The Saugerties Village Hall was closed because of a snow storm on Friday, February 4, but Mayor Bill Murphy came in to work anyway, he said at the Village Board meeting on Monday, February 7. He was able to find a working outlet because the building has backup power and he was able to plug in his computer and phone, but “I had no heat,” he said. He brought in a portable heater. The Village has a back-up generator at the Village Hall, so the Mayor was able to work during the outage, he said.
However, the Village Department of Public Works garage does not have a backup generator, trustee Terry Parisian said. “They [DPW workers] could not use power to open the doors, they had no heat or lights going.” While the doors can be opened manually, they are heavy and opening them manually is difficult. Parisian proposed that the Village use ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funding to install back-up power. The project meets the criteria of the funding, including that it contributes to public safety and that it pays for long-term expenses not something that requires routine upkeep. Twenty years meets the criteria, he said. The board voted to look into this funding.
Parisian also reported that the two smaller sander trucks are down. The larger trucks, which plow the main streets, are working, he said. The department is busy, dealing with downed trees and the removal of icy snow. Property owners are asked to move brush and branches and other debris to the front of the property if possible.
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