Village Board votes to bond sewer upgrade
The board voted to issue $300,000 in bonds to finance repairs to sewers on Main Street, from Partition Street to Cedar Street. The bonds would pay for relining and repairing the sewer. The village would expect the New York State Dormitory Authority to reimburse $200,000 of the cost.
The state grant was approved in October of 2016, according to the grant paperwork, and the village board approved the project on May 15, 2017, according to the 6-page resolution authorizing the financing for the project.
The resolution includes the publication of the resolution in full, with references to the sections of state statutes that govern municipal borrowing.
The village will have to pay the full $300,000 up front, and the Dormitory Authority will reimburse $200,000 after the work is completed.
The actual work will begin in the spring, Murphy said, but “this will get the process rolling,” Trustee Donald Hackett said.
No Shave November
The Town of Saugerties Police Department is not lowering its grooming standards, Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said Tuesday, November 19. The police are participating in a nationwide charity, he said.
Participating officers pledge $25 toward research and treatment of cancer, and stop shaving for the month to publicize the drive and encourage citizens to contribute. Police Captain Stephen Filak attended a Village Board meeting on November 18 in uniform, unusual for him, and sporting a the beginning of what will be a full beard. “We are participating in No-Shave November [a fund raising effort to fight cancer]. If you are interested you can go to NoShave.org and search for Saugerties Police Department, and if you would like to make a donation we will certainly be happy to have it,” he said. To reach the Town of Saugerties page on the site, go to https://no-shave.org/member/TspdP077.
Sinagra, who will not be growing a beard, said the officers had approached him in prior years to allow them to let their beards grow for this fundraiser, but this is the first year he agreed to go along with the activity. “I believe about 10 officers are participating,” he said, adding that the activity is for a good cause.
Praise for fire fighters
One of two fires in the past week was at the
home of Water Department Superintendent Mike Hopf’s sister in law, Hopf reported at the meeting, following his report of water consumption and plant operation.
Hopf praised the firefighters, who were able to confine the blaze to the porch, saving the house and preventing the fire from spreading to nearby houses. “My wife’s sister owns the house. They were very appreciative; they are down in Texas, so there was not much they could do, but it looks like structurally the house was saved.”
According to a report at the same meeting by Building Official Eyal Saad, the fire was at 9 Lafayette Street. Saad’s report stated the building was extensively damaged, however Hopf said the structure is sound and can be repaired.
Hopf thanked the board and the fire department for saving the house.
Fire trucks may play Christmas music when they do the holiday rounds
The tradition of having Santa ride a fire truck around the village, handing out holiday goodies had one resident annoyed by the siren, reported Fire Chief Chris Wade.
“The Fire Department response is that we’ve been doing this for 100 years – this is the 100th year. I talked to the guys, and we will try to incorporate some Christmas music,” he said.
“Kids recognize that sound; they know Santa
Claus is coming,” Mayor William Murphy said. Trustees agreed that the fire truck, and its siren, are part of the holiday tradition, and they agreed it should continue.
Building permits mean village is growing
The Village Building Department has added nearly 100 building permits in the past year, about the same as last year. In fact, “we’ve been hitting those high numbers for several years now,” he said. In fact, “this is the sixth year in a row we’ve been doing this,” he said.
In addition to the fire that destroyed the front porch on Lafayette Street, the Fire Department also handled a small kitchen fire on Ripley Street. “It was no big deal, but I appreciate the Village of Saugerties Fire Department calling me; we’re working hand in hand.”
Bluestone Sidewalks nearly completed on Main Street
New sidewalks on Main Street, on either side of Partition Street, are nearly completed, Special Projects Coordinator Alex Wade reported. Working with contractor John Mullen, Saad and an engineer from [New York State Department of Transportation] Region 8, “we were able to come in substantially under the original contract amount,” Wade said. While the original contract ran about $25,000 over the budget, the reworking saved about $28,000, meaning the actual cost was less than originally budgeted, Wade said. “At this point it’s about $3,000 in our favor.”
The village will actually pay 20 percent of the cost of the project, with the state picking up the balance – though the village will have to front the full amount, and can expect reimbursement after several months. This does not include some auxiliary costs, such as special software the DOT required the village to purchase for about $2,000 and use for its reporting. “But the software, we can submit 80 percent of the cost,” he said.
“It came out far better than what the engineers had planned, thanks to Mullen and a wonderful young engineer from DOT,” Wade said.
The project, which was paid for mainly out of leftover money from a “Streetscape” project used to refurbish much of the village’s infrastructure, uses the last of that leftover money, Wade said.
Join the family! 
