Some cupola clarifications, and a flare-up with the Fire Department, made for a lively meeting of the Town Board in New Lebanon, on Tuesday, August 8.
As was reported last month, the Town of New Lebanon saw the importance of preserving the last remaining piece – the cupola – of the Union Free School building that was once listed on the National Historic Registry.
An inquiry by Councilman Kevin Smith to the School District discovered that the District had no interest in protecting the structure which had sat in a patch of weeds since 2012.
Former New Lebanon Town Supervisor Margaret Robertson and a friend watch as the demolition of the Union Free School begins in 2012. (Eastwick Press file photo)
At the time of the demolition, the School District spent extra taxpayer dollars to bring a crane in and remove the cupola for “safe keeping.” Five years later, the District apparently decided it would be safer in a dumpster. At that point, Smith notified the rest of the Town Board and the structure was purchased for $1 and then removed to Town property. No discussion has yet been held to determine what the Town plans to do to either restore or stabilize the cupola. Initial cost estimates range from $35,000 to $80,000.
Some residents, however, are confused as to who was responsible for the cupola to begin with.
“It wasn’t our disaster,” said Councilman Mark Baumli. “It was created by the School.”
In fact, not one member of the current Town Board was even on the Town Board at the time the decision was made to transform the Union Free School into a parking space. Town Supervisor Colleen Teal was then the Town Clerk and had no say in anything. The Town Supervisor at the time, Margaret Robertson, was highly critical of the building’s destruction. The next Supervisor, Mike Benson, had even personally explored trying to save it as a possible home for the elderly.
But none of that really matters anyway, because the building didn’t even belong to the Town, it belonged to School District. The New Lebanon School Boards over the years were responsible for letting it fall into disrepair, and the School Board of 2011 was then responsible for its ultimate demise; 2011 Board President Monique Wood and Board members Raymond Sowalski, David Kroboth and Christine Sotek voted against saving the building on August 31, 2011, with only Board members Michael Bienes and Tracy Bingham voting to save it (Board member JoAnn Gavrity was absent the night of the vote).
“It’s the School you need to go down and talk to,” said Baumli. “They are the ones that ripped it off that building and told the Town that they were going to fix it.”
Baumli’s speech drew a round of applause and the meeting continued on at a happy stride.
Resident Johanna Johnson-Smith noticed that New Lebanon seemed patriotically bare compared with other towns in the area.
“It’s about time we showed our colors,” said Johnson-Smith, who set up a GoFundMe page titled “Flags for the Valley!” to raise money to place American flags on a dozen utility poles throughout New Lebanon. In less than 24 hours, the goal of $500 was met (although, those who still wish to donate can continue to do so). Not to be outdone, the Town Board, at the suggestion of Councilman Smith, then voted with all in favor (Councilman Chuck Geraldi was absent) of matching the funds collected by Johnson-Smith. The hope is that the “Flags for the Valley” will be flying by Labor Day.
All that goodwill and cooperation continued for a while before it was suddenly extinguished by the Fire Department. Councilman Baumli, who has been trying to put together a long-term overview of the LVPA’s accounting, found that the simple request for financials to be provided to the Board in an Excel format, rather than PDF, was not as simple as most would think it should be.
“Everything needs to jive,” said Baumli.
The LVPA did comply with Baumli’s request that an Excel file be provided showing past year’s expenditures, but they converted the Excel file into a PDF and then printed it out before giving it to Town Clerk Tistrya Houghtling. Having to “jive” was “not in the contract” according to LVPA Treasurer Bobby Waters.
“Ummmm….yeah, we are missing some things here,” was Supervisor Teal’s response. Teal had already spent an inordinate amount of time from the beginning of her administration trying to rebuild a working relationship with the LVPA, and now she was being told that if she wanted a document in a certain format, one that for the most part pretty much the rest of the entire world was working in, she should have stipulated it beforehand.
“You are going to have to put it into the contract,” was Water’s continued response.
The Supervisor was not amused.
Teal actually got up, left the meeting, went to her office, came back with the contract in question, and gave it to the Town’s Attorney, Dan Tuczinski, who was sitting beside her.
Tuczinski glanced through the contract. One item immediately noted was the ability to make “reasonable requests.” And “even if it’s not a reasonable request,” we can still ask for it, said Tuczinski. “I would recommend that you provide it,” he added, with no one misunderstanding the attorney version of the word “recommend.”
The LVPA’s worry seemed to be that an Excel file could be altered and easily disseminated with incorrect numbers that might make their organization look unscrupulous. However, it was noted that the LVPA would still have the original which it could easily show as a comparison.
Calmer heads prevailed and it was decided that the LVPA would put the Excel files on a thumb drive and provide them along with the usual monthly paper reports.
“Let’s stop going backward and start going forward,” said Smith. Baumli and Smith will meet with the LVPA to work out the details, no lawyer needed.
The New Lebanon Little League might, however, be hearing from the lawyer. Smith reported that a visit to the ball field’s snack shack found a big mess that might attract rats and other vermin. Also, according to Smith, it appears that the Little League Board no longer exists, so there is nobody to send a letter to to have the place cleaned up.
Councilman Baumli offered to go down and clean the place up himself. “It wasn’t always like this,” he sighed. Parents used to take more responsibility in the organization and now all they do is drop the players off, watch a game, and then drive them home. There was talk of contracts and deposits for next year. A call to revoke the keys was dismissed when it was found that the Little League owns the buildings but the Town owns the land.
“Interesting,” said Tuczinski as he jotted a note, with no one misunderstanding the attorney version of the word “interesting”.
Basketball players on the Town’s court in the park are not going to get a new court this year. Only one bid was received for the court’s rebuild, and that was at $75,400. The vote was Teal and Smith for and Baumli and Councilman Dan Evans against, and the motion did not pass. The matter will be re-discussed during the 2018 budget process.
Announcements
Music in the Park is Sunday August 20th 1:30 to 4:30 pm at Shatford Park.
The LVPA has asked that more residents please come out and support their events, all of which raise money to help protect the Town. Events can be found on the LVPA Facebook page.
The Eastwick Press is once again the Official Newspaper of New Lebanon.
