Water treatment repairs, car burglaries, false alarms at medical center
■ Mayor Dave Merandy at the Tuesday (Sept. 14) meeting of the Village Board said that a bid document which could lead to Cold Spring privatizing trash collection is being reviewed by Village Attorney John Furst. Merandy said the call for “mini-bids” would go to two or three companies approved by New York State.
■ Merandy said the board hoped to move forward soon on finalizing a new lease agreement with the Cold Spring Boat Club. The club has occupied the village-owned riverfront property since 1955.
■ Matt Kroog, superintendent of water and wastewater, reported that the cost of refurbishing three, 20-year-old filtration units used in the treatment of drinking water at the Fishkill Road treatment facility would be about $83,000 each; new units cost $330,000. Kroog said a consultant assessed the units and indicated they “are not that far gone” and worth saving. The village will pursue a federal grant to offset the cost.
■ In his monthly report, Cold Spring Police Department Officer-in-Charge Larry Burke advised residents to lock their cars at night in the wake of a wave of break-ins in the area of Kemble Avenue, The Boulevard and Constitution Drive. Burke said thieves targeted unlocked cars, taking only cash and often ignoring valuable items such as laptop computers.
■ Burke reported working with the building inspector regarding a steady stream of false burglar alarms from the NewYork-Presbyterian medical building at Butterfield. “There’s a glitch there somewhere,” he said, adding that since the system was installed, CSPD has received more than 100 false alarms. “It takes our officers time; it’s annoying,” Burke said. “It’s like the boy who cried wolf.”
■ Philipstown Town Board Member Bob Flaherty reported that a charging station for electric vehicles will be installed at a cost of $21,100 in the area of Town Hall. Flaherty said the original proposed location, below the tracks on Main Street in Cold Spring, was unsuitable. Merandy said he was surprised by the change and that there was no basis for complaints by two neighbors that water posed a problem at the lower Main Street site. “We were never informed that [the location] was going to be changed,” he said. When Trustee Marie Early pointed out that the village had made a significant investment in preparing the site for the charging station, Flaherty said Climate Smart Philipstown suggested the change and that he would discuss the issue further with Philipstown Supervisor Richard Shea.
■ Code Enforcement Officer Charlotte Mountain reported she had approached the New York Department of State on behalf of Laura Bergman, owner of 15 Main St., to request a variance for a ramp at the Cro’ Nest wine bar and cafe being constructed there. The state has indicated it will allow a ramp that is slightly steeper than allowed by the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Merandy said that if he receives assurance that the variance has been approved, he will work with Mountain to issue a temporary Certificate of Occupancy which would allow Bergman to open the wine bar. The board has been in protracted discussions with River Architects over the ramp, which encroaches on village-owned property.
■ The Highway Department collected 50.2 tons of trash and 17.9 tons of recyclables in August.
■ The Cold Spring Fire Co. responded to 19 alarms in August.
■ Late in the 90-minute meeting, Merandy and Trustee Kathleen Foley had a testy exchange after Foley reported she had worked with the village accountant and Fire Chief Tom Merrigan to put together information for the Putnam County Department of Emergency Services regarding possible federal grants for damage resulting from Hurricane Ida. Merandy complained that as mayor, he had not been informed and was not party to all the communications on the issue. Foley indicated she had informed Merandy and the other members of the Village Board by email. “It seems that a lot that goes through you doesn’t come to me,” Merandy said. When he added that there are more ways to communicate than by email, Foley replied that that mayor doesn’t return her phone calls. In the late spring, Foley entered the race for mayor and Merandy subsequently withdrew as a candidate.