BERNE—Following the trend set by other towns, Berne will start charging for out-of-towners to reserve the pavilion in the town park.

At a meeting last Wednesday, the Berne Town Board voted unanimously to charge non-residents a non-refundable fee of $25 to reserve the pavilion.
"I don’t think a small fee for non-residents is too much to ask," said Supervisor Kevin Crosier.

Since last year, the town has been discussing, on and off, adding the fees. Town Clerk Patricia Favreau said she checked with other area towns.
"Many of them don’t allow non-residents to use it," Favreau said.

Favreau said she did not check with Knox.

The purpose of the fee is to discourage non-residents from reserving the pavilion and then not showing up on the day of the reservation, taking the pavilion away from residents who might want to use it. The fee will also help pay town employees to clean up after an event at the pavilion.
"We do have expenses right now," said Councilman James Hamilton. "We don’t want them to eat there among the weeds."

Favreau discounted the possibility of taking a deposit and returning it if the park is left in good condition.
"I can’t take money and not deposit it right away," Favreau said.
After the vote, however, Councilman Joseph Golden said, "I will say, if I gave you $25 and never get it back, I would never cancel."

The town is planning on installing a well at the park and, eventually, a bathroom. One of the biggest complaints about the park, Crosier has said, is its lack of running water and its smelly composting toilets.

Hamilton suggested that, once the well is operational, the town should find out from its citizens if they want a kitchen or other facilities at the park.
"I’d like to see a community project to see what people really want," Hamilton said.

Other business

In other business at the Jan. 11 meeting, the Berne Town Board:

—Announced that it has been awarded a $15,400 grant from the state for snowmobile trail maintenance. The money will be given to local snowmobile clubs which will do the work.
"This has been a great program from the beginning," Crosier said. "The landowners are really happy and the snowmobilers do a great job."

The town of Knox got a similar grant for $5,000;

—Approved an intermunicipal agreement for shared services with the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District. The agreement is required to apply jointly for a state grant to buy a truck. They plan to share the truck for snow removal and waste disposal;

—Agreed to discuss the space problem at the town hall at a working meeting on Feb. 22. The town hall shares a building with the Berne Library and historical museum, none of which has enough space.

The town has discussed building a new town hall, renovating the current one, or moving into an existing building; however, no decision has been made. Meanwhile, the library board is raising money for a move.
"They are moving along very well," said Golden, the town’s liaison to the library board. "It’s not fair for them to be active and motivated unless we’re prepared to make a decision."
"You’re right," said Crosier. "The sooner we get down to making a decision, the better off we’re going to be."