Red Hook, NY – Over the past few months, the Study Steering Committee for the Red Hook Highway Shared Services Study has been developing an interim report on the state of highway services in the area. A public meeting to discuss the results of the Committee’s work up to this point is scheduled for 7:30pm on September 29th at the Village of Red Hook Village Hall. At the meeting, the Committee, along with the consultants hired by the Town, will present the report titled “Interim Analysis of Existing Conditions, Department Structures and Services” and allow residents to provide their input on the report.

“This meeting marks an important point in the study process” says Tim Weidemann, one of the consultants hired by the Town to help guide the study. While other Committee meetings have been open to the public and the first Public Kick-Off Meeting held in March introduced the study to the public, this meeting will provide residents with their first real opportunity to provide input and affect the study. According to Weidemann, the upcoming meeting will “give residents a chance to make sure the consultants are getting it right.”

The interim report to be presented at the meeting summarizes local conditions affecting the delivery of highway services in the area and analyzes the cost of those services. Some of the topics covered in the report include area demographics, social characteristics, transportation system characteristics, and land use and development patterns. Other contents include an analysis of the resources used by the departments, and the cost of highway services in the Town and Villages.

The purpose of the report is to set the basis for considering the best options available to the Town and Villages for improving services and reducing costs. “That’s what makes attendance at this meeting so important” says Red Hook Town Supervisor Sue Crane. “The rest of the study will be based on the contents of this report, and we want to make sure future decisions are based on sound information.” Elaborating further, Crane stated that “numbers are great, but any report on highway services that didn’t take into consideration the thoughts of those receiving the services would be incomplete.”

The Committee encourages residents to review the report and attend the upcoming meeting. Copies of the report can be downloaded by visiting the project website at http://redhook.rondoutconsulting.com. Following the meeting, public input will be incorporated in the Final Analysis of Existing Conditions, Department Structures and Services. The next step in the overall study is to begin identifying and evaluating the options available for meeting the study goals through shared services. As the study progresses, residents will be encouraged to provide further input, and can keep track of study documents and events by visiting the project website.

---

###
For further information contact:
Tim Weidemann, Rondout Consulting:  845-430-0426
Sue Crane, Town Supervisor, Town of Red Hook: 845-758-4602