Ryan resigns as Plattekill Police Chief

By RICK REMSNYDER
Posted 3/8/23

Town of Plattekill Police Chief Joseph Ryan has turned in his resignation after heading the town’s police force for the past 16 years.

Town Supervisor Jennifer Salemo made the announcement …

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Ryan resigns as Plattekill Police Chief

Posted

Town of Plattekill Police Chief Joseph Ryan has turned in his resignation after heading the town’s police force for the past 16 years.

Town Supervisor Jennifer Salemo made the announcement at the end of the March 1 Town Board meeting. She said Ryan’s last day will be March 17.

Ryan’s resignation comes after the Town Board suspended him for one month without pay effective November 30 after he crashed his police car into a light pole on September 1 while visiting relatives on a personal matter in Toms River (NJ), more than 130 miles from the Plattekill Police Department.

The cost to repair Ryan’s 2021 Ford Explorer was $12,500.26. Since the town had a $1,000 deductible, the town’s cost to fix the car was $11,500.26.

Ryan maintained prior to the town board’s investigation of the New Jersey crash that he was entitled to travel outside the town as part of his contract.

Salemo subsequently said town officials disagreed and suspended him for one month without pay after a lengthy probe.

“I think he just wants to retire,” Salemo said following the March 1 meeting. “He has family and grandkids he wants to spend time with.”

Salemo said she didn’t know if the board’s decision to suspend him for one month without pay and the release of a police report that Ryan had been questioned about his involvement in a late-night incident with an acquaintance who kicked his police car in Goshen in April had anything to do with his resignation.

“I don’t know if the pressure of that caused him to make his decision,” Salemo said. “He was a hard-working man and maybe now he feels at this age that he wants to spend time with his family.”
Salemo said the board would immediately start looking for a replacement for Ryan.

Town Councilman Dean DePew Sr. praised Ryan for his years of service.

“I think he brought a lot of good things to Plattekill,” DePew said. “I want to thank him for his many years of service and his dedication to the department. I think the department is in a lot of ways better than it was. I wish him nothing but the best.”

Councilman Bill Kras said he was surprised when Ryan turned in his resignation.

“It just kind of came out of the blue,” Kras said. “But I heard rumors months ago that he was kind of thinking about it.”

Ryan, who has been a member of the town’s police department since 1996, declined comment on his resignation when contacted by the Southern Ulster Times on March 2.

In other news, the Town Board voted 4-0 to approve a resolution
opposing any attempts to locate a county landfill in the town. Supervisor Jennifer Salemo and Councilmen Dean DePew Sr.
Wilfrido Castillo Jr. and Bill Kras voted to approve the
resolution. Councilman Darryl Matthews was absent.

Town residents packed the Town Hall on February 15 to voice their opposition to the possible siting of a county landfill in the town.

According to published reports, Ulster County Resource
Recovery Agency (UCRRA) officials were given a report in early
2022 that identified two sites in Plattekill as the only suitable
locations in Ulster County for a county landfill.
UCRRA Executive Director Greg Ollivier is scheduled to

attend the Town Board’s March 15 meeting to answer
questions about the proposed landfill.

The board agreed to extend the lease with the Southern Ulster Football Club for practices and games at Thomas Felten Park through the end of the year. The board agreed to work on a new contract for the following year.

The board approved increasing the registration fee for the town’s five-week summer camp from $550 to $600. The three-week camp cost will increase from $330 to $360.

“It’s still one of the lowest-priced camps in the area,” Recreation Director Kim Way said.