Thursday April 25, 2024 
North Greenbush Report from Councilwoman Mary Frances Sabo
NORTH GREENBUSH – These are very uncertain and unsettling times. But the town of North Greenbush is ready. The town leadership has reviewed emergency and disaster preparedness plans and has declared a state of emergency. Town hall is closed to the general public. If you need assistance from a particular department, you may call and leave a message. Messages will be checked every hour. The North Greenbush police has also announced steps it is taking to protect the agency and town residents from the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The department has suspended non-emergency services such as vehicle lockouts, fingerprinting, and car seat installations and inspections. The department also asks that the public refrain from coming to the station to report crimes and instead use the phone if possible. All of these steps are necessary to keep our officers and the public safe.
Due to COVID concerns this month’s planning board meeting was cancelled. If the pandemic persists, local governments may need to use technology to govern remotely. One step in this direction is providing the means for residents to observe meetings using mobile devices and computers. At its March meeting, the town board took the right step in this direction and approved an agreement with Town Hall Streams to stream meetings. Residents will soon be able to view public meetings of the town board, planning board and zoning board of appeals from their homes using computers and personal mobile devices. I have long advocated for such transparency in town government. Both East Greenbush and Schodack use Town Hall Streams. The service should be up and running by the April town board meeting.
At the March town board meeting, Officer Zachary Boudreau was promoted to police sergeant and Matthew Putnam joined the force from Catskill. Congratulations to both!
The Wynantskill Fire Department has suspended its dinners for the season.
Submitted by Councilwoman Mary Frances Sabo
Rensselaer County Office of the Minority
RENSSELAER COUNTY – March 2020 Meeting Highlights:
Aging – The Legislature unanimously approved the renewal of a contract to provide respite care of our seniors, as well as a resolution to accept the proceeds of the Troy Senior Center sale into the 2020 budget.
At the State of the County address, the County Executive announced the relocation plans of the Senior Center to the Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club. However, it became apparent that many seniors were not in agreement with the selected location, voiced their concerns prior to the Regular Meeting and delivered a petition with 150 signatures to Chairman Stammel.
We invite concerned residents to attend the monthly Public Forum on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the Legislative Chambers to voice their opinions, concerns and/or any suggestions.
Environment – An “Urging” resolution was approved, requesting the New York State Department of Conservation (NYSDEC) to conduct air sampling in Rensselaer County. In past years a toxic monitoring system was located at the Troy Atrium. According to NYSDEC, this monitoring system is no longer at this site and the legislature is urging NYSDEC to re-establish an air quality monitoring station in Rensselaer County.
Volunteer Fire, Ambulance and Emergency Services – As our communities suffer a decline in volunteer recruitment and retention to provide fire, ambulance and emergency services, the Rensselaer County legislative body unanimously supports legislation (Senate Bill S.1222A) to provide tax credits for above mentioned volunteers.
Next Meeting – Tuesday, April 14, 2020 in the Rensselaer County Chambers located on the 3rd floor of the Ned Pattison Government Center, 1600 7th Avenue, Troy.
Residents are welcome to contact our office at 270-2890.
www.rensselaercounty.org & follow us on Facebook: “Rensselaer County Legislature – Democratic Team”
Schodack Supervisor’s Report for February 2020
SCHODACK – While I would normally use this monthly report to make you aware of my activities as Town Supervisor and also update you on various issues pertaining to the Town in general, I feel this opportunity would be best used to give and update on the current COVID-19 outbreak. Please know that I am writing this on Friday, March 20th and the situation is very fluid at this time and many of the things I’m about to say may change by the time you read this. Please follow our social media pages on Facebook or Twitter or check on the Town’s website at www.schodack.org for updates and current information.
On Monday, March 16th, we took the step of shutting down public access to our Town Hall and following directives issued by the Governor reduced our staffing throughout the week. We apologize for any inconvenience these measures may have caused but our foremost concern at this point is the health and safety of our residents and employees. We all need to do our part to limit exposure and slow the spread. If you are in need of something please call the Town Hall and contact that respective department and we’ll work to address your needs. Our Transfer Station remains open as i write this however we are only accepting household waste and recyclables at this time. Additionally, the new pricing plan set to take effect April 1st have been postponed until June 1st.
I want to commend our staff for their flexibility and resiliency this week. The amount of changes we have had to make in 7 days’ time is unprecedented. I also want to thank out Schodack P.D. for their continued service to our community in the face of these challenges.
