Gregg Sagendorph Superintendent of Highways
Department Garage, 74 Elm Avenue East
Selkirk, NY 12158
(518) 439-4955, option 1 weekdays 7 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Email:
The Highway Department is responsible for the upkeep of Town streets and sidewalks,
including paving, cleaning and snow removal. Annual events include:
Spring Cleanup -- starts late March, ends late April; Helps residents dispose of wood
items Acceptable items include yard waste (leaves, grass clippings,
etc.) raked loose to curbside, placed in biodegradable PAPER bags or in reusable
containers, brush and branches (stacked neatly), wood fencing, waste wood or
lumber, wood bed frames (no mattresses or box springs), wood lawn furniture (no
cushions), and wood storm windows. Unacceptable items
include garbage or trash, clearing of vacant lots, any metal or plastic objects,
appliances, televisions, upholstered furniture, mattresses, rugs,
tires, batteries, motor oil, fuels, propane tanks, barrels, drums, stumps, sod,
paints, pesticides, wood preservatives, and debris left by private contractors.
Household Hazardous Waste Day -- One day in spring during
which the Highway Garage accepts cleaners, paints, thinners and solvents, and other
household hazardous wastes for recycling or safe disposal.
Garden Day-- Limited amounts of free compost and wood
chips are available to area gardeners. 2008 Garden Day is Saturday, April 12
from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
WNYT Electronics and Room Air Conditioner Collection Day
- one day in spring held at Taft Furniture; you must have a coupon in order to
participate; for more information, please contact the Town Recycling Coordinator
at 439-4955, extension 1510 or by e-mail,
.
The program date for 2008 is Saturday, April 26.
Summer Pickup -- Highway Department crews collect grass clippings
and brush placed at curbside in reusable containers or in biodegradable PAPER
bags (not over 50 pounds per container.)
Brush should be cut in lengths not over six feet and stacked neatly at curbside.
No brush or trees from contractors.
Electronics Collection Day -- Two consecutive days in the fall
during which the Highway Garage provides the opportunity to dispose of old and
outdated electronics such as computers and computer parts, televisions, VCRs,
cell phones and telephones. All unusable electronics collected will be
recycled in an environmentally safe manner. Computers found to be
serviceable will be donated locally for minor repairs and redistributed for
further use. Cell phones will be given to an area emergency program.
People turning in old cell phones are asked to keep the battery on the phone and
include the charger, if available; attach the charger to the phone with a rubber
band.
Fall Pickup Program-- From mid-October through mid-November, the
Highway Department collects fallen leaves, grass clippings, and tree branches (six feet or
less) stacked neatly. Leaves must be placed in reusable containers or paper bags, or piled neatly
along the sides of the road, not so high or so wide as to obstruct roadways or line of
sight and not in the roadway itself. Placing debris into the
roadway constitutes a violation of the law as well as creates a hazardous
situation for pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Yard Waste Paper Bags can be purchased, 3 for $1
at the Highway Department, Elm Avenue Park, Town Hall, and Rupert Road Transfer Station.
Rupert Road Transfer Station and Landfill
The Town landfill and transfer station for Town residents only is located on Rupert Road
in South Bethlehem and is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed
holidays). All recyclables must be separated at the Rupert Road facility. For
more information regarding recycling in the town, please see the Recycling
Coordinator's web page.
A permit is required for residential or commercial use. Both permits are
available with proof of current residency (the vehicle registration) from the Highway
Garage on Elm Avenue East. Residential permits are also available at Town Hall or the Elm
Avenue Park.
No-Parking Ordinance From November 1 to April 15, parking on town streets between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. is
prohibited so that streets may be clear for fire protection and snow removal. Cars
parked in violation of this ordinance may be ticketed and/or towed at the owner's expense.
Malfunctioning Street Lights
If you have a problem with a street light malfunctioning, please contact the Highway Department at
439-4955, option 1 with the following
information: house number, street address, hamlet name (e.g.,
Slingerlands, Elsmere, etc.), pole number
(usually a metal tag on each pole with a number on it), and a detailed
description of the problem, for example, the light is out, the light goes on and
off, light is on 24 hours, light is damaged, pole is damaged.
Compost Facility: a link to information on the Town's
Compost Facility.
Q. When is Household Hazardous Waste and Electronic
Collection Days during the year?
A. Household Hazardous Waste Day is the first Saturday in the month of May and
Electronics Collection and Recycling Day is the last Friday and Saturday in the month of September.
For more information on these collection days, you can visit our website under Recycling
Coordinator or from our Spring Cleanup and Household Hazardous Waste brochure that
gets mailed to all residents the last week of March every year.
Q. When does the annual Spring Cleaning and
Household Hazardous Waste brochure get mailed?
