Government

Orangetown 2021 Year in Review

January 7, 2022 By helpdesk1

Just a few events that took place over the past 12 months. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, we tried to cover them all. Here’s to 2022 and a whole lot more!

Town of Orangetown Year in Review

January 7, 2022 By helpdesk1

Tuesday evening was Orangetown’s annual Reorganization Meeting. Thanks to those of you who watched it on Facebook Live or on the local television channel. For those of you who were not able to view it, the following is an edited version (watch the video) of my remarks on the State of the Town:

On January 1st, I started my second term as your Town Supervisor and, unfortunately, we are still dealing with the effects of a global pandemic. I am disappointed that we could not have the fanfare that we customarily have and that our newest Town Board Member, Brian Donohue, most certainly deserves. But, in light of the recent COVID outbreak, we opted to keep it small.

Although it seems like my first term was occupied with crisis after crisis, starting with the Declaration of a state of emergency for COVID and ending with a FEMA disaster recovery center being set up in the Town due to Hurricane IDA, we still managed to get things done:

1.    We started the Comprehensive Plan and it is well under way. I am thrilled by the participation of so many residents and welcome others to join us. We will continue to work diligently with our planners to have it completed by the end of 2022.

2.    Orangetown is the first Town in the County to offer a food scrap recycling program to its residents. I urge all residents to go to the Town website to learn about the advantages of participating in the program.

3.    My personal favorite, we opened the first dog park in Orangetown at Veterans Memorial Park. In times of COVID, when people can be outside without a mask and have the opportunity to meet other residents, it seems as if it was just what we needed. Thanks to Aric Gorton, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, for overseeing the project, and to resident Rob Chiapperino for doing such a fantastic job on the dog park.

4.    We developed a successful relationship with the Hudson Valley Humane Society, saving taxpayers over $35,000 and allowing the Town to offer a discounted cat spay and neuter program to residents.

5.    The Middletown Road project is Pearl River underway. Sidewalks, turn lanes and dividers are being added all in an effort to make Middletown Road safer for pedestrians. While it is a temporary inconvenience, it is a much-needed improvement to Pearl River.

6.    On January 1, 2022, Orangetown took over policing and DPW services from the Village of South Nyack and all of the Village employees from those departments were offered employment with the Town. Thanks to the South Nyack Board, the Town Board, and the Village and Town Department Heads, all of whom have been working diligently to make the takeover of services and ultimate dissolution of the Village as seamless as possible.

7.    The Town Board worked together to keep the budget under the tax cap, even after having to add in 9 months of village expenses that could not be included for purposes of calculating the tax cap.

8.    And I did find some time to squeeze in some fun events, such as throwing out the first pitch at Boulder Stadium, meeting with our senior clubs, attending ribbon cutting ceremonies for new businesses, attending the first official Orangetown Pickleball competition, and celebrating the street naming dedications for Dr. Frances Pratt Drive and Rev. Dr. Louis Sanders Way.

BUT 2021 IS OVER and, like last year I am looking forward to 2022 with hope and optimism for better days. Here are a few of the highlights for 2022:

1.    The All-Inclusive Playground at Veterans Park is scheduled to break ground in the spring. I want to thank Allison Kardon from my staff and volunteer Lauren Domitrovits for making sure the replacement playground will be fun for Orangetown children of all abilities.

2.    Thanks to grants from Assemblyman Mike Lawler and Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, the Town is in the planning stages of a Splash Pad not far from the new playground.

3.    My office is working diligently to make a walking path along the water at Lot 1 of the RPC property become a reality sometime in 2023.

4.    As of April 1, 2022, Orangetown will be welcoming the residents from the Village of South Nyack to the newest hamlet in Orangetown.

No doubt there will be bumps along the way, but please know that we are here to help and ask that you contact the appropriate Town Department with any problems. But everything that has been accomplished this year could not have been done without help from others, especially the Town Board, the Town Department Heads, as well as Town employees, who work every day to keep your local government running efficiently.

I also want to specifically thank Allison Kardon and Carmel Reilly from my staff, both of whom work tirelessly to make Orangetown a better place and my job just that much easier. These women worked on weekends, holidays and after hours on such things as: organizing the Hunger 5K Heroes run which raised thousands of dollars for local food panties; planning an absolutely stunning, best in the County, 9-11 Ceremony at Town Hall; distributing boxed lunches on Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving Day meals on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to our Veterans as a way to thank them for their service to our Country.

