The Town of Hartwick’s water woes are approaching a resolution, according to the New York State Department of Health. Earlier this year, mold and mildew that did not impact drinking water safety were found in the building that houses the town’s reservoir. The state health department says upgrades to address the issue will be completed this fall.…
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Chris Briggs
This letter is in rebuttal to Bruce Markusen’s letter, titled “Town of Hartwick Coverage Lacking,” published in the May 1, 2025 editions of “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta.” These are areas of that letter with which I disagree.…
This story began in early April with reports of mold being found on two walls of the Hartwick reservoir, as posted by Councilman Bryan LoRusso on one of his Facebook political pages. This issue of mold and moisture is not new, nor has it created a water safety issue, either now or in the past.…
On April 21, Town Board members voted to approve expenditures up to $32,500.00 for a design from Delaware Engineering that will address ventilation, mold issues and other structural concerns in the water reservoir building. In addition to the design, the town will also contract with Delaware Engineering to bid out, award and manage the project.…
LoRusso’s motion to approve the installation of a humidistat and an override switch for the fans in the building that houses the town’s water tank—and to repair two exterior louvers—at a cost not to exceed $6,000.00 was unanimously approved.…
Haney said town officials will be addressing the current water concerns at an emergency water meeting to be held on Monday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m. at the Hartwick Town Hall, prior to the 6:30 p.m. regularly scheduled board meeting.…
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Hats off to the Town of Hartwick for being one of only four Otsego County municipal entities—along with Otsego County, the City of Oneonta, and the Village of Cooperstown—that currently livestream and record meetings and make them available to the public for viewing online.…
Haney, co-owner of the Cooperstown Bat Company with husband Tim, was appointed interim supervisor on Tuesday, January 21, following a motion by Bryan LoRusso. Councilmembers Chris Briggs, Bruce Markusen, LoRusso and Tom Murphy—often at loggerheads since the resignation of former Supervisor Robert O’Brien—voted unanimously in favor of moving forward with Haney taking the lead.…
There continued to be a clear divide between councilmembers Chris Briggs, Bryan LoRusso, Bruce Markusen and Tom Murphy as they bickered frequently across the table, but despite this they were able to come to a consensus regarding the hiring of a town attorney.…
Over the last two months, Town of Hartwick residents have witnessed the resignations of Town Supervisor Robert O’Brien and attorney William C. Green, a call for the resignations of two board members, a deputy supervisor who cannot serve in that capacity due to a paperwork technicality and, most recently, the resignation of bookkeeper Raymond Holohan.…
