NEW SCOTLAND — With its latest allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds, the town of New Scotland has until the end of the year to earmark the remaining $140,000 or it will lose the money all together. 

Supervisor Doug LaGrange told The Enterprise this week the federal funds, meant to help municipalities with problems caused by the pandemic, have to be committed to a project before the year is out, but the town has until the end of 2026 to spend the funds. 

The most recent allocation, made during the September meeting of the town board, was for $30,685 to install a chain-link fence at the town’s Clarksville wells.

The town received the first of two roughly $300,000 ARPA payments during the summer of 2021, receiving the second a year later. 

So far, the allocations include:

— $199,000 for playground equipment at two of the town’s parks, on Swift Road and in Feura Bush;

— $155,675 for four change orders at the Hilton Barn project;

— $50,000 for a senior bus;

— $23,000 to streamline the town’s general code; and

— $3,400 for equipment to livestream town meetings. 

Highway Superintendent Ken Guyer this month asked the board to approve approximately $10,000 for a new 12- by 24-foot shed, but the board decided instead to take up the proposal during budget season. 

Another project the ARPA funding may be used for — that is, if a $10,000 applied-for grant from Albany County falls through — is fencing around the basketball court at Feura Bush Park.

The fence is necessary, Highway Superintendent Ken Guyer told board members this month, because of vandalism from all-terrain vehicles. 

“Last year, we re-paved our basketball court at Feura Bush Park,” Guyer said. “We have new hoops on the court … It was just painted, lined. It looks beautiful.”

Guyer said the vandalism occurred after the lines were painted. 

As for the vandals, Guyer said, “The sheriff is working on it. We have [footage] off the camera. We have photos, we have videos. So the sheriff is working on that end of it.”

This isn’t the first time the town has had issues with vandalism in its parks. 

Four years ago after five incidents at the Swift Road and Feura Bush parks, the town installed Wi-Fi at the parks to allow for real-time look-ins. 

Hilton Barn

The town board this month approved a contract with New Scotland-based Peter K. Frueh for the third and final phase of the million-dollar-plus Hilton Barn project. 

Frueh’s base bid of $233,000 was 42 percent under the next highest bidder, James H. Maloy, at $404,000, and nearly 60 percent less than the highest bidder, Luizzi Brothers, at $566,900.

The contract is for the clearing, grubbing, and grading of the park in addition to the installation of a parking area, sidewalks, and an ice-skating pond. 

The town saved the century-old barn by moving it across Route 85A in 2016.