Construction on the new Plattekill Playground at the town park started just after summer activities concluded and is now finished and open to the public. There is also a GaGa Ball Pit and two Pickle Ball courts. GaGa Ball is a variant of Dodge Ball, however, players slap or hit the ball, aiming at other players at or below the knees. Pickleball is a paddle sport where two or four players hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34 inch high net. It was invented in 1995, initially as a children’s backyard paddle sport, but its popularity has grown and towns across the nation have added courts in their own town parks.

 

Supervisor Dean DePew said the old playground was removed and donated to the Plattekill Library for their future use. The new playground was funded through a grant of $100,000 from Ulster County and an additional $105,000 through the American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA].  

 

DePew said the board initially approved $10,000 to have the old mulch removed and to prepare the site for the new playground equipment. He highlighted Walter Haecker, of Green Meadows Meadows Enterprises, Anthony Kalamuski, of AK Farms and Scott Barkley from Barkley Trucking, “who graciously volunteered to remove and discard old materials and prepare the site for a smooth transition by assisting in the installation of the new playground at no cost to the town. We wish to thank them for their great work and support.”

 

DePew added, “The good thing is it’s no burden directly on the taxpayer [but] grant money people don’t realize it’s still taxpayer money, it just comes out of a bigger portion.”

 

DePew said Plattekill received just over $1million in ARPA funds in 2020 and plans on using what is left before the December 31, 2024 deadline. He said since January 1, 2024 he and the town board began to focus in earnest on what they were going to spend it on; “previous administrations didn’t do anything with it and left it in the bank, pretty much.”

 

DePew said when they first received the funds they were able to provide ‘premium pay’ for their town employees for working through the pandemic. He said it was great but there were restrictions on how the town could spend it.  

 

“Some of the things we are doing with it is we’re purchasing a couple of pieces of equipment, such as a wood chipper for the Highway department, we replaced a utility piece of equipment for the park and we’re probably going to add a maintenance piece of equipment for the trails through the woods. I believe we’re going to purchase a police car to replace one that’s on its way out, so we don’t have to finance it.”

 

DePew said they were also able to pay for a feasibility study to evaluate the physical condition of town hall and the highway garage, with an estimate of $72,000 for the study, $7,000 for surveying the properties and a few additional “odds and ends” that will total about $100,000.

 

“I am very happy to utilize [ARPA funds] that way because at the end of the study, we’re going to have a clear direction to where we’re gonna go. That’s probably not going to be sooner than three to five years, but at least we’ll have everything laid out and see it and money will not have to be spent on that down the road.”

 

DePew said a public hearing on the updated Comprehensive Plan is scheduled for Town Board’s December 4 meeting and will conclude by the December 18 meeting.

 

“I am hoping to hear on a grant we filed on zoning and that will start taking place in January and we’ll move right on through that,” he said. “If we can accomplish what we set out to accomplish, and I think we set pretty big goals, the board collectively has come together and are really working hard, every one of them.”