By Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Town Board called itself to order February 12 with only three members present – Supervisor Mark Surdam and Councilmen McAuliffe and Sheffer. Board members Jenn Hyde and Bill Hanselman were not present.
Fox Hollow Road Repair
The meeting began with a sizable contingent of residents of Fox Hollow Road speaking to the Board about the “deplorable” condition of that road. The icy conditions that prevailed in the area in the week before the meeting had made Fox Hollow Road nearly impassable, but the residents’ concerns were not just about the current condition of the road, but the way it had been allowed to deteriorate over several decades. They said it was last paved 30 years ago and is full of very large potholes, and the ditches and culverts are in very poor condition, so water runoff causes further damage every time there is a big rainstorm. They said the Town comes in the spring with a truckload of cold patch and fills potholes, but once the truckload is used up, they leave and don’t come back even though they have not filled all the holes. After many years of this kind of inadequate maintenance, the road has deteriorated badly.
Town Supervisor Mark Surdam said he and another councilman had taken a ride down to look at the road and he said Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland had been down there several times to assess the situation. Surdam acknowledged that the road is in “horrible” condition, but he said it can’t be repaired in any significant way during the winter. He said Shiland is working on a plan to improve the road when better weather comes, but he had no specifics about what would be done and when.
Residents were anxious to convey to the Board that they wanted this situation to be treated as an emergency and they wanted to see a commitment to improve the road as soon as possible. They pointed out that the piece of road they are talking about is only a mile in length, so rebuilding it properly is not such a monumental task. Some also complained that when they call the Highway Department to report problems with the road there has been a lack of respect and a lack of communication in response.
Surdam simply said he acknowledges that there is a problem and the Town will be making an earnest effort to fix it, but he can’t promise anything in particular until the Highway Superintendent develops a plan for fixing the road.
Kevin Allard also spoke to the Board at public comment time. He asked the Board for an update on progress of the grant for refrigeration at the Town skating rink. The Town Board did not give an immediate reply. The Board voted at its November meeting to hire a consultant to do a feasibility study on the project and is now waiting for that report to be completed. Dean Foster, the Headmaster of Hoosac School, was on the agenda to speak to the Board about his school’s hockey program, since that program would be an “anchor tenant” at the renovated facility if it is built, but Foster did not arrive at the meeting.
Surdam told The Eastwick Press after the meeting that he is hoping to have the feasibility study in hand by next month’s meeting so the Board can decide what “next steps” it wants to take concerning redevelopment of the skating rink.
Assessor
Town Assessor Tony Rice said GAR, the company hired to do the Revaluation in Hoosick, will be sending out Assessment Disclosure Notices around March 1, and everyone will get a packet of information about the revaluation of their properties. In March and April there will be an informal review process in which people can meet with representatives of GAR to review or appeal the new assessment. GAR representatives will be available 3 nights a week for about 6 weeks to schedule these meetings. Residents must make an appointment by calling GAR if they would like to schedule one of these sessions to talk about the new assessment of their property. Sometime around May 1, Decision Notices will be mailed to those who have participated in the informal review process to let them know if the assessment has been revised as a result of the informal review. May 22 is Grievance Day for property owners who have gone through the informal review process and are not satisfied with the decision. On July 1 the final roll will be submitted to New York State and Rensselaer County and will become the official roll for taxation purposes. There is a video made by GAR on the Town web site that explains many things about the Revaluation project, and Rice said GAR plans to post two more videos soon with more information about the Revaluation.
Rice said his office is working on renewing exemptions. He said about half of them are in now and they will be busy over the next two weeks calling people and processing the information. The deadline for submitting information to renew means-tested exemptions is March 1.
Highway
Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland said the Cottrell Road Bridge, at the far end of Cottrell Road near the Vermont State line, has been written up for deficiencies by New York State bridge inspectors and although it has not had its weight limit downgraded yet, it is in need of replacement, or at least major repair. Shiland would like to secure funds for that through the BridgeNY program and he said they have a new requirement that engineers hired to evaluate the bridge and prepare an application for state funding must be hired though a competitive bidding process. To that end, Shiland sent out letters to 15 engineering firms inviting them to bid on assisting the Town with preparing its plan and seeking funding for it. He expects to have their submissions ready so that the Town Board can choose an engineer at its March meeting.
The Town received one response to its request for bids on heating oil and diesel fuel. That was from Doug’s Oil, and was for 19 cents per gallon over cost. The Board accepted this bid, which is similar to the price paid this year.
The Town also received one bid for its request for suppliers of Winter Sand. Peckham Materials, the Town’s current supplier, submitted a bid for the same price that the Town is now paying for Winter Sand. The Board unanimously accepted this bid from Peckham.
Supervisor’s Report
Surdam said contractors are starting work this week on Phase 2 of the Pool Rehab Project, focusing on renovation of the Bath House. The schedule calls for completion by the third week in May.
Surdam also said he signed a one year Bond Anticipation Note renewal in the amount of $230,000. This is debt associated with the Pool Rehab Project and the interest rate on this Bond is 1.66%.
Surdam said he participated in a conference call with Mayor Allen and Honeywell about the ongoing search for an uncontaminated water supply for the Village Municipal water system. He also said he met with two different companies to discuss the town’s data storage and security for its computer systems.
Sign Law
Surdam also led a discussion about the Town’s current sign law and possible revisions to it. He said he took a ride around town to observe the current sign situation and think about the question of sign regulation. He said he thought the current sign law was written because of concern about a proliferation of large billboards along Route 7 advertising out-of-town businesses, which were making that part of town unattractive and gaining nothing for the local businesses. He said if you strictly enforced the existing law, quite a few local businesses might be found to be in violation. While he felt there should be continued restrictions of some kind (he mentioned that he had received complaints about the bus at the new Hoosick Tavern, which is not a billboard, but functions as one), he thought the Town could probably be less restrictive of businesses in Hoosick who want to put up more signs to promote themselves. In addition, he thought the sign law might need to address more modern types of signs, such as LED billboards that can be programmed with changing messages or images, which may be distracting to drivers. Overall, his conclusion was simply that the Board might want to revisit the Town sign law, and he asked the Board members to review the existing law and think about what revisions to it might be appropriate.
Public Hearings
The Board scheduled two Public Hearings to be held just before its March meeting. One is to renew real estate tax exemptions for Cold War Veterans which have been in place for about 9 years, which contained ten-year “sunset provisions” when they were adopted years ago. The current resolution would renew the exemptions with the particulars of the exemptions remaining as they are now, and a public hearing to allow the public a chance to comment on this resolution was scheduled for 6:30 pm on Monday, March 12. The other resolution was to allow the Town of Hoosick to accept credit card payments from the public for certain Town fees. A Public Hearing on that one was scheduled for the same night, Monday March 12 at 6:45 pm. The regular Town Board meeting is also that night, at 7 pm.
In other business,
• The Board appointed George Driscoll as the Town’s Veterans Representative, for an annual stipend of $250. The position has been vacant for several years, and new councilman Gerald McAuliffe recruited Driscoll to take the position.
• Councilman McAuliffe also relayed to the Board a message from Bill Gaillard, which is that the Town of Hoosick Rescue Squad is in dire need of new members.
• The Board passed a resolution urged on them by an organization in Dutchess County called the “Think Differently Initiative.” The resolution encourages awareness and acceptance of people on the autism spectrum, but does not commit the Town to do anything other than to think good thoughts about people with autism.