Look up and you might spot one of the new FAA-certified drones the Marlborough Police Department is now using to augment public safety in the town. Even better, the three drones didn’t cost the town a single dollar.

 

Police Chief Gerald Cocozza announced the acquisition of the three drones at the Marlborough Town Board’s September 9 meeting. They were funded by a $99,000 state police-technology grant the town received, which also enabled the purchase of 10 body cameras, two license-plate readers, and a speed trailer.

 

The town purchased three drones: a large craft with payload capacity, a medium-size drone, and a small drone. The largest of the three will fly for 43 minutes on a single battery charge: Cocozza noted that this craft will automatically begin returning to base once it reaches 25 percent battery capacity.

 

“There’s a lot of new information technology out there that’s very helpful for everyday living, such as police work,” noted Town Supervisor Scott Corcoran. “There are a whole slew of things we can do via drones.” One key application would be search and rescue; another would be to provide preliminary surveillance of a building whose burglar alarm sounded, to determine whether further police action might be needed.

 

Indeed, the midsized drone has already showed its stuff in what proved to be a false alarm. An alarm sounded at a business warehouse in town, alerting to a possible intrusion. The Police Department used the drone to check things out. Once there, the drone determined that a deer had brushed against the facility’s perimeter fence, setting off the alarm. 

 

Corcoran noted that the large drone could be used to assess the situation if a boat capsized on the Hudson River. The craft’s payload capacity could deliver a life preserver if needed. 

 

“We’re now one of the leading police departments in Ulster County that uses drones, based on the number we now have and the number of people who can operate them,” said Cocozza. He pointed out that one police sergeant is an FAA-certified drone pilot, though that is no longer a requirement. Instead, the FAA now has a certificate of authorization program that enables federal, state, and local government offices – such as local police and fire departments - to fly UAVs to support specific missions.

 

The new speed trailer is one of those familiar roadside units that provides a digital readout of a driver’s speed. The unit is moveable and can assess speeds in different locations based on the needs of the Police Department.

 

The two new license plate readers (LPRs) will be fixed units and will be placed at the north and south ends of town. They will flag expired registrations, for instance, and suspensions for lapsed insurance. The LPRs can also run software to do a further DMV check, if needed.

 

The drone purchase came up in a somewhat roundabout way: A resolution establishing an updated useful-life schedule for the town’s fixed assets. As defined by the website Investopedia, “fixed assets” are long-term tangible property or equipment an organization owns and uses that are not expected to be sold within a year. Thus, their useful life is typically greater than one year. 

 

The town’s fixed-asset useful-life schedule includes everything from computers to snowplows to trucks. Drones will now have a useful life of five years. The Town Board approved the updated schedule unanimously.

 

The Town Board also considered the following resolutions. 

 

• It approved the reappointment of Ralph Walters to the Board of Assessment Review, effective October 1. His term will end September 30, 2029. 

 

• It approved the release of the maintenance-security bond amount paid in May 2023, by Regency Meadow View LLC, the developer of a new subdivision off Ridge Road. The bond provided maintenance security in the amount of $89,127.00 to the town to maintain Meadow View Drive and Clover Court for one year. That one-year period has elapsed, and the roads have been inspected and found to be in acceptable condition by the town’s highway superintendent.

 

• It approved a request from the Marlborough Arts Coalition (MaArCo) to waive facility-usage fees for its upcoming exhibition at the historic Milton-On-Hudson Train Station. The exhibit will take place October 16-20, 2024.

 

• It discussed a letter from an attorney representing ELP Marlborough Solar LLC, informing the board that the solar farm ELP has proposed should be tax-exempt – but that the town could raise issues to that. ELP is sending similar notices to the Marlboro Central School Board and Ulster County, which also are relevant taxing authorities of the property in question. The Town Board referred the matter to its consulting attorney, Gerard Comatos.

 

• It also discussed a request by the Marlboro Free Library to move an upcoming “World of Animals” presentation from the library’s meeting room to the Marlborough Community Center. The library expects attendance at the event to be too large for the meeting room to accommodate. The Town Board opted to further investigate the request, because the presentation would use live animals.