After nearly four inches of rain earlier in the week, it looks like we are settling into a cold but snowless stretch for a while.   The winter season starts tonight at 10:27pm, with the winter solstice, but there is little to no chance of a white Christmas. It remains mostly quiet here with no scheduled meetings of boards or committees for the rest of the year. The first month of the new year is full of meetings, with the Town Board’s 2024 organizational on Thursday, January 4 at 7pm, with swearing-in of newly elected officials. The Comprehensive Plan Update Committee’s next meeting is set for Tuesday, January 9 at 7pm when the CPUC will refine draft recommendations and goals. More details are shared below.  

Town News & Announcements

We are continuing to update the Town’s new website as we get helpful feedback on its new features. To get the most out of the website, please register for your account where you can customize notifications from the Town and how the website’s features appear on your device.  You can sign-up by clicking the link on the upper right corner on any of the website’s pages.  

 Parks & Recreation has open spots available for its popular Winter Break Fun-N-Games program, which includes warm-up tag games followed by games such as Jailbreak, Pins Down, Survivor, Basketball, Seven-Base Kickball, Indoor Soccer and many more.  Registration ends tomorrow.  The program takes place in the gym at Guilderland Elementary School from 9am to 11am on Tuesday, December 26 through Friday, December 29.   

Parks & Rec’s "Get Out and Walk This Winter" is already proving very popular with walkers.   For this winter season, Tawasentha, DiCaprio, Keenholts, and Nott Road Parks will stay open during daytime hours.  Western Turnpike Golf Course’s cart paths are also open for walkers.  When measurable snow arrives, Vosburgh Trails Open Space, WTGC, and Town parks offer snowshoeing and cross- country skiing, with groomed trails at the golf course.   Sledding is available at the Winter Recreation Area just past Tawasentha Park.  Nordic ski and snowshoe rentals are available at the Parks & Rec Office.

While the vacuuming of accumulated leaves has ended for the year, Highway crews are now picking up bagged leaves, tied brush piles, and in a few weeks, discarded Christmas trees.  Please remember that overnight parking on Town roads, except if permitted by posted signs on certain streets, is not allowed from November 1 to April 1.  Please also take the time to remove basketball hoops and other obstructions from the street to prevent damage to the hoops and plows.   

Covid-19 Update

The CDC reported this week that hospitalizations nationwide increased over the past week by 3.1% and the death rate was unchanged.  The CDC’s current map continues to have Albany County with a “medium” hospitalization rate for COVID-19, but nearby counties, including Saratoga, Schenectady and Washington, now have “high” rates where the wearing of facemasks in indoor public settings is recommended.  Several other counties north of Albany also have “high” rates.  

State DOH’s most recent COVID-19 summary indicated that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are again increasing.  County DOH’s most recent wastewater COVID-19 surveillance report shows that the presence of the COVID-19 virus in the Town’s wastewater is “increasing” and is now “quantifiable,” with more than 50 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, and is also at a “higher” rate when compared to the State’s numbers, and that in-patient hospitalizations over the next 10 days is expected to increase.    

A reminder that the Federal government has expanded its program under which you can receive by mail free at-home COVID-19 tests.  The program now allows for eight home tests per household which means that if you recently placed an order for four tests, you can now order four additional tests at no cost.  

Community Events & Resources

The Guilderland Public Library’s calendar includes seminars on interesting topics and conversations with well-known authors.  On Wednesday, January 10 at 8pm, the Library is hosting a virtual conversation with best-selling author Rebecca Serle about her novel, One Italian Summer, In Five Years, The Dinner List, and many more.  The Library offers a wide-variety of seminars by authors and prominent persons, and taped recordings of prior events.  

On Wednesday, December 27, and Thursday, December 28 from 4pm to 8pm, the Library is offering a NYS Snowmobile Safety Program that provides fundamental information that all snowmobilers should possess in order to ensure the safety of riders and other trail users.  Attendance is required on both nights.  A New York State Snowmobile Safety Certificate will be provided upon completing the course.  

A reminder that the Library offers several free weekly gatherings for the community’s benefit including Let’s Talk: Coffee & Conservation for Seniors on every Wednesday from 11am to 12:30pm, with coffee, tea, snacks, and lunch available at the Café’ con Mel, the Library’s new café.   The Library’s events calendar also has LEGO Free Play, Teen Drop-In DIY, and other interesting group activities.   

As you may have heard, John Boyd Thatcher State Park has been designated a National Natural Landmark by the US Department of the Interior.  In awarding this designation, the Interior Department noted that the Park features the most complete and minimally disturbed record of Middle Paleozoic rock in the Appalachian Plateaus region, with visible geologic cross section spanning 63 million years.     

In this holiday season, please consider donating food, money, or volunteering your time at the Guilderland Food Pantry, Community Caregivers, and other groups who work year-round to address food insecurity in our community.  As many in our community celebrate this season, it is important to remember families who daily face food insecurity.  

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.  

Peter G. Barber

Town Supervisor