It has been a wild start to the New Year, with seven inches of snow last weekend, followed by heavy rain and warmish weather. The Town Board held its required organizational meeting, full of making appointments, setting calendars, approving policies, and other essential actions. The rapidly changing weather conditions unfortunately led to the rescheduling of Tuesday’s meeting for the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee. More details are below.
Town News & Announcements
At its organizational meeting last Thursday, the Town Board welcomed Gustavo Santos as a new member, and also sworn in re-elected Jake Crawford as Town Board member and Bob Haver as the new Highway Superintendent. The prior week, Margaret Tabak was sworn in as the new Town Justice. The Town Board also appointed residents to the Town’s various boards and committees, and other key positions, including Town Board Member Christine Napierski as Deputy Supervisor. The Board also set a year’s worth of calendared dates for each board and committee to avoid scrambling to find an acceptable date and time for a meeting on short notice. With one, maybe two, exceptions, all boards and committees that are subject to the Open Meetings Law will take place at 7pm.
On Monday, the Town welcomed Officer Nicholas Crodelle as the Police Department’s newest officer. This appointment brings the Town’s police force to 43 law enforcement personnel, the largest force in the Town’s history. The recent hirings have allowed the Police Department to deploy more officers in our schools and address speeding and reckless driving in neighborhoods.
Due to adverse weather conditions, Tuesday’s meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee has been rescheduled for Monday, January 22 at 7pm. The CPUC will continue its review of draft goals and recommendations prepared by subcommittees on wide-ranging topics, and discuss scheduling its next public workshop when the preliminary goals and recommendations will be shared for public input.
I thank the Highway Department and new Highway Superintendent Bob Haver for promptly clearing Town roads of seven inches of snow over the weekend, and again on Tuesday evening. I also thank Parks Department staff for clearing parking lots and walkways at Town Hall, EMS buildings, and other Town facilities before their opening, and repeatedly plowing over 50-miles of sidewalks.
Please remember that overnight parking is not allowed on Town roads, except where allowed by posted signs. Please also take time to remove basketball hoops and other obstructions from the paved surface that might hinder snow removal and ice treatments by the Highway Department.
Highway Department crews are picking-up discarded Christmas trees. Please note that these trees are recycled as mulch so please do not wrap trees in plastic, and remove ornaments, tinsel, etc. Highway trucks pick-up lawn bags and tied brush on a year-round basis.
Tawasentha, Keenholts, DiCaprio, and Nott Road Parks are open for daytime use. Western Turnpike Golf Course is now also open for walkers on cart paths. Unfortunately, the groomed cross-country trails at the golf course were wiped out by the rain. Please check out the Parks & Rec’s webpage for current conditions. When measurable snow returns, Town parks and Vosburgh Open Space trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and sledding is available at the Winter Recreation Area just past Tawasentha Park. You can also rent cross-country skis and snowshoes, and pickleball equipment (paddle and balls), at the Parks & Rec Office during business hours.
Please remember that dogs must be kept on a leash at all times, including in Town parks, with the exception of the Nott Road dog park and the new dog park behind EMS Station 1 in Westmere. While you may know that your dog is friendly, the Parks & Rec receives complaints from park patrons who are confronted by unleashed dogs while enjoying Town parks with their family and children.
Parks & Rec has opened reservations for Tawasentha Parks’ pavilions for the 2024 season. Walk-in reservations (with payment) will take priority over phone, faxed or emailed reservation requests (with payment). A Request for Use of Facilities/Know the Rules form must be submitted with payment and a signed Know the Rules form. To request booking a pavilion, residents must submit the Request for Use of Facilities/Know the Rules and full payment (credit card, check, cash or money order) to the Town. Forms can be dropped off or mailed to the Guilderland Parks & Recreation Department at 181 State Route 146, Altamont, NY 12009, or faxed to 518-456-3156.
Please note that Town offices will be closed on Monday, January 15 for the Martin Luther King Holiday. The Transfer Station, which will be open on Saturday, January 13, will also be closed on Tuesday, January 16.
Upcoming Meetings at Town Hall
The following is a list of dates and times for currently scheduled meetings of boards and committees at Town Hall over the next 30 days. Please check the Town’s calendars for the latest news about public meetings and community events, possible changes in agendas and cancellations, and the latest contents of agenda packets. Each of the listed meetings start at 7pm, and are livestreamed on the Town website, Verizon channel 34, and Spectrum channel 1303. Within days of the meeting, an indexed recording, with links to each listed agenda item, is also posted online.
