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WELCOME TO THE TOWN OF STARK, HERKIMER COUNTY, NEW YORK

Welcome to Town of Stark

Feel free to look around to learn about the history and services of the Town of Stark, or to find out the availability and contact information of our departments and staff members. This site is periodically updated by our town clerk to ensure that all emergency alerts, events, or job opportunities are immediately available to the public. This includes the time, date, and result of elections, and updates about our departments, services or the weather conditions.

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Senior Citizen Tax Exemption for the Town of Stark

Senior Citizens who reside in the Town of Stark may be eligible for the Senior Citizens Tax Exemption. The deadline to apply is March 1st, 2024. To qualify for the exemption, the property must be your primary residence. You must be age 65 or older. Your income must be less than $18,000.00. If you think you may qualify, please contact Jim Fresco, by mail, phone or email at the following address:

James Fresco, Town Assessor 108 Court Street, Suite 3200 Herkimer, NY 13350 Phone: 315-867-1632 Email: jffresco@herkimercounty.org

October upcoming Events for the Town of Stark

The Town of Stark Board Meeting for October is Tuesday October 10, 2023 at 7:00 PM in the Town of Stark Courthouse Building in Starkville. Construction for Wiltse Hill Road began 7/24/2023. Wiltse Hill Road will be closed off from State Route 80 near the Park Road intersection. This is the beginning of construction of the replacement of the culvert with a new bridge going over the Otsquago Creek in Van Hornesville. The construction is projected to last until middle of October, 2023, providing there are no more delays. As of this time, everything appears to be on time.

New Leaf Energy may be in attendance for the meeting October 10, 2023, as will Bernard Melewski, Town Attorney for the Sickler Road Wind project.
The final Draft Environmenetal Impact Statement (DEIS) should be ready for the public to review and comment at this time. The document will be available to the public after the October meeting.

The annual Fall dumpster day will be held on Saturday October 14 at the Town of Stark Highway Department Garage, located at 703 Elwood Road in Starkville. Hours for the collection are from 9AM to 1PM. White goods (refridgeraters, freezers, TVs, etc) will be collected on this day. This is a very popular day and the Town hopes you take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of your trash and help keep the Town clean and neat. (This notice updated 9/19/2023)

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FINAL SCOPING DOCUMENT FOR SICKLER ROAD WIND

Herkimer County-The Town of Stark Town Board, as lead has made the Draft Scope for the proposed New Leaf Stark1 and Stark 2 Wind Farm available. The Final Scope is available from the Town Clerk, 703 Elwood Road, Fort Plain, NY 13339 and may be viewed on- line by signing into https://new-leaf-energy.squarespace.com/project/stark-wind. This is the New Leaf Energy website for Sickler Road Wind.

The action involves the construction of two (2) wind Turbines to be installed with associated electrical equipment to generate up to 5 MW each (10 MW total). Each turbine will have a hub height of approximately 394 feet and overall height of 650 feet. The project is located at 489 Sickler Road in the Town of Starka and 741 County Road 29 in the Town of Springfield, Otsego County, New York

Contact: Bernard Melewski, 32 Fryer Lane, Altamont, NY 12009. Phone (518) 861-6477. E-mail: bmelewski@gmail.com

The Draft Environment Impact Statement (DEIS) should be available for the public to view after the October meeting, provided all information is provided to the Town wind attorney Bernard Melewski and environmental review engineer Frances Kabat of LaBella Associates prior to the October meeting. Updated 9/19/2023

Wiltse Hill Road Bridge Project

The Town of Stark in cooperation with Herkimer County and the Owen D. Young Central School District announce the culvert (arch bridge) replacement on Wiltse Hill Road, within the Hamlet of Van Hornesville near Park Road, has begun. The first part of the project will be the relocation of electrical lines and hook-ups. The road will officially close on June 22, 2023 and construction will begin at that time and continue until project is completed. The culvert will be replaced with a span type bridge which will straighten and widen the road and create better traffic flow. Construction times begin at 6:30 AM during work days. Barring any unforseen delays, the project should be completed by mid October 2023. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. The replacement was deemed necessary as a direct result of the flood which occurred in 2013 and caused considerable damage to the residents in and around the neighborhood and the school, and throughout the Town of Stark.

Unfortunately, a delay has already occurred. As of July 4, there was no road construction work being done. The electrical work has been started and completed, beginning on July 18. National Grid will be in Town to re-direct the electric lines and begin hooking up the new connections for homes in the vicinity of the Park Road. Also this week, Verizon will be in the neighborhood to change telephone lines. The up-dated signs closing Wiltse Hill Road posted and went into effect on Monday July 24, 2023. Contractors have been working widening the Otsquago stream bed. And footers for the header walls are being poured in preparation of setting the bridge deck. Construction will last until October, 2023, if there are no further delays.

This notice updated 9/19/2023.

Civil War Volunteers

A Little history of the Town of Stark.

Civil War Soldiers

A little history and may you may locate an ancestor from the neighborhood.

Dog License

Dog License application can be shown by clicking on “Read More”

Building Permit

Building permit applications can be obtained by calling the Town Clerk at 518-993-3506.
Regular Office hours are Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 AM to Noon. You may also call codes officer Phil Green, for more information, at 315-534-2232.

Town of Stark Highway Department

The Town of Stark Highway Department has been working on keeping the Town of Stark’s town roads up-to-date and has been preparing to replace the culvert on Jordan Road, which is a two-piece culvert pipe and one section has been crushed through years of use. The replacement will be taking place in the near future. Be mindful that there will be delays and perhaps detours while the culvert is being replaced. The replacement of the culvert has been completed for this year. Final completion will be made next construction season, after the road has had a chance to settle over the winter. This is being paid for by the NYS ChiPs road improvement program for local governments.

As was mentioned in last years newsletter, the Town of Stark has ordered a new Mack 10-wheel dump truck equipped with snow fighting apparatus. Delivery of the new truck is expected in late 2023 or early 2024.

The Town sold some un-used equipment at Auctions International. The 1989 International truck, the 1993 White GMC were sold at this auction.

The Town has applied for a $500,000.00 grant to construct a sand/salt barn for the Highway Department to store the town and county sand pile undercover. This building will help to prevent run-off from the sand pile. The grant award, if received, will be announced later this year.