Snowmobiles And ATVs Tear Up The Park
by Thaddeus Flint
[private]Parts of Shatford Park have been the victim of some operators of ATVs and snowmobiles, and the Town Board is considering everything from closing the park during the winter months, to cameras and barricades in order to stop the damage of a few.
For the most part, the majority of these motorized winter users appear to cause no problem as they use the park to traverse the Town. A minority, however, are forcing the Town to reconsider just how tolerant it will remain after evidence of snowmobiles and ATVs was discovered having torn up the “the new playground, the ballfield, and the new tennis courts,” according to Town Supervisor Colleen Teal.
Closing the park and putting cables or other barriers across entrances was discussed. The park, though, is relatively porous with openings, and some wondered whether the expense would be justified if barriers could easily be bypassed. Installing a number of game cameras was also proposed in the hope that these motorized miscreants might be identified.
The Town’s Highway Superintendent, Jeff Winestock, pointed out that making an identification of the hooligans through game camera might prove difficult as most will be wearing full-faced helmets. “You would be wasting your money,” said Winestock, who instead believed that the perpetrators could be tracked down without too much difficulty in the small town.
As Spring appears to be just around the corner, the solution decided was to wrap some snow fence around the expensive tennis courts and pretty much hope for the best.
Problems With Town Hall Addition
Hoping for the best seems to have been part of the plan when the new Town Hall was built onto the old Town Hall. After problems this winter with the heating it was found that “numerous potential code violations” might exist in that building, according to Teal. The new Town Hall was only finished a few years back. Unfortunately, the warranty period is long over and now nobody can really be held accountable for any problems that have arisen since.
Teal, however, wants to document all the problem areas and proposed that the firm of CT Male Associates Engineering, which would also be working to advise the Town’s Code Enforcement Officer, be tasked with doing the inspection.
“There was a breakdown in the way this addition was built…it was not done properly,” agreed Councilman Mark Baumli, who, somewhat jokingly, advised putting up a sign on the Town Hall labeling it the “house that somebody else built.” But Baumli wondered if it was prudent using an engineering firm instead of a much cheaper building inspector to do the review. “I don’t want to spend a lot of money,” he said.
One resident wondered how it was possible that a Code Enforcement Officer could actually be working in a building that was being built all around them not up to code. There was no real answer for this, although Baumli pointed out that all that happened during another “regime.”
The outcome of this discussion was that Teal would get an estimate from CT Male Associates for an inspection which would then be considered against the expected costs of a similar review by a building inspector.
Another building in New Lebanon which will soon be getting a thorough inspection is at one of the mobile home parks that recently came up for licensing renewal. That park, which was not named, has a building located on it that appears close to collapse, according to Councilman Baumli, who says he drives by the property twice a day.
The Town’s new Code Enforcement Officer, Cissy Hernandez, said she was not aware of the situation. Based on Baumli’s observations, Hernandez will inspect the structure for code violations and issue a findings report to the Board before that park’s license can be renewed.
While some parts of New Lebanon are falling down, possible grants for improving the Town’s future are being supported by the Board. Three applications to the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation were on the agenda asking the Town for support in their quest for funds. The Board agreed with all in favor to support NL200, which is the upcoming year-long celebration of New Lebanon’s 200th anniversary; The Phoenix Project, which rescues dilapidated historical buildings; and one for The Theatre Barn to finance work with the Town’s youths for a summer theater experience
Zombie Sidewalks
Money provided to New Lebanon to plan for sidewalks most townspeople didn’t want is still being discussed. The Board voted to allow the Supervisor to proceed with documenting “significant public controversy” to NYSDOT in regard to the proposed sidewalks that never got past the planning stage.
That planning stage, though, was expensive. The total cost of the project–which produced not one foot of sidewalk–was around $120,000. Of that, New Lebanon paid over $30,000 out of local taxpayer money. (Some have noted that New Lebanon High School students were putting whole sections of sidewalk in each graduation year for virtually nothing.) The rest of the money came from NY State and the Federal Government, both of which would like their money back since nothing was built.
However, a good deal of planning was done and the design firm of Creighton Manning certainly wasn’t working for free. In fact they are still working on it. Now, though, Creighton Manning is going to be working on getting the Town out of the project that they were largely behind when the previous administration got New Lebanon into it.
Creighton Manning originally said that the completed project of 1.5 miles of sidewalk would only cost New Lebanon about $75,000. Very few believed this. Supervisor Teal said she can “thoroughly document” a controversy, since her calculations find that over 70% of residents did not want the sidewalks.
The Supervisor, does though, feel that residents would like some music in the park this summer. A sum of not more than $5,000 was agreed by all Board members to be allocated toward three events in Shatford Park for the summer of 2017, culminating in a September festival.
“Summer is going to be here soon,” pointed out Teal.
It will probably not come soon enough for the Highway Superintendent. Each year Winestock informs the Board that some residents continue to illegally push snow back onto the roads that the Highway Department just spent hours clearing.
This year is no exception.
“It’s aggravating,” said Winestock. [/private]