Town Board
Tuesday, January 16
Zoning Board of Appeals
Wednesday, January 17
Comprehensive Plan Update Committee
Monday, January 22
Industrial Development Agency
Tuesday, January 23
Planning Board
Wednesday, January 24
Conservation Advisory Council
Monday, February 5
Town Board
Tuesday, February 6
Zoning Board of Appeals
Wednesday, February 7
Traffic Safety Committee
Tuesday, February 13
COVID-19 Update
The CDC reported this week that hospitalizations nationwide surged again over the past week by 20.4% and that the death rate increased by 12.5%. The CDC’s current map shows that, except for a few counties with “low” rates, the rest of New York State has “medium” and growing number with “high” rates. Albany County and neighboring counties continued with “medium” rates.
State DOH is currently reporting that the State is in the midst of its most significant COVID-19 wave since the end of the State of Emergency last April, with the new variant JN.1 accounting for approximately 62% of new cases according to the CDC. While JN.1 appears more transmissible, there is no evidence that it causing more severe infections. As an indication that COVID-19 is not perceived as a threat to health, State DOH reports that only 10.8% of eligible persons in the State have received the latest COVID-19 vaccine, including 34% of seniors, 13.1% of adults, and 2.9% of children. Several local hospitals and elder care settings have imposed face mask requirements for staff and visitors.
State DOH’s most recent COVID-19 summary indicated that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are both increasing in the State. Albany County DOH’s most recent wastewater COVID-19 surveillance report shows that the presence of the COVID-19 virus in the Town’s wastewater is “high” with more than 50 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents, and that in-patient hospitalizations over the next 10 days is expected to increase.
A reminder that the Federal government has expanded its program under which you can receive by mail free at-home COVID-19 tests. The program now allows for eight home tests per household which means that if you recently placed an order for four tests, you can now order four additional tests at no cost.
Community Events & Resources
The Guilderland Public Library’s calendar includes seminars on interesting topics and conversations with well-known authors. The Library offers a wide-variety of seminars by authors and prominent persons, and taped recordings of prior events. The Library offers free weekly gatherings for the community’s benefit including Let’s Talk: Coffee & Conservation for Seniors on every Wednesday from 11am to 12:30pm, with coffee, tea, snacks, and lunch available at the Café’ con Mel, the Library’s café. The Library’s events calendar also has LEGO Free Play, Teen Drop-In DIY, and other interesting group activities.
The Guilderland YMCA has several upcoming opportunities including a Family Fun Night on Saturday, January 13 from 4pm to 6pm, with arts & crafts, ping pong, bounce house, swim evaluations, and more. Registration is required. On Saturday, January 20 from 10am to 11am, the YMCA is holding a mental health workshop series at no cost.
The Albany Pine Bush Preserve’s January calendar is full of activities for children and adults, including Pine Bush Pups: Winter Birds on Wednesday, January 17 at 10am, and Squirrel Appreciation Day Movie and Hike on Sunday, January 21 at 11am, with a 53-minute film about the squirrel family and secrets to their success, and a short hike to explore squirrel habitat and investigate the signs that they leave behind.
The New York State Library’s calendar has upcoming seminars of interest including an one-hour online seminar on Wednesday, January 17 at 11am, by historian Sandra Opdycke about the life of William Jennings Bryan who, while likely best known as the litigator on the anti-evolution side of the famous Scopes Trial in 1925, was also a Congressman, Secretary of State, newspaper publisher, three-time nominee for President, and popular lecturer.
On Wednesday, January 31 at 4:30pm, the torch relay for The Empire State Winter Games, the State’s largest sporting event, will make a scheduled stop at Phillips Hardware on its way to Lake Placid. This stop will honor STRIDE’s Sled Warriors, a local sled hockey team of athletes with disabilities that won a silver medal in last year’s games. Festivities will start at 4:15 pm, with light refreshments, and brief remarks.
A reminder that, for the month of January, the Town’s Community Gardens is the designated recipient of $1 for each Bloomin’ 4 Good bouquet purchased at the Hannaford Supermarket in Guilderland.
Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.
Peter G. Barber
Town Supervisor
