Village Board of Trustees discuss changes to pool project, request for new highway equipment

AMENIA — The Village of Millerton’s Board of Trustees met on Monday, Nov. 18 to discuss two items – changes to the pool project at Eddie Collins Memorial Park and requests for new equipment for the highway department.

According to Kevin Hasselwander, an architect at Labella Associates, an amendment was needed regarding the pool and pool house.

“All we’re doing is adding the DOH (Department of Health) and Army Corps to the list of involved agencies,” Hasselwander said. “And we are going to change the numbers, like the disturbed acreage, just a little bit.”

Hasselwander asserted the amendment will not cause significant delays to the project, saying, “We don’t have to go through the 30-day approval process. What we’ll do is we’ll set a date, and you and I can talk about it… as to when it’ll get the negative declaration. That way, if there are any comments from the agencies, they’ll know when to see it by.”

He went on to say the biggest challenge for the project will be the septic system in the park. A small section in the corner of Eddie Collins Memorial Park caught the contractors’ attention, prompting them to take action sooner rather than later.

“Right now, it [the wetlands] would be considered Army Corps regulated, but come January, all wetlands will be DC [Delineation Concurrence],” said Hasselwander. “It will no longer be Army Corps. We may not have to do anything with it, but in the case that we do because of the septic system, there needs to be separation. If we do need to permit and have it filled in, it’ll be much easier if we go through Army Corps.”

Despite the concern for wetlands within the park, the Village of Millerton and Labella are working with many different agencies to ensure the safety of the community. “The Dutchess County Department of Health will ensure that we have the proper separation of background water to the high groundwater market,” Hasselwander said. “We’ve done so much soil testing within the park from all different times of the year.”

The second item on the evening’s agenda centered on equipment needs for the highway department. According to Peter Dellaghelfa, the Superintendent of Public Works, new trucks to plow and clear snow for the upcoming winter season are very much a necessity.

“Right now one of the front pistons is leaking, so that is losing pressure,” Dellaghelfa said. “Now the other pistons, I’m just waiting for that to start leaking because I’m putting more strain on it. It’s going to keep getting worse and worse.”

The department is considering the option of trading in their old trucks or keeping them to use for less intensive purposes. “I think it would be worth it to keep it [old trucks],” said Dellaghelfa. “It’s good to put one of the guys in who has no experience. You don’t want to put them in the brand-new truck and have it break. I think it can be used as a training tool.” Dellaghelfa is in possession of price estimates from John Deere and Caterpillar, but would like to look into Batco or alternate options.

Getting new equipment could take weeks for a truck and up to six months for a Batco. According to Jenn Najdek, mayor of the village, she would need to put together a spreadsheet to figure out the rates and loan payments and have more information set out to have this plan working if they choose before winter comes.