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?t<WM£ ~-.->.- n*v -rtT .-.«»,,*•'! 4., The Altamont Enterprise-Thursday, September 21,2008 13 Repairs slotted for 2 'horrible' roads The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer Upperclassivomen Kara Nolan, left, and Laura Santacrose share their wisdom about Guilderland High School with incoming fresh- men and their parents last Tuesday during a welcoming celebra- tion. ... Get expert advice (Continued from previous page) Next, the microphone was passed to students who had served as ATPs. \It helped me be a better stu- dent and a better friend,\' said Alix Saba, who will be an ATP for a second year. \I've seen a lot of people grow and pass their classes.\ Jaclyn Brauth said teaching study habits helped her learn. Heather Thomas told the as- sembled parents, \We're here not only to be a friend to your child but a role model as well.\ Q&A The assembly program con- cluded with a panel of four up- perclasswomen, answering ques- tions from the audience. One mother asked the girls what had been their most negative experi- ence as ninth-graders. Brooke Kolcow said it was go- ing to lunch and not knowing who to sit with. \ATPs help you become more comfortable with people you wouldn't usually sit with,\ she said. She added that she never had trouble with upperclassmen sending her to the third floor or the pool — neither of which exist. Laura Santacrose answered, \The sheer fact I didn't know anyone.\ She ended up, she said, joining clubs and making new friends while also staying in touch with old friends. \Go after that,\ she concluded: Liz Sherman said she had had a really, really negative middle- school experience. \In high school,\ she said, \you; get so integrated with so. many people. I was terrified there'd be cliques like in the middle school,\ she said, naming the popular kids, the Goths, the outcasts. \There's nothing like that in high school,\ she said. Sherman advised students to pay attention to announcements so they wouldn't miss opportuni - ties, such as theater try-outs. \Help your children find their niche; that will get them through high school,\ advised Santacrose. She then offered to answer questions about teachers and classes \you've heard that are horrible.\ \No said Patierne with a smile as she took back the micro- phone, \we're not going there.\ Patierne's parting advice to parents was to stay involved with their children, support the school's programs, and to ask questions. \They pretend they don't want you to ask questions,\ she said, \but they really do.\ HELP WANTED PART-TIME ADVERTISING SALES PERSON Candidates must have: • Strong interpersonal / people skills • Phone and organizational skills • Customer service / sales experience , Flexible hours and established customer accounts!! Call James E. Gardner, Sr. at 861-6641 Send resume\ to: ft imtrntJiUfotrr ;& Albany Cranty fat Enteiprisej^ PO Box 654 Altamont, NY 12009-0654 or FAX '861-5105 By Tyler Schilling RENSSELAERVILLE — Townpeople applauded the town board's resolution last Thursday to give the highway department the go-ahead to repair two roads residents said are in \horrible shape.\ Money from the highway de- partment's machinery fund, along with the money from the state's Consolidated Highway Improvement Programs, will be used to repair Niles Road and Arnold Road before they are cov- ered with snow. Supervisor Jost Nickelsberg, a Republican, and Highway Su- perintendent G. Jon Chase, a Democrat, have been at odds since Nickelsberg took office in January. Nickelsberg has as- serted that road repairs, which are costly, should last longer than they do, and he has said Rensselaerville roads compare poorly with those in the other Hilltowns. The resolution to repair the roads came after the board heard Chase recommend that the monies from the highway de- partment's machinery fund and the CHIPs money be used for the repairs. After the board discussed the cost of repairing the roads, and considered holding a meeting later after doing a cost-benefit analysis, Nickelsberg asked Chase, \So if we. spend $137,000, we'll have a 10-year-road on Niles, and you'll complete Arnold? And that will also be a 10-year-road?\ \Yes Chase replied. Nickelsberg then said, \I ap- plaud you,\ and made a motion to approve the resolution. CHIPs funding, Chase told The Enterprise, is money used for extra road work, which can only be used for roads or equip- ment and is only granted upon the completion of a project. In 2005, Chase said, the town's highway department re- ceived $98,150 from CHIPs, and, in 2006, it will receive $112,321. Thursday night, Chase in- formed the board that the check from CHIPs is expected around Sept. 20. \That money, I want back into the highway,\ Chase told the board. He added, \Each.year I have a machinery fund. This year it was $100,000.\ Chase then stated that the highway department needs two trucks, to be bought with the machinery- fund money. \If we're not going to buy the trucks, I want to put that money into roads,\ he said. The combination of the CHIPs money and the.machinery fund, Chase said, \would do Arnold and Niles roads...\ Nickelsberg told The Enter- prise this week that the total cost for completing both roads will be around $90,000. Chase told the board that he needed to complete the roads within the next two to three weeks, or they wouldn't be fin- ished before the bad weather. \I don't like putting blacktop down in the cold,\ h e said. The board deliberated for some time, and asked Chase if he needed the entire $137,000 to complete Niles and Arnold roads. He said that he probably wouldn't need all the money. The report Chase, reading from his notes, began his report by giving his analysis of the roads he submit- ted to the board for repair last fall. While reporting on the cond i- tion of town roads — Niles Road, Cheese Hill Road, and Arnold Road — Chase was repeatedly questioned and scrutinized by Nickelsberg.. Nickelsberg referred to multi- ple letters from town residents, and stated they'd made com- plaints about road repairs that had been started but abandoned before completion. The roads, he said, had resulted in abnormal wear of tires and damage to ve- hicles. . Nickelsberg said of certain roads within the town — Pond Hill, Tanglewood, and Kenyon roads — \They're in horrendous shape.