By THANE GRAUEL
Outside the Town House is parked a Ford E-350 14-passenger van. It’s apparently seen better times — the air conditioning is kaput, it’s got a lift that isn’t used, and it’s no longer depended on for long trips.
Some senior citizens that enjoy traveling for town-organized activities hope the town will obtain a dependable new van with climate control for humid months that goes beyond open windows.
Resident Katharine Biagiarelli has spoken on the issue at town board meetings since June but feels like the issue has gotten little traction with the members.
She said she was told one month the request should go through the recreation committee. She attended that meeting and said she was told it was a town board issue. She made a request through the Freedom of Information Act for maintenance records, and said the only documents returned were for a new set of tires and an oil change.
She has shown up regularly at meetings to push the issue, but the town’s approved tentative budget for 2025 still has no line item for a new passenger van.
On Tuesday, Biagiarelli wasn’t alone at the town board meeting — three other people also spoke on the issue and one, Janis Knorr, presented the board with a petition. One of the other speakers was her mother.
“We also have concerns about the senior vehicle,” Knorr said. “I would like to submit to you a petition that was signed by, so far, 53 seniors. I think that will continue to grow.”
She read the petition’s narrative:
“We the undersigned residents of Pound Ridge wish to express our deep displeasure regarding the ongoing lack of budgeted funding for a new senior program vehicle or funding for adequate repairs to provide safe and comfortable transport for our programs and trips,” she read. “The current vehicle is over 15 years old, the air conditioning has not worked in years, and it lacks proper safety features for those with ambulatory challenges or the need for wheelchair transport.”
It urged replacement of the vehicle with funding in the upcoming budget.
Nick Cianciola told the board Pound Ridge seniors should be appreciated and protected, even more than resources such as open space.
“There is a far more valuable resource that demands our immediate attention and care — our senior citizens,” he said.
Money is where the rubber hits the road. Supervisor Kevin Hansan has pointed out a new van would be costly (the existing vehicle was donated); the highway department is seeking a new salt/plow truck and the police department has a vehicle with 148,000 miles on it.
He told The Recorder on Thursday there’s always the hope that money could be found for a senior van by the end of the budget process in December, but said it’s not likely.
He said running a small town is not unlike budgeting for a household, “You have to make hard decisions.”
“It just so happens that a senior bus is something we’re more likely to find a state grant for than a $350,000 highway truck,” Hansan said, adding that the effort should be focused on finding the right grant at the right time.
“I get it, residents don’t want to wait,” he said. “It’s an aging bus, but it’s functional and it passed New York state inspection.”
“I just feel we’re being pushed out,” Biagiarelli said Thursday.
The seniors will have one more chance to make their case for a new bus when the town board holds a public hearing Tuesday, Dec. 3., on the 2025 budget.