Town of Saugerties officials are seeking ways to deal with an outbreak of vandalism of public buildings. “Vandalism has increased in the last several weeks tremendously,” buildings and grounds superintendent Greg Chorvas said at the Saugerties Town Board’s regular meeting on June 14. “We had some damage to the playground at J. C. Field; we apprehended the culprit. It seems every single day we’re spending time and money as a result of vandalism. The graffiti sprayed last evening — again, I can’t say enough about the cameras. I know I’ve taken criticism about the number of cameras that we’ve installed, but I can’t say enough about the cameras that we’ve installed — every single one [of the vandals] was apprehended, about 10 or 12. Our resource officer identified all of them.”
The problem has been ongoing, with the same individuals. “They have been put on notice by the Police Department that they are banned from the complex for 30 days.”
“So, they are essentially getting a free pass: Stay out of the complex for 30 days, and we’re stuck with the bill to remedy the graffiti,” said councilman Michael Ivino.
“Our follow-up is we contact the parents and notify them that their child has been notified to stay out of the complex for 30 days. If the child should go to the complex, then we will issue a summons to the parents to go to court. It’s under two counts: trespassing, and also, they’re putting their child on a path to becoming a juvenile delinquent.”
“There, you found your summer help,” Ivino responded, suggesting that the youths could be sentenced to community service.
“Last week, through some good police work, they apprehended an individual who did damage. Eleven years old,” Chorvas said.
“Can’t you give them a job?” asked councilwoman Leeanne Thornton. “Whatever happened to community service?”
“These days it’s a babysitting service,” Chorvas said. “That’s why we went to restitution years ago. A lot of our cameras have been bought through restitution.” The town gets a check every quarter from the county, Chorvas said. While Ulster County probation takes a percentage for handling it, the town receives most of the fine.
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