Following a fire that destroyed the original structure, Shandaken’s Town Hall was rebuilt around 1947—predating energy-inefficient, flood mitigating, and accessible building. For decades, previous Supervisors achieved updates, plans, and new facilities to accommodate various Town functions. But, the need for a Town Hall remains. It’s critical we get Town Hall out of the floodway, create a facility that’s accessible for all, and lower energy and maintenance costs. Upkeep costs for old structures are significantly higher than for new ones. So, until we find a feasible property and identify funding to build a new town hall, the current building will be a bit of a money pit.
Our 30-year-old furnace had been repeatedly repaired the last few years, and failed in a big way the day before the storm that plunged our town into single digit temps and dumped two feet of snow. We contacted three companies for quotes: the consensus was we needed a furnace replacement. But, only one company could schedule the replacement right away. Highway and Town staff still spent most of the week working, in between blowing fuses with space heaters and turning water off to avoid breaking pipes. Kudos to all who came to pay taxes in the cold.
The Board is actively seeking a site and funding for a new Town Hall. The site needs to be out of the flood plain, avoid environmentally-sensitive areas like wetlands, and ideally have enough acreage to accommodate town offices, highway and ambulance. If you have an idea about a possible site—please reach out to supervisor@shandaken.gov.
Extreme cold also triggers water main leaks. Phoenicia’s new Water Superintendent Kyle Steen has been working hard to map lines to more easily find leak sources, and subsequently identified a leak on Route 214.
The snow storm also highlighted an interesting dilemma: the County issued a travel ban for January 25 and the morning of January 26—even as Belleayre Ski Center remained open. Presumably skiers were parachuting in from Delaware County to avoid the ban??
Our police and ambulance spend a minimum of 15% of their time responding to Belleayre calls and proactively helping to keep Belleayre skiers safe. At this month’s meeting, the Board will vote on this resolution, memorializing our request for $175,000 in annual funding to offset the Belleayre Ski Center-related costs that Shandaken shoulders. If you’re inclined to help, please email a letter of support to Joyce at townclerk@shandaken.gov.
Our March meeting is on the 2nd of the month, at 7:00 p.m.