Town Board meets to talk grants, roads and zombie properties

WASHINGTON — The town of Washington held its first fall meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8. Deputy Supervisor Stephen Turletes called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

Turletes opened with comments about grants received from the Tribute Gardens, covering the funding of $6,000 for the summer camp bus; $5,000 for senior citizen bus trips; $5,000 for the fee waiver scholarship program; and $30,000 for the park and pool improvements. The Department of Transportation sent a letter to the town stating that funding is available to meet the requirements for the Clean Air Act in the amount of $98,700.

Stephanie Harrison, director of the Millbrook Library,  appeared to say that September is Library Card Sign Up Month; the library will provide free replacement cards, waive overdue book fees, and for those with accumulated fines, accept a donation to the Dutchess County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DCSPCA) to have fines reduced. She also mentioned that new programs are being planned for the fall season.

The highway superintendent reported on road repairs and the blacktop schedule. The town will be rolling dirt roads again, with a new vendor, who will charge one third of the former vendor’s fee. Spagnola mentioned the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies has requested a sample of the salt used on the roads for testing.

A request was made that Mary Alex and Irene Wing be reappointed as registrar and deputy registrar for an additional term, which was granted. 

Councilman Robert Audia requested the funding list for culverts and bridges, and said he’d like to contact State Sen. Sue Serino (R-41) for culvert grant funding. Plans from Chazen Companies, the town’s engineering firm, to submit the Stanford Road culvert plans to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), were also OK’d. Plans are in the works for seeking funding from state and federal governments. 

There was also discussion concerning “zombie properties,” which occur when people move out and the banks don’t take over ownership. There will be further discussion on how to overcome some of these issues at upcoming meetings.

Claudia and Jonathan Heunis are village residents who said they love the village and are in favor of beautifying it. In particular, they mentioned the tennis courts have cracks, with weeds growing through  rusted wire, poison ivy and broken fencing. A closer look will be taken to assess the problem.

Questions were raised about why some roads are being repaved and/or repaired while others are not. Also questioned was why oil and stone are being used and not blacktop. The board was asked if there is any possibility of merging services or the two municipalities together. The Hyde Park water system consolidation was mentioned as an example.