January 16, 2025

While we have had one or two inches of snow from several winter disturbances, it is not nearly enough for outdoor winter sporting activities. After a bit warmer weekend, we are expecting plunging temperatures next week. Please remember that Town’s parks and extensive hiking trail system remain open year-round, and the cart paths at the Western Turnpike Golf Course have proven popular. Please remember that dogs must be leashed at all Town parks and golf course, except in the Town’s two dog parks. More details are shared below.

Town News & Announcements

Parks & Recreation has opened registration for its February Break Fun~N~Games Camp that take place during winter break week from 9am to 11am on Tuesday, February 18 through Friday, February 21 at Guilderland Elementary School. The registration deadline is Monday, February 17. The program is for students in Grade 1 to 6, and includes warm-up tag games followed by games such as Jailbreak, Pins Down, Basketball, Seven-Base Kickball, Indoor Soccer and many more. The instructor is Mike Schaffer, Physical Education Teacher at Lynnwood Elementary.

Oklahoma

We are pleased to announce that Playhouse Stage Company is returning to the Guilderland Performing Arts Center by offering Oklahoma!, one of the most successful musicals in history. The performances will take place at 7:30pm on Thursday, July 31 thru Saturday, August 2, and a 3pm matinee on Saturday, August 2. All seating is free and on a first-come, first-served basis. You can bring your own lawn chair or blanket.

If your home has a septic system or cesspool that adversely impacts certain designated waterbodies, you may be eligible for reimbursement for replacement costs under the Septic System Replacement Fund Program. The program reimburses eligible property owners with grants for up to 50% of the costs (up to $10,000) of their eligible septic system projects. Grants are awarded only to those septic system projects that will significantly and quantifiably reduce environmental and/or public health impacts from cesspools or septic systems. You can check your property’s eligibility by entering your property’s address. This rare opportunity is a collaboration between the State, County, and Town, and property owners to address a pressing environmental and public health issue.

Please remember that, if you are a senior citizen (65 years of age or older by December 31, 2025), a person with a qualifying physical disability, and/or a veteran, you may be entitled to a partial exemption on your property taxes. Please disregard this notice if you have already applied for these exemptions or are currently receiving them. Eligible homeowners have until March 1 to apply for an exemption. For more information, please visit the website, call (518) 356-1980, or stop by the Assessor’s office.

The Hedge Bistro at Western Turnpike Golf Course is open this winter on Tuesday thru Saturday from 11am to 5pm. The menu includes popular entrees, appetizers, pizza, burgers, tacos, and desserts. The golf course’s cart paths are open for winter walks. When measurable snow finally arrives (unfortunately, still not likely soon), the golf course will have groomed trails for cross-country skiing and paths for snowshoeing. Town parks and Vosburgh Open Space Trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Sledding is available at the Winter Recreation Area just past Tawasentha Park. Nordic ski and snowshoe rentals are available at the Parks & Rec Office.

You can now reserve Tawasentha Park’s pavilions for family and local business events. The more popular summer weekends quickly fill up. Walk-in reservations (with payment) take priority over phone, faxed or emailed reservation requests (with payment). To request booking a pavilion, please submit a completed Request for Use of Facilities/Know the Rules and required payment (credit card, check or cash) to the Town of Guilderland. You can drop off the required forms or mail them to Guilderland Parks & Recreation Department at 181 State Route 146, Altamont, NY 12009, or faxed to 518-456-3156. You can view the availability calendar for Tawasentha Park Pavilion Rentals.

Highway Department crews are now picking-up discarded Christmas trees. Please note that discarded trees are recycled as mulch so please do not wrap trees in plastic, and remove ornaments, tinsel, etc. There is no hurry. Highway trucks pick-up lawn bags and tied brush on a year-round basis.

The Town’s 2025 Hometown Heroes Banner Program recognizes active duty and veteran service members, both living and deceased, for their bravery, courage, and sacrifice. Each banner honors a current or former Guilderland serviceperson by name, branch of service, and photo. The banners will be displayed at Tawasentha Park at a special event held at GPAC. In late fall, the banners are made available to sponsors. Banners may be sponsored by individuals, families, businesses or organizations at a cost of $150 per banner. The deadline for applications is February 28. If you have any questions regarding banners, please call the Parks & Rec Office at (518) 456-3150

The Town’s Senior Services Department’s January newsletter has information about classes and seminars, tax preparation assistance, trips, medical and shopping transportation, next month’s book discussion, legal aide, monthly meal calendar, games, and much more. Every Wednesday from 11am to 12:30pm, the Guilderland Public Library is the home for Senior Connects!, where seniors can have a friendly chat on a wide-range of interesting topics. The prior topics included home downsizing, senior resources, hobbies, books, movies, favorite day trips, and local events. No registration is required.

