16 March Supervisor Meyers announces cancellations due to ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic March 16, 2020 By Patrick Mangan General 0 PRESS RELEASE In light of recent developments with the coronavirus pandemic and the public health emergency in New York State, Supervisor George Meyers is taking the following actions to limit exposure to town employees and the public. These protective measures are being taken to assure the operation of local government in the safest manner possible for the public and our employees during this public health crisis. All Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals meetings, public hearings and workshops are canceled until further notice. Justice Court appearances and hearings before Justice Meyers (Tuesdays) and Justice Calderin (Thursdays) are canceled until further notice. The Court will notify you of a new appearance date once the coronavirus pandemic passes. All Recreation programs and activities are canceled until further notice, including the town’s annual Easter Egg hunt. Supervisor Meyers is requesting anyone having business with the Town of New Windsor use the telephone, email, online services, or US Mail to conduct business and avoid coming into Town Hall or the Recreation Offices. New Windsor offers online utility bill payments, court fines and fees payments, online FOIL requests, online mapping, and more on our website at newwindsor-ny.gov. New Windsor Police and New Windsor Ambulance have instituted health safety protocols to protect their members and provide uninterrupted service to our residents and the general public. Please check the Town website, Facebook page, and register for text notifications on our website at newwindsor-ny.gov for updated information. Attached Files Coronavirus Press Release 3-16-2020.pdf 196.53 KB Related Articles Update from Supervisor Meyers on New Windsor precautions in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic Based on the recommendation of New York State that local governments have 50% of employees working remotely due to the spread of COVID-19, Supervisor Meyers is taking action for the health and safety of our employees and ensuring our government continues to function for New Windsor residents. Town Departments are having employees work from home or in split shifts where possible without affecting services to the public. The New Windsor Police and New Windsor Ambulance are taking extra precautions to protect their officers and staff. Additional precautions are being taken with our highway, water and sewer departments to ensure staff availability to run critical town infrastructure. Town Hall is still open to the public for the time being, however the Town is encouraging the public not to come to Town Hall or our Recreation department unless it absolutely necessary. Please conduct business via phone, email, online or via US mail where possible. New Windsor offers online utility bill payments, court fines and fees payments, online FOIL requests, online mapping, and more on our website at newwindsor-ny.gov. Above all, Supervisor Meyers would like to assure the public that even if Town Hall does close to the public, the New Windsor government will continue to function and provide all critical services to our residents. We will continue to provide residents and businesses with information as it becomes available. Supervisor Meyers contacting state and county officials regarding COVID-19 vaccine location in New Windsor Supervisor Meyers is contacting New York State and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus in regards to setting up a COVID-19 vaccination location at the Town Hall Complex. New Windsor Emergency Services has two Registered Nurses on staff who would administer the vaccine to eligible residents. All New York State guidelines would be followed. Supervisor Meyers would like to make it easier for eligible New Windsor residents to receive the vaccine. The town will announce any plans as soon as it has more information from the state and county. Message from Supervisor Meyers Regarding Town Finances From Supervisor Meyers: I want to give a quick synopsis of where the Town of New Windsor is heading next year as it relates to the town’s finances/taxes. The town, as is the case with many businesses and residents, is not in great financial condition. The town comptroller has cautioned me a number of times regarding his concerns as it relates to the town’s fiscal condition going forward next year. Two huge issues/problems facing the town are the economy and our union contracts with our unionized employees. These contracts were negotiated a couple of years ago during different economic times. An attempt was made to seek some concessions from the PBA and the CSEA - to no avail as of this time. Many of our businesses and residents are struggling (nationally 25% of businesses have gone out of business and are not coming back). I have been told many times recently by owners and residents: “I don’t know how I am going to pay my taxes.” We cannot continue going forward as if nothing is wrong. I will update our taxpayers over the coming weeks as to what steps I am going to propose to the Town Board to address this situation. To me, raising taxes is not an option. New Windsor cancels summer camps due to COVID-19 pandemic Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Town of New Windsor has made the difficult decision to cancel all town run summer camps that would have been held this summer. Supervisor Meyers is particularly concerned with the recent developments of the inflammatory syndrome being found in children that may possibly be related to COVID-19, which heavily factored into this decision. The Town understands how much our families enjoy these camps each summer, however the safety of children is of the utmost concern of our Town officials. New Windsor Announces Temporary Moratorium on all Development Approvals During the January Town Board Meeting, the Town Board called for a public hearing to discuss a proposed Local Law that would impose a temporary moratorium on all development approvals in the Town of New Windsor. If approved by the Town Board after the public hearing, which is scheduled for February 5, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall at 555 Union Ave., New Windsor, NY, this Local Law would enact a minimum three (3) month moratorium. The temporary moratorium being proposed is designed to give Supervisor Meyers and the Town Board sufficient time to further study and explore what are believed to be significant issues concerning the Town’s ability to meet demands for its current and future sewer and water customers, as well as concerns about traffic and over-development in general. Decisions as to how to proceed beyond this three month period will be made during this time, with further action to be taken by the Town Board, as deemed necessary. Please note, there are a number of exceptions to the temporary moratorium, which are outlined in the proposed Local Law. The full context of proposed Local Law #1-2020 can be found below. Town Encourages Less Visits to Town Hall Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Supervisor Meyers is requesting anyone who does not need to physically come to town hall to please conduct business through email or phone whenever possible. If you are paying your water bill, the bills can either be mailed in, dropped through the mail slot in the front door of town hall after hours, or given to the court officer at the front door during the hours of 11am-3pm. Town hall is still currently open to the public from 11am-3pm. For the safety of our employees and everyone visiting town hall, we are trying to reduce the number of people coming into town hall. New Windsor is currently the third highest in positive COVID-19 test results in Orange County. Court officers are still screening temperatures of all visitors and masks are required. We thank everyone for their help in this matter! Comments are closed.