Spring weather has finally arrived, and maybe summer-like weather next week.  Almost on cue, Western Turnpike Golf Course is now open, and the Town-wide spring cleanup events and bi-annual recycling extravaganza take place this weekend.   The Town’s summer recreational program is again proving very popular, with some activities already at capacity.   More details are shared below.   

Town News & Announcements

The adult outdoor exercise facility, installed by Albany County and MVP Health Care, in Tawasentha Park is open for use.  You can register online for a wide-variety of classes that start on Thursday, May 2.  Please bring water and wear comfortable, breathable exercise clothing and sneakers.   There is also a free app available for tracking your use of the equipment.  

Parks & Rec is also offering a Pickleball class at Tawasentha Park, starting on Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9, from 9am to 11am.  You can learn the sport’s rules and basic skills, and also sharpen your beginning skills and strategies.  Paddles and balls will be provided.  

Western Turnpike Golf Course has opened for the season, with daily 8am start times each day.  The course’s webpage has tee time reservations and opportunities for weekly adult classes taught by Golf Pro Joe Lavinga.  Registration for PGA Jr. League for girls and boys, ages 7 to 13, is now open.  The Hedge Bistro is also open for in-house dining and takeout options, with an updated menu, including Texas BBQ.  

The Highway Department’s removal of accumulated winter debris with front loaders is coming to an end.  Please remember Highway crews pick-up lawn bags and tied branches in five-foot lengths. 

This Saturday from 10am to 2pm, National Drug Take Back Day will take place in the Guilderland Public Library’s auxiliary parking lot.  Police officers will collect pre-bagged unneeded prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, and pet medications.  Please remember that no needles or sharp items are accepted.    

Also, on this Saturday from 10am to 2pm, the spring Recycling Extravaganza will take place in FMS’s front parking lot.  You can drop off sneakers, bikes, cardboard, plastics, clothing, electronics (but not TVs), cell phones, and gently used instruments.   Please take a look at the list of acceptable and unacceptable donations.   

This Saturday from 11am to 1pm, you can join in community efforts for cleaning-up public spaces.  Clean Up Guilderland is a volunteer effort to pick up litter in public rights of ways and spaces, with pop-up orientation tents at The Star Plaza’s lot and Hilton’s Tru/Homewood Suites on Western Avenue.  Please contact Kathy Burbank, the event organizer, at kburbank01@gmail.com for more information.  The Parks & Rec Department is also hosting Help Clean Up Your Parks, Trails and Sidewalks, where from 11am to 1pm on Saturday, you can help clean up Town parks.  Please contact Parks & Rec Director CJ Gallup for more information at gallupcj@togny.org.

Starting on Monday, April 29 at 7am, part of Rapp Road will be closed for two weeks to install road, bicycle, and sidewalk improvements near Crossgates Mall.  There will be posted detour signs to avoid the construction area.  

On Friday, May 10 from Noon to 5pm, the American Red Cross is holding a blood drive at Town Hall.   You can sign up online and enter “guilderlandtown” in the search box. 

The registration for the 2024 Summer Camp is off to a strong start.  The Swifties Camp has already reached capacity.   There are over 100 sport camps, enrichment classes, and fun activities in this year’s camp brochure.  The summer camp runs from Monday, July 1 to Friday, August 9.  There are also opportunities for entry level summer camp counselors who must be at least 16 years old.  While previous experience as a counselor-in-training, teacher, childcare, or related field is preferred, it is not required.  There are also openings for lifeguards, lifeguard managers, and pool booth attendants at Tawasentha Park pool, and seasonal laborers. 

The Guilderland Performing Arts Center’s 2024 season opens on Thursday, June 20 at 7:30pm, with a performance by the Guilderland Town Band.  The season’s nine concerts are on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm, except for National Night Out’s concert at 6pm on Tuesday, August 6.  Each concert will have a food truck. 

The Town is accepting letters of interest and resumes from candidates for a full-time Police Officer, Paramedic, Stormwater Management Officer, Telecommunicator/911 Dispatcher, and Laborers in the Highway, Parks and Water Departments.

Community Events and Resources

The FDA has authorized a monoclonal antibody to help prevent COVID-19 for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, ages 12 and older, and weighing at least 88 pounds.  In addition to vaccination, Pemgarda may provide another layer of protection against COVID-19 and can be given at least 2 weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.  A healthcare provider gives Pemgarda as a single intravenous infusion over 60 minutes at a doctor’s office or healthcare facility.  If continued protection is needed, additional doses may be given every 3 months.  

The Guilderland Garden Club is sponsoring a "Nothing Bundt Cakes" fundraiser for its scholarship fund that would benefit eligible seniors in the Guilderland, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, and Voorheesville school district who are accepted into horticulture, agriculture, landscaping, floral design, environmental or related programs.  Please visit the Club’s webpage on available flavors and how to order the cakes ($6.50 per cake) by 6pm tomorrow, including the option of stopping by the Guilderland Public Library tomorrow from 3pm to 6pm to place your order, and picking-up the orders at Westmere Fire Department on Thursday, May 9 from 1pm to 6pm.  

On Sunday, April 28 from 2pm to 4pm, the Guilderland Public Library is sponsoring a  Native Seed Collection seminar when the New York Flora Association will talk about harvesting native plant seeds to increase biodiversity and using the New York Flora Atlas to identify the plants.  Representatives of Wild Ones, a group of gardeners dedicated to thriving native plants, will also be present.  The Library’s monthly events calendar is full of interesting activities for all ages.

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve’s annual Lupine Fest this year will consist of special events, both in-person and virtual, on weekdays and weekends, and daytime and night throughout May.  Please note that some events require a reservation.  This special event welcomes the return of the Karner Blue Butterfly and the flowering of lupine that is essential for the butterfly’s existence.  The Albany Pine Bush Preserve’s spring calendar has other activities for children and adults.

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy’s Loving Your Land Workshops kicks off tomorrow from 10am to Noon at the Albany County Soil & Water Office, 24 Martin Rd in Voorheesville.  Tomorrow’s workshop entitled “How to Improve Your Habitat at Home” has staff from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Wild Turkey Federation, and Capital Region Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management to share information about private landowner habitat improvement projects.  Upcoming sessions include Techniques in Action, about invasive species and pollinators on Friday, May 17 from 10am to Noon, and All About Birds, about techniques for grassland bird management on Friday, June 7 from 10am to Noon.   Both sessions take place at the Bender Melon Farm Preserve in New Scotland.  

On Saturday, May 4, Parks & Trails New York is celebrating” I Love My Park Day,” the State’s largest single-day volunteer event, with the opportunity to help clean up parks and shorelines, plant trees and gardens, restore trails and wildlife habitat, remove invasive species, and other improvements.  You can register here to volunteer at a particular park. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.  

Peter G. Barber

Town Supervisor