City Council will hear feedback at June 17 meeting
The Beacon City Council has scheduled public hearings for Monday (June 17) on the city’s five-year capital project pipeline, a law amending regulations for towing illegally parked cars and a law governing the use of fire hydrants.
A fourth hearing, on minimum parking requirements for new developments, is expected to be adjourned while city officials continue work on the proposal.
The capital program, introduced at the May 28 meeting, includes more than $29 million in equipment purchases and upgrades and construction projects anticipated from 2025 to 2029. According to the city charter, a five-year plan must be approved by the council each year by July 31.
The city funds its capital projects through savings, long-term debt, state and federal grants and special accounts, such as a recreation fund that developers pay into.
The council only meets twice a month during the summer, so Monday’s meeting will include a workshop followed by a regular meeting. During the workshop, Finance Director Susan Tucker will brief the council on funding and the debt schedule for capital projects, followed by the first public hearing.
Major expenses scheduled for 2025 include the purchase of a $1.7 million ladder truck for the Fire Department; the addition of $575,750 to the $230,000 already approved to rehab South Avenue Park; $1 million for repairs to the Melzingah Dam; and $1 million to replace a century-old water main along Fishkill Avenue from Blackburn Avenue to Prospect Street.
City Administrator Chris White said that while the spending is being authorized for the ladder truck, there is at least a four-year wait for one to be manufactured. It will replace a nine-year-old truck that has been “chronically breaking down,” he said.
The plan also includes estimates for projects from 2026 to 2029. In 2026 the city anticipates spending $1.4 million to construct a water storage tank at the foot of Mount Beacon and $2.1 million on upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant.
The reconstruction of the athletic courts and parking lot at Seeger Riverfront Park is expected to cost $1.6 million in 2027, while playground rehab and the installation of splash pads at Riverfront and Memorial parks will cost $630,000 in 2028. The city has $5.3 million slated to establish a community center in 2029.
At the second public hearing on Monday, the council will hear feedback on amendments to regulations for removing illegally parked cars. The law would require owners of private lots with five or more parking spaces to display signs warning that illegally parked vehicles are subject to towing. “Booting,” or immobilizing vehicles, would be prohibited.
Towing companies would have to be registered with the city and could only charge a fee established by the city administrator in consultation with the police chief. The fee would be published on the city website.
Only the parking lot owner would be permitted to have a vehicle towed, and the towing company would have to alert the Police Department before removing a vehicle.
The third hearing will be on a law requiring written authorization from the city to open public or private fire hydrants. A permit to open a hydrant would only be issued in special circumstances, such as when a property is under construction and sufficient water is not available. There would be a fee to open a hydrant as well as a meter to measure the amount of water used.
A permit would also be required before the installation of a private hydrant (there are about 65 in Beacon now), which would have to be inspected annually.
