Charlotte Shutts bequest pays off Roe Jan Library mortgage

By EMILIA TEASDALE

VALATIE—The Kinderhook Town Board heard presentations about the local rescue squad, well water testing for residents, the upcoming public meeting on the Comprehensive Plan update and a cyber security program at their last regular meeting in 2024.

At the December 2 meeting, board member Sally Naramore announced that the Comprehensive Update Committee is holding a public meeting on the plan Sunday, January 26 in the Ichabod Crane High School gym from 2 to 4 p.m. The flier for the meeting says it “will provide an overview of the update process and invite your input on a variety of topics including but not limited to zoning, housing, economic development, agriculture, recreation, environmental resources, water and sewer services, traffic, village coordination, and tourism.”

The board approved writing a letter of approval for NY Rural Water Association to conduct free tests of town residents’ wells. According to the proposal to the board, the program is funded by the USDA in cooperation with the state Department of Health. Residents can volunteer for the tests and “the Department of Health as well as the Rural Water Association have further resources for residents should they desire to ask questions about the test results.”

“It’s a win-win,” said board member Philip Bickerton of approving the testing for the town.

The board will review a contract with the Endpoint Detection-Cyber Security with CrossStrike, a cyber security program offered for free to the two largest municipalities in the county. Kinderhook is the largest town population-wise.

“It’s good, we want it,” said Board member Sean Casey, who is reviewing the contract.

Also at the meeting were Valatie Rescue Squad (VRS) Operations Director Steven Meehan and Executive Director Anand Balasar. They went through a PowerPoint presentation about the squad, talking about its history, staff, equipment, services and budget. The non-profit rescue squad is housed in a building off Route 9H in the town and also uses most of the second floor rooms in the Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building, which is owned by the town and the Village of Valatie.

With a total budget of $2.5 million, they service the towns of Kinderhook and Stuyvesant, as well as parts of Chatham and Ghent. The town budgeted $150,000 in the Ambulance District line in the 2025 budget, which is just funds the VRS,. The VRS also works with the county when another rescue squad needs coverage, which they are reimbursed for, and since 2022, they have helped staff Castelton’s rescue squad in Rensselaer County. “Operations at CVAS (Castleton Volunteer Ambulance Service) do not hinder operations at VRS,” the presentation said.

They are also very involved in the community, sitting at the Kinderhook Farmers’ Market, offering Covid-19 vaccinations during the pandemic, and working with local fire companies on training.

They talked about the equipment in their ambulances and the cost of these items. Everything is designed with safety in mind, they stressed during the presentation. The cost for a new ambulance is about $300,000 but they can remount their fleet for $158,824. On the ambulances are seven cardiac monitors that cost $24,652 each; six automatic CPR devices at $18,033; seven video laryngoscopy devices at the price of $950 for the cameras and $40 for disposable blades; and emergency ventilators at the price of $4,900. There is also specialized pediatric equipment.

VRS is one of four bariatric capable agencies in the capital district with specialized equipment to safely transport patients up to 1,600 lbs. They said they have transported several patients that were 500 lbs and one 800 lbs patient.

Mr. Meehan went over staffing and talked about how the staff are scheduled for 16 hour shifts, where other squads can schedule for more hours. He said they have worked on policies about only using lights and sirens when needed.

VRS is the only American Heart Association training site in Columbia County that offers instruction and certification to the public. “Since inception we have processed approximately 300 AHA cards of various levels annually…totaling approximately 2,100 cards…We offer not only healthcare level cards but also Heart Saver program which certifies the camp counselors, daycare workers, and town and village employees in the area,” the presentation said.

VRS was part of the Leave Behind Naloxone Program (first in the region) that gives them the ability to leave life saving medication and basic training with family and friends of “at risk” individuals.

Also among their many community programs, the VRS runs the Healthcare Equipment Lending Program (HELP) for people who need walkers, wheelchairs, hospital beds, etc. These items have been donated to the squad, which lends them out. Mr. Meehan said this program is “massively successful” and that they are “constantly lending things out to the community.”

Mr. Balasar said that this presentation was about “transparency” since some of their funding comes from tax dollars. He talked about the success of their billing office, saying they have 87.4% billing rate. He also said that they do have a hardship policy in place which is based on the published federal poverty guidelines.

Both Mr. Meehan and Mr. Balasar talked about being over capacity at their site on Route 9H where they park four ambulances and one SUV, office space, a small exercise gym and two bunkrooms. In the municipal building they have a classroom and laboratory space and more office space.

At the end of the Town Board meeting, the board made a motion to have land at the town park surveyed so that the VRS can possibly purchase it for a new site. The land at Volunteer Park includes the two formerly state owned buildings that were built in 1912 and were closed by the town several years ago. When the town took ownership of the buildings for the state, the state placed regulations that they should only be used for recreation and mental health. That was recently changed so now the town can sell them to the squad.

There is information about VRS at www.valatierescue.org

To contact reporter Emilia Teasdale email eteasdale@columbiapaper.com