By JEANETTE WOLFBERG
The Columbia County Board of Supervisors gave support to several ongoing programs and services at its meeting February 14. Board Chairman Matt Murell (Stockport) read a proclamation recognizing February as Black History month.
The board:
•Ratified terms of a Memorandum of Agreement with employees represented by the Columbia County Deputy Sheriffs Benevolent Association, Inc. and authorized a Collective Bargaining agreement for January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026 (3 years)
•Issued a statement urging state legislators to “support a multi-year strategy to invest in New York’s community colleges…with an additional $97 million in operating funds.” In January, Columbia-Greene Community College President Carlee Drummer told the supervisors that any help they could give to get $97 million more to the college “will be appreciated”
•Authorized an agreement with Questar III BOCES to enter its Youth Apprenticeship Program for 2024. Apprenticeships include Automotive, Construction, Heavy Equipment, HVAC, and Welding, Questar Communications Specialist Jillian Shuhart said on February 20
•Authorized a contract with the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement “to stock nutritional food in community refrigerators” throughout the county, using funds supplied through the county Department of Social Services
•Authorized renewal of a contract between a telepsychiatry provider and the Department of Human Services (DHS)
•Authorized the DHS to accept Opioid Settlement funding
•Authorized the City of Hudson to use the parking lot at 6th and Columbia Streets for a Farmer’s Market every Saturday from April 20 through November 23
•Authorized the Office of the Aging to increase its number of per diem as-needed Site Managers from one to three, because “there are times when” the single Site Manager “is not available”
•Authorized extending contracts with public bus service providers, including the extended Shopper Shuttle operator, for another year
•Established a County Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Task Force and appointing: Donald Meltz Jr., CSC Coordinator; Brenda Adams, supervisor, Town of Canaan; Donal Collins, supervisor, Town of Chatham; Suzan Flamm for Ancram; Lisa Bouchard Hoe for Austerlitz; Will Powers for Canaan; Deborah Conrad for Chatham; John Bradley for Claverack; Jennifer Phillips for Clermont; Cara Boyle for Copake; Matt Stinchcomb for Gallatin; Matthew Mercier for Germantown; David Newman for Ghent; Jolene Race for Greenport; Sean Casey for the Town of Kinderhook; Bill Mancini for the Village of Kinderhook; Laura Cannamella for the Village of Valatie; Stan Yarian for Livingston; Steve Powers for New Lebanon; John Leone for Stockport; and Kathy Schneider for Stuyvesant. Mr. Newman was appointed as chairman for 2024
•Appointed Mrs. Amanda Karch, executive director for Continuing Education, Training, and Workforce Development at Columbia-Greene Community College as a Higher Education representative to the Columbia-Greene Workforce Development Board
•Authorized applying for and accepting financing for updating the county Airport Master Plan and continuing with capital projects in the meantime. The current Master Plan is 20 years old and needs updating to accommodate increased airport use, says the pertinent resolution. Capital projects specified involve Parallel Taxiway Lighting, Terminal Apron Pavement, the Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS), snow removal equipment, and a new building to house that equipment.
The Supervisors also authorized the following purchases:
•For the MIS Department: new Verkada security cameras with 10 year licenses in seven County buildings and two additional locations, for up to $350,000
•For the Highway Department: An excavator for up to $545,000; a dump truck for up to $345,000; and three dump trucks for up to $180,000. All new items are to replace older ones
•For the Sheriff: a new forensics scanning system, to be used for “accident reconstruction,” for $57,174. It is to replace an older system with fewer capabilities
•For Solid Waste: A vehicle for up to $135,000, to replace an older vehicle to be sold at auction; and 18 containers of various sizes for up to $60,462
•To replace “deteriorating” buses: a new 24-passenger bus for $223,997.69.
And they authorized declaring the following items surplus and selling them at auctions: a dump truck in the Highway Department and a vehicle in the Sheriff’s office.
All together, the board adopted 67 resolutions.