by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Town Board meeting began with a lengthy speech from Petersburgh resident Tom Berry, which didn’t add much to what he had said in a letter to this newspaper two weeks ago about the agreement between Berlin and Petersburgh concerning use of the Berlin Transfer Station. He feels the current agreement is unfair to Petersburgh. His letter annoyed the Petersburgh Supervisor, the Petersburgh Town Clerk, and at least one Petersburgh Town Councilperson, as well as the Berlin Supervisor and apparently quite a few Berlin residents, all of whom have criticized Mr. Berry.
[private]His speech at the Petersburgh meeting touched on, in addition to the transfer station contract, a few anecdotes about himself, his support for Petersburgh Town employees and the problem with letting trucks and highway equipment get too old.
Petersburgh Supervisor Siegfried Krahforst responded to Berry’s remarks about the aging trucks and highway equipment by saying he has been meeting with Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison to create a five year plan for replacing and upgrading the Highway Department fleet.
Krahforst said he didn’t want to talk much about the transfer station agreement because the place to discuss that will be in a joint meeting of the Petersburgh and Berlin Town Boards that he hopes to arrange soon.
He did say, though, that one comment made by Berlin Supervisor Rob Jaeger and quoted in the Berlin Town Board report in this newspaper was way off base. Jaeger said “a little bird” told him that Krahforst was considering raising everyone’s taxes by $300 and hiring a commercial hauler to pick up everyone’s garbage. Krahforst said such an idea had never entered his mind, he is not considering any such plan and he will not be proposing anything of the kind.
Councilman Alan Webster questioned one of the numbers presented in Berry’s letter. Berry said that County Waste is picking up household garbage from 324 Petersburgh homes and only 78 Berlin homes. He said he suspects that this is based on postal addresses. Many people with Petersburgh postal addresses actually live in Berlin or Grafton, so those numbers may not be correct. Berry conceded that the numbers may not be correct.
Krahforst concluded the transfer station matter by assuring the public that if the Town proposes to make any major changes in its garbage arrangements, there will be a public hearing and the residents will have an opportunity to speak their minds on the issue before the Town Board makes any final decision.
Minutes On Website
Sherry Bowman-Kluck asked the Town Board to review and approve the minutes from previous meetings as promptly as possible and post them on the Town website right away. She noted that the most recent minutes posted on the website at present are from meetings in 2012. Supervisor Krahforst responded that Town Clerk Callie Crisp is overloaded with work and noted that the budget for her assistant was cut. He said she will get the minutes onto the website as soon as possible.
Town Historian
Peter Schaaphok, as Town Historian and who was the Supervisor in office when the transfer station arrangements were first set up, recounted some of the circumstances that led to the current arrangement. He said the original plan was to jointly operate the facility as the two towns had done with the landfill before that. But some Petersburgh residents said they didn’t want to go in with Berlin – they wanted Petersburgh to have its own transfer station. But DEC said there was no way it would permit two transfer stations five miles from each other, so Petersburgh went back to the idea of joining Berlin, which was already proceeding on its own. Schaaphok said it was probably impractical to have a jointly owned facility, and it may have been best to do it as it was done. But he suggested it may be time to renegotiate the usage fee since most of the capital cost of the station has probably already been paid off.
Concerning historic markers, he said the temporary sign for Brimmer Farm will be ready next week and he will see that it is put up. He also said a marker commemorating the Worthington Inn was put up in the 1930s, but it disappeared when Route 22 was straightened and rebuilt. He said he would like to get a replacement for that marker.
Schaaphok said he did some research into State law, and found that by law the Town is responsible for maintenance of all cemeteries in Town. He suggested that this is another example of State lawmakers mandating things that are impractical. He said he thinks the Town should continue to maintain the big family cemeteries, as they have been doing, but the smaller ones are going to need some kind of volunteer group to organize a maintenance effort.
Schaaphok also said he will be scanning historical photos on Saturday, March 15, from 10 am to 12 noon at the Town Hall. Residents are invited to bring in historical photos to be scanned and immediately returned, so they can be collected in the Town Historian’s archives. He said that he is looking for pictures of landscapes and streetscapes and public gatherings, but he will not be able to reproduce family photo albums of individuals.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Ray Harrison said that the wheel has been fixed on his big plow truck and it is back in service. But there was a short in the electrical system of the Volvo loader at the beginning of the big snow storm last week, and it had to be transported to the Volvo dealer for repairs. It has been fixed, and the County brought it back to Petersburgh on Wednesday, February 26.
The Board asked Harrison how he is doing with sand and salt. He said he is using the sand just about as fast as he can get it and he has no salt. He said nobody has any salt right now but he expects to get some in about a week or so. He said he is buying most of his sand from Hammersmith’s pit in Berlin, but he also buys washed sand from Dailey’s for use on paved roads, as he has been requested to do to keep the dust down.
The Board authorized having the Town advertise for gravel bids for the upcoming year.
Water District
Supervisor Krahforst said the Town Board members and the Water District Committee agreed that repairs to the District’s backup Well #5 are needed and an estimate has been received for about $4,800 to do that work. He asked the Board to authorize it. The Board voted without opposition to have the work done. They also authorized new Water District bill collector Brigitta Schmidt to sign Water District checks.
Environmental Management Council
Councilwoman Denise Church said she heard at the Council meeting that the Emerald Ash Borer is close by and will probably soon be abundant in Rensselaer County, and is expected to destroy most of the ash trees in local forests. She said the insect is a foreign invader and there is no practical way to stop its spread at this point. She said if Emerald Ash Borers are found in trees in Rensselaer County, property owners are asked to report them to Cornell Cooperative Extension.
The Board appointed Citizen committees for the Water District, Economic Development, Town Law and Youth Recreation. The last one, Youth Recreation, is looking for another member. Supervisor Krahforst also said the Town Planning Board and the Board of Ethics are both still looking for a new member.
Supervisor Krahforst said the new Building Inspector, Martin Conboy, will complete his training by early March and should be certified and ready to assume all his duties by the end of March.
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