Tennis Courts Will Be Rebuilt
by Thaddeus Flint
The big news that many in New Lebanon have been waiting and waiting and waiting for finally arrived at last Tuesday’s Town Board meeting. After about two years of discussion and governmental procrastination, it was finally decided that the tennis courts at Shatford Park will be rebuilt.
[private]Previous Town Supervisor Mike Benson had described the court rehab project as “beaten to death” back in October 2015. And that, it turns out, might not have been such a bad thing at all. The Town looks to save close to $18,000 in reconstruction costs largely due to all that procrastination. For while the Town was doing nothing, oil prices were collapsing, which in turn was bringing down the costs of asphalt.
The last time the courts were put out to bid, the offers came in at $85,620 from HMA Contracting and $86,180 from W.E. Williams Paving. A year later, things were a little bit more affordable when Town Clerk Tistrya Houghtling announced the bid results at the April 12 meeting. HMA was now bidding $67,965. W.E. Williams decided to bid the exact same price as last year of $86,180. Obviously, that didn’t work.
Both bids were for total reconstruction of the court. Nobody wanted to bid on attempting to repair them.
Town Supervisor Colleen Teal described the courts as an “asset to the Town” that should be saved. They should also “be maintained,” she added. There would be little sense in spending all that money only to have them slowly destroyed again because the proper maintenance was not done.
Councilman Chuck Geraldi was against spending all that money in the first place. Last year he said “Eighty-five thousand for tennis courts seems like an awful lot of money to me.” This year he said “this Town has better places to spend $67,000.”
Councilman Kevin Smith was not happy with spending $67,000 and only getting a one year warranty. “It’s a big gamble,” he said.
The tennis court project has largely been the work of Councilman Dan Evans. Which is not to say he asked for the privilege to oversee it. As a civil engineer, he had the most experience with such work and was more or less volunteered. At any rate, Evans also probably knows more about it than anyone else and was satisfied with not only the bid, but the company and the warranty. “They are probably the best in Town,” he said of HMA Contracting. “It is a lot of money, but I think it’s worth it.”
The reconstruction will be funded with $20,000 from the Shatford Park capital reserve fund and $47,965 general fund unrestricted.
The project passed with Teal, Evans, and Councilman Mark Baumli voting for the reconstruction and Geraldi and Smith against.
A decision on the financing of the new backhoe was less contentious. All in favor voted for a three year $18,798 payment with the interest coming to about $1,400 a year.
Columbia County is also interested in the Town’s gravel screening plant, but they would like to test it first. It is expected that the County will offer around $15,000 for the used screener, money which could go toward the new backhoe. A decision to let the County have the screener at that price would not have to go out to bid.
Baumli, however, wanted to make sure the Town got every penny it could from the used screener. He noted that by putting the backhoe out to bid New Lebanon had saved around $3,000. “Maybe somebody else would offer $16,000?”
Teal pointed out that the screener had gone out to bid before and nobody wanted it.
“These are things we help each other with,” said Geraldi. “They [Columbia County] are there to help us too.” He made the motion that the County could take the screener for testing. If the County made an offer, that offer would be discussed first. If the offer was then felt to be too low the screener would be put out to bid. A vote of all in favor passed that motion.
The entire Board was also in agreement when it came to financing the new used playground equipment donated to the Town by the Berlin Central School District. All were in favor of allocating up to $5,000 for cement, chips and other materials needed to put the equipment back together again. The installation of the various items of outdoor enjoyment in Shatford Park is scheduled for May 14 and 15. Residents are encouraged to volunteer their time and skills by contacting the Town Clerk. A ribbon cutting will take place later in the summer with a pig roast. Town Constable/Animal Control Officer Wes Powell will donate “everything but the pig,” according to Teal. The pig would be $425. All were in favor of the Pig allocation.
The Park was again brought up as a possible location for the New Lebanon Farmers Market. According to the Farmers Market organizer Cynthia Creech, the Market is considering moving from its current location at Windswept Farm. The Market would run Sundays from June to October. Creech said the Farmers—there are around 12 total—would be amenable to paying $25 to the Town for use of a portion of Shatford Park.
Concerns brought up were noise, insurance, and vegetable and jam buyers being run down as they cross the bridge to and from the parking lot.
Creech said she felt that the noise would certainly be less than that generated by Little League. She also noted that the young baseball players and their parents have been walking around the Park for years and none have been run over yet. Baumli, however, was concerned that an accident could see New Lebanon sued for “millions of dollars” especially since the Farmers Market does not have its own insurance.
Teal, on the other hand, said that having the Market at the Park was “in line with my need to see the vitality of the Town increase.” An “involved Town has more appeal,” she said. “When you see a Farmers Market appearing at a Town facility, that to me shows a much more vital engaged Town.”
In the end it was agreed, with all in favor, to invite the Farmers Market to try out the Park location for a season.
As summer approaches, the Board is working on a means of better communicating with its residents. While the hearing room in the Town Hall could be described as “cozy,” its diminutive design does not always make it easy to hear what’s going on at the front of the room. The room can become stifling at times and when the air conditioner rumbles on, for some, it is all that can be heard. A motion to spend up to $650 on microphones and speakers was passed with all in favor in hopes of conquering this rumbling.
“We should send the bill to whoever designed the HVAC system,” quipped Evans.
Also in communication that might one day exist, Teal said she is pursuing broadband internet at the County level. New Lebanon is blessed with plenty of “dark fiber,” that is unused fiber optic cable running through the Town. A countywide Broadband committee is being formed and the Supervisor is requesting that anyone with interest and experience in that type of technology who would like to volunteer to serve as New Lebanon’s representative contact her for more information.
“You can’t grow if you don’t have the infrastructure,” said Teal.
Next month’s Board meeting on May 10 will be preceded by two public hearings starting ten minutes before the regular start time of 7 pm.
The first will hear resident’s concerns on an amendment to the current law on the seizure of dogs. The amendment would make that law more flexible in regard to fines and fees so a new law would not need to be drafted for minor changes.
The second hearing is for a proposed a local law entitled “Awarding Contracts For Best Value” that would allow greater flexibility in awarding contracts “by authorizing the award of certain purchase contracts, including contracts for service work, on the basis of best value.”
Detailed notices for both hearings are available at the Town Hall or at the Town’s website: townofnewlebanon.com.[/private]