The Hurley Town Board voted Tuesday evening to hire a grant writer to seek funds from the Hudson River Estuary Program. The resolution came at the request of the town’s Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC).

“We've been looking for a grant writer for a while,” explained Supervisor Melinda McKnight.

The resolution authorizes an agreement between the Town of Hurley and New Paltz-based grant writing firm Choice Words LLC to apply for grant funds from the Hudson River Estuary Program. The state Department of Environmental Conservation program is designed to help Hudson Valley communities preserve, protect and manage natural resources through training, technical assistance, research, mapping and more.

According to the resolution, the CAC, which advises the town board regarding the development and management of its natural resources, hopes to secure funds from the program “in support of their efforts throughout the town.”

Before the resolution was passed, several members of the CAC voiced their support for it during the public comment period.

“We do encourage you to use whatever funds we have from the CAC to turn over and hire a grant writer,” said CAC Chairperson Joan Paccione. “It would definitely be worth the expenditure.”

“We’ve tried in the past to have volunteers to write these grants, and we haven't been successful,” added CAC member Kristen Schara. “I think just having somebody professional … would really put us over the edge maybe in terms of winning some of these grants.”

The members thanked the board after the resolution passed.

At Tuesday's meeting, the board also voted Karl Bruckner to the Ethics Committee and passed a resolution to exempt the planning board from certain county referrals. In addition, McKnight announced that the federal lawsuit by Arizona Investissements against the Code Enforcement Office’s ruling against the Twin Lakes glamping project had been dismissed without merit.

The evening was sprinkled with the rancor typically present at Hurley town board meetings, with accusations and heated remarks passed during the public comment period and muttered throughout the meeting on both sides of the table.

In Other Hurley News:

Free N95 Masks at Town Hall

N95 face masks, supplied by Ulster County, are available for free at the Hurley Town Hall, 10 Wamsley Place, as the region deals with air quality problems caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The masks can be picked up during the Town Hall's weekday operating hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Town Hall Closed for Business Tuesday

The Hurley Town Hall will be closed for business on Tuesday, June 27, which is Primary Day. The building, at 10 Wamsley Place, will be open as a polling place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

More Ways to Pay at Transfer Station

Credit and debit cards are now being accepted for payments at the town Transfer Station, 1043 Dug Hill Road in West Hurley, the town announced this week.

The Transfer Station accepted cash until the end of 2022, when the state barred the practice. The site then switched to accepting payments only by check, money order or pre-purchased coupon card as it waited for the installation of infrastructure needed to accept credit and debit cards. That’s now in place, and the card system is up and running.

All major credit cards, including American Express and Discover, are accepted at the Transfer Station, as are debit cards. Also, there is no added fee for customers who use credit or debit cards.

(Note: Existing coupon cards have no expiration date and still can be used at the Transfer Station, and they remain available for purchase at the Transfer Station and the Town Hall, 10 Wamsley Place, for people who prefer them as a payment method.)

The Transfer Station operates from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, though it’s closed on Tuesdays during weeks with a Monday holiday. It can be reached by phone at (845) 338-5412. For more about the Transfer Station, click here: tinyurl.com/mr7dkk73. The facility’s current fee schedule is posted at tinyurl.com/2yzup2ds.

Kingston Wire's coverage of the Town of Hurley is underwritten by Hurley Up. Kingston Wire has complete editorial control of what is reported and published. We accept submissions of letters to the editor, longer opinion pieces, community event notices and story ideas: email us at info@kingstonwire.com