Shared administration, capital planning among recommendations to be presented, passed to Town and Village boards for implementation

Red Hook, NY – The Town of Red Hook and the Villages of Red Hook and Tivoli have  released the final draft of the Action Plans as part of their Highway Shared Services Study, and are preparing to present the report to area residents. The presentation will take place on Wednesday, April 29^th at 7:30pm at the Red Hook Town Hall.

Over the past year, the Study Steering Committee, which includes elected officials of each municipality, has been working to identify opportunities for sharing highway services. During earlier stages of the Study, the Committee identified several options expected to improve quality and reduce costs of highway services in the three municipalities. After narrowing down the possible shared service arrangements to four preferred options, the Committee created Action Plans to help guide implementation of the preferred options. The options proposed for implementation include:

• Shared Highway Administration and Data Collection
• Standardization of Highway Policies and Procedures
• Shared Highway Training
• Shared Highway Capital Planning and Purchasing

Now it is up to the governing boards of each municipality to decide which, if any, of the recommended plans should be implemented. 

Prior to moving ahead with implementation of the study recommendations, the study committee will hold a final public meeting for discussion and input from area residents. Residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the study and to provide their input. 

“The purpose of the action plans is to help guide the boards of each municipality and to prepare them for the effort that will be required to move ahead with implementation,” says Tim Weidemann, one of the consultants hired by the Town to help guide the study. “We encourage residents to come out for the final meeting of this year-long project to see how we think the work that the committee has done can be put into action over the next couple of years.”

Copies of the Action Plans and other study documents can be downloaded by visiting the project website at http://redhook.rondoutconsulting.com. Following the meeting, public input will be incorporated in the Final Action Plans.