Board discusses trucks, wells, animals and housing

By JEFF MORRIS 

The Town Board dealt with the gamut of topics and authorizations at its May 5 meeting, ranging from dump trucks to stray animals.

Dump truck purchase

Department of Public Works Commissioner Kevin Winn requested that the board authorize the purchase of three dump trucks from Robert H. Hoover and Sons for $1,086,117.

Winn said the DPW fleet currently includes a 2005 and 2006 Sterling dump truck, as well as a 2010 Mack 10-wheel dump truck, all of which have exceeded their useful lives and have incurred substantial downtime and maintenance issues.

“The dump truck is a useful piece of equipment for kind of all seasons of DPW operations,” said Winn. “They’re designed with multi-purpose bodies so they can haul material in the summer, haul winter materials, spread salt and sand in the winter and pick up leaves in the fall.”

He asked for approval to purchase three new comparably sized Western Star dump trucks, one of which will be equipped with an underscraper for dirt road maintenance. Winn said each year they budget money for upgrading their fleet, and this expenditure is a combination of the 2025 and 2026 funds, with $526,800 from the 2025 capital project and $559,317 from 2026 approved vehicle and equipment capital funds.

The 10-wheel dump truck is $369,912; the 6-wheel dump truck is $329,506; and the 6-wheel dump truck with underscraper is $386,699.

Winn said there are two trucks they purchased last year, but that is about a 15-month process, so those will be arriving in the next week or two. 

The board approved the purchase.

Artesian well project

Winn followed the truck request with one to approve a change order and contract extension for Boyd Artesian Well Co.

The contract will be extended through Dec. 31, 2026, and the change order is for $39,783.

“We’ve been exploring a new source of supply for the Bedford Village wells, which is what Boyd was involved with,” said Winn. 

The existing supply has PFAS contamination, Winn said. Sampling began in 2021, and one of the wells in The Farms supply is slightly over the PFAS limit. They only use the second well, which is slightly under the limits, “but is at a level  that we need to correct, and not having the redundancy is a problem.” 

He said rather than treatment, which is extremely expensive, they looked at the potential for a new source of supply.

In July 2023 the town entered into a contract with Boyd for installation of wells at the Guard Hill Preserve. That work has been completed, said Winn, and the next step was to install well pumps and a temporary electrical system, including providing a large generator, to run a 72-hour pump test as required by the county Department of Health, which was successful. The additional cost for Boyd was for the pump installation and 72 hour operation, including necessary materials and labor.

Winn said they had received a grant from the state for 60% of the cost. The goal is to have the project completed and the supply online by the first quarter of 2027.

Dogs and cats

he board was asked to approve a contract with SPCA Westchester to provide care and shelter for seized, stray and homeless dogs and cats. 

Supervisor Ellen Calves said they formerly only covered dogs, “but apparently a lot of cats are being brought to the SPCA, so we negotiated an opportunity for cats to be covered as well.” She said they worked out a pretty good deal for both, and the initial shelter for dogs is at a shelter closer by in South Salem, “so this is only if they’re not claimed and they have to go to the SPCA after a week.”

The contract that was approved calls for the town to pay the SPCA $4,000 annually, payable in monthly installments of $333.34.

Housing task force

The board also received an update from David Cone-Gorham, chair of the housing task force. Calves said that a working group had been appointed earlier this spring to look into affordable housing and do a review of the town’s laws.

Cone-Gorham said they were tasked with studying the current state of housing in town, and to dig deeper to understand “the obstacles to responsible and meaningful development of various kinds of multifamily, affordable housing, workforce housing, senior housing, as well as ADUs, and inevitably to make recommendations in this space.”

He said they have been able to uncover a great deal of data in a short period of time.

They recently met with the mayor and deputy mayor of Croton-on-Hudson, said Cone-Gorham, to discuss some of their experiences with multifamily and affordable development. They have also met with multiple other relevant officials, both in the county and locally.

He said the plan for the working group is to complete its research this summer, and provide recommendations to the town related to changes in zoning, systems, process, resources and compliance. 

Cone-Gorham said they will take into serious consideration voices of concern around consistency in upholding zoning laws, maintaining town character, limiting congestion and protecting the environment.