Rensselaer County Legislature – Hoosick Falls Property Turned Over To Neighbor

by Kieron Kramer
At its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 9, the Rensselaer County Legislature turned over the property at 43-45 Center Street in the Village of Hoosick Falls to Thomas  P.  Dooley,  Jr.,  the owner of  the adjacent  real property. All Dooley has to do is demolish the building on the parcel at his own expense. The Village had condemned the building, declaring it to be “in a state of disrepair such that it is in danger of collapsing and thereby possibly damaging the property of others and the persons of those who reside upon [the] lot.” Before the County could transfer the property to Dooley it had to take possession of it, which it did at the beginning of this same resolution. The County was able to take possession of the property because the property taxes owed on it are in arrears.
According to the resolution, the present  owner of  the parcel, Seyhun Information Technologies, Inc., which took over the parcel in a tax foreclosure auction previously, intends to abandon it without remitting payment of  $41,575.49 of past due taxes. NYS Real Property Tax Law gives the County’s Chief Fiscal Officer, Michael Slawson, the power to enforce delinquent tax liens held by the County. If he first receives title to the parcel, he can transfer it.
The resolution also stated that the Village of Hoosick Falls had declared its intention to raze the dangerous building and to then add those demolition costs to the property taxes as a special assessment. The County would be forced to reimburse the Village of Hoosick Falls through the tax collection, foreclosure and auction process in light of the failure of the present owner of the parcel to remit payment for the taxes.
So the County was faced with the demolition costs added to the  tax arrearage which it would owe Hoosick Falls. The owner of the property was willing to tender the title to Dooley by deed in order to assist the Village of Hoosick Falls and Dooley to demolish the dangerous building. In consideration of the parcel, Dooley will pay for the razing of the building and the hauling of the remains. This resolution authorized and directed Slawson to cancel prior years’ delinquent property taxes for the parcel.
Slawson said in an interview after the Legislative meeting that the $41,575.49 of past due taxes represented several years of delinquency. He  said that this was a good deal for the County because in his experience once a parcel with a condemned building has that building removed it gets sold at auction for a good deal less than the taxes due. Also, the transfer of the parcel to Dooley would allow for the payment of taxes going forward. District Five Legislator Lester Goodermote, who represents the towns of Stephentown, Berlin, Petersburgh, Grafton, Hoosick and the Village of Hoosick Falls, said that he had been informed that the parcel would be reassessed almost immediately after the building was razed and its remains hauled away.
Depending on how much it costs to demolish the building this is a good deal for Dooley, too. He gets a property without a tax lien on it, that is in the Village and next to his own and without an eyesore that diminished his property value. According to District Five Legislator Stan Brownell, Vice Chairman of the Legislature, the derelict brick building is in such bad shape that bricks were falling into the street.
Sole Source Suppliers
A resolution establishing the sole source status of various vendors representing manufacturers of highway equipment passed unanimously at this meeting.
According to the resolution, the “County Highway Department has established that various manufacturers of heavy duty equipment have restricted the distribution of parts and authorized factory service through certain vendors within a reasonable geographic area of the County Highway Department, thereby eliminating any opportunity to obtain competitive quotes for original equipment manufactured (OEM) parts and authorized service…The Highway Department must maintain its heavy equipment and make repairs to said equipment, often without delay, in order to keep County highways and bridges in good repair for use by our County residents and safeguard the commerce that flows over our highways on a daily basis.” The Highway Department is subject to the twelve month estimated annual expenditures listed in the resolution and is authorized to obtain OEM parts and repairs, and incidental parts, supplies and labor which are not OEM but  are necessary to complete an OEM repair, without submitting additional sole source justification.
Zwack, Inc. of Stephentown was named as one of the sole sources in the resolution, being the authorized manufacturer’s representative for Everest and CompuSpread equipment. The estimated amount authorized  to be spent on Everest equipment is $10,000; the amount on CompuSpread is $20,000.
Not Just On TV
The use of DNA evidence solved a nine year old murder case in Rensselaer County. A resolution commending members of the Troy Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office for their work in the trial and subsequent conviction of Michael Mosley passed unanimously on Tuesday.
The resolution says, “This Legislative Body also notes the important role played by the Rensselaer County Probation Department in bringing this case to justice, as Michael Mosley was arrested for Assault 3rd in North Greenbush on charges he punched his partner in the eye and eventually pled to a lesser charge, beginning interaction with the County Probation Department…Arica Schneider, a daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin, niece and friend to many was found murdered alongside Samuel Holley in January of Two thousand two…The murders went unsolved for nine years, with a DNA sample simply labeled ‘John Doe.’ With no match in the DNA database, many would expect  this case to go cold.  However,  due  to the  tireless work and countless hours of the investigators this case was kept in the forefront for the police as well as the public eye…Investigating Probation Officer Colleen Burns determined Subject Index DNA collection was appropriate and included the collection as a condition of Mosley’s probation, leading to a sample being taken under the supervision of Probation Officer Kelly Miazga, with the sample sent to the State DNA databank, where a preliminary match was made in the unsolved 2002 murders….Another year went by with the prosecution building the best case they could against Mosley to ensure that justice would be served for Arica and Samuel as well as both of their families…On Thursday, the second day of June in the year Two thousand eleven the jury found Michael Mosley guilty of murder in the first degree and burglary in the double-murder of Arica Schneider and Samuel Holley in 2002 and was sentenced on July 12, 2011 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The law enforcement individuals as well as the attorneys who fought this case deserve recognition for not letting this case go unsolved and going above and beyond the call of duty to bring justice to the victims and their families.”
The Clerk of the Legislature will transmit a copy of this resolution, suitably engrossed, to Ronald Fountain, Robert  Fitzgerald,  John  Riegert,  Gary  Gordon,  Richard  McNally,  Ian Silverman, Christa Book Marx, Colleen Burns and Kelly Miazga.
Ethics
One of the rare votes in this Legislature to be cast along strict party lines occurred on Tuesday during an amendment to a Local Law concerning ethics. Why this amendment was filed at this time is somewhat mysterious. As Democrat Peter Grimm from Troy said, “Here we are eliminating protections that have worked for this County for 20 years.” According to  Brownell and Goodermote this amendment would allow a member to serve in the County government and to be a member of the Board of an entity doing business with the County. There are members of the Legislature already who are also local highway supervisors or are employed by Hudson Valley Community College or work for NYSERDA, for instance. These members very consistently abstain from votes where there might be a conflict of interest. This amendment was, according to Republican Legislative Liaison Rich Crist and Legislators Brownell and Goodermote, motivated by the fact that Neil Kelleher, former Chairman of the Legislature and Chairman of the County Republican Party until recently, is  also on the Board of Trustees of Hudson Valley Community College. He had to give up one position and chose to stay on the HVCC Board. With this amendment, he could hold both positions.
The description of this Local Law says, “A Local Law Amending Local Law No. 2 of the year 1989, as Amended by Local Law No. 2 of the Year 1992, as Amended by Local Law No. 4 of the year 1994 as Amended by Local Law No. 2 of the Year 2000.” This just goes to show that ethics can be as slippery as an eel.
September Meeting Rescheduled
The September meeting of the Legislature will meet on Wednesday, September 14, because Tuesday, September 13, is Primary Election Day. The presentation period begins at 5:30 pm.