In Berne’s hamlets
Grant proposed for sidewalks



BERNE — Sidewalks may soon grace the streets of Berne and East Berne.

The paths would be part of onging revitalization for the historic Helderberg hamlets, which both have a mixture of homes and small businesses.

In his first campaign for supervisor, Kevin Crosier said that East Berne looked like downtown Beirut. He had happier memories of the place, where his parents owned a store while he was growing up.

The hamlet of Berne was re-zoned in 2005 after a year of planning and heated debate; the town board, in a 3-to-2 vote, re-zoned the hamlet from largely residential to traditional neighborhood mixed use.

Also last year, the town received a grant from the Capital District Transportation Committee to pay half the cost of a $12,000 consultant study on the revitalization of East Berne.

At the June 14 town board meeting, the board voted unanimously to apply for a grant, prepared by April Caprio, from the Transportation Enhancement Program, which is funded by the state’s Department of Transportation. The proposal is for sidewalks in the hamlets of Berne and East Berne and signs for bike trails.
"To make it more interesting," said Caprio, "I added bike trails" It needs to be more creative than just sidewalks."

The grant stipulates that the town must pay 20 percent in kind for a project that would complement what the grant covers. Phil Stevens has said that the town might be able to get money for street lighting, according to the board. Caprio said that this could count as the town’s 20 percent.

The last Transportation Enhancement Program grant given by the state’s DOT was in 2002, Carol Breen, a spokesperson for the DOT, told The Enterprise this week. Breen said that 80 of the proposed projects were awarded grant money in 2002, totaling $44.5 million. Berne’s grant proposal must be submitted by June 30.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Discussed hiring Gerry Chartier to act as a liaison between the town and the engineers who are working on a wastewater engineering project. A sewer system is being installed for the hamlet of Berne. The board expects that the bulk of his work will be at the beginning of the project; after that they expect that he will be helpful in resolving any complaints or concern that might come up over the course of the project;
— Heard from Supervisor Crosier that the town will now be collecting $45 per ton of scrap metal that is picked up by Otsego Car Crashers. "The town saved $5,000 a year by giving scrap to Otsego," Crosier told The Enterprise last Friday. "Since the market got better, they pay us.
"They’ve been an excellent vendor for the town," Crosier said;

— Voted unanimously to authorize Crosier to pay Valley Equipment $13,616.58 for completion of the veneer on the town’s new transfer station;

— Voted unanimously to give the supervisor permission to open bids for a 40-yard closed packer container for use in the transfer station. Both of the containers currently at the station need to be replaced; they were both bought in 1988. The board plans to replace one container this year and the other container next year;

— Voted unanimously to adopt a policy for accepting electronic devices for disposal. The board decided on a $5 charge for each item to be disposed of.

The town will then recycle them at varying costs per piece through a state contractor, Waste Management. Disposing of computer monitors costs $7.90 each; computers, $9.95; televisions, $12.50; some things, like printers, are free to recycle. The board decided that the uniform charge of $5 would even out over time to cover the costs of recycling the electronic devices;
— Heard from Councilman Joseph Golden about progress on the proposed new library, to be located on town park property. "It’s going to move slowly," said Golden.

Crosier told The Enterprise last week that he sent an application to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation on June 13, requesting that it conduct a wetland delineation. The DEC will flag any areas that might be wetlands and planning can go from there.
The board stressed that the public’s input is important during this beginning phase. "Anyone who wants to get involved," said Golden, "get involved now";

— Voted unanimously to appoint Cheryl Baitholts as the town’s dog-control officer. She has been the dog-control officer for Rensselaerville for 10 years; she will now have the duty for both towns.
Jeff Villeneuve left the post when he took a full-time job in addition to working on his farm. "He felt like he couldn’t give 100 percent," Crosier told The Enterprise, adding that Villeneuve had done a good job.
"I’ve adopted out more dogs in the last five years than I’ve taken to the pound," said Baitholts at the town board meeting on June 14. She will be paid the same salary, of $5,200 per year, that Villaneuve had received. She will also be reimbursed $5 for each day that she houses a dog; if the owner picks it up, he will reimburse her that money. Baitholts will begin the job on July 1;

— Heard a letter from Cindy Mosbey, who has been in charge of the town’s swim program. She will not be teaching swimming lessons this year due to renovations at the Thacher Park pool. The board discussed contacting Tawasentha, Guilderland’s town park, for use of its pool next summer if the Thacher pool is still under construction.

The Voorheesville Central School District offered to open its swim program to Berne for the same price it charges Voorheesville town residents;

— Voted unanimously to support a collaborative effort between the four Hilltown supervisors and three organizations – Families Together of Albany County, the Hilltowns Community Resource Center, and Catholic Charities – to build a Hilltown community center. The project is still in the formative stages, the board did not pledge monetary support.

When construction does start, though, Crosier told The Enterprise last week, it will be cheaper for the taxpayers if there are four towns splitting the cost. Looking for grants to fund the project was mentioned at the town board meeting.
Crosier also stressed the idea of "one-stop shopping" for residents who use the services of organizations that will be housed in the center;

— Heard from Crosier that Berne will be hosting a meeting with the four Hilltown supervisors, and any board members who would like to participate, with the Tech Valley Initiative. He would like to put together a community forum so that the public can participate, he said at the town board meeting.

Tech Valley charges a fee for municipalities to join, which then receive benefits from development. The fee is based on population, according to Crosier who guessed that Berne would pay less than $2,000.

Crosier told The Enterprise that Tech Valley can promote rural agriculture and help preserve open spaces, which he said he would like to see in the Hilltowns rather than more housing, which is what the Initiative offers to other towns.
"People need a place to go to recreate," said Crosier. With the sprawl that Tech Valley would bring to surrounding areas, he says that those people will want a place to see the outdoors. He cited the Berne farmers’ market as an example of the success the area has had with encouraging agriculture.
"What we really want out of it," said Crosier of the Tech Valley Initiative, "is our rural character."