Durham Road In Conesville To Get Some Work

By Chris English

CONESVILLE — The Town of Conesville road crew is getting ready to do some work on a large stretch of Durham Road, Town Highway Superintendent Ward Apgar reported at a recent town board meeting.

Apgar said he and his crew are getting ready to pug mill and also apply oil and stone to about 7,000 feet of the road. He added that he anticipates most of the $230,000 estimated cost should be covered with Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) money from the state.

Apgar said the crew plowed snow once in April and so far this spring has swept all the town's paved roads. A new part-time employee in the highway department started recently, he added. The department is down to two full-timers, and one is retiring soon.

"We're short handed," Town Supervisor Bill Federice said of the highway department's staffing. "When I talk to my peers, they seem to be short handed too."

In other news from the meeting, Federice went over Schoharie County's moratorium on the use of biosolids as a soil fertilizer and amendment. Biosolids are the organic matter that is left after the treatment of sewage at public and private plants.

"The state doesn't seem to be doing anything to interfere with its use," Federice said. "And I don't understand it. It's a good fertilizer. The problem is the effect it has on ground water over time."

The county Board of Supervisors, of which Federice is chairman, recently voted to enact a six-month moratorium on the use of biosolids.

In his report, Federice also reiterated that new county Administrator Bryan Best is scheduled to start in early June at a starting annual salary of $150,000. He succeeds Korsah Akumfi, who left Jan. 3 to take the same position in Tompkins County.

"I can't wait," Federice of Best starting work. "I've actually been working three or four days a week as county administrator and it's given me a new appreciation for the job and for all the good employees we have working in the county."

Federice also cautioned people about a website he believes gives the impression of representing Conesville he asserts has outdated and inaccurate information regarding the town.

"It's a fake website, a rogue website," he said. "It actually doesn't say it represents the town but also doesn't say that it does not represent the town."

During privilege of the floor, resident John Riedl reported he and others are organizing a Turkey Trot walk/run fundraiser for the weekend after Thanksgiving. It is scheduled to start and finish at the Conesville Firehouse and the planned route involves Route 990V and Bear Kill Road. More details will be coming out in the next few weeks and months.