Building maintenance. Resident Steve Grenadir expressed concern at the November 8 session that town-owned buildings, including the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center, might fall into disrepair as a result of deferred maintenance resulting from budget cuts in that area. The Community Center, for example, was in need of new gutters and a paint job, said Grenadir, adding that deferred maintenance now would lead to higher costs in the future. “Small, incremental maintenance can be worthwhile,” Grenadir said. He urged the council to incorporate into the annual budget process a five-year maintenance plan for town properties. “Delayed maintenance is delayed taxation,” replied Wilber, by way of agreement. The supervisor noted, however, that a reduction of about $15,000 in the budget’s appropriations for buildings reflected the Town Board’s decision in 2011 to replace the Maintenance Department with an Office of the Town Custodian, which has fewer full-time employees. “The actual amount budgeted for maintenance projects was reduced by $4,000,” said Wilber in a subsequent e-mail. Councilman Bill McKenna observed that the renovation of town buildings, including the current refurbishment of Town Hall and the previous construction of a new highway garage, will reduce the town’s overall maintenance outlay. Councilwoman Cathy Magarelli pointed out that she has overseen a plan for a renovation of the Community Center that would include an upgrade of its energy efficiency. A designated Trust and Agency account has been established for private donations to the envisioned renovation. Wilber added that a building reserve fund containing nearly $300,000 is available as needed.
Programs for seniors. Councilman Ken Panza posed several questions about the proposed 2013 budget before its adoption following the public hearing. In one instance the councilman requested an explanation for an increase of about 15 percent, from approximately $28,000 in 2012 to $32,000 in 2013, in the appropriation for the so-called Program for the Aging, while spending for youth-related programs was essentially unchanged. The Program for the Aging increase, responded Wilber, will cover the cost of a weekly Pilates class requested by the Senior Recreation Committee, which administers instructional offerings and other activities at the Community Center. Meanwhile, Wilber noted, neither the Youth Center, the Summer Recreation program, nor the Recreation Fund requested funding increases for programs serving young people; as a result, he said, they received none.
Trash collection. In response to another of Panza’s queries, Wilber explained that an appropriation of about $45,000 for trash collection reflected the cost, including a vendor’s fee, of shipping litter and other rubbish collected in local trash containers to Saugerties for disposal. Although a recycling contract with Waste Management expired in August and has not been renewed, the town will continue to recycle eligible materials, said Wilber.
Dog park. At the November 8 budget hearing, the board refused a request by volunteer caretakers of the Woodstock Dog Park for a line-item allocation of $1,000 to support the upkeep of the facility, which suffered damage from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and from Hurricane Sandy in the past month. Initially subsidized by a 2010 contribution of $6,400 from the town and funds raised privately by its founding task force and committee, the park opened last year at a wooded site east of Rick Volz Field in Bearsville. After expenditures for materials and maintenance, including repairs in the wake of Irene — an expense to which the town contributed an additional sum of roughly $800 last year — the park’s Trust and Agency bank account contains about $5,500, according to Fran Breitkopf, who spearheaded the effort to create the facility. She was joined at the hearing by fellow park volunteers John Sebastian and Steve Young. While volunteers routinely perform light maintenance and improvement work at the park, the town provides the muscle and machinery for heavier-duty tasks. Meanwhile, the committee has continued to raise funds privately. The park’s bank balance is expected to dwindle to approximately $4,000 when post-Sandy repairs are completed, said Breitkopf, who cited the likelihood of frequent damaging storms in the future as one reason why the park’s oversight committee was seeking continued support from the town on an annual basis. In declining to bite at the line-item request, McKenna and Wilber maintained that the town never envisioned a “bankrolling” arrangement, in McKenna’s phrase, when plans for the park were proposed and the board approved the initial subsidy. In any case, said the officials, money was available in the municipal Recreation Fund to rebuild the park if circumstances ever required such an action. All parties agreed that the park is a popular gathering spot for local residents and visitors alike, not to mention the canine population that it serves directly.
Assessor’s office. The board approved a 6 percent increase in the appropriation for the assessor’s office. The increase will fund an expansion, to 30 hours per week, from 24 hours in the current year, of a field worker position in the office. The board’s action comes at a time when it is considering a proposal for a revaluation of all town properties, toward the goal of ensuring that Woodstock residents pay no more than a fair share of county and school taxes. If the board approves the revaluation by way of a formal resolution, the state Office of Real Property Tax Services would reportedly contribute up to $24,000 to subsidize the cost of the revaluation.