A. Our Spring Cleaning and Household Hazardous Waste Brochure gets mailed the
last week of March every year to all Bethlehem residents. If you are a new
resident or did not get a brochure you could always pick one up at either the Town
Clerk's office located on the first floor at the Town Hall in Delmar (8:30 a.m.
- 5:00 p.m.) or the Highway Department (7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) located at 74 Elm Avenue East in Selkirk
Q. What size tree limbs/branches can I
put out for the Highway Department to pick up?
A. The Highway Department can pick up branches
no bigger then 8” round in diameter and no longer then 6-7 feet long.They cannot weight more then 50 pounds each.They must be stacked neatly alongside the curb.
Q. Why do Highway Department employees
water the flowers when it is raining?
A. Sometimes you may see us watering the
flowers about town when it is raining.We
fertilize the flowers six days a week. The canopy of flowers and leaves
prevent rainwater from penetrating the soil base of the plant therefore we use
a special watering hose/nozzle to water the plants.
Q. When can I rake leaves to the side
of the road for pick up?
A. Leaves can be raked neatly to the side of
the road from mid-October to mid-November or until all leaves are picked up
pending no significant snowfall.
Q. What is the schedule for leaves to
be picked up that are raked alongside the road?
A. Leaves are picked up by zones within the
Town.Pick up starts in Zone 1 and works
through each street until all the leaves are picked up in that zone.We then move to the next zone and continue the process until all zones
have been picked up.To see which zone you are in, scroll down on this web
page or click here.
Q. Who is in charge of maintaining trimming of
brush and trees?
A. The Highway Department trims brush/trees overflowing onto roadway or obstructing view of traffic.
Q. Who is in charge of maintaining street signs?
A. The Highway Department maintains the street signs on all roads in Bethlehem.
Q. Who should I call regarding dead animals in
the roadway or on the side of the road?
A. If the animal is on a town road, you can call the Town of Bethlehem Police
Department at 439-9973 and ask for Animal Control or call Town Hall during
regular business hours at 439-4955 and select extension 2016. For
animals on or alongside State roads, call the
State Department of Transportation at 765-2841.
Summer Yard Waste Pickup 2008
Beginning May 5, 2008
Collection Hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Acceptable
items include leaves, hedge and grass clippings placed at curbside in
reusable containers or in biodegradable paper bags (not over 50 pounds
per container), brush stacked neatly at curbside in lengths not over 6
feet
Please check this web site for information on the program as
Autumn 2008 approaches.
Fall Pick-up Program-- From mid-October through mid-November, the
Highway Department collects fallen leaves, grass clippings, and tree branches
(four feet or less). Leaves must be placed in reusable containers or paper bags*, or piled neatly
along the sides of the road, not so high or so wide as to obstruct roadways or line of
sight and not in the roadway itself. Placing debris into the
roadway constitutes a violation of the Vehicle and Traffic law as well as creates a hazardous
situation for pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic. Please make sure
that storm sewer inlets are also kept clean of leaves and branches to ensure
proper drainage.
Leaves are picked up by Zones within the Town. We start in Zone
1 and work through each street until all the leaves are picked up in that zone. We then
move to the next zone and continue the process until all Zones have been picked
up. Leaf collection will continue until all leaves are picked up
pending no significant snowfall.
Weather conditions play a major role in whether or not a schedule can be
kept. If it rains or snows, the leaves are more difficult to pick
up making the amount of work able to be
accomplished variable from day to day. If the weather
is nice, many homeowners and landscapers rake the leaves for which they are
responsible within the same time period; this puts large amounts of leaves on every
street in the Town all at one time.
At this time of year, over half of our staff and vehicles are dedicated to the
collection program. In addition, we hire a dozen or more part-time employees
through temporary placement agencies. It would be impossible to add more
trucks and help to the program while taking care of the many other job duties
for which we are responsible. Leaf collection is the primary focus of our operation
at this time of year.
Vehicle breakdowns and failure of the scheduled help to show on a given
day are also factors in not keeping to a strict schedule. The leaf collection trucks
are always the first to be filled with the employees on hand. At times, even the
brush collection trucks, which have a published schedule, start running a day behind
due to the sheer amount of bags that need to be picked up.
Fall Leaf Pickup Tentative Dates
2007
Zone
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Dates
12/6
12/6
12/7
12/8
12/8
12/8
12/8
12/10
12/10
12/10
12/10
12/10
12/10
12/10
12/10
To find what Zone your street is in, either scroll down or choose the first
letter of your street name, below
A | B | C
| D | E | F | G
| H | I | J | K
| L | M | N | O
| P | Q | R | S
| T | U | V | W
| X | Y | Z
Leaves are picked up by Zones within the Town. We start in Zone
1 and work through each street until all the leaves are picked up in that zone. We then
move to the next zone and continue the process until all Zones have been picked
up. Leaf collection will continue until all leaves are picked up
pending no significant snowfall.