A Warning From the Desk of the Village Attorney’s Office
Recently many Village residents have received an unsolicited mailing from New York Record Retrieval, Inc. Under this mailing the company offers to obtain a certified copy of your property deed as a service to you for the sum of $59.50. In most cases the deed in question has been recently recorded in the Albany County Clerk‘s Office.

The Announcement acknowledged that many records are available for free or for a nominal cost from government agencies but no mention is made specifically about obtaining records from a County Clerk.

THIS SERVICE IS UNNECESSARY AND WE RECOMMEND THAT IT NOT BE USED.

Any deed recorded after January of 1980 is available online from the Albany County Clerk for free. If you have a computer, you may go to
www.albanycounty.com and click on County Clerk. Once on the County Clerk’s site click on “Deeds and Mortgages on line” and follow the instructions. If an image of your deed is available, you can print a copy for free.

If you need a certified copy of your deed for any purpose (more often than not, you will not need a certified copy), you can obtain one from the County Clerk for a fee of $5.00.

PODS are useful, but … …
On May 19, 2008 a Village ordinance became effective which regulates the use of temporary storage containers, sometimes known as PODS. Chapter 214 of the Village Code was enacted to ensure that the use of such containers would not result in neighborhood blight, attractive nuisances, dangers to children, homes for pests, or become permanent storage.
A “temporary storage container” is any portable container, receptacle or device of a type commonly used for the temporary storage of personal property or other matter. They might include trailers, shipping containers and portable on-demand storage units (PODS).
Any one wishing to place such a container in a residentially zoned or residentially utilized parcel must obtain a permit from the Village Code Enforcement Officer. The permit shall be good for 90 days and the fee for the permit is $20.00. The Code Enforcement Officer may, subsequent to the issuance of the initial permit, grant an extension for up to an additional
90 days for an additional fee of $50.00. In no event, however, shall the permit and any extension be valid for more than 180 days from the date of the original issuance.
All containers should be placed behind the front line of the main building structure, but the Code Enforcement Officer may approve another location for the unit so long as he determines that no hazard or nuisance would be created by the placement at that position. No container may be placed within the bounds of a sidewalk, street, road or other public right of way.

The Colonie Fire Company Unveils New Rescue Tool
The conflict between motor vehicle passenger safety and the rescue squad’s ability to access that passenger injured in an automobile accident is a real problem rescue squads face every day. Due to all of the safety systems installed in cars today, the survival rate of victims of vehicle accidents has increased significantly. After an accident, however, these new technologies make it more difficult for the rescue squad to access and extricate victims from the wrecked vehicle. Many safety restraint components turn into a potential hazard for the rescue worker and the victim after an accident. Therefore, determining the locations and deactivation procedures of undeployed airbags, airbag gas generators and seat belt pretensioners is extremely important during the extrication process. This is not an easy task considering the locations and specifications of safety components can be significantly different for various makes and models of vehicles.

As a result of your, the Village residents, continued support of your fire company, we have been able to acquire the newest in vehicle rescue technology, the Crash Recovery System. The Crash Recovery System is a mobile vehicle information data base system. This data base will be run on a new Panasonic laptop computer which will be installed in Rescue 2. With the Crash Recovery System, the rescue squad can quickly and easily retrieve all necessary vehicle information while responding to the scene of an accident. The rescue squad has access to an interactive top and side view of the vehicle, displaying all of the safety components, their location in the vehicle and how to deactivate the safety systems for a safer working extrication environment. The system also provides the rescue squad with the locations of other relevant vehicle components such as batteries, fuel tanks, safety glass and hybrid systems.

Chief Mike Powers reports that the members of the fire company have completed the necessary training and the system is in service. Updates and new vehicle technologies are downloaded via the internet as they become
available, keeping the system as current as the new technology.

Firefighters Complete Training
Fire Company Chief, Mike Powers, is pleased to announce that firefighters John Schultz Jr. and Louis Vasquez have successfully completed their required New York State Firefighter 1 training. Both firefighters have received their state certificates of course completion and are now fully qualified as interior firefighters. Congratulations and welcome to the brotherhood!!

Mike would also like to welcome Brian Curran, Christopher Ruff, and Todd Stevens as new members of the Colonie Fire Company. All have previous experience and training from other fire departments and are a welcome addition to the Company’s roster of interior firefighters.

The Colonie Fire Company reminds Village Residents to “Practice Your Escape Plan”
It’s time for Fire Prevention Week, and from October 5–11 your Colonie Fire Company is joining forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) to remind local residents to ‘Practice Your Escape Plan.’ During this year’s fire safety campaign, firefighters and safety advocates will be spreading the word about the dangers of home fires and teaching local residents how to plan and practice escape from a home in case a fire occurs.

According to the latest NFPA research, 3,030 people died in 2005 in home fires — that’s roughly eight people every day. Being alerted to a fire and knowing what to do to escape from one are extremely important, yet only 23% of households have planned and practiced a home fire escape plan.

“Many times when we speak to residents who have experienced a fire in their home, they recall becoming confused and disoriented by the conditions and severity of the situation — but they realized they needed to get out fast,” said Mike Powers, Chief. “Sometimes there are only seconds to escape, but there’s no question that having a plan in place that has been practiced saves precious time and makes survival more likely. We hope that Fire Prevention Week will prompt folks in our community to plan and practice their escape.”

Are you prepared for a fire? Although it’s difficult to prepare for the unexpected, reviewing the information below and taking action based on it to plan for a fire is strongly recommended. . .and don’t forget to practice your escape plan during Fire Prevention Week!

• Install working smoke alarms on every level, and inside and outside of each sleeping area.

• Develop a fire escape plan that identifies two ways out of each room and a family meeting place outside.

• Make sure your plan allows for any specific needs in your household. If everyone knows what to do, everyone can get out quickly.

• Practice using the plan, at least twice a year.

• Some studies have shown that some children and adults may not awaken to the sound of a smoke alarm, they may need help waking up.

• If the smoke alarm sounds: Go to your closest exit, and if you run into smoke, turn and use another way out. If you must exit through smoke, get low and go under the smoke to your exit. Don’t take time to pick up belongings; just get out and help others get out. Move fast but stay calm.

Fire Prevention Week is actively supported by fire departments across the country. For 85 years fire departments have observed Fire Prevention
Week, making it the longest running public health and safety observance on record.

Please be sure to visit your Colonie Fire Company’s open house on Saturday October 11, 2008 from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. for more information.

Messages From Village Hall
WATER BILLS
Please remember that meters not read on a timely basis are estimated: estimates may NOT be close to the actual usage.

October Water Bills will be in the mail by the end of September. If your bill was estimated or if you have any questions concerning the bill, please contact the Village Hall before the 31ST of October 2008. Any possible adjustments must be done before the end of the billing month. Since the month ends on a Friday which is a work day, we will not be adjusting any bills that are questioned after Friday, October 31, 2008.

2007 PROPERTY TAXES
Any unpaid taxes that are not collected in our office by close of business on Friday, October 31, 2008 will be sent to Albany County for collection. Any questions should be directed to the Village Office, 869–7562.

Electronic Mailings
When you make an electronic payment, please be advised the funds are NOT IMMEDIATELY sent to us. Funds must be received in our office on or before the deadline in order to avoid late payment charges. Please allow a minimum of 10 [ten] days when making a payment by electronic means.