TV Channel 6 Covers The Story
by Kieron Kramer
On Tuesday, October 9, the Rensselaer County Legislature passed a resolution requesting the State Department of Transportation review safety and travel conditions on State Route 22 in Petersburgh in the area where State Route 2 is carried via bridge over State Route 22. The resolution was introduced by District 5 Legislators Stan Brownell and Lester Goodermote, who represent the towns of Stephentown, Berlin, Petersburgh, Grafton, Hoosick and the Village of Hoosick Falls, and was joined by the entire Legislative body. After the meeting a broadcast journalist from TV Channel 6 and his cameraman showed up to interview Brownell and Goodermote in the anteroom of the Legislative Chamber about the traffic problem in Petersburgh.
[private]Although stating several inaccuracies the resolution gets to the crux of the problem when it says, “In Petersburgh, a section of Route 22 runs under a bridge carrying State Route 2, and there have been numerous complaints from truck drivers and others…Truck drivers and others report the only way for a truck to travel under the bridge is to travel down the center of the road in both lanes, as the individual lanes of Route 22, under the bridge, are no longer tall enough for trucks to safely pass under…Truck drivers and others say the problem is a recent one.”
Actually, the problem with the overpass has been around a long time, but it came into focus in early March when a NY State Trooper began giving tickets to truckers on Route 22 at the Route 2 overpass. The overpass has a 12 foot two inch clearance on the northbound lane and a 12 foot 7 inch clearance on the southbound lane. Since Route 2 ascends at that location so must the overpass. According to a source at the Berlin Town Board meeting in March, two tickets were given at that time to a trucker who was heading north, one ticket because his truck was higher than 12 foot two inches and one ticket for crossing the yellow line so that his truck could continue north without losing its top. The resolution says, “Because of the current conditions with the bridge, trucks must either take a considerable detour or risk a costly ticket, meaning an important route of travel in eastern Rensselaer County is interrupted.” Some truckers heading south take a left on Main Street just before the bridge and drive east past the Petersburgh Post Office and turn around in the parking lot of the Petersburgh Town Hall.
Brownell and Goodermote had written the NYS DOT about the problems caused by the low clearance of the overpass. They received the same response as they did several months later when they wrote the DOT about the poor condition of the section of Route 22 from Berlin through Stephentown. Both are expensive projects, and the State does not have the funds set aside for these projects on Route 22. One of the solutions to the low overpass is to build a new bridge over Rt. 22. A new bridge is expensive, and the project’s expense would be magnified considerably by having to raise Rt. 2 from the east to the bridge – not to mention that the bridge there has sentimental value.
The other solution is to lower Rt. 22 at that spot. Not as expensive as a new overpass, it would still cost. The grade would have to start a moderate distance on the north and south side of the overpass. And there would have to be enough drainage constructed to carry away the water that would naturally form a puddle there.
Nobody can say so out loud but the less expensive, perhaps the sanest, response is to stop writing tickets at that location. It is not really a safety issue. No accidents have been reported there, according to Goodermote. Over the years people driving Rt. 22 at that location are used to seeing trucks heading north slow down and move over into the middle of the road in order to clear the overpass. If you are not used to it, it could be a little scary at first. But the visibility as you travel the road there is very good. Just stop and wait. The line of sight is very bad, however, when turning onto Route 22 from Main Street.
In the Channel 6 interview Goodermote, who has experience in these issues having been in the trucking business, said that the clearance at that spot has diminished due to the repaving of Rt. 22 over the years. The latest resurfacing done this summer stops just north of the bridge and picks up again just south of the overpass. Although truckers are supposed to know whether the route they have chosen will work before setting off, Goodermote said that the GPSs they use do not indicate the low clearance at the overpass. Both he and Brownell told Channel 6 that they had introduced the resolution because of the complaints of their constituents. Later, Goodermote said he is not aware of any tickets being written lately at that spot.
But you can never tell when the need for a revenue stream from traffic violations will rear its ugly head.
Passing this resolution puts the County on record with the DOT on this issue and is more powerful than a letter from just two legislators. Following the resolution with a TV interview will, it is hoped, put even more pressure on the State to come up with a permanent solution to the low overpass problem.
Re-conveying Property Taken In A Tax Delinquency Foreclosure
A resolution authorized the County of Rensselaer to sell real property to the former owners, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Hopkins of Hoosick. Through court action the County took the property in June in an in rem tax foreclosure proceeding. Timothy Hopkins and Donna J. Hopkins, the former owners of the parcel located in the Town of Hoosick, have now remitted payment in full of the tax arrearage owed for the parcel plus a $1,000 re-conveyance fee to the County of Rensselaer prior to the scheduling of an auction sale.