\ 'Potholes.' Chase cited multiple reasons why town roads were in poor condition and why the highway department hadn't completed maintenance of certain roads. The .reasons he cited were: many miles of town roads (83.2); lack of funding; outdated, im- proper material used for the original construction of town roads; rising prices for oil and materials; and the unforeseen expense of flooding this summer, Which depleted a large portion of the allotted funds for highway department. \It cost $60,000 to $80,000 to repair roads which had been washed out,\ Chase said, adding that he had asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for funding. Chase told The Enterprise that he did not receive any money from FEMA. Golf Road, he told the board, was damaged from flooding and took four to five days to repair. Chase said of the expenses for paving a road, \It costs $92,000 per mile to prep a road.\ \Give me more money,\ Chase told the board, \and we'll do more work.\ v Nickelsberg stated, \I as a taxpayer, am wanting more out of those dollars.\ \How is your road?\ Chase asked Nickelsberg, who lives on Chase Lane. \Potholes he responded. Chase replied, \I'm doing the best I can.\ The Rensselaerville Highway Department, Chase told The En- terprise, is allocated approxi- mately $255,000 per year for road repair. \Our total budget,\ he added, \is approximately $1.2 million, but you've got to figure all the workers' expenses in with that.\ At the start of Thursday's meeting, Paul Malloy, who lives on Arnold Road, read a letter signed by residents who live on Arnold Road. The road, the letter said, is in \horrible shape,\ is not finished, is not wide enough, and is soon to be snow-covered. \Once we allocate,\ Nickels- berg said to Malloy, \we're going to have a rigorous conversation. We've not had one conversa- tion... You need to get together' with Highway Super Chase.\ ' He added, \Sixty percent of your taxes are for roads.\ Other business In other business, the town board: — Heard from Sal Santo, a land surveyor, that a report from Lamont Engineers was flawed. In its analysis of two town dams, Santo said, engineers from Lamont recommended structural changes but hadn't recom- mended the town set up a moni- toring network to observe the sites, and that the situation would be life-threatening. On July 14, two engineers in- \ spected the impoundment struc- ture below Myosptis Lake, which supplies the hamlet of Rensse- laerville with water, and also looked at the store dam located at Lincoln Pond, a contributing water body upstream of Myosotis Lake. The engineers outlined short-term repairs and recom- mended a long-term plan be de- veloped by the town and Lamont Engineers. Santo also said that the report had not been signed by a li- censed engineer. \It's not a life-threatening situation,\ Nickelsberg re- sponded. He added, \Until we get a specialist, ...we don't know if we have a problem.\ Nickelsberg added that engi- neers- for the Hyuck Preserve looked at the situation and didn't find any problems; — Heard a letter from Crystal Lake resident, Roger Zimmer- man, describing Crystal Lake, a small residential community in northwestern Rensselaerville. Its population has changed little, most of the residents are third- or • fourth-generation oyvners 0 Zimmerman said. Since it has a history of residential stability and has limited use, the lake maintains its quality. It is a small lake, the letter said, and it is not sufficient for public ven- tures; residents of Crystal Lake wish to maintain their commu- nity's rural character; — Heard from Nickelsberg that Lisa. Kelly has volunteered for Welcome Wagon, which wel- comes new residents to the town, and introduces them to local civic institutions and business with small gifts and coupons. \She's a great person to do this,\ Nickelsberg said; — : Set its bidding date for a used-oil furnace for Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall; — Set its budget meeting for Oct. 5 at 7:10 p.m. at Town Hall; — Appointed new members Ted and Pat Rice to the Medusa • Fire Company; — Heard from Chase that he has been elected president of the Albany County Town Highway Superintendents Association; —' Heard a question from Sheila Whiteford, a resident whose home has been flooded four times. Whiteford asked why, since herjhome was flooded this summer, her taxes have gone up. The town's attorney, William Ryan, said, \I can't an- swer that. I don't know why.\ Ryan then speculated, and said that the assessment of her home was probably still the same but that the assessment rate may have risen. \I'd have to guess, but the school's taxes may have gone up,\ h e said. Town Assessor Jeff Pine, said the date for the next review of residential properties is March 1. He later said to Whiteford, \We-have to stick to a calendar. We have to set a date and time. \You're going to be the first person I talk to,\ Pine said to Whiteford; and .— Heard Whiteford commend residents Robert Bolte and Ste- ven Wood, volunteers who exca- vated the property near White- ford's house last month to put the stream, which had flooded her property and done consider- able damage, back in its original path. The men, following the state's Department of Environ- mental Conservation's guide- lines, spent about a day-and-a- half to complete the work. Whiteford, in an act of appre- ciation, presented Bolte and Wood with plaques for their ef- forts. \I don't have the words to de- scribe how I feel about you guys.;.Yoii're,the best,\ White- ford said. \I salute you.\
