Bridge Trouble, Help Us Obama!
by Erin Hogan
Town Supervisor Tom Sherman reported that the Town of Stephentown will not be receiving any FEMA money to help pay for all the repairs to be done in the Town after the flood this summer. Apparently, as Supervisor Sherman reported, none of Rensselaer County received any help. This is a major problem for Stephentown because many bridges need to be repaired at quite a cost. To add to the problems, the bridge on Grange Hall Road right outside the meeting hall has now been red-flagged by the State and needs to be repaired in a timely manner. The area underneath the bridge supports seems to be eroding, as reported in a four page report by the Department of Transportation. The Jones Road Bridge is in need of repair as well. Stephentown was faced with over $750,000 in repairs before the Grange Hall Bridge was brought to the Town’s attention. The Supervisor said that because no FEMA money is going to be received, he wrote a letter to the President. In the letter, he asked for help with fixing all the bridges. The Town can handle the 54 miles of road that need work, but not all at once. The Supervisor made President Obama aware that the Town is headed into the red, and he asked for $150,000 in disaster relief.
The public asked why Pease Road Bridge wasn’t on the list of bridges to fix. The State shut down the bridge many years ago, and it has only been reopened as a short cut when transporting windmill parts. The Supervisor said that he tried calling the State to get someone to come check it out again and got no answer. He said that he’d make more phone calls and have an answer on the Pease Road Bridge hopefully by next meeting.
The moral of the story is, at the moment, Stephentown is financially “tight” since the storm hit. Right now Stephentown is “taking a breath and regrouping.” Until everything gets worked out Supervisor Sherman asked for the Town to please “bear with us on the roads.”
Transfer Station Transformation
Board Member Larry Eckhardt presented his report to the Board on this month’s transfer station activity. For the month of August income came from $3,223 on bags, $1,967 on C&D, $242 on metal, $78 on tires, $70 on appliances/refrigerators, $25 on propane tanks and $55 on electronics.
Eckhardt went on to explain the potential changes to be made to the transfer station. He wants to focus on the hours and weekdays that the transfer station is open in order to increase efficiency. He also has been keeping track of the money brought in on different weekdays and the totals throughout the whole year. From his studies Eckhardt has found that Mondays are, in general, very slow. They haven’t been lately because of the rare long stretch of good weather, but this is uncharacteristic. Eckhardt reported that there is approximately a $60,000 income annually from the transfer station but the expenses are much higher; it costs $170,000 a year to stay open. Eckhardt is considering raising bag rates. The transfer station takes up a “substantial chunk of change in the budget” Eckhardt reported, and PJ Roder added “20% [of the budget].” These boys have been doing their research, and Eckhardt is going to continue to do so. He will change the transfer station schedule so it is open on days that are most convenient and most profitable.
Stephentown Memorial Library Changes
Sue Brissette Cass, the President of the Board of Trustees of the Stephentown Memorial Library, gave an organized presentation on the Library. It covered today’s Library, special programs, 2010 strategic objects and the reasons why the Stephentown Library should become a Special Legislative District Library.
The Library now has over 1,000 card holders, and there are 12-20 new members a month. The Library has many programs ranging from yoga, pre-school literacy groups and basket weaving to chickens of the world, stunt dogs and a free museum pass program. The Library is growing rapidly and wants to keep offering more and more to the community.
There is one problem facing the Library that is the same with the Town of Stephentown – funding. Currently, the Library is a private association which means funding is not regular and the Town has no control over the Library. Especially now with a growing population, growing number of users and the growing circulation it’s hard to meet the growing demand for services. The Stephentown Library revenue doesn’t cover the costs. Professional staff with college degrees are making the same as a teenage summer counselor makes. Fund raising is the central source of salaries, keeping the Library open, and the volunteers are getting worn out.
Cass has a solution for these issues facing the Library. Her proposal is to become a Special Legislative District Library (SLDL). This way the Board of Trustees will be elected by a Town vote; the library budget will have to be approved by vote, and the budget can only increase by vote. Another benefit is stable funding for the Library to keep its programs running and to get new ones, and there’s a public voice in what goes on in the Library.
With this in mind Cass asked the Board if they would sign a letter acknowledging Library efforts and endorse the process. While this letter is not necessary, it would help the process of becoming a Special Legislative District Library which involves petitioning the State Legislature to permit the Town to vote on it. Cass even went the extra mile and made a proposed budget for 2010 if the Library is able to become a SLDL. If the Stephentown Memorial Library becomes a SLDL not only would it improve and guarantee a strong library, it would save money and give the public a voice.
Cass believes that this “makes most sense” and is “what the community needs.” It seems the Board agreed with her. Supervisor Sherman asked Cass to propose a letter so he could sign it for the Library.
In other Library news, there will be an auction on October 10. Tickets are $15 a person, and there will be items ranging from wood to food to luxury items.
The Future Of The Stephentown Elementary School Building
Eckhardt announced that there is a School Board meeting on Monday, September 28, at 6:30 about the future of the former Stephentown Elementary School building. This meeting is open to the public, and Eckhardt encouraged everyone to go. Supervisor Sherman said that a member of the community came to him telling him that their 5 year old in kindergarten was on the bus an hour and a half each way to school. This brought up more stories of children sitting 3 to a seat or even on the floor! Members of the crowd were displeased, and Supervisor Sherman encouraged everyone to go as a group and voice their opinion to the school board.
Also, there is a budget workshop meeting at the Stephentown Town Hall for the 2010 tentative budget on Tuesday, September 29, at 7 pm. There will be a Public Hearing for the 2010 tentative budget on Monday, October 19, at 6:30 pm at the Town Hall.
Route 22 Spring
The question of what is going on with the spring on Route 22 was asked. Supervisor Sherman confirmed that the health department came out and tested the water for bacteria. It came back positive and “beaver fever” was found in the water. Beaver Fever is an infection of the small intestine caused by Giardia lamblia, a single-celled organism. There was discussion on what may have caused the sudden pollution of the water, and most theories had to do with the flood disturbing the peace of the spring. Supervisor Sherman said he’d call and see what is going to happen next with the spring.
Open Burning Ban Coming Soon To A Town Near You
PJ Roder received a Times Union article from Dean Herrick. Basically only cooking and camping fires will be allowed because there will be an open burning ban in the fall. There will be new regulations that cover all small towns previously allowed to have open burning. Roder humorously suggested if you want to burn without fear under the new regulations just put a package of hot dogs next to the fire.
The bills were carefully audited, and two resolutions were passed. Claim #398-09 through #449-09 in the amount of $30,938.16 from the General Account and $35,167.16 from the Highway Account for a total of $66,096.93 was approved by the Town Board on a motion from Mark Prescott, seconded by Philip Roder. Resolution #50-09 passed approving advertisement for the five year term on the Board of Assessment Review. The Town Clerk will advertise and accept resumes and letters of interest until Friday, October 16, at 12 noon.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 and the next regular meeting will be on Monday, October 19, with a public hearing beginning at 6:30 in the Town Hall.