Thursday April 18, 2024 
Town of Nassau Board Update
In addition to the regular financial reports and departmental reports, the Nassau Town Board discussed our grant with Trout Unlimited. This grant allowed for the mapping of all waterway road crossings in the Town. This work is being completed to provide for better habitat connectivity, address storm resiliency, and to support the health of our wetlands. This has been a significant and detailed project which will lead to project-ready information to secure even more grants to address the most significant fragmentation of waterway crossings in every corner of the town.
The Board passed a resolution to make this grant information part of our planning and zoning development. When completed, it will also be an online resource for our residents who will be able to access all the mapping and general data through the Town’s website.
Additionally, the Board authorized the salary for a new Deputy Town Clerk. Town Clerk Kara Pearson has appointed Jeanine McCarthy to this position. We welcome Jeanine in this new role in addition to her service in the Assessor’s Office.
In another action, the Board authorized the destruction of obsolete town files as certified by the Town’s Clerk Office as in compliance with record retention schedules.
Following a discussion of the inquiries from residents about purchasing burial plots in the Town-operated Larkin Cemetery, the Board authorized soliciting professional services requests for a title report as well as land surveying for the Larkin/Mackey Cemetery. This precaution will help us understand the limits of the property that was abandoned to the Town many years ago. The funds from the grave sales are expected to offset this expenditure.
I also reported to the Board that as required, my office has filed the Annual Financial Report with the Town Clerk and State Comptroller’s Office. This annual reporting is available on the Town’s website for transparency and easy access.
Thank you.
David Fleming
Troy Redistricting Commission challenged by Council Majority
The League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County agrees with the Troy Council Majority that it is important to be fair to the many neighborhoods and interest groups in Troy when looking to possibly change the Council Districts. However the League disagrees with the proposed changes to the method of doing this.
For the first time Troy has a Redistricting Commission which has recently begun its work based on the 2020 Census data and its task as defined in the 2015 revised City Charter. The task involves “examining the population within the boundaries of the six council districts” and “to the greatest extent possible” ensuring that they are “compact, contiguous, convenient and preserve neighborhood characteristics.” The Commission is designed to be independent and to complete an accurate and fair redistricting plan if population shifts prompt a need for it. Being independent in this case means being dedicated to an accurate and fair process. None of the Commissioners should represent a political party, current Council district, neighborhood group or other interest group in their work for the Commission. Which is not to say they cannot be a member of one or more of those groups.
Claims that the Commission must have representation from various neighborhoods in Troy may sound fair and sensible but given that there may be 20-30 or more such entities it is unworkable. Here is the place for public hearings so that the independent Commission hears directly from community representatives before making its recommendations. The League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County urges the City Council to let the Commission proceed with its work and to review its reports before making any changes in the current Commission members or process. Specifically we urge the Council to vote against the proposed Charter Amendment to enlarge the Commission to up to 10 members.
See the full letter of the League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County to the Troy City Council at lwvrc.org
Best Luther Fire District Public Notice
WEST SAND LAKE – PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the regular meetings of the Best-Luther Fire District will be held on the First Thursday of the month for the 2022 year, held at 7:00 p.m. at the Best-Luther Firehouse, located at 303 Old Best Road, W. Sand Lake, NY 12196.
The location and time of the meeting may be changed by further resolution of the Board of Fire Commissioners upon proper notification to the local media of such change.Best-Luther Fire District, 303 Old Best Road, West Sand Lake NY, 12196. Phone/Fax: 518-283-5641. blfdfiredistrict@nullgmail.com