WESTERLO — The town board did not agree to sign a letter to the United States Department of Agriculture written by the planning board’s chairman.

The Albany County Farm Service Agency in New Scotland is proposed to close, sending local farmers to the FSA’s Schenectady-Schoharie site in Cobleskill. A public hearing will be held today at the William Rice Extension Center in Voorheesville. (See related story.)

The chairman of the planning board, Leonard Laub, drafted a letter and presented it to the town board for signatures. Some planning board members said they did not know about the letter.
"We didn’t know anything about it until today," said planning board member Kristin Slaber.
"What harm is there going to be for everybody to go who can go as well as having the letter sent"" asked Jack Milner, a farmer and a planning board member.
"The question that I have is I don’t know what’s truly happening so I don’t know that I can sign a letter of support one way or the other if I don’t know what the [USDA] is trying to do," replied Councilman R. Gregory Zeh.
"Everybody in Albany County who has anything to do with that office — they’re going to have to go all the way to Cobleskill, which is a bunch of bull," Milner said. "They’re better off keeping the darn office open down there"," he said.

Alene Galgay, the town’s attorney, who regularly drafts and reviews letters for the town, was concerned about the planning board’s letter.
"From the town of Westerlo perspective, I have to worry about the town of Westerlo and what gets represented"For a letter to go out that hasn’t been reviewed or hasn’t been sent by the town board, to me, is a little bit problematic," said Galgay.
"What does the USDA have to do with the Westerlo planning board"" resident Edwin Stevens asked. "It’s not the town of Westerlo. It’s got nothing to do with the planning board. It’s got something to do with directing the towns"It’s not somebody looking for a variance or something," Stevens said.
Board members agreed to attend the Sept. 6 hearing. Zeh said the planning board should not send a letter "under the auspices of the town." Zeh said he would attend the meeting and bring information back to the town’s residents and then consider signing a letter. He said he will not sign a letter just because he receives an e-mail asking for his signature.
"I need to know what it’s about," he said.

Other business

In other business, the town board:

— Heard from Supervisor Richard Rapp about upcoming meetings in the county.

Rural Development, based out of Johnstown, will hold a meeting at Town Hall in Knox on Sept. 27, starting at 10 a.m., and the state’s Department of Transportation will hold a meeting at Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady on Oct. 3. Galgay said seminars in Schenectady could apply toward planning board members’ required four hours of continuing education credits.
— Discussed health insurance. "If we can reduce our health insurance, I’m all for it," said Rapp.

The county is recommending a consortium of all municipalities in the county, said Zeh, and must first apply for a grant to study the issue from the state’s Department of State. The county is applying for a grant with the state under the state’s Shared Municipal Services Incentive program, Kerri Battle, a spokeswoman for Albany County confirmed this week;
— Voted unanimously, with four board members attending, to charge the Hilltown Resource Center for water. The center is run by Catholic charities to help those in need in the Hilltowns. The town’s park, library, and the Percy House, all located on town property, will not be charged for water. The Hilltown Resource Center, which is not on town property, is "in the process of becoming town property," Rapp told The Enterprise. The land on which the center sits is going to be given to the town, he said.
The town’s first municipal water system was completed in 2005. The town park and library receiving free water "was part of what we represented to the public," said Galgay, who worked extensively on the project;

— Heard from Rapp that $10,000 was donated by Hannay Reels for new playground equipment at the town park; and
— Heard from a resident requesting that a "Slow Children" and speed sign be placed near her property. Rapp read a letter from resident Shirley Sherman, who lives on Hunt Road, which says Sherman has a son, grandson, and cats at the property, where vehicles drive "at a very high rate of speed." Rapp will send the request to the county, which will forward it to the DOT. The town board voted 3-to-1 for Rapp to forward the request; Zeh opposed.