Saugerties village trustees recently approved the purchase of two new vehicles, one each for the water and wastewater departments.
Speaking at the trustees’ Jan. 20 meeting, Mike Hopf, superintendent of the water department, said his new vehicle will be outfitted with all the necessary computer equipment to remotely read the new water meters installed in homes and businesses in the village.
As of Jan. 20, 928 out of 1,475 meters had been installed, Hopf said. He said he hopes the job will be done by the first week of February, with his department looking to begin reading the new meters on February 8 for the next quarterly water bill.
Homes and businesses not fitted with the new meters by that time will have to be read manually, Hopf added.
The new vehicle for the water department is a Jeep Patriot, a compact SUV. It replaces a 1995 vehicle with more than 95,000 miles on it.
The wastewater department’s vehicle is a Dodge Ram pickup truck, which will replace a vehicle of similar age and mileage.
Sawyer Motors was the only dealer to bid on the two vehicles. The Jeep cost $18,463, while the Ram is $41,465.
Money for both vehicles was allocated in this year’s operating budget.