Board also hears presentation on tech updates

The Cold Spring Village Board on Wednesday (Jan. 19) voted unanimously to rescind a recently created policy requiring COVID-19 testing or vaccinations for employees.

“We began this conversation at the height of Omicron, trying to create a safe workplace,” said Mayor Kathleen Foley. “We’re at a point now where there are only two staff [members] who have not been sick.” 

Foley said that during the time it took to draft the policy, the environment shifted, with the number of cases beginning to decline. She suggested a shift to more “flexible, common-sense” safety guidelines such as mask wearing, social distancing and washing hands. 

The mayor reinforced the need for workers to stay home if sick, get tested regularly and isolate if they test positive. A weekly update on COVID guidelines will be provided to staff, she said.

At the same meeting, Anthony Adamo, president of Carmel-based Managed Technologies, presented options for improvements in information technology at Village Hall and other sites. 

Adamo covered a wide range of issues, from security, servers, backup systems and collaborative technologies to connectivity, employees’ and the board’s ability to work remotely, email, internet speed and surveillance cameras. 

Foley said once Adamo provides comparative pricing, his recommendations will be prioritized and considered as part of the upcoming budget process. 

“We want to figure out what we can do better to make staff time and trustees’ time more efficient, and to make sure we are properly securing files,” Foley said. 

In other business …

■ Trustee Joe Curto reported that he, Trustee Tweeps Woods and village employees met for 90 minutes with the owners of Royal Carting to discuss having the firm collect garbage and recyclables, instead of having the Highway Department handle the job. Royal Carting will make a presentation at the Feb. 2 meeting.

■ The board approved performance reviews for all non-contract employees. Only workers in the water department had been receiving reviews. “Without performance appraisals, decisions to modify salaries could potentially be arbitrary,” Foley said. “They need to be based on data.” Woods noted that clear job descriptions are needed as part of the process. 

■ Reconstruction of the stone wall on Main Street east of the traffic signal has been put on hold for the winter and will resume in March. 

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Turton, who has been a reporter for The Current since its founding in 2010, moved to Philipstown from his native Ontario in 1998. Location: Cold Spring. Languages: English. Area of expertise: Cold Spring government, features