By Joshua Walther
SCHOHARIE - On Tuesday evening, the Schoharie Village Board met to discuss the public hearing on the streetlight replacement project, as well as a possible shed for the youth soccer league.
With Mayor Colleen Henry excused, Deputy Mayor Peter Johnson opened the public hearing with some background information about the project.
The Board’s aim is to improve visibility and lighting around the Village by replacing the mounted cobra heads on all one hundred ten streetlights so they can install yellow LED bulbs.
Since only the heads are being replaced, the poles will remain exactly where they are. The project should not only make things brighter, but also save a lot on the Village’s electricity bill, as they’re expected to break even after just eight years.
However, the journey to get to this point has been a long and tiring one. The Board first floated the idea around 2019, only to have COVID shut down operations for several years.
When things calmed down enough for the project to resume, the Village had to coordinate between agreeing to purchase the heads from National Grid while allowing NYPA to install them and help with initial financing.
Yet with this public hearing, Village Clerk Leslie Price ensured the audience that both deals are very near to closing, and work on making Schoharie brighter should take place shortly after National Grid delivers the cobra heads.
In other news, the Board also heard comments from the Schoharie Youth Soccer League about building a shed near the little league field to store their equipment after practice and games.
Traditionally, the coaches have taken the equipment back to their personal house for storage, yet while this was fine in the past, the program has been growing at an exponential rate.
When asked by Board member Sal Medak if they could use the little league’s pre-existing sheds, the representative from the League said that they didn’t want to mix or mettle with another organization’s property.
After hearing the remarks, Deputy Mayor Johnson expressed that while the Board may be supportive of the idea, they currently have no code enforcement officer to approve such a project.
He asked that the League wait on any official construction until the summer, and further said that the Board will strive to keep in touch for when the position is filled.
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