Town profit from the cell towers, the Town benefits “from the safety issue which is a prime consideration,” Jaeger said.
It is clear that the residents of Berlin don’t want a large number of towers in their rural community, and so Kent Goodermote asked if the Town can stipulate how many carriers can be accommodated by a tower. The Town can stipulate that the tower be built to accommodate multiple carriers. Jaeger said the Verizon tower on Satterlee Hollow Road has the capability for six transmitters and that erecting one or two more towers should cover the Town’s need for cell coverage. However, it is not a forgone conclusion that just because there is space to rent on a tower that a cell carrier like Verizon will rent to a competitor. A tower built by a developer, like the one on Tinley Road in Stephentown, rather than a cell phone company, is in business to rent to multiple carriers. Ivan Wager pointed out that the size of the base of the tower determines how many transmitters can be accommodated. He said that the towers which carry the heavier microwave transmitters of the emergency services have bases that are a lot bigger than the commercial cell tower bases. Space on the Tinley Road tower in Stephentown has been rented by the Rensselaer County Department of Public Safety, he said.
The meeting adjourned at 8:19 pm.