After Albany County withdrew its offer to purchase Switzkill Farm in Berne because it became apparent that the property needed substantial investment, it offered to help “secure” the buildings on the property to prevent further deterioration while the county focused on other projects, according to county spokeswoman Mary Rozak, but Berne officials “didn’t want any part of that.”
In its draft climate resiliency plan published earlier this month, Albany County offers an inventory of its various assets, how those assets are threatened by climate change, and what steps it and its municipalities should take to stem and defend against those threats.
The local law, which will be subject to a public hearing in February, would transform the assessor’s office to make it more like that of most other municipalities in New York State by concentrating assessment authority in the hands of one person who’s appointed rather than three people who are elected.
Hébert Joseph, who chairs the Rensselaerville Democratic Committee, will be challenging Conservative Chris Smith, owner of Berne’s Maple on the Lake, to represent Rensselaerville, Berne, and Westerlo in the Albany County Legislature.
The Albany County Legislature voted unanimously on Jan. 9 to approve the new legislative districts map submitted by the redistricting commission in December, after the first map proposed earlier in 2022 had been rejected.
Berne published the draft of its ATV bill that would open up town roads to all-terrain and similar vehicles, albeit with rules and fairly strict penalties for noncompliance.
Troy Weeks, of Rensselaerville, was arrested on Jan. 10 for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riots at the United States Capitol in 2021, and was charged with interfering with an officer among other federal crimes.
Free webinars, put on by Cornell University and Penn State with assistance from the New York and Pennsylvania farm bureaus, are designed for municipal officials so that theories about best planning practices around the clean-energy transition can be put into practice.
The Berne Town Board failed to fully implement all but one of 11 recommendations the Office of the State Comptroller made after a 2021 audit of board oversight, and Supervisor Dennis Palow — who was deputy supervisor in 2021 — was caught lying to state officials about his own actions.
The town of Berne reportedly filed an insurance claim over the holidays following the partial collapse of an old stable on the 350-acre property, which is potent symbolism amid discussions over what to do with a treasured property that many feel is being left to rot by a negligent town board.
