Village Board has February meeting: Police Department looks to hire new officer

MILLBROOK — The monthly meeting for the Village Board on Wednesday, Feb. 9, was held at the Millbrook firehouse, with Mayor Tim Collopy, Trustees Mike Herzog and Peter Doro in attendance; Trustees Vickie Contino and Buffy Arborgast were absent.

After Collopy opened the meeting Fire Department President Matthew Rochfort spoke, saying Fire Department and Rescue Squad Life Member Kathy Myers passed away on Jan. 31. Myers began her affiliation with the department when she joined the Auxiliary in 1978.

Dutchess County Legislator Deirdre Houston (R-25) gave an update on recent legislation being discussed in county chambers.

Village Clerk Sarah Witt and Senior Account Clerk Karen McLaughlin gave a report concerning the 2022-23 municipal budget, which is currently being  developed.

Fire Chief Ted Bownas reported on his department’s January figures. The fire department aided in five motor vehicle accidents; 46 EMS calls; four structure fires; and 16 miscellaneous calls; for a total of 71 incidents. EMS responses were made by both Northern Dutchess Paramedics (NDP), with 52 calls and the fire department, with seven calls.

Millbrook Police Sgt. Jared Witt gave his January report. The Millbrook Police Department (MPD) issued 15 traffic tickets and 10 parking tickets. There were three reports of property damage. Officers performed town court duty three times and responded to the school district nine times.

The MPD aided other agencies in January; it assisted the New York State Police once; the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office once; the Millbrook Fire Department seven times; Millbrook EMS eight times; and other agencies for a total of 91 incidents.

Witt also mentioned the MPD needs to hire another qualified officer.

Highway Superintendent Robert Collocola presented the Highway Department’s monthly report. A total of 12 snow and ice incidents have happened so far this winter, with several refreezing events occurring afterward. His crew has also had to help with other departmental duties.

Scott Osborne of VRI then reported on the monthly figures for the Water and Sewer Departments.

The village clerk also gave an update. There were five building permits issued in January for a total of $790, and two municipal searches issued for $125. Witt also gave the treasurer’s report. On Jan. 1, the village’s budget balanced $1,088,010; after business was done throughout the month, the balance on Jan. 31 was $865,336.

Other business addressed by the board included work done by T-Mobile on the water tower; and a meeting held with the EPG program manager on Feb. 10 to find out why a second grant application was rejected, which would have covered most of the cost of an engineering report to modernize the village’s Waste Water Treatment Plant. No word yet on the outcome of that discussion.

Trustee Herzog said he is working on repairing and replacing many village sidewalks, and is also updating the Shade Tree Committee policy.

Delaware Engineering gave a report and recommendation for the Retaining Wall project. He will soon present a follow-up report as the Board is looking into proposing a bond to cover the cost of the  project.

Where to watch

A YouTube link to all meetings may be found on the village website, www.villageofmillbrookny.com.

The next regular meeting was set for Wednesday, March 9, at the Millbrook firehouse at 6 p.m., after this paper went to press. Look for more on that meeting in a future edition of The Millerton News.