KNOX — With a local law that hasn’t been updated since the 1970’s, Knox is proposing a bill that regulates new roads.
The town board and Gary Salisbury, Knox’s highway superintendent, determined the town’s current highway law is "technically outdated." The proposed highway law is to provide "appropriate and effective management" of town roads "in the interest of the health, safety, and welfare of town residents."

A public hearing on the law will be held on May 22 at 7 p.m. at town hall.

Drafted by Salisbury and planning board member Robert Gwinn, the bill includes criteria for new road construction as well as drainage specifications.

Minimum specifications for new roads include: a design life of not less than 20 years of routine maintenance, a minimum design speed of 45 miles per hour, a right-of-way of not less than 60 feet, and a total roadway width of not less than 22 feet. Drainage facilities under roadways are to be designed to handle a 50-year storm and a 25-year storm on all other facilities.
Gwinn said the 50-year storm is one that only occurs once every half-century that is measured by "rainfall intensity over a period of time." The 50-year provision for roads "seems to be the reasonable number," he said. The recommendation comes from Cornell, he said.

Hilltown throughway

The poor condition of Route 156, a heavily-traveled state highway between Altamont and Berne that passes through Knox, has been discussed at many board meetings. The road, covered with many potholes, is a throughway between the Hilltowns and Albany.
Earlier, Supervisor Michael Hammond had contacted the state’s Department of Transportation. Hammond has said the road is in "deplorable" shape. Tuesday, Hammond said he and Altamont Mayor James Gaughan had spoken with DOT Region 1 director Joseph DiFabio.
"They fully acknowledge the road is in horrible shape," said Hammond. "We pushed them a little bit," he said, adding that he hopes "it wasn’t too antagonistic." Other roads in Albany County, he said, are competing.
Albany County Legislator Alexander "Sandy" Gordon said a motorcyclist died at Walks Flats, a flat portion along Route 156 close to Altamont, five years ago. "Those are tank traps for a motorcycle," he said of the road’s many potholes.

Storm damage

The most extensive damage to town roads by the nor’easter last month was at Lewis Road and Quay Road, Highway Superintendent Salisbury told The Enterprise. Some culverts are now three-fourths full of stone, mud, and dirt, he said. When taking culverts out to replace them, he said, they can get destroyed because they are heavy.
The highway department, he said, has used approximately 2,000 tons of crusher run for repairs. "Hopefully we’ll be able to recoup this," Salisbury said. "The 15th, we’ll know more."

On May 15, the State Emergency Management Office will be conducting a closed informational meeting in Cohoes for municipal officials. (See related story.)

To be reimbursed, the town has to show how many man hours and equipment hours were used for rehabilitation, as well as the materials and fuel used, Salisbury said.
"It sounds like good news," he said.

Other business

In other business, the town board:
— Voted unanimously to award Mountain View Oil Company in Voorheesville a one-year contract for Number 2 crude oil and low-sulfur diesel fuel, effective June 1. Hammond said Mountain View Oil Company has been "supplying the town very expeditiously"We look forward to doing another year of business with you."
"I do appreciate the business," said Steve Tracy, the vice president of Mountain View Oil Company;

— Voted unanimously to award Chemung Supply in Elmira (Chemung County) a one-year contract to supply the town with plastic and steel culverts, effective June 1. Salisbury said that, if steel and plastic prices drop, Chemung Supply will lower its prices;
— Voted unanimously to donate $150 and a wreath to the Helderberg Kiwanis for Knox and Berne’s annual Memorial Day parade. Last year, Hammond said, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo marching band and the fire company "gave a nice parade here."
"We look forward to having another Memorial Day commemoration that would be equal to last year," he said;
— Voted unanimously to authorize Hammond to make a payment of $59,071.07 to KeyBank to pay off debt for the town highway department’s new truck. Hammond said the town has had a "favorable interest rate of 3.9-percent";

— Heard from Salisbury that the town expects about $4,300 more in Consolidated Highway Improvement Plans money this year. The town, he said, received about $48,500 last year and will receive about $52,800 this year. CHIPs money is awarded based on mileage to a municipality once it has completed roadwork;
— Voted unanimously to authorize Salisbury to purchase a new cylinder for the trash compactor at the town’s transfer station not to exceed $6,000, including shipping. Salisbury said that the cylinder had been rewelded "about four times," and only lasted 10 minutes the last time it had been repaired. "We have a situation that’s been remedied, but it hasn’t been remedied," said Hammond.

Last month, Salisbury reported that the crack in the cylinder had resulted in five gallons of oil leaking. Salisbury told The Enterprise that the crack had occurred to a stationary, non-moving part and the oil that had leaked was monitored and no contamination to the environment occurred.

Last month, the town board had authorized Salisbury to purchase a new cylinder and to pay for shipping for an amount not to exceed $3,200. Planning Board Chairman Robert Price, however, suspected he could find a more competitive price.

Salisbury said Marathon Equipment Company, based in Vernon, Ala. no longer had the part and directed him to Sanitary Equipment in eastern Connecticut that would make a cylinder to specifications.
"This cylinder is so particular. It has to be exact," said Salisbury;

— Heard from Hammond and Price that they had met with a cellular tower company that wants to place a tower near the transfer station. The company, also working with New Scotland, Price said, wants to sign a lease.
Price said he recommends the company first gets site plan approval from the planning board. He was concerned about giving the company a lease prior to site-plan approval and a public hearing. Price was also concerned because he is uncertain about the height of the tower, whether it would be a monopole or lattice tower, and if the tower would be too close to the Winn Preserve, one of the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy’s preserves located within the town. Before granting a lease, Price said, the company should first have site-plan approval. "That’s the position we’re going to take," he said;
— Heard praise from Alexander "Sandy" Gordon because the town wrote a letter of support to extend the county’s 1-percent sales tax. In 2006, Knox received $205,179. Hammond said the money is "immediately going to our highway department." Hammond told The Enterprise the town receives the money on a quarterly basis, and the money is used for highway equipment purchases; and
— Voted unanimously to hold a workshop session for renovations to Town Hall on May 22, following a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on the town’s highway bill. Plans for the hall were drawn up nearly two years ago. The town board revisited the plans in January and recently hired Susan Lombardi as a grant writer to aid the project. Lombardi is currently doing research, Hammond said. Hammond said he wants to get together with the board and get "a sense of direction." Hammond told The Enterprise the town board and citizens that have shown an interest in serving on an advisory committee will attend the workshop, which is open to the public.