— Matt Cook

BERNE—The town has finally approved bids for the reconstruction of its transfer station.

Last Wednesday, in the second round of bidding, after rejecting all bids last fall, the Berne Town Board unanimously awarded Valley Equipment Co., Inc., of Schenectady, the main construction work on the transfer station for $234,760.

S & S Electric, also of Schenectady, was unanimously awarded the electrical work, for $9,888.

The total cost of the project, including various other expenses, will be $261,148, said Supervisor Kevin Crosier.

In October 2004, when the project was first put up for bid, no bids came in at an amount the town was willing to pay. On the advice of its engineers, Lamont Engineering, the town decided to wait until this spring when it expected prices to be lower.

In the meantime, Lamont, along with Berne resident Joel Willsey, who designed the project free of charge, modified the plans to cut costs, focusing on the floor of the structure. According to Crosier, the town is saving $43,000 over the lowest bid from October.

The transfer station, located in the hamlet of Berne, is old and deteriorating.
"If you look at it, it’s unsafe," Crosier said. "The back wall is falling in."

The new transfer station will be built on the same site as the old one. Though it is not ideal to have a transfer station on a town’s main street, the town found it was too expensive to move it, Crosier said.

Besides, he said, Willsey’s designs will make the station look like the other historic buildings in the hamlet, and it will conform to the strict appearance standards set forth for the hamlet in the town’s recently changed zoning ordinance.
"If you’ve seen the design, you’ll never know what it is driving by it," Crosier said.
"It’ll look like the old mill," said Councilman James Hamilton.

To pay for the transfer station, the town has secured a state grant for $50,000 through Assemblyman Jack McEneny and will be drawing $50,000 out of the town’s fund balance.

The town also plans on receiving about $40,000 from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through a non-competitive grant. That money is assured as long as the DEC continues the program, Crosier said.
"You get in line," he said. "When your number comes up, you’ll get the money."

Councilman Joseph Golden compared the remaining cost to the cost of two snowplows, out of which the town would get about 10 years of use.
"Hopefully, we get that long or twice as long out of this," Golden said.
Looking at the bids, Golden admitted, "These numbers make me sick."

But, he said, the town has to prioritize where it spends money, and the transfer station is top priority.
"It’s limited resources with unlimited needs," Golden said. "I’d like to see a library built starting tomorrow."

Other business
In other business at the May 11 meeting, the Berne Town Board:

—Listened to a complaint from resident Jackie Murray about Peasley Road. The road is a town road, but runs through state land, the Partridge Run State Game Management Area.
"The thing has been graded off and graded off," Murray said. "It’s now a belly. It doesn’t drain."

Crosier said the town is committed to fixing Peasley Road and is in contact with the DEC, which operates the preserve, about getting funds for it.
"It’s the dialogue that we need to get started in," Crosier said. "In the meantime, we need to fix that road";

—Recognized Robert N. Wright, who recently became an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America;

—Discussed hiring a grant writer for the town.
"It may not be such a bad idea because the towns that secure the most grants seem to do the best," Crosier said.
"I would suggest we get a couple of them to come in and tell us about their business," said Councilman Mark Huth; and

—Voted to purchase a military surplus 1977 Osh Kosh truck from the United States government for $3,400. The truck, a former tank transport, has only 10,000 miles on it.

Highway Superintendent Ray Storm said it will serve the town’s needs well as a highway truck and snowplow.
"The money that we save here we can invest in the road repairs," Crosier said.