Turkeys at Town Hall

The Town Employees have decorated Town Hall with Turkeys... strategically placed under the pictures of our current Town Board... it is hard to not make comparisons, especially after the Special Town Board Meeting on November 25th which began at 6:00 PM.

A primary purpose of the meeting was to review proposed projects for ARPA (America Rescue) Funding -- but more on that later.

So to recap the background - at the October 28 meeting, the Acting Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds presented a recommendation, with the associated pricing - that a mechanics lift should be installed at the Oakwood Knolls location - because the mechanic has been working on his back, on cardboard, with jacks to service vehicles. This is a undesirable situation. So after a performance by one of the Town Board Members with various red herrings thrown about (there should be 2 people for safety - (there are),- why Oakwood Knolls? why not the Martz Field location? Why is there a mechanic in Buildings & Grounds anyway? blah blah) ignoring the recommendation of the professional who assessed the situation and whose team has to work in this environment. It was decided that field trip (this was also the time to explore the stage at Schlathaus) to both locations was necessary, because apparently the council member who has been a council member for nearly two decades needed to become familiar with the buildings. November 2 arrived - and 4 out of 5 members of the town board, along with county legislators and members of the public spent their Saturday morning assessing the sites. The Martz Field location is appalling - even though there has been a major effort to clean it up -- there is still much work to be done - and the expectation that employees should work there, users of the Park should be subjected to such a site -- and residents should have to live near such a location is atrocious.

So -- Mr. Foghorn Leghorn was called away on an emergency that morening , ok... everyone was very understanding. However ... the council member did NOT take any time to do homework on his own after missing the field trip and decided to wait until November 28 -- 26 DAYS -- to decide that now he needs to see an engineering report on the buildings before he can make a decision. This is after two members of the public spoke during the public comment period to lend their support to the recommendation of the Buildings & Grounds Professionals. Somehow an unidentified member of the public who apparently accosted this Town Council Member at Hannafords to ask where the lift was going to be installed (what a conveniently timed conversation, and how did that member of the public get an insight that there was to be a discussion about the location at the special meeting? And that unnamed member of the public has more standing than the members who attended the town board meeting) -- somehow this Town Board member tried to paint himself as the wise counselor who is asking for additional information, because someone asked him at Hannafords where the lift was going to be installed .... when all it is is grandstanding and obstructionist behavior ( a behavior called out in a previous town board meeting by a town resident)-- resulting in a Tabled Vote on the purchase of a mechanics lift, because the other town board members wilted at this performance.

The Town Board did authorize the Buildings and Grounds Department to buy 4 new vehicles, replacing 20 year old vehicles

So -- here are the proposed projects for the ARPA funding, which will be written into resolutions to be voted on at the next Town Board meeting -- with the assumption that signed contracts can be in place before year end:

• Chelsea Boat Ramp (using contractor who refurbished the New Hamburg Yacht Club ramp)

• Sports Museum HVAC (already approved) and improve the aesthetics for the chapel to enable more use

• Digital Signs - for Town Hall and Parks (there is too much excitement about colors and flashy lights for what is basically an old fashioned way - one step beyond town crier - to communicate in this day and age of social media, apps, web sites etc.) please encourage your town representatives to avoid following the Wappingers School District and our favorite fire stations in installing bright flashing lights, especially in areas where residents are trying to live a peaceful life.

• Castle Point Park - a Pavilion

• Reese Park Trailhead on 9D a Pavilion

The Town Supervisor took the time to mention that Governor Hochul signed into law

https://midhudsonnews.com/2024/11/26/hochul-improves-access-to-protection-orders-for-domestic-violence-victims-family-members-video/. This is a result of Town Resident Cheryl Chianese's hard work to honor her daughter Melanie.