Residents of the Village of Saugerties are expected to remove snow from the sidewalk in front of their houses within 24 hours of the end of a storm, as determined by the mayor and the village board, Code Enforcement Officer Eyal Saad said at a village board meeting on December 21. “I don’t live in the village, so I don’t know exactly when [the snow stopped]. I trust the mayor to say what time it was. It’s really not open for debate.”
The village had a complaint at six o’clock in the morning after the major snowfall on Wednesday and Thursday, December 16-17. A caller reported at 6 a.m. on Friday, following the storm, that a neighbor had not cleared the snow from the sidewalk in front of his house.
Saad said he understands that not everyone can get the snow cleared as quickly as required, especially after a major storm, such as the one in December. “Some people have to go to work,” he said. “They have to feed their kids. If it takes them a day extra, I understand. We try to clean it up; I sent a letter to the person complaining, explaining to him that even if I wanted to, the DPW was over their heads with snow removal and their priority is streets, not sidewalks at the moment, and if he wanted to walk his dog, the town and the village have parks that will probably be cleaned up so he can walk his dog not on the street so it’s not safe.”
The village contacts people who are not in compliance before sending notices of violation, Saad said.
Mayor Bill Murphy said that the village tries to help people, especially the elderly. “I think the 24-hour rule should be 24 hours; if the snow stops at four o’clock on Tuesday, people should have until sundown on Wednesday to complete removal. Some people who didn’t have their walks done the day after the blizzard told me they were waiting for their person to come. The person that does their walks — people were busy. It’s common sense, and the person that was complaining wasn’t showing common sense.”
Most of the people did have the snow cleaned up over the weekend, Saad said. For those people who consistently fail to clear their walks, the village has the authority to clean the sidewalk and bill them for the work. In the last storm, the DPW was flat out cleaning the streets, “and that’s a priority for them.”
Though there were a few people complaining, “most people complimented us on what a great job we did,” Murphy said. He also noted that some people use snow blowers to clear their walks, blowing the snow back into the street after it had been cleared.
Clear those fire hydrants
The snow may be gone for now, but there will be future storms, and Village of Saugerties trustee Donald Hackett is reminding village residents of the need to clean snow from around fire hydrants near their property. “I saw a guy shoveling out a hydrant across the street from his house, and if everybody could do that, it would be great,” he said at the regular village board meeting on December 21.
Hackett also complimented village residents on their getting their cars off the streets, making it easier for the snow plows. And, echoing other board members, “the DPW did a great job,” he said. Following up on the gift donations on December 13, Hackett and Mayor William Murphy brought some toys to a family that was unable to make the giveaway on the 13th “Bill, thank you for getting out for that family, because they needed it for their kids.”
The toy giveaway, organized by First Responders Childrens’ Toy Express and Saugerties car dealer Bob Siracusano, gave packages of children’s toys and food for a holiday feast to needy families. Murphy said the organization had been very responsive in helping to get gifts to families unable to attend the in-person exchange.
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