By Joshua Walther
COBLESKILL - At the latest Cobleskill Village Board meeting on Tuesday evening, members discussed the status of the local police department and cleared the air about how it operates.
Mayor Rebecca Stanton-Terk began by saying that the department currently has thirteen police officers, with the chief and deputy chief being the two full-time employees.
She noted that both full-timers also double as patrol officers, and “Patrol hours are based on availability and the direction of the chief.”
Mayor Stanton-Terk also explained that the department continues to cooperate with several other law enforcement agencies, such as the county sheriff’s office and the state troopers, for optimal policing of the Village.
With all of that said, Mayor Stanton-Terk said that there will not be a return to form from two years ago, saying “At this point, we have no intention of returning to a 24/7 police department. It is not, in any way, sustainable or affordable to the Village taxpayers.”
She also claimed that the Board was an authority on the matter, saying “The taxpayers are the ones who pay for it, and so we, as the Board, know what the limitations are.”
To conclude, she also gave a brief statement on the events of two years ago when the police department crumbled due to mass resignations.
“The department was never dismantled by the Board,” Mayor Stanton-Terk said. “Despite officers leaving on their own accord two years ago, the department never ceased to exist. Now in a right-sized capacity, the department continues to operate efficiently with seasoned professionals we’re happy to have on our team.”
In other news, the Board closed the public hearing on the controversial local law that signs the maintenance of the Village trees away from the tree committee and over to the code enforcement and groundskeeping teams.
The Board gave the tree committee the opportunity to reach out to the Village and give suggestions on how they might incorporate volunteer work into the new revision, but they received nothing in response.
As such, member Ruth Van Deusen offered a motion to pass the law, saying “I move that, based upon not hearing feedback from the tree committee, that we move forward with these revisions.” The rest of the Board unanimously passed the motion.
Finally, Mayor Stanton-Terk gave a brief hint on potential new housing projects in the Village, citing 16 townhouse units for Settles Mountain Road, 240 housing units for Mineral Springs Road, and a potential buyer for the Zion Lutheran Church with the intentions for housing.
“We’ve got a lot of activity and some things happening,” she finished.
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