by Kieron Kramer
The Berlin Town Board held its first regular Town Board meeting in the new Town Hall in the Municipal Center at 17563 NY Rt. 22 last Thursday, March 14. Aside from the Town officers, the heads of the various boards and the like the turnout was a little sparse, but everyone who did attend was pretty excited about the new digs.
[private]The meeting room is a rectangle, larger than the space at the old Town Hall, with plenty of room for the Board’s conference table and the Town Clerk. It has dark wood panelling and excellent acoustics. The room is lower than the halls leading to it so there is a mini-step down. The Town will put up signs warning attendees about the step down. The main entrance
to the room is from the hall on the side that runs from the main entrance of the building past the meeting room. There will be no more people bringing frigid air into the room as they enter in the wintertime.
The Town Clerk’s Office is located near the front entrance to the building. It is spacious with plenty of room for Clerk Anne Maxon’s large desk, the copy machine and filing cabinets. Next to it is the Supervisor’s/Conference room, also large, with a conference table and, at the moment, a very large, handsome wooden bookcase donated by Past Town Supervisor Sandi Slattery. A network capable printer with all the bells and whistles was donated by the Town of Poestenkill, and Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger thanked Poestenkill Supervisor Dom Jacangelo for it. There is plenty of parking and a long concrete walkway up to the Town Hall. The walkway was lit on Thursday by a series of low LED lights running on either side.
As usual, the meeting began at 7:30 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. But since there was no stand for the flag pole yet in the building, Bob Hall was pressed into service to hold up the flag at the back of the room during the Pledge. It almost looked like an oil painting from the Revolutionary War.
Business
Tammy Osterhout was perhaps the most excited about the new facility and enthusiastically announced her plans for moving the Youth Commission activities to the Center in the summer. There is plenty of secure storage so the loss of the Commission’s materials due to mold or water damage will no longer be an issue. She wants to move the pool table, the ping pong table, the fusball table and air hockey into the basement of the Town Hall for evening activities and bring the portable outdoor basketball hoop down to the Center as well. “There are such wide open spaces – the kids can run,” she said.
Osterhout said that there is no definite date yet for the summer programs and she has had no final word on the Town of Hoosick Pool. The swimming program is very popular in Berlin so the use of the Hoosac School pool was suggested. Berlin might have to provide lifeguards at the Hoosac School pool which would be very expensive Osterhout said, but she agreed to look into it. She also announced that the Twin Town Little League in West Sand Lake “is opening up to 12 and 13 year olds from out here.” Osterhout said the information would be posted on the Town website (http://berlin-ny.us/). At present most of the Berlin Little Leaguers play in the Shatford Little League in New Lebanon.
Supervisor Jaeger said he had received a request from the new manager of Our Valley Community Farmers’ Market (OVCFM), Crystal Defelice, who has replaced Trish Gerstel, to move the Farmer’s Market from the old Town Garage parking lot to the Municipal Center. The market will run on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm from June 1 to the last week in October. The Board agreed to this readily with the proviso that the Market’s insurance bond be updated. The Town Clerk’s Saturday hours are almost the same so a Town official will be on hand. Board Member Dean Maxon said, “That’ll work out ideally when eventually the soccer club moves down here; there will be quite a few people.”
Dog Business
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported on three dog control problems that keep rearing their ugly heads. Goodermote got one more call from the churchgoers on North Main Street about the barking dog there. It was thought that this situation was resolved by the court with the dog owner keeping his pet inside at night. He was also supposed to build a dog house for the dog to stay in during the day but has not done so. Goodermote said he will take the dog if the owner can’t keep it in at night as agreed to in court.
Goodermote began his report of the roaming dogs on the top of Hilltop Road saying, “I damn near got et up.” He visits Hilltop Road every time he is in Berlin to see if the dogs are tied up. According to Goodermote, the latest addition to the 7 dog pack up there is a small, mean dog that was about to attack him on his last visit. Goodermote said he told the owner, “If I catch that dog loose, he’s my dog.” To this meeting he said, “It’s a dangerous dog, and I’m not going to take a chance on some kid getting bit.”
There was also a dog altercation on Airport Road on the Sunday before the meeting that flares up from time to time. A dog bothers a neighbor. It has been in court too. “It works for a while and then falls apart,” Goodermote said. On Sunday the dog took the neighbor’s ham steak off his grill.
