Windham Tackles Winter Problems

WINDHAM - A wintry experience was shared by Windham town supervisor Thomas Hoyt at a meeting last week, when he said, “things can get interesting when it’s 20 below zero.”

He meant “degrees” which is how low the thermometer dropped in his neck of the woods, out in Big Hollow, a place where January breezes are known to be brisk, leaving only hearty souls to venture outdoors.

Several days of polar blasting resulted in car batteries behaving badly and pipes freezing, not just for the government but for anybody.

Wet stuff that had never frozen before at the town hall turned solid in two different spots and varieties amid the frigid, windy conditions.

One was a hot water line running atop the records management room, where the town archives are stored. 

The second was a septic pipe exiting the building, both resulting in calling a plumber who was well equipped for the situation.

A charge was sent through the copper water line, melting the ice, while a hole was drilled in the wastewater line, steam melting the obstacle.

There was actually a third incident, at the ambulance center, involving the furnace fresh intake opening. A combination of light snow and the intense cold caused snow to get sucked into the ”snorkel” and crystalize.

“We were able to trick the boilers,” Hoyt said, temporarily masterminding an alternate route to provide air to the oxygen-starved unit.

While it wasn’t attributed to the arctic-like blast, Water Superintendent Kyle Schwarz reported a serious water line break that was tricky to find, pumping out an estimated 40,000 gallons a day for six days.

It occurred over the New Year’s holiday, located along County Route 40, underneath a sidewalk, requiring the town to call in the Rural Water Association for assistance, not the first time that has happened.

They found the problem and resolved it, as Schwarz did with a water meter at a different location that, in Hoyt’s words, “went berserk.”

A homeowner raised concerns about an unusually high water bill that was investigated and corrected. “We’ve had wacky meters before,” Hoyt said. “Fortunately we have data to check back on and fix things.”

In other business, council members set a public hearing for February 13 at 6:50 p.m., prior to their regular meeting, on an amendment to a local law about tax exemptions for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers.

The legislation was initially enacted by Greene County, two years ago, stating, “the [county] Legislature finds and determines that attracting and retaining quality volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel is one of the most  problems facing a number of communities.

Lawmakers further determined, “it is essential for the county and its municipalities to provide and maintain property tax exemptions as an incentive to attract new volunteers and help combat a persistent and alarming decline in the number of volunteers.

“Unless recruits are found to replace retiring volunteers and seasoned members are encouraged to continue their volunteer service, the health and safety of citizens…may be jeopardized.”

The law applied to a member of a unit which, “provides service within the city, village, town or school district” of their residence, declaring they can qualify to be, “exempt from taxation to the extent of 10 percent of the assessed value of such property for county purposes.”

That part of the law is changing, henceforth applying to a volunteer living in one city, town, village or district while serving in a different locale.

“We have a couple of men in Windham who have been fore company members in a bordering town for a long time,” Hoyt said. 

“If the math turns out that they can take the benefit, we want to give them that opportunity, staying consistent with the county,” Hoyt said.

Government leaders at both levels are in agreement that, “real property tax exemptions are an appropriate way to recognize the personal sacrifices and dedication of these community-spirited individuals who unselfishly give their time and risk their safety to protect their neighbors without compensation.”

County lawmakers have scheduled a public hearing on the amendment for February 19, when it is expected to be approved. 

If that does unfold, and no significant objections are raised at the Windham public hearing, local officials would then follow suit, as they did with the original legislation.