GUILDERLAND — The town board met on what may have been Guilderland’s 220th birthday, April 4.

The marker in front of Town hall says Guilderland was founded on April 4 while the town’s website says April 3, supervisor Peter Barber noted.

“The Appel Inn says no, it was April 5; that’s when the town was established,  because …. that’s when the town officials were elected and whatnot,” said Barber.

Henry Apple’s house on the outskirts of Guilderland Center is where Nicholas V. Mynderse was elected as the first supervisor and Peter C. Veeder was elected town clerk.

“So how do we figure out what’s the correct date?” asked Councilwoman Christine Napierski.

Barber said, “The State Library is looking at how other towns were created. My guess is it’s going to be the date that is in the state statute that says the town was established …  on April 4, 1803.”

Napierski suggested, if evidence wasn’t convincing for one day or another, the town board could declare a particular day as Guilderland’s birthday.

Barber said the board had the ability to make such a declaration but he’d like to have the town historian and the State Library confirm it.

Councilwoman Rosemary Centi noted that the town’s bicentennial was celebrated on April 4.

Napierski also referenced a letter to the Enterprise editor written by historian Bruce Dearstyne, published in February, urging the town to gear up for its 220th birthday celebration.

Guilderland had been authorized by the state legislature on Feb. 26, 1803, in Chapter XIX of the Laws of New York that year, “An Act for Dividing the Town of Watervliet, in the County of Albany,” Dearstyne wrote.

Watervliet was one of the state’s original towns, created in 1788, originally encompassing much of Albany County. The legislature began breaking that large area into towns, starting with Coeymans in 1791, followed by Berne in 1795, and then Guilderland in 1803.

“Commemorating the origins of the town would be a good step toward a greater understanding of Guilderland’s origin and historical development,” Dearstyne wrote. “That, in turn, would give us deepened insights into dealing with current issues.”

He went on to list a half-dozen activities the town could undertake to mark its birthday.

“I did like Mr. Dearstyne’s suggestions about what we could do to educate people in the town about Guilderland history,” Napierski said at the April 4 meeting. 

She said that celebrations and public events would “increase the sense of community and pride in our town.”

“I agree absolutely,” said Barber. “I mean, I love history … Hopefully, we will be able to add some more historical properties to the town’s list.”

He went on, agreeing with Napierski, “I think we should be recognizing other significant events in the town’s history. I do know that there are a lot of very famous town residents … that served in the state legislature, but also on the forefront as abolitionists or with women’s suffrage … We should try to do more.”

He also said “We’re going to be appointing a new town historian and could task that person with that.”

“We can begin planning for 225,” said Councilman Jacob Crawford.

“I think that’s a good idea — get started now because it’s big,” concluded Napierski.

Other business

In other business at its April 4 meeting, the Guilderland Town Board:

— Approved a settlement of the tax certiorari proceeding for 2022 brought by 1700 South LLC for parcels located 6270 Johnston Road Rear and 5858 Newman Road. 

“There’ll be a refund of $3,829.72,” said Barber, adding, “I think this may be the last of the apartments”;

— Authorized a request for proposals for a new tax software program.

Town Clerk Lynne Buchanan explained her request in a memo to Barber and the board, stating that “the current tax program is incompatible with our online payment platform.”

The memo said the outdated program misprinted sequential tax bills “causing the tax office many hours of tedious review to confirm that utility tax bills are correct before mailing, causing unnecessary delays”;

— Provisionally appointed Kassandra Baker as assessment clerk; the appointment is provisional because she has to pass a Civil Service test on May 13. She has worked for the town since 2017 and garnered praise from Barber and Councilwoman Amanda Beedle; and

— Provisionally appointed Kimberly Duncan as a telecommunicator; Duncan recently took the required Civil Service exam and is awaiting results.

“We’re always trying to get telecommunicators or dispatchers,” said Barber. “Kimberly is going to be filling a vacancy that was somewhat abrupt — somebody resigned … It’s a very difficult job to fill and it’s a very stressful job.”