But this is just a small sampling of what these ladies do day in and day out to better the lives of Orangetown residents. For this, I thank them and am look forward to working with them for another two years, as well as with Jeff Bencik, as Finance Director, and Denis Troy, as Deputy Town Supervisor. I also want to offer my congratulations to all of our elected officials and look forward to working with Brian as the newest member of the Town Board.

In closing, I want thank all of you for placing your trust in me to be your Town Supervisor for another two years. I am honored by your trust and want you to know that it is not something that I take lightly. While my first term was challenging, I am proud of how we, as a Town, persevered. It has been an honor to serve you and I look forward to a much better, productive and healthier 2022.

Respectfully,

County Health Department Allows Test-to-Stay Policy for K-12 Public & Private Schools in Rockland County

January 7, 2022 By helpdesk1

Schools Must Follow NYSDOH Guidance

NEW CITY, NY, – Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert announces that K-12 schools may adopt Test-to-Stay (TTS) policies which are supported by both the CDC and the NYSDOH. Test-to-Stay will help keep students, teachers, and faculty safe, while allowing unvaccinated students who come into contact with an exposure at school but are asymptomatic and test negative over a series of days to continue to attend school.

The Rockland County Department of Health (RCDOH) is encouraging all schools in Rockland to participate in Test-to-Stay and to develop protocols and procedures for participating in Test-to-Stay. RCDOH has been providing information about Test-to-Stay to schools since late December.

“When implemented properly Test-to-Stay has been proven to reduce unnecessary quarantines and to reduce transmission rates in schools. While we recognize that these may be difficult requirements for schools to meet, we along with other counties are following the New York State requirements of Test-to-Stay. This entire Test-to-Stay strategy is based upon the results of studies undertaken in Los Angeles County, CA and Lake County, IL which were recently published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MMWR (see attached). These requirements are in place solely to protect the health and safety of students, teachers, and faculty in schools,” said County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.

In Rockland County, Test-to-Stay is defined as follows: Students who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and who are exposed to COVID-19 in school, may attend in-person classes (instruction/academic periods but NOT extracurricular activities) if:

The student is symptom free.
The school has received consent for the student to undergo daily testing.
The student tests negative when tested during the approved testing cadence timeframe.

To facilitate TTS implementation, each school or district that chooses to participate in TTS must adopt and implement a written TTS protocol, subject to RCDOH approval, that includes the following:

Protocol for reporting all COVID-19 test results, including TTS results, to the New York State COVID-19 report card, and for ensuring the school or district remains current in its reporting of all COVID-19 test results, in addition to their other reporting obligations under New York State Public Health Law.
Process to ensure equity (e.g., cost, transportation, etc.) so that all students are eligible for TTS.
Process for ensuring that students under the TTS protocol correctly wear well-fitting masks in school at all times, other than when eating or drinking. When these individuals cannot be masked, they should maintain 6 feet of distance from other individuals, whenever possible.
Designation of individual(s) who will conduct the testing and individuals who are responsible for reporting test results. TTS testing must be conducted at school, and not elsewhere. This will require schools to obtain a limited-service laboratory certificate or contract with an appropriate provider.
Testing process and protocol for addressing results, including:
- Process for TTS testing to be conducted to ensure results are received before the school day begins. While daily testing is ideal in the situation of the current surge, it may be difficult. Schools may choose to employ a testing cadence in line with NYSDOH recommendations instead, for the days following the exposure. Please refer to the NYSDOH memo for a sample schedule. (https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/test-stay-update)
- Process for excluding and/or isolating, pursuant to school/district’s existing procedures.
- Individuals who test positive in TTS testing.
- Process for exclusion from school of students who develop symptoms during TTS period.
Requirement that exposed students who are allowed to remain in school through TTS remain quarantined outside of school instruction/academic periods. Extra-curricular activities (sports, clubs, etc.) after school, on weekends and holidays are not permitted.
Process and specific actions, such as contact tracing, to follow up in the event that an individual tests positive.

Each requirement noted above from the New York State Department of Health will be required universally if a district/school chooses to implement TTS. Districts/schools may NOT change any of the policies above.

Policies on Test-to-Stay may vary by district; each school district has the ability to opt out of the program. Parents should await guidance from their school district on individual district policies and when they will take effect.

“Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State Health Officials have strongly encouraged schools to implement Test-to-Stay and distributed millions of testing kits directly to schools to assist with the process. Given these resources and seeing these policies being successfully implemented elsewhere, we have every confidence that Rockland schools are up to the task,” said County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.