Opening Remarks

It has been another week without snow, and not much forecasted in the near future.  It has not stopped preparations for winter activities during the upcoming school break week.  The Comprehensive Plan Update Committee also has a public open house on Monday when you can learn more about draft recommendations on six topics and share your comments in an informal setting.  More details are below.   

Town News & Announcements

Next Monday, February 12 from 7pm to 9pm, the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee is holding a public open house, with separate stations for sharing comments on preliminary recommendations for the plan’s topics, including Agriculture; Business, Employment, and Fiscal Resources; Environment, Climate Change, and Resiliency; Neighborhoods and Housing; Parks, Recreation and Historic Resources; and Transportation and Mobility.   It will be an open house style format with no formal presentations. You can drop by anytime during the open house.   There will also be a kids activity station.  You can learn more about this CPUC’s work on its website and also watch the meeting when the CPUC further refined the goals and recommendations submitted by the six subcommittees.

Next Thursday, February 15 at 10am, I will be presenting the 2024 State of the Town address at Town Hall.  The address is open to the public and will be broadcasted live online on the Town’s webpage and on Verizon channel 34 and Spectrum channel 1303.  The address will present the Town’s 2024 agenda which includes the updating of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, planned improvements in Town parks, efforts to further promote pedestrian safety and non-motorized connectivity, responding to climate change, addressing water capacity issues during summer months, and continuing to improve the community’s quality of life.  

A reminder that the Annual Snowshoe Clinic takes place on Sunday, February 18 from 9am to 10am at Tawasentha Park.  While there is no charge for the event, please register in advance.  You can bring your own snowshoes or rent a pair for $5.  Albany Running Exchange will have an instructor who will provide tricks for walking or running in snowshoes.  You are welcome to snowshoe around Tawasentha Park.   The Albany Running Exchange is also sponsoring the Brave the Blizzard 5K Snowshoe Race, which offers participants a low key and fun opportunity to try out snowshoeing.  If there is insufficient snow, the event is held as a trail run.  

Parks & Rec’s February Break Fun-N-Games program for children in grades 1 thru 6 takes place during the upcoming school break from Tuesday, February 20 to Friday, February 23.  The program takes place at Guilderland Elementary School from 9am to 11am, and includes warm-up tag games followed by games such as Jailbreak, Pins Down, Survivor, Basketball, Seven-Base Kickball, Indoor Soccer and more.   You can register online before next Friday, February 16, and call (518) 456-3150, if you have any questions. 

Parks & Rec is accepting applications for entry level summer camp counselors for the 2024 summer camp.  You must be 16 years of age and older, and while previous experience as a counselor-in-training, teacher, childcare, or related field is preferred, it is not required.  The 2024 summer camp will take place daily in the mornings from Monday, July 1 to Friday, August 9.  Parks & Rec is also accepting applications for lifeguards, lifeguard managers, and pool booth attendants at Tawasentha Park pool, and seasonal laborers in Parks & Rec.   

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.  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 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 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. 

Tawasentha, Keenholts, DiCaprio, and Nott Road Parks are open for daytime use for the winter season.  Western Turnpike Golf Course is now also open for walkers on cart paths.  If sufficient snowfall should arrive again this winter, Parks crews are ready to groom cross-country trails at the golf course, and hopefully favorable conditions will soon return for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at the golf course, Town parks and Vosburgh Open Space trails. Sledding is available at the Winter Recreation Area just past Tawasentha Park.  Please check out the Parks & Rec’s webpage for latest conditions.  You can also rent cross-country skis and snowshoes, and pickleball equipment (paddle and balls), at the Parks & Rec Office during business hours.

The Town has opened the opportunity to participate in the 2024 Hometown Heroes Banner Program that recognizes active duty and veteran service members, both living and deceased.  Each banner will honor a specific current or former Guilderland serviceperson and will include her or his name, branch or service, and photo. The due date for submissions is Friday, March 1.

The Town is accepting letters of interest and resumes from candidates for the position of full-time Building Maintenance Mechanic in the Building Maintenance Department, Stormwater Management Officer, and Telecommunicator. 

A reminder that Town offices will be closed for Presidents Day on Monday, February 19.  The Transfer Station will also be closed on Tuesday, February 20.

Covid-19 Update

The CDC reported this week that hospitalizations nationwide decreased over the past week by 10.9% and that the death rate remained unchanged.   The CDC’s current map shows that Albany County remains at a “medium” rate, but neighboring counties, including Schenectady, Saratoga, and Washington also remained at “high” rates.      

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 and Resources

On Thursday, February 15 at 7:30 pm at the historic Mynderse-Frederick House in Guilderland Center, the Guilderland Historical Society is presenting a program on the Great Western Turnpike, now known as Route 20, and the importance of this roadway in the Town’s history and development of other communities.  Last year, the GHS placed a historical marker on the site of the Great Western Turnpike’s Tollgate #2 at Hawthorne Gardens in Westmere. 

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve is inviting the public to wide-ranging special guided programs and outings in February. The website AlbanyPineBush.org/discover-the-night contains all the details about this opportunity to explore nighttime in the Preserve, including geologic history, plants, animals, restoration, human influence, scientific research and protection of the Preserve.  The website also has videos about local wildlife, storytelling, community history and more, and also photography tutorials, downloadable activities and nature craft instructions.  The Preserve is also offering a free Discover the Night activity kit for pick up, while supplies last, from February 19 to 25 at the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center, 195 New Karner Road in Albany.  More information about Discover the Night, trails and other programs is available at www.AlbanyPineBush.org or call 518-456-0655.

The Preserve has also shared its Community Science opportunities for volunteers in the upcoming year.  These important engagement activities help the Preserve to fulfill its mission of learning more about our changing environment and further understanding of the Preserve’s fragile ecology.  Volunteering opportunities include surveying for rare birds, measuring snow packs, identifying invasive species, and much more.    

The Preserve’s January calendar is full of activities for children and adults, including FrogWatch Volunteer Training online on Wednesday, March 6 at 6:30pm, when you can learn to listen for and report frogs and toads calling in the Preserve from March through August in the Preserve’s study area.  Participants will be trained to become certified FrogWatchers.

Albany County Soil & Water Conservation District has released its 2024 Tree and Shrub Newsletter, which lists the wide-variety of plants, shrubs, fruit trees, berries, conifers, ground covers, seedlings and transplants, and other interesting items available for order and pickup.  The order deadline is April 1.  

The Guilderland Public Library’s calendar includes seminars on interesting topics and conversations with well-known authors.  The Library also 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.   

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.  

Peter G. Barber

Town Supervisor