Parks 2025

Parks & Rec is now accepting applications for summer positions including camp counselors, lifeguards, lifeguard manager, and pool booth attendants. There are also seasonal laborer positions at the golf course and parks maintenance. Applications are due by April 15, and interviews are in May. Salaries depend on position. Please contact the Parks & Recreation office at 518-456-3150, between 8am and 3:30pm Monday-Friday with any questions.

The Town is accepting letters of interest and resumes from candidates for Code Enforcement Officer, Automotive Mechanic I, Police Officer, Telecommunicator/911 Dispatcher, and Laborer positions in the Highway, Parks and Water Departments.

Please note that Town offices will be closed next Monday, January 20 for the Martin Luther King Holiday. The Transfer Station, which will be open on Saturday, January 18, will also be closed on Tuesday, January 21.

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. Unless stated otherwise, 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 21

Planning Board

Wednesday, January 22

Industrial Development Agency

Tuesday, January 28

Town Board

Tuesday, February 4

Zoning Board of Appeals

Wednesday, February 5

Conservation Advisory Council

Monday, February 10

Traffic Safety Committee

Tuesday, February 11

Planning Board

Wednesday, February 12

Community Events & Resources

Community Caregivers, which offers wide-ranging services and support for seniors and their supporters, is launching a new virtual education series that is designed to support caregivers. The plan is to offer new topics. Among its services, Community Caregivers’ volunteers provide respite time for persons caring for loved ones. You can help with this mission by volunteering your time and/or making donations.

The Guilderland Public Library’s upcoming calendar includes An Inside Look at Working with a Literary Agent: A Conversation with Seth Fishman, a virtual discussion on Tuesday, January 28 from 1pm to 2:20pm, with a literary agent on the ins and outs in working with an agent, including 30 minutes of Q&A.

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve has posted its calendar for 2025 Community Science and Conservation Days when you will have a rare backstage look into its science program and opportunities to gather important data of a geographical and temporal scope. On Saturday, January 18 at 1pm, the Preserve is hosting Discover the Pine Bush at Karner Barrens, a 0.9-mile hike over rolling sand dunes when you can discover the Preserve’s natural history, and seasonal surprises and transformations.

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission and Friends of the Pine Bush Community are cohosting a lecture tonight at 7pm as a part of their Science Lecture Series at the Discovery Center. The in-person option is sold-out but you can still sign-up for virtual participation. The first talk of the 2025 Science Lecture Series will focus on recent research conducted by the University at Albany’s archaeological field school in the summer of 2024. The field school conducted research on a mid-nineteenth century farmstead that was occupied by the Helme family to learn about what life was like on the outskirts of Albany in this unique environment. Initial research indicates that it was occupied for perhaps over 50 years based on hundreds of artifacts recovered from the site and intact architectural features. Many of those artifacts and early analyses of the site will be presented at this talk by professors Sean Rafferty and Chris Wolff.

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy has opened 4-miles of trails in its Upper Bozen Kill Preserve, a 225-acre property at the end of Bond Road. The new trail system also connects to the existing trail system at the Lower Bozen Kill Preserve. The total trails are nearly 6 miles. You can access the new entrance to the Upper Bozen Kill Preserve by continuing north on Westfall Road past the existing Lower Bozen Kill Preserve entrance and turn left on Bond Rd. A parking lot and preserve kiosk is located at the end of the road. The trail system is open year-round, and given its elevation, often has sufficient snow for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

On Saturday, February 15 at 10am, the MHLC is hosting Winter Wildlife Tracking, when Dan Yacobellis, a certified Level 3 Track & Sign facilitator, who has studied the animals of the northeast and their habitats for three decades, will lead a hike at the 208-acre Winn Preserve in Altamont.

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve are partnering on two-part Winter Hike Series. You will need to register for these events. On this Saturday, January 18 at 10am to Noon, at the Preserve’s Discovery Center, there will be an Intro to Winter Hiking & Snowshoeing: Part 1, when hiking guide Alan Via will cover the basics of winter hiking, including trail safety, traversing icy trails, and recommended clothing and gear. On Saturday, February 8 at 9am, there will be Intro to Winter Hiking: Part 2, with a winter hike at the Bennett Hill Preserve in Clarksville.

The New York State Library’s calendar of public programs includes, on Thursday, January 23 at Noon, a hour online talk by Dr. Prithi Kanakamedala about her new book Brooklynites, a cultural and social history as told through four ordinary families from Brooklyn’s nineteenth-century free Black community. On Thursday, January 30 at 1pm, the State Library is presenting an.one-hour virtual presentation by Vaughan Scribner about his book Under Alien Skies: Environment, Suffering, and the Defeat of the British Military in Revolutionary America, in which he discusses how foreign soldiers' negative perceptions of the American environment merged with harsh wartime realities to elicit considerable physical, mental, and emotional anguish.

A reminder that the Federal government’s program, which allows residents to order four at-home COVID-19 tests for free delivery by the Post Office, remains available but could end with the incoming administration next week. The FDA encourages checking its website to see if the expiration date for your at-home COVID-19 tests has been extended.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.

Peter G. Barber

Town Supervisor