We are pleased to announce that Playhouse Stage Company is returning to the Guilderland Performing Arts Center by offering Oklahoma!, one of the most successful musicals in history.   The performances will take place at 7:30pm on Thursday, July 31 thru Saturday, August 2, and a 3pm matinee on Saturday, August 2.  All seating is free and on a first-come, first-served basis.  You can bring your own lawn chair or blanket.  

If your home has a septic system or cesspool that adversely impacts certain designated waterbodies, you may be eligible for reimbursement for replacement costs under the Septic System Replacement Fund Program.  The program reimburses eligible property owners with grants for up to 50% of the costs (up to $10,000) of their eligible septic system projects. Grants are awarded only to those septic system projects that will significantly and quantifiably reduce environmental and/or public health impacts from cesspools or septic systems.   You can check your property’s eligibility by entering your property’s address.  This rare opportunity is a collaboration between the State, County, and Town, and property owners to address a pressing environmental and public health issue. 

Please remember that, if you are a senior citizen (65 years of age or older by December 31, 2025), a person with a qualifying physical disability, and/or a veteran, you may be entitled to a partial exemption on your property taxes.  Eligible homeowners have until March 1 to apply for an exemption.  Please disregard this notice if you have already applied for these exemptions or are currently receiving them.  For more information, please visit the website, call (518) 356-1980, or stop by the Assessor’s office. 

The Hedge Bistro at Western Turnpike Golf Course is open this winter on Tuesday thru Saturday from 11am to 5pm.  The menu includes popular entrees, appetizers, pizza, burgers, tacos, and desserts. The golf course’s cart paths are open for winter walks.  When measurable snow finally arrives (unfortunately, still not likely soon), the golf course will have groomed trails for cross-country skiing and paths for snowshoeing.   Town parks and Vosburgh Open Space Trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.  Sledding is available at the Winter Recreation Area just past Tawasentha Park.  Nordic ski and snowshoe rentals are available at the Parks & Rec Office.

You can now reserve Tawasentha Park’s pavilions for family and local business events.  The more popular summer weekends quickly fill up.  Walk-in reservations (with payment) take priority over phone, faxed or emailed reservation requests (with payment).  To request booking a pavilion, please submit a completed Request for Use of Facilities/Know the Rules and required payment (credit card, check or cash) to the Town of Guilderland. You can drop off the required forms or mail them to Guilderland Parks & Recreation Department at 181 State Route 146, Altamont, NY 12009, or faxed to 518-456-3156.   You can view the availability calendar for Tawasentha Park Pavilion Rentals.

Highway Department crews are now picking-up discarded Christmas trees.  Please note that discarded trees are recycled as mulch so please do not wrap trees in plastic, and remove ornaments, tinsel, etc.  There is no hurry.  Highway trucks pick-up lawn bags and tied brush on a year-round basis.    

Community Events & Resources

On Sunday, January 26 from Noon to 3pm at the Westmere Fire Department, the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring The Heat is ON! Soup, Chowder & Chili Cook Off, when local restaurants, food vendors, and others will offer samplings soups etc. and also be judged on best flavor, most comforting, and most original test. Area wineries, breweries, and beverage crafters will offer samples of their wares.   It is part of the Chamber’s Seasons of Guilderland initiative.  Tickets are available online, with proceeds shared with local charities.  

On Sunday February 2, 2025 at 2:30pm at The Egg, the Chinese Community Center is hosting its 52nd annual Lunar New Year Gala Show, with 18 performances including Peking Opera and Chinese Kungfu demonstrations, traditional fan and long-sleeve dances, Mongolian folk dances, modern hip-hop routines, and a chorus and folk instrument ensemble. Tickets are available now on The Egg’s website or at its box office.

Community Caregivers, which offers wide-ranging services and support for seniors and their supporters, has a new virtual education series that is designed to support caregivers.  The plan is to offer new topics.  Among its services, Community Caregivers’ volunteers provide respite time for persons caring for loved ones.  You can help with this mission by volunteering your time and/or making donations.

The Guilderland Public Library’s upcoming calendar includes on Tuesday, January 28 from 1pm to 2:20pm, An Inside Look at Working with a Literary Agent: A Conversation with Seth Fishman, a virtual discussion with a literary agent on the ins and outs in working with an agent, including 30 minutes of Q&A.   

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve has posted its calendar for 2025 Community Science and Conservation Days when you will have a rare backstage look into its science program and opportunities to gather important data of a geographical and temporal scope.  

The Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy has opened 4-miles of trails in its Upper Bozen Kill Preserve, a 225-acre property at the end of Bond Road.  The new trail system also connects to the existing trail system at the Lower Bozen Kill Preserve.  The total trails are nearly 6 miles.  You can access the new entrance to the Upper Bozen Kill Preserve by continuing north on Westfall Road past the existing Lower Bozen Kill Preserve entrance and turn left on Bond Rd.  A parking lot and preserve kiosk is located at the end of the road.  The trail system is open year-round, and given its elevation, often has sufficient snow for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.  

On Saturday, February 8 from 9am to 11am, the MHLC has an Intro to Winter Hiking and Snowshoeing winter hike at the Bennett Hill Preserve in Clarksville, with a guided hike on winter trails and helpful suggestions on how to safely enjoy your outings.  You should bring your snowshoes and/or spikes, and if there is no snow, it will still take place.  On Saturday, February 15 at 10am, the MHLC is hosting Winter Wildlife Tracking, when Dan Yacobellis, a certified Level 3 Track & Sign facilitator, who has studied the animals of the northeast and their habitats for three decades, will lead a hike at the 208-acre Winn Preserve in Altamont.

The New York State Library’s calendar of public programs includes next Thursday, January 30 at 1pm, the State Library is presenting an.one-hour virtual presentation by Vaughan Scribner about his book Under Alien Skies: Environment, Suffering, and the Defeat of the British Military in Revolutionary America, in which he discusses how foreign soldiers' negative perceptions of the American environment merged with harsh wartime realities to elicit considerable physical, mental, and emotional anguish. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter.  

 Peter G. Barber

Town Supervisor