The Town of Stillwater will be submitting plans to the village Planning Board in the next week or two for approval to move the town offices to the church hall of the former St. Peter The Apostle Parish on Hudson Avenue.

Stillwater Town Supervisor Edward Kinowski told the Village Board of Trustees Tuesday night (February 19) that the town has been negotiating with the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese for months and is hoping to sign an agreement within the next few days to lease the church property for the next five to 10 years. The parish merged in 2011 with Assumption/St. Paul Church in Mechanicville to form All Saints on the Hudson in Stillwater.

The lease is being signed prior to formal village approval so the town can begin lining up contractors to renovate the building for town use. This will involve running telephone and Internet wiring and renovating a bathroom so it is handicap accessible.

“This building will offer us twice the square footage we have now,” Kinowski said, “and triple our meeting space so we don’t have to use the community center any more.”

Stillwater Town Hall at the corner of East Street and School Street in the Riverside section of town has become too congested and is deteriorating, prompting town officials to look for a new home.

The parish will still use some of the parish hall for storage and the town and church will share the outside parking area. If approved, Town Court will be the first to move to the parish building most likely by April, followed by the rest of the town offices/departments.

Inventory supply management for Department of Public Works
In other business, Trustees also heard a presentation from Bob Moody of E.J. Prescott on a proposal to manage the vast inventory of supplies for the village’s Department of Public Works.

EJP has developed a program called Value Added Services (VAS) which reduces the amount of inventory a utility like the Water and Sewer Departments need on hand and at the same time provides assurance that inventory will be there when needed, including products for emergency situation.

“Our goal is to make your inventory work better for you,” Moody said, “by getting you out of the habit of overstocking and spending money on items you don’t need right away.”

EJP would work with the village to set up a computerized inventory of “A” products — the most commonly used items — and together they would decide how many of each to keep in stock. If the village was to run out of an “A” product at any time, EJP agrees to supply and deliver it within two hours to the office or the job site. Product are guaranteed for up to 10 years and prices are locked in for the fiscal year, April 1 – March 31, with the exception of some piping like PVC and copper. Trustees said they would consider the program in the coming weeks.

Village Trustees also heard the following reports/updates at the February meeting:

• Trustee Judy Wood-Shaw reported that village’s monthly Senior Socialization program continues to grow in popularity with some 30 people attending. The program is held 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the last Friday of each month at The Stillwater Area Community Center. The February program will be a President’s birthday theme. She also gave a brief update on the village Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. The American Red Cross, she said, is planning to conduct a shelter training workshop at the community center (date to be determined) which includes instruction on management issues, client services, shelter set up, registration, etc. The village is also in need of volunteers to assist in an emergency — both local residents and area service groups. Those interested should contact village hall.
• The Fire Department responded to eight alarms in January including mutual aid for a structure fire on Third Avenue in Mechanicville. Nearly 78 hours were spent at alarms with 41 firefighters attending. The department also conducted seven drills during the month.
• Department of Public Works crews were busy salting roads snow in January, repairing a series of water main breaks and repairing and maintaining water and sewer pumps that malfunctioned.
• Mayor Ernest Martin publicly thanked the Town of Stillwater and City of Mechanicville for their assistance with an “unprecedented” number of water main breaks within the village this winter — 10 since January 4. He also thanked organizers of the village’s second annual WinterFest held at the village ice rink on February 19, and encouraged more children and families from the town to use the ice rink on a regular basis. The mayor also called a special meeting of the Board of Trustees for Thursday, March 7, at the village meeting room. At 6 p.m., Trustees will consider a local law regarding the Sewer Department, and at 6:30 p.m. will hold a planning workshop for the 2013-14 village budget.