Finally, I want to thank my fellow Town Board members and the numerous elected officials and employees from the County, State, and Federal government for their rapid response and guidance throughout the week. Again, please follow our social media pages or the Town’s website for more updates and information as this situation develops.
Supervisor David Harris
Meeting Dates for The Village of Nassau 2019-20
NASSAU – The following dates have been established for the Village of Nassau Board of Trustees Meetings. All meetings will be held at the Village Municipal Building, 40 Malden Street, Nassau, NY at 7:30pm unless otherwise posted.
April 6, 2020 Annual Meeting 7:30pm
April 8, 2020 Public Hearing Budget 7:00pm
April 8, 2020 Regular Meeting 7:30pm
May 13, 2020 Regular Meeting 7:30pm
May 27, 2020 Year End Meeting 7:30pm
The Planning Board meets on the 1st Monday of each month (as needed) at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Municipal Building; The Zoning Board meets on the 4th Monday of each month (as needed) at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Municipal Building.
Town of Poestenkill’s Monthly Meeting Dates
POESTENKILL – The following are the dates for the Town Board of the Town of Poestenkill’s monthly meeting dates. April 16, 2020, May 21, 2020, June 18, 2020, July 16, 2020, August 20, 2020, September 17, 2020, October 15, 2020, November 19, 2020, December 17, 2020. The meetings are held the third Thursday of each month.
Susan Horton, Town Clerk
What is the Nassau Sunshine Fund Emergency Loan Program?
NASSAU – Are you a resident of the Town or Villages of Nassau? Has your household budget taken a hit? Got a car repair with nothing to spare? Or, are you having to choose between heat or eat? We know it happens, we’re here, we can help.
Norman Young, a well-known Nassau resident and antique dealer, had a birds eye view of the Great Recession of 2008. As his business involved buying household items from individuals needing to sell such items, he was struck by how hard hit many in the town were by the financial crisis. Norman came across an old cookbook that had been used as a fundraiser by a local organization called Open Porch Sunshine Society, which was around the early 1990s. While that organization had long faded away, he loved its neighbor-helping-neighbor philosophy. He conceived of a new Nassau Sunshine organization in which local residents would provide emergency financial assistance to other town residents dealing with a personal financial crisis.Norman and two friends agreed to reach out to others as well as religious and locally based organizations.
At its first meeting the attendees approved of a simple plan – create a non-profit that would offer interest-free loans to residents of the Town and Villages of Nassau facing a financial crisis that exceeded their resources and for which local agencies, public and private, were unable to offer assistance. As our first chairman, Sam Whaley said, “We decided on no-interest loans instead of just giving money away because it provides dignity, not a handout.
Entering our eleventh year, the Nassau Sunshine Fund has made 54 loans totaling over $21,000. Please contact us to ask about a loan or to make a donation. Nassau Sunshine Fund, PO Box 10, Nassau, NY 12123 (518) 256-2878; Please leave a message. www.nassausunshinefund.org;
info@nullnassausunshinefund.org
We remain faithful to our motto: Neighbors – Helping – Neighbors!
Stephentown Historical Society is creating Welcome To Stephentown package
STEPHENTOWN – Welcome to Stephentown! We can help you with that!
Moving is always stressful, and a hassle, and, let’s face it – a lot of work! And once you’ve moved to your new location, you have a whole new set of situations and obstacles to overcome. You need to find out where to send the kids to school, or where to find someone to fix your plumbing or wiring. Or maybe you want to check out the local organizations and get involved in area groups. So………. in order to help make all of that just a little easier to navigate, the Stephentown Historical Society is creating a “Welcome to Stephentown” package.
We envision this package having lots of informational “stuff”, like names and contacts to help people find just about anything in town. We’d like to provide information from our local organizations, such as the Fire Department, Library, Historical Society, Veterans, Seniors, local churches and synagogues, and any others that exist. We would like to provide a listing (along with business cards where possible) of all local tradespeople and businesses. We want to include any groups in town – for instance, the Heavenly Quilters and Boy & Girl Scouts. We’d love to have menus from restaurants and maybe “new customer” discounts or other coupon-type discounts.
As you can see, this is a formidable task and we do not want to leave anyone out! So, we are asking for your help. If you are a local business or tradesperson and would like to be included in this package, please contact us at shs@nullfairpoint.net. Let us know who you are and what you have to offer – be sure to leave us your contact information so that we can get back to you!
This project has been in the planning stages for quite a while and we’d like to get it off the ground in early 2020, so please act now!
We expect this project to be hugely helpful to new families, but also to our townspeople!