A Gift
One resolution authorized the acceptance of a bequest of $10,000, amended the 2012 County budget accordingly and authorized the purchase of a used wheelchair accessible van. According to the resolution, Unified Family Services provides a vast array of services to the senior residents of Rensselaer County including transportation to and from any of the five Rensselaer County Senior Centers and for medical appointments. The $10,000 bequest came from Ellen A. Bevins, a County Senior who recently died and whose will was probated. The van will be used to continue medical transportation services for mobility impaired seniors. The van is a 2001 Ford Econoline 350 which will be purchased from the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley in Troy. The resolution says that the Rensselaer County Fleet Manager has approved this purchase of an additional vehicle, which is intended to replace a wheelchair van that was removed from service in January, 2012.
More Money For DWI Checks
The Rensselaer County Director of Special Traffic Operations has been advised by the New York State STOP-DWI Foundation, that Rensselaer County STOP-DWI will receive one time funding in the amount of $65,820 of which $18,800 will be utilized in 2012 and the remaining $47,020 will be included in the Department’s 2013 budget submission. This funding will provide DWI crackdown enforcement through saturation patrols and checkpoints on the 2012 New York State recognized DWI Crackdown dates. The resolution revises the contracts with local police agencies for those agencies to perform the additional enforcement activities. Each agency will receive $2,350 more this year. They are the police in Troy, the City of Rensselaer, the towns of East Greenbush, North Greenbush and Schodack, the Village of Nassau, the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office and the Village of Hoosick Falls. Hoosick Falls’ budget for these activities will rise from $4,000 to $6,350.
Shared Services
The towns of eastern Rensselaer County will benefit from a resolution that authorizes the extension of the County’s asphalt paver rental. The County Highway Department rented an asphalt paver to perform road maintenance and construction projects for the 2012 summer paving season. Additional highway road projects have been scheduled as part of the 2012 N.Y.S. CHIPS reimbursable program for the remaining 2012 paving season. The paver is a Vogele 1110 RTB model tracked asphalt paver, with heated vibratory 10 foot screed. The extension is for an additional month under the terms of the N.Y.S. OGS contract to complete scheduled road construction projects. The paver will be rented from Robert H. Finke & Sons of Selkirk for $13,000. Municipalities in the County can rent the paver from the County at the same low rate for local paving jobs.
Salt Bid
A resolution authorized the purchase of road salt (mineral crushed rock) used for winter road maintenance. The purchase will be done under the State bid. The State of New York has extended for one year a contract for the purchase of road salt at a cost of $49.05 per ton, subject to fuel price adjustment. The contract runs from October 15, 2012, to August 31, 2013. The road salt will be purchased from International Salt Co. LLC of Clarks Summit, PA, and the expenditure will not exceed $700,000. Local municipalities will be able to purchase salt at the same rate of $49.05 per ton, subject to fuel price adjustment.
Bits Of Interest
The County passed a local law banning the sale of synthetic phenethylamines and synthetic cannabinoids. The Legislature determined that synthetic phenethylamines have recently become widely available in the United States and are being marketed online, in convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops as “bath salts,” plant food and other ordinary household goods.
These compounds stimulate the body’s central nervous system and cause effects similar to those caused by cocaine and amphetamines, including but not limited to, increased heart rate and blood pressure, hallucinations, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, violent behavior, nausea and vomiting. From January 2011 to April 2012 the poison control centers throughout the United States have received over 7,000 calls regarding instances of poisoning from products containing synthetic phenethylamines, including instances resulting in accidental death and suicide.
The usage of these substances has increased at a remarkable rate, and these products are readily available through storefront retailers, online retailers and indirectly through other individuals. The products containing synthetic cannabinoids are produced, distributed, marketed and sold as a “legal alternative” to marijuana.
The Legislature has determined that to protect the public from the ongoing threat posed by synthetic phenethylamines and synthetic cannabinoids, Rensselaer County must take action so that local law enforcement has the necessary authority to regulate these substances. The local law bans the possession, sale, manufacture and/or distribution of these chemicals and any products containing these chemicals to protect the health, safety and welfare of County Residents.
In a resolution Tuesday the County Legislature authorized an expenditure of $43,200 for the purchase of paper ballots for the 2012 general election. The ballots will be purchased from Fort Orange Press of Albany, a certified ballot supplier to NY State. The ballots will be purchased under State Bid prices which are available to local governments. The County Board of Elections will purchase 80,000 ballots at a cost of 54 cents per ballot.
Getting Around
Brownell and Goodermote said they would both definitely be attending the Berlin Fire Department’s Fresh Maine Lobster Dinner on October 13 and the Grafton Historical Society’s Wine and Cheese Party on October 20.[/private]