Candidates for village offices run unopposed
By Kevin E. Foley
Nelsonville will finally begin to see long-awaited repairs to several village streets this spring after the New York State Department of Transportation gave final approval for the federally funded project. The grant has been pending for several years. Pine, Pearl and Crown Streets and Wood Avenue will have re-surfacing work and other fixes done after the trustees choose a contractor from the bidders. “The work will commence May 1 and must be completed in 45 days,” said Mayor Tom Corless at the monthly Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 21.
Corless, who presided along with outgoing Trustee Peter Tomann, also announced that planning for the 2012-2013 budget had begun and a public hearing on a proposed budget is scheduled for March 19, the next regularly scheduled board meeting. Corless mentioned the rising cost of pension obligations, damage to Healy Road from Hurricane Irene and the cost of garbage and recycling services as pressures on the budget deliberations. The new fiscal year begins June 1.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation might still have grant money available for the lingering damage to drainage culverts on Healy Road. But Corless said the state and the county would have to be involved in a final reckoning, including decisions about whether certain areas of the road would be considered state-owned or private.
The trustees reported they have appointed election inspectors for the upcoming March 20 election. Voter registration day is Saturday, March 10, at the Village Hall. The two candidates, William Duncan for trustee and long-serving Village Justice Dennis Zenz, are running unopposed.
The meeting’s agenda also included a brief presentation by Nelsonville Fish and Fur Club President Mike Savastano, who asked the trustees to consider village authorization for a training area for bow hunting training. Savastano said the club was a state-certified trainer for bow hunting but that local trainees had no place to practice. He proposed the trustees consider a wooded area on village-controlled land where targets could be set up under the club’s supervision. Savastano also suggested that bow hunting practitioners might be helpful with culling the abundant local deer population during hunting season. Mayor Corless said the trustees would look into the possibilities for a training site.
