Town Hires Grant Writer - by Maya Schubert/Kingston Wire

The Hurley Town Board voted Tuesday evening to hire a grant writer to
seek funds from the Hudson River Estuary Program. The resolution came
at the request of the town’s Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC).

“We've been looking for a grant writer for a while,” explained
Supervisor Melinda McKnight.

The resolution authorizes an agreement between the Town of Hurley and
New Paltz-based grant writing firm Choice Words LLC to apply for grant
funds from the Hudson River Estuary Program. The state Department of
Environmental Conservation program is designed to help Hudson Valley
communities preserve, protect and manage natural resources through
training, technical assistance, research, mapping and more.

According to the resolution, the CAC, which advises the town board
regarding the development and management of its natural resources,
hopes to secure funds from the program “in support of their efforts
throughout the town.”

Before the resolution was passed, several members of the CAC voiced
their support for it during the public comment period.

“We do encourage you to use whatever funds we have from the CAC to
turn over and hire a grant writer,” said CAC Chairperson Joan
Paccione. “It would definitely be worth the expenditure.”

“We’ve tried in the past to have volunteers to write these grants, and
we haven't been successful,” added CAC member Kristen Schara. “I think
just having somebody professional … would really put us over the edge
maybe in terms of winning some of these grants.”

The members thanked the board after the resolution passed.

At Tuesday's meeting, the board also voted Karl Bruckner to the Ethics
Committee and passed a resolution to exempt the planning board from
certain county referrals. In addition, McKnight announced that the
federal lawsuit by Arizona Investissements against the Code
Enforcement Office’s ruling against the Twin Lakes glamping project
had been dismissed without merit.

The evening was sprinkled with the rancor typically present at Hurley
town board meetings, with accusations and heated remarks passed during
the public comment period and muttered throughout the meeting on both
sides of the table.

In Other Hurley News:

Free N95 Masks at Town Hall

N95 face masks, supplied by Ulster County, are available for free at
the Hurley Town Hall, 10 Wamsley Place, as the region deals with air
quality problems caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The masks
can be picked up during the Town Hall's weekday operating hours, 9
a.m. to 5 p.m.

Town Hall Closed for Business Tuesday

The Hurley Town Hall will be closed for business on Tuesday, June 27,
which is Primary Day. The building, at 10 Wamsley Place, will be open
as a polling place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

More Ways to Pay at Transfer Station

Credit and debit cards are now being accepted for payments at the town
Transfer Station, 1043 Dug Hill Road in West Hurley, the town
announced this week.

The Transfer Station accepted cash until the end of 2022, when the
state barred the practice. The site then switched to accepting
payments only by check, money order or pre-purchased coupon card as it
waited for the installation of infrastructure needed to accept credit
and debit cards. That’s now in place, and the card system is up and
running.

All major credit cards, including American Express and Discover, are
accepted at the Transfer Station, as are debit cards. Also, there is
no added fee for customers who use credit or debit cards.

(Note: Existing coupon cards have no expiration date and still can be
used at the Transfer Station, and they remain available for purchase
at the Transfer Station and the Town Hall, 10 Wamsley Place, for
people who prefer them as a payment method.)

The Transfer Station operates from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through
Saturday, though it’s closed on Tuesdays during weeks with a Monday
holiday. It can be reached by phone at (845) 338-5412. For more about
the Transfer Station, click here: tinyurl.com/mr7dkk73. The facility’s
current fee schedule is posted at tinyurl.com/2yzup2ds.

Kingston Wire's coverage of the Town of Hurley is underwritten by
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