Keck Retires After Decades with Cooperstown Village

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
COOPERSTOWN

Albert “Al” Keck has retired from the Village of Cooperstown after having served in several roles, most recently as village assessor. Village officials celebrated his service at a gathering before the regularly scheduled board meeting on October 27.

“The people in the Village of Cooperstown are basically the most good-tempered, intelligent, hardworking people I’ve ever worked with in my life,” Keck, 82, told AllOtsego. “And that’s the truth in every administration. I would say that there were no slackers in any respect.”

Keck got his start with the village in the early 2000s upon the recommendation of a friend who informed him there was an opening for a zoning enforcement officer. With his contracting background, Keck thought it was a good fit. He went on to serve as assessor and watershed inspector. Lucky to have a jurisdiction as small as Cooperstown, Keck said, he would often ride his bike to different properties.

In his September 25 notice to the village Board of Trustees that he would not like another term as assessor, Keck wrote that he came to the decision in consultation with his wife and would still be available to support the transition, for free.

“The decision only made complete sense to me recently, as I am going to be 83 in May 2026, and would like to pursue my other interests before I die,” he wrote.

Those interests include sculpture art, painting his house, and making Induction Day covers with his son to raise money for the fire department.

“I’ll still be active,” he told AllOtsego.

Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh said Keck’s well-attended retirement party was a reflection of the value of his service.

“The Village of Cooperstown is extremely grateful to Al for his 25 years of dedicated service as a zoning enforcement officer, watershed inspector, and village assessor. The number of individuals who attended his retirement gathering attest to the high regard in which he is held by us all,” she wrote in an e-mail.

One of Keck’s accomplishments was protecting the local watershed.

“The Village Of Cooperstown’s Otsego Lake Watershed Law established regulations for the inspection of On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems (i.e., holding tanks, septic systems, advanced treatment units) which lie within 500 feet of the shoreline of Otsego Lake or 100 feet from one of its tributaries, an area known as the ‘zone of protection,’” Tillapaugh explained.

Fifteen years ago, Tillapaugh shared, Keck and an engineer “identified, tested and inspected the approximately 375 systems in the zone of protection. An ongoing system of inspections was established which resulted in significant and measurable water quality improvements, including the reduction of phosphorus.”

Keck has been recognized by the Otsego Lake Association and Otsego County Conservation Association for his water protection work.

Keck said a worthy assessor successor will be someone who has the diligence to “make sure they get out every single year and record the changes [to properties] absolutely reliably.”

He also stressed the importance of closely following village planning decisions.

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