Boodle Hole Bridge Crossing

The Rochester Town Board discussed several local bridge and culvert replacement projects at its Sept. 10 meeting. A contractor was selected to do the Boice Mill bridge replacement. “Construction could start this fall,” said Town Supervisor Erin Enouen. "Though it feels like it’s been going on forever, this is actually the home stretch for this project.”

The Project 32 bridge was closed by the state and “will remain closed until it is replaced," she said. "We are in the design phase... it will most likely remain a single-lane bridge, that is the most affordable option.”

The Sundown Road culvert is also in design/environmental review stage. After completing preliminary design plans, “we will have public meetings for both Project 32 and Sundown Road.”

Enouen also announced that “Ulster County is closing the Boodle Hole Bridge on Sept. 15 for eight to 10 weeks. I found out on Monday… that’s going to have a bit of an impact especially on the school run. So just give yourself extra time and give school buses space."

Public comment was led off by Barbara Fornal. “We tried to contact Ulster County to find out why the Boodle Hole bridge is being redone, because it was done ten years ago. If it’s a case of too much weight going over it… we are the only crossroad between Mettacahonts and Queens Highway so there’s a lot of truck traffic…I feel bad for the two neighbors that live down by the bridge. They got hit the worst with the storm, chainsaws going for months. And now they’re going to have this...Are there going to be any signs, even on 209, saying Boodle Hole Bridge is closed?”

Later Enouen clarified, “Boodle Hole bridge was not replaced ten years ago,” only the decking was. “They are doing a full superstructure replacement.”

Fornal asked if the next event at Arrowwood will be monitored for sound, “because in the past they went way over their limit… it has to be fair to everybody. Crested Hen has limitations with the amount of sound they can produce out in the neighborhood. I want to make sure the town is well aware that constables may need to be called.”

Board member Michael Coleman said “I know there have been several loud events lately. I heard them. People commented on NextDoor about them." He suggested that local noise statutes need updating and stricter enforcement.

Emergency manager Gerry Fornino wanted to discuss the tasers which Rochester is procuring for its constabulary. He cited a case in New York City “when a person who had killed somebody was tasered and it had absolutely no effect." The tasers will be leased for five years, Enouen said, adding, “I am the one who’s been doing the research on them – the model, the training.”

The board has been discussing how to implement long-term infrastructure repairs. Enouen brought up a building conditions survey commissioned in 2021 for Rochester's municipal buildings. Allowing for inflation, “The improvements come with a $7 million price tag. That’s without building any new buildings.” However, some things in the survey have been covered, and others seemed impractical to Enouen. “Replacing all the asphalt at the transfer station for $800,000, I don’t think we would do that… I came up with $1.3 million for things that I think make sense to do.” She’s working on “making a spreadsheet framework for the long-term plan.”

Board member Zali Win asked her if there had been any study of whether space for different town functions could be consolidated in any way, “to reduce the average square foot per office , etc…. a needs assessment.” He thought that should happen before repairs. Also, possibly “sharing services with other municipalities.” Enouen nodded vigorously in agreement. But since the survey six years ago, she said, "the town hall roof still hasn’t been repaired. It still leaks. There’s an active mold/leak situation in the assessor’s office.” Fixing the roof “has to be a competitive bid process…the roof has deteriorated and we really need to do it. If we have another winter like last one, I don’t know what’s going to happen.” She’s going to prepare a proposal and invite roofing companies to bid on it.

Continuing a thread from the last meeting, the discussion turned to Stone Ridge library cards for Rochester residents, who can have both Ellenville and Stone Ridge cards if they want to. Win observed that if everybody can have a card and we’re paying for every user, then we’re paying double for those people. “And we have no way of determining who has both.”

Board member Charlotte Smiseth suggested that people who have both cards could pay a fee, rather than be limited to one card. “I don’t think we should be limiting people’s access to knowledge and learning in any way... I’ve used both since I was a kid.”

Win went back to the question raised in an August meeting about whether to allocate the free Stone Ridge cards “first-come, first-serve, or based on financial need…?

Stone Ridge would charge $40,000 for unlimited Rochester memberships. The general consensus among the board was that it wasn’t going to happen this year at least. “We have all these costs that are going up in the budget this year,” commented Coleman.

“We need our own library,” said Smiseth.

“The cost of that would be way more,” said Enouen.

“What would the cost be of adding ourselves to the Ellenville or the Stone Ridge library district?” asked Win. Rochester residents would be taxed for that. “These are all long-term things. For the next 12 months, I’m comfortable with increasing to $25,000," up from about $16,500 for 2026.

Enouen posited that they put the increase for Stone Ridge in the tentative budget. “But if we have to knock that back [to current level] we would like there to be a different process for how those memberships are granted… Having a lottery, making a request to Ellenville card holders to please pay your way… we could have an honor system."

Smiseth wanted to look for a grant to provide extra money so Rochester could afford unlimited Stone Ridge cards.

Event announcements and news items

The Battery Energy Storage System moratorium expires on Nov. 14, Enouen said. A six-month extension was agreed upon. Enouen is going to try to get a group of town officials to go to a talk in Westchester County about the hazards of this technology.

Two properties in Rochester were added to the agricultural district. “They are now considered farm operations, which receive special consideration under our zoning code,” said Enouen.

“We have a Boards and Commissions Day on Saturday, Sept. 26, an open house with tables for each of our boards and commissions," Enouen announced. "You’ll get to learn about what they do, talk to members, get inspired and put in an application if you want to join on the spot… Our plan is that it’ll be at the pavilion [in Veterans Park]."

Gundberg had some advice for people waiting to get their school tax statements. “I’m not the school tax collector, but we have received a lot of phone calls [wondering when they’ll be issued]. One thing a lot of people aren’t aware of: You can go to infotaxonline and look up your school tax bill. You can see your exemptions, you can go back to previous years. You can pay your tax through that portal as well.”

Gundberg had a few announcements. Rochester's afterschool program is full; there is a waitlist in case anyone drops out.

Line dancing is taking a break for September, there is no date set for when it will resume.

There's still time to register for the pie contest on Accord Heritage Day, Oct. 3. Call Recreation at 845-626-2115. To be a volunteer on the day, call Friends of Historic Rochester.

There will be a fall-themed painting class at 10 a.m. Sept. 23, call to sign up for limited spaces. The basketball program will have registration soon, stay tuned.

The Housing Preservation Committee will be giving out three awards on Heritage Day at the Accord Museum at 2 p.m.

The historical society's Whitfield Hamlet Talk is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18.

The board set Sept. 22 as the date they will interview two candidates to fill the empty seat on the board, venue TBD.

Smiseth reported that the Rotary Club will sponsor an emergency supply box to use during natural disasters. The club could also partner with the town exploring water and sewage infrastructure, “and apply for a Rotary International grant as a service project.”