Successful Summer Rec & More in Sharon

By Alexis Pencar

SHARON — The Town of Sharon held their regularly scheduled Board Meeting on Wednesday, August 6th at 6:30 PM in the Sharon Springs Community Building located at 129 Main Street. Town Supervisor Sandra Manko started the meeting off promptly with approval of the minutes from the previous July meetings with no questions or amendments.

The first point was on even year elections in response to the state wide changes. There was also a slate of candidates for the upcoming November 4th election as it stands right now provided to Board Members.

There was an update from the Rec Program and Town Pool activities from Dan Cornwell and Valerie. Manko said, “I hear a lot of good things about the activities there.”

Dan went through explaining that there were activities planned separate from Rec with 3 field trips sponsored by the Schoharie County Youth Commission. The first was hiking and fishing at Bowmakers Pond, the second was paddleboarding, hiking, & free swim at Glimmerglass State Park, and the last trip was for whitewater rafting in the Adirondacks! SSSC provided transportation. The Sharon Springs Free Library also participated this year by offering storytime and craft each Wednesday that “become extremely popular”.

There were a total of 99 children registered with 97 or less attending on a regular basis. In this update by Valerie, there were thanks given to the new swim instructor and new first year lifeguards. Overall, the pool has been extremely popular, with lots of people in attendance, including a record of 101 people coming to swim in one day! The Youth Commission also purchased new large umbrellas for added shade and there have only been two closures the whole season, one for weather and the other for staffing.

It is worth noting that The Joshua Project is “filling a void” by providing lunches and snacks for the Rec Program as well as for community members too. As one of the “largest Rec Project sites in the Country”, there are often 90 children per day in attendance, “some from communities outside of our own”, so this makes a huge difference for all.

The Rec Program is wrapping up the successful summer with a field trip to Minekill State Park on 8/15, the last day of the Program.

After this uplifting update, Manko got back to business with the survey that was done on July 15th, leading to a grant for playground equipment, called NY Bricks. It was explained that it is at no cost to the town to apply and is a “no match grant intended to take the current rec building itself to renovate it”. This grant could also go towards a playground or basketball court too. This is a community grant. Manko moved with a motion for a letter of support for this effort which was easily passed by the board.

There was a discussion by Highway Superintendent Barbic regarding signage and cost for Bowmakers Pond that would include trail maps, markers, etc. It was motioned and passed for the educational organization Catskill Watershed Corporation to set up information at Bowmakers Pond.

In other notable business: Court fines for June were $1115 and for July it was $2435. The Slate Hill Cemetery Report and Dog Control Officer Report were presented to Board Members with nothing notable to add. The Code Enforcement Officer office hours will change starting 9/5/25 to Friday from 1-4 PM.

In the Highway Superintendent update from Barbic, there have been more shoulders put on town roads in addition to the other large road improvements around town. $300,540.85 total in these improvements from CHIPS money have been used so far. Barbic was able to save money throughout the process and proposes that they spend an additional $93k to seal the roads and shoulders in an effort to increase their overall longevity, saying a “better product that will last longer”. In a slight discrepancy between Barbic and Manko on totals, the motion was presented to “not to exceed $390k in CHIPS money”. Barbic mentioned that the Town typically rolls over $100k each year. The motion was passed with a roll call.

Barbic has a retired town vehicle that needs to be sold and he looked for the Board’s feedback on listing it for sale to private parties, rather than selling through auction. Barbis said he believes he can get more money for it that way. The motion was presented and passed.

With more points and business discussed, check out the full meeting online at SCHOPEG, the video recording service for Schoharie County. Visit schopeg.com and check out “Video On Demand” for more town and village meetings, and event recordings.

The regularly scheduled Town of Sharon Board Meetings are the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30 PM at 129 Main Street, Sharon Springs NY 13459. Call (518) 284-3010 for more information.