RENSSELAERVILLE — The highway superintendent, often criticized in Rensselaerville, is under fire again. The town’s attorney said G. Jon Chase broke state law by loading salt and sand from the town’s supply into a private citizen’s truck.

Although the town passed resolutions in the 1990’s allowing residents to take a bucket or two of sand and salt from the town during winter emergencies, said attorney William Ryan at a town board meeting last Thursday, state law forbids towns to give away property for use that does not benefit the town. Those resolutions were illegal, Ryan said. He recommended the town pass a resolution against the practice, which the board did.
Ryan said Chase’s actions were "official misconduct."

Ryan’s research was sparked by photos given to the town by resident Vernon Husek, a frequent critic of the highway department. Driving by the town’s highway garage one day, Husek said, he spotted Chase using a town loader to fill a privately-owned pickup with sand and salt. He took pictures of the incident, and handed them over to the town.
Though the town was operating under the earlier resolutions, said Supervisor Jost Nickelsberg, "A truckload of salt and a truckload of sand is a lot bigger issue than a bucket of salt and a bucket of sand."

At the meeting, the board didn’t discuss disciplining Chase, a Democrat. Nickelsberg, a Republican, told The Enterprise this week that discipline will be discussed at the next town board meeting.
"We really need to come to grips with this. It’s a tough problem," Nickelsberg said. "We understand that this is a state law and our town attorney considers it a criminal act to take private property and put it into private trucks. The town board has to consider what it has to do about this."

Ryan is new at the Rensselaerville post, having been appointed Jan. 1 by Nickelsberg and the other two Republicans on the board in place of long-time town attorney Joseph Catalano.

Nickelsberg said he didn’t know what action the board will take to discipline Chase or what he will recommend.
"It’s something I’ve been thinking about for some time," he said. "I just don’t have an answer for it."

At last week’s meeting, Nickelsberg also criticized Chase, who was absent, for violating the town’s new procurement policy. Under the new policy, instituted by Nickelsberg after he took office in January, when purchasing materials and equipment, town officers must submit at least three bids.

Chase was asked to find bids for the town’s motor oil contract, Nickelsberg said, and he only submitted two Within a few days, Nickelsberg said, the town found a motor-oil supplier for a significantly lower price.
"For the sake of four phone calls, we paid 25 percent less than we had to," he said.

Chase did not return phone calls from The Enterprise. He has been accused before, by residents, of using town equipment for private purposes, though the town has never taken action against him.

At the meeting, the board also resolved to find a private organization that is willing to purchase salt and sand from the town and donate it to residents in the winter.

Other business

In other business at the April 13 meeting, the Rensselaerville Town Board:

—Postponed a vote on a moratorium on certain residential subdivisions and developments because Councilman Robert Lansing was absent due to illness;

—Heard a report from Deputy Supervisor Alden Pierce on a meeting he attended hosted by Albany County on intermunicipal collaboration;

—Discussed proposals for upgrading the town hall’s computer network. Nickelsberg said the best price he found was from Radical Systemz, in Greenville, which offered four new computers, networked, with Internet access and e-mail, plus weekly support visits, for $15,000.

Ryan recommended the town issue a request for proposals before choosing a computer networking vendor;

—Accepted the resignation of Bill Benson from the water/sewer district committee, and appointed Tim Miller and Dale Dorner, expanding the committee to six members; and

—Appointed Diane Biederman as the town veterinarian.