Police Reform and Reinvention collaboration underway in Crawford

By Sharon MacGregor
Posted 1/27/21

The January Town of Crawford board meeting was held via Zoom with a relatively light agenda. In addition to the normal business items, Supervisor Charles Carnes addressed the formation of community …

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Police Reform and Reinvention collaboration underway in Crawford

Posted

The January Town of Crawford board meeting was held via Zoom with a relatively light agenda. In addition to the normal business items, Supervisor Charles Carnes addressed the formation of community committee regarding New York State mandated Police Reform and Reinvention Collaboration has had their first meeting. According to Governor Cuomo’s announcement in August of 2020, the collaborative process should:


• Review the needs of the community served by its police agency, and evaluate the department’s current policies and practices;
• Establish policies that allow police to effectively and safely perform their duties;
• Involve the entire community in the discussion;

• Develop policy recommendations resulting from this review;
• Offer a plan for public comment;
• Present the plan to the local legislative body to ratify or adopt it, and;
• Certify adoption of the plan to the State Budget Director on or before April 1, 2021. (from governor.ny.gov)

Later asked his thoughts about the committee, Crawford Police Chief Dominick Blasko stated, “It’s an opportunity to highlight the great work the members of the Department do and identify areas that we need to improve.”

Carnes and the Board scheduled a public hearing for the committee for February 18 at 6:30 p.m. just prior to the next regular board meeting. An additional public hearing is slated for the same evening at 7:30 p.m. regarding the pedestrian safety project on Route 52 in Pine Bush.

Domani Ragni, Community Services Director, reported the 2021 UFO Fair date is scheduled for September 4 in coordination with the relaunch of First Friday events, the Friendly Visitor Program is still open for volunteers, and the Small Business Tourism & Events Center located at 86 Main Street is scheduled to open in April. The Parks department reported making various improvements to the interior of the building this past month.

The Board voted to accept the results of the Justice Court audit (2019), the property tax exemption for Seniors to decommission the solar bond and approved the 2021 tax collector’s bond as well as announced the acceptance of bids for park mowing.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Suzanne Schubert questioned the age of the infrastructure within the hamlet as it relates to the water lines. Supervisor Carnes responded part of the problem lies in various loops and dead-ends within the lines and if they are removed, the quality of the water should be improved. Additionally, Carnes stated the use of green sand filters would also be helpful. After further discussion about the water, filtration options, and the condition of the duck tile iron pipes, Supervisor Carnes concluded, “According to the engineers, we need to get them flushed.”

Full results of the January 4, 2021 Reorganization Meeting can be found on the Town of Crawford website under “Minutes.” This document identifies various Town positions and policies.