Wet weather slows road work in New Lebanon

Just like the homeowner who wants to get his grass cut but findswith each rainy day another delay, so too does New Lebanon's servicedepartment feel the pinch of the wet weather.

"We've had a lot of rain and weather delays," said municipalmanager George Markus.

"That's stopped us from getting out and doing a lot of the thingswe should have accomplished by now."

Repairing potholes is one of those concerns.

Fixing the holes in the asphalt is an endless task. Some minorrepairs take no more than a surface patch. Others, because theyresult from water or sewer line ruptures, aren't so easilyaddressed.

What you see on the surface is just the tip of the iceberg. "Iterodes the base down," Markus said. "You can put all the asphalt inthere you want, and it's just going to continue to sink because ithas no base."

Those require excavation and repair before another top coat isapplied.

Other repairs require no more than a quick "cold patch" on thesurface. "It depends on the reason the pothole is there," Markussaid.

On West Main Street, the village has faced the need to repairsidewalks, too. "When we get a little break, we'll pour concrete andcatch up," Markus said.

The village is faced with the same fast-growing grass thathomeowners have tackled this spring. The village has acres to mow inits parks and others properties.

At its May 17 meeting, council member Linda Green asked whetherthe recent rainy weather would have any effect on algae bloom at theFred O. Jenkins municipal pond behind the municipal building.

Markus said spring rains wouldn't affect it at all.

It's low water level in the heat of the summer that causes theunsightly algae to multiply.

"You got a shallow water level, you got a sunny day or two ormore ..." Markus said.

The municipal pond is a retention pond and is not spring-fed,thus it gets its water replenished only when rains are heavy enough.

"If it doesn't rain," Markus said, "we have no inflow to thepond."

Green is a member of the New Lebanon Lions Club, which hosts afishing derby at the pond each August.

At the meeting, council unanimously approved two resolutions.

One declared certain property as excess, causing the manager tolist them on www.govdeals.com, a website that allows variousgovernment agencies "to sell surplus and confiscated items via theInternet."

Council also approved a temporary waiver of carnival fees forHappy H Attractions during the village's Stagecoach Days Festival inJune.

Contact this writer at (937) 696-2080 or williamgschmidt@frontier.com.