Highway Super Readies Retirement

By Joshua Walther

SCHOHARIE - On Wednesday evening, the Schoharie Town Board bid an early farewell to retiring Highway Superintendent Les Foland.

Mr. Foland has been serving the Town of Schoharie for more than thirty years, and he’ll continue to act in his role until the end of December.

He’s named the successor of his position as Charles Reed, another long-time employee that’s been dutifully shadowing Mr. Foland to smoothly transition on January 1st.

The department also hired a new member of their crew on December 8th to fill the soon-to-be vacant route, and he’s already been running trucks to combat the recent snowfall, much to the delight of the higher ups.

“He’s a great guy,” said Mr. Reed. “He’ll fit in really well with everyone.”

After hearing Mr. Foland’s report for the final time, the Board gave their congratulations and well wishes, with Supervisor Ben Oevering saying “It’s been a long ride. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

In other news, the Board is planning to begin a draft of a new zoning district in Central Bridge.

Supervisor Oevering relayed to the members that he’s heard complaints of parking and blight within the hamlet, and he believes that making a new district will not only lead to enforcement, but also coincide with the comprehensive plan and the 2018 hamlet plan.

“It’s gotten to the point where it’s hard to plow the snow over there,” he said about the on-street parking. “We have no estimated cost just yet, but I have a few ideas that I’ve been pulling from the comprehensive plan. Once it’s ironed out, we’ll have a better idea of how much it might run.”

With the Board in agreement, they passed a motion to allow Supervisor Oevering to begin talks with their attorney on how to tackle drafting the new district.

Finally, members received an estimate of how much an inspection of the Fox Creek covered bridge might be if it went out to bid.

The estimate was totalled at $10,500, which is just over the limit for the Town’s procurement policy.

“I thought it was closer to $9,000,” Supervisor Oevering said. He suggested that the Board table the matter until January, and asked for copies of the total to be circulated among members so that they can come back more educated on the matter.