BERNE — The town is looking to buy the Masonic lodge next to Town Hall on Helderberg Trail.

In a unanimous vote on Wednesday, the town board agreed to let Supervisor Joseph Giebelhaus negotiate for the purchase.

Built in 1918, the hall was originally used by the Maccabees, a fraternal organization that provided low-cost insurance to members.

According to the town’s assessment roll, the property has a full-market value of $260,263 but Giebelhaus told The Enterprise the Masons are offering it for a “reasonable price,” although he declined to disclose the amount until negotiations are complete.

When Councilman Brian Bunzey asked the other board members if they would like to see the inside of the building, Councilman Scott Duncan said, “For the price, it doesn’t matter. We need the room.”

The town board has been meeting at the senior center at 1360 Helderberg Trail, which was built as the Foxenkill Grange Hall.

Giebelhaus told The Enterprise that the town would hire an architect to advise on how to best use the space. The building will definitely be used for record storage, he said. And it will also be used either for the town court, which is currently housed in Town Hall, or for meetings.

The board had traditionally met at Town Hall, which was built as a hotel over a century ago. The upstairs rooms of the town hall are used for displays by the Berne Historical Society.

The town hall building used to house the Berne Library but that moved to 1763 Helderberg Trail when the Albany Diocese closed St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church; the congregants joined with St. Lucy’s in Altamont.

Other business

In other business at its March 25 meeting, the Berne Town Board:

— Enacted the first law of 2026, changing the date when tax grievances will be heard. The statewide Grievance Day is the fourth Tuesday in May but Berne’s Board of Assessment Review will hear grievances instead on the first Tuesday in June.

This is to accommodate the schedule of the town’s sole appointed assessor, David Galarneau, who is also the assessor for Stratford in Fulton County.

“Is this just a one-time thing?” asked Bunzey, meaning grievances will be heard next year as usual on the fourth Tuesday in May.

“I believe so,” said Giebelhaus;

— Appointed Jim Kaufman to fill out the remainder of a four-year term on the town’s Board of Assessment Review. Kaufman chairs the town’s Democratic committee and lost his November bid for tax collector by 12 votes.

The appointment is effective immediately, and Kaufman will serve through September 2029;

— Agreed to contract with Siewert Equipment, a division of Cummins-Wagner, to repair one pump and service another for a total cost of $6,500;

— Hired Rodenhausen Chale & Polidoro to serve as bond counsel to secure funding for highway department trucks. 

Giebelhaus said $600,000 had been budgeted for the trucks.

Councilwoman Melanie laCour asked what the fee was.

The town attorney, George McHugh, said, “This is the same bond counsel most municipalities use.”

“It was more I was concerned someone had seen it,” said laCour, adding, “I’ll have to put my faith in Supervisor Giebelhaus.”

Town Clerk Kristin Oliveira located the fee schedule on her computer before the board vote;

— Was about to vote on waiving the $75 park-rental fee for a May 9 Blood Cancer United community car show at the town park when Councilman Duncan said he would pay the fee, adding that his wife is a blood-cancer survivor; and

— Agreed to pay $150 to support the Kiwanis Club of the Helderbergs as it organizes the Memorial Day parade on May 25. The parade, which starts at 10 a.m., marches along Helderberg Trail from Turner Road to Canaday Hill Road.