Thank goodness Goodermote had a good dog tale to tell. A springer spaniel left New Ashford on Tuesday and arrived in Berlin on Friday. It was lucky that the dog had a tag with its name and the phone number of the owner on it. Goodermote called the owner who came over to pick up his pet. “The man was so happy he hugged me,” Goodermote said. “And the dog missed him just as much,” he added. Goodermote was going to tell the man that it was his cousin who found the dog, but he decided he wanted no more hugging. “Without the tag, the man never would have gotten his dog back,” said Goodermote. Jaeger said, “It is a neat story when you can put a dog back with someone who really cares for him.”
A rabies clinic was scheduled for April 18 at the new Municipal Center.
Rentals Need A Safety Inspection
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton had received a complaint from a tenant on Main Street that there weren’t enough electrical circuits in his apartment. Yerton tracked down the owner, who had purchased the house but hadn’t gotten the required safety inspection done before renting. “She is in the process of taking care of it,” Yerton said. He wants the public to know that if you rent a room or an apartment there are certain State criteria that need to be met, like installing smoke and CO detectors and testing them once a month. “If you already have apartments, they are grandfathered,” he said.
Problems At The Transfer Station
In response to a recent problem at the Transfer Station, Dean Maxon reminded the public that cans need to be cleaned before being put into the recycling bin there. Food residue, or other material in the cans, can make the recycling bin pretty funky. Jaeger said he would contact “Ziggy,” the Petersburgh Town Supervisor Siegfried Krahforst, about the problem so that users from Petersburgh will know. Jaeger also urged people to organize their recyclables before coming to the Station in order to not block the “traffic.” Apparently, also, people have been bringing their refuse in plastic bags that are larger than 30 gallons. Jaeger said, “If you come in with a 60 gallon bag you will be charged for two bags.” “People get upset when asked to pay extra for bigger bags,” someone said. A brief discussion ensued about whether Berlin should sell bags, which would be the only ones that could be used at the station, like they do in Stephentown. Everyone agreed that Berlin did not want to sell garbage bags. Jaeger announced that the Transfer Station tickets are numbered and tracked by Anne Maxon, so they can’t be used twice.
Setting The Record Straight
Supervisor Jaeger had heard rumors in Town that the Board was spending more on the Municipal Center than the money in the Capital Fund. He said that after the new garage doors are paid for there will be $35,000 left in the fund and that the $30,000 Justice Grant has not yet been utilized. The new garage doors cost $12,000, but the 20’ by 14’ doors have already saved on heat expenses, Board Member John Winn said. He added, “When it comes to heating next year we have to do a complete evaluation.” Board Member Richard deLeon said, “The old doors were beat.”
Board Member Tara Cinney said, “I don’t see why we can’t bring this up [the expenditures on the Center] at every meeting. We’re transparent, and I don’t have a problem letting everyone know where the money goes to.” The Board agreed with her. “We are going to be very cautious as to how we proceed,” Jaeger said. And for those out there who might think that the Transfer Station is also moving to Cherry Plain, it’s not.
Other Business
Highway Superintendent Jim Winn seemed sorry that there hasn’t been much snow this winter. He said, “We have been scratching snow; at least last storm we had something to play with.” He reported that the recent heavy rains had washed out some road edges, “But we made out pretty well.”
Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Chairman Nicholas Adams reported that a gravel pit application would be considered at the next ZBA meeting on March 21. During this meeting David Sicko was appointed to the ZBA. An alternate is still needed.
Jaeger said that three people were interested in the Cherry Plain Polling Place, which the Board hopes to sell. Town Attorney Don Tate said he was still waiting for a response from the State Comptroller’s Office about the State regulations regarding the sale of municipal property.
Jaeger announced that the contract to harvest the Town forest on Cowdry Hollow was sent to the forester after being reviewed by Tate and Cinney. The marking of the trees to be harvested will begin this spring.
The Board voted to accept the completed Justice audit that was reviewed after last month’s meeting.
The Board held a 12 minute executive session ostensibly to discuss union negotiations.
Supervisor Jaeger had begun the meeting with an acknowledgment of the loss of Bud Rathbun, who died on March 7. “He was a very nice gentleman,” Jaeger said.
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