Philipstown to Pave Sections of Two Roads

Also, tentative 2025 budget raises tax rates

The Philipstown Town Board on Oct. 23 approved paving sections of Indian Brook and Lane Gate roads and began revising a draft 2025 budget that would stay within the state-mandated tax cap while lowering tax rates.

Supervisor John Van Tassel and Board Members Megan Cotter and Robert Flaherty approved an environmental impact review and resolution to pave a section of Indian Brook Road at the Route 9D underpass and Lane Gate Road between Eden Park and 115 Lane Gate.

Van Tassel said the Indian Brook section spans less than 1,000 feet and gets “completely washed out” from storms. He also said Lane Gate will remain untouched for now because it needs substantial drainage work before paving.

The labor and materials costs for maintaining dirt roads are “astronomical,” said Van Tassel. On Avery Road, which has sections that are paved and unpaved, the town pays 15 cents per foot for the covered sections and $10.78 per foot for the dirt portions, he said.

Indian Brook Road between Route 9D and Route 9 costs $2.24 per foot. The town average is 68 cents for paved versus $6.95 for unpaved, said Van Tassel.

Board Members Jason Angell and Judy Farrell did not arrive until after the vote, but Angell submitted a statement to be read in his absence. He noted that the environmental assessment concluded that the projects were consistent with the town’s 2023 master plan and would not create stormwater discharge.

The master plan calls for efforts to preserve dirt roads, stone walls and other elements that “contribute to Philipstown’s rural and historic character,” said Angell. He also questioned the answer to the stormwater question. “Is this possible for a paved road or any road project?” he asked.

2025 budget

Philipstown’s 2025 budget will have a softer impact under a plan proposed by Van Tassel.

Unlike last year, when the town approved a budget for 2024 that raised the tax levy by 8.3 percent and the tax rate by 13 percent, the Town Board began revising a tentative spending plan for 2025 that would be under the 2 percent cap and raise tax rates by a much smaller amount.

As submitted by Van Tassel, who said he asked departments to limit their requests for spending increases to 2 percent, the draft budget has $13.1 million in spending with an overall levy of $9.7 million.

The tax rate on properties townwide rises by 1.9 percent to $3.45 per $1,000 of assessed value and for properties outside the villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville by 0.38 percent to $3.81.

Several revisions were approved, including raising spending for the Philipstown Volunteer Ambulance Corps by 5 percent instead of 2 percent and increasing the hourly rate for its two paid staffers to $22 from $18. The supervisor’s salary will remain at $27,000 annually and the four Town Board members will each continue to earn $18,000.

The town has scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday (Nov. 6) at 7:40 p.m.

Ambulance Corps

Van Tassel said the Philipstown Volunteer Ambulance Corps has been responding to calls from Kent since Oct. 1, when an ambulance provided by the Kent Volunteer Fire Department went out of service. Kent is attempting to create a municipal ambulance service, but one call from Kent required the Philipstown ambulance to make a 31-minute drive, said Van Tassel.

“If our ambulance that we’re paying for is in Kent and then going to Putnam Hospital or Danbury, it’s not available for the residents here,” he said.

A basic-life-support vehicle stationed in Kent by the Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services is not available after 7 p.m., according to Van Tassel. An official from the state Department of Health inspected Kent’s ambulances last month and deemed them fit for service but the town is still without staff, he said. “If I were a resident of Kent, I would be up in arms,” said Van Tassel.