North East Highway Garage purchase: Town Board was driven

Last week, the North East Town Board made an exciting announcement: land had finally been found — and bought — for a new highway garage facility.

It was a great deal. Purchased through back taxes, the town paid only $6,687.12 for a 3.7-acre wooded lot, north of the main light in the village of Millerton on Route 22, next to Charlie’s Repair Shop. The deal still has to be approved  by the Dutchess County Legislature.

The search for suitable land wasn’t easy. For many years, the town knew it had to solve the highway garage conundrum. Its current garage, located at 11 South Center St., Millerton, just wasn’t working anymore. A cracked foundation, moldy walls and ceilings, limited space and just general decay has made the garage nearly uninhabitable. 

Beyond being in a state of disrepair, the space is too small to store much of the department’s pricey equipment, forcing the town to pay upward of $35,000 a year for two storage units off premises. The equipment kept outside the garage over the years has been both vandalized and subject to extreme weather. 

Additionally, the South Center Street site borders the Webatuck Creek. There are concerns that materials from the adjacent salt shed leach into the water, contaminating it.

New digs have been sorely needed. The Town Board hunted and hunted. It thought it found the solution a few years ago when it wanted to buy Dutchess County Diesels and convert it to a new garage and possible Town Hall. But the $3.15 million public referendum needed to pursue the project failed at the polls. That brought the board back to square one.

The search resumed, and the board held numerous public meetings about land options. A favored site, off Haight Road, was subsequently bought out from under the town — forcing it to once again surrender to defeat. That made the board more cautious about publicizing its intent. 

From that point onward, the search was conducted in a haze of secrecy. Although the Highway Garage Search Committee held open meetings, few attended. In the meanwhile, rumors abounded about potential deals being made in residential neighborhoods or other less-than-ideal locations.

All the while, residents have been waiting and watching. There have been talks of working with the village of Millerton, which also needs a new garage as its highway department currently shares space with its water department — directly over the aquifer.

There were even conversations about working with municipalities farther south, like Amenia — anything that could help the town afford suitable space.

Throughout it all, North East town Supervisor George Kaye did his best. Though he often couldn’t show his hand — and that frustrated a lot of people who complained about a lack of transparency — he tried to guide the town fairly and honestly. He kept an eye on the budget, and he was realistic about how to approach potential deals. Members of his board and the search committee should also be commended for their diligence. Their research, persistence and understanding of the task at hand all led to the final outcome.

We know this process wasn’t easy, or popular. We know a lot of people were frustrated by it. We know it took time — more than many believed it should have. But in the end … success. 

What we’re left with is a fabulous deal for land, for what promises to be an expensive but necessary construction project (perhaps $3 million or more). Most of all, the purchase will help ensure the town’s and possibly the village’s ability to provide critical highway services when they’re needed most.