Board passes post office resolution

With a unanimous vote, the Hartford Town Board made a resolution on Nov. 13 requesting the new hours for the post office be from 2 to 6 p.m.

The board said this will allow the most people to be able to use the office. Town Supervisor Dana Haff points out that the Hartford school is the largest employer in town, and these hours would allow staff to mail out packages or take care of other post office business after work.

“Don’t structure it to where it’s going to be guaranteed to fail,” Haff said. “We feel that the 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. hours (that the post office originally proposed) will guarantee doom.”

The post office resolution addressed these points and more.

“Any hours of weekday retail counter operations that do not take these facts into account will only serve to guarantee that the retail business load will dramatically drop off and further encourage the USPS to look at closing the facility in the future,” the resolution said.

During the meeting, Haff also thanked Maine Drilling and Blasting for cleaning out a piece of land off of a very steep drop-off that locals had been littering with all kinds of trash including large appliances. The company owns one half of the trash dumping site, and a private resident owns the other half. Workers from the drilling and blasting business volunteered to clean up the space, and Highway Superintendent Greg Brown has since put up new signs prohibiting dumping and trespassing.

“Main Drilling and Blasting’s proactive approach to the dumping issue at the intersection of Pope Hill Road, old Swamp Road and Coach Road shows that you have a commitment to the welfare of the town and I very much appreciate it,” Haff said in a letter to Bob Phillips, the site supervisor.

The board also thanked Diane Beshara Alkes, a former French teacher at the Hartford school, for her recent donation to the school field project.

The board discussed the health insurance plan of two retired town employees and a retiree’s spouse. The three were offered a plan that would save them money in their premiums, but they decided to stick with the Blue Cross/ Blue Shield plan they already had.

Brown announced the completion of road work on Gilchrist Hill. The highway department reworked the road so there is no longer a hairpin turn. A meeting was held on Nov. 26 to discuss the deed of the landowner who now owns property on both sides of the road.

Representatives from the youth commission obtained permission from the board to start a Facebook page as a means for quick communication.

“It would be the fastest and most effective way to get that information out there,” said board member Jennifer Nims.

At the meeting, Haff also thanked the Granville Rotary Club for building a porch for a Hartford resident after the club was contacted by a Glens Falls organization for handicapped adults.

“I was very appreciative that Granville was there and ready to help,” Haff said.