The Town of Poughkeepsie board awarded a bid for Overocker Road improvements to Poughkeepsie-based H.B. Wiltse Excavating Inc. in the amount of $215,220, the lowest bidder selected from approximately a half-dozen other firms, at its April 2 meeting.
This year’s improvements are expected to reach from Overlook Road to Route 44, and according to Donald Beer, associate engineer for Morris Associates, LLC., a Poughkeepsie-based company, Phase 1 improvements on the road from last year are still being completed. Town Highway Superintendent Marc Pfeifer said construction should take about three months for Phase 2.
Last year, approximately one-half of Overocker Road, to Burnett Boulevard, underwent work, but town officials said funding was insufficient to complete the entire road last year.
Fairview residents unite
Building on a discussion that took place at the April 2 meeting, resident Kurt Hornick spearheaded an April 7 meeting with approximately 40 to 45 residents and community members opposed to Dutchess Community College’s plan to build a dorm on its campus and said they are preparing to challenge local officials at the county level due to a hefty fire tax imposed on residents living in the Fairview area.
“This meeting is a good step, but it’s a first step,” said Hornick.
The county Legislature approved a land lease with the college by a 13-12 vote at a March 25 meeting, essentially giving DCC the go-ahead for its plan. Legislators who supported the lease include Steve White (D-City of Poughkeepsie), Robert Rolison (R-City and Town of Poughkeepsie), Barbara Jeter-Jackson (D-City of Poughkeepsie), William McCabe (D-LaGrange/Union Vale/Wappinger), Majority Leader Sandra Goldberg (D-Wappinger), Chairman Roger Higgins (D-Poughkeepsie/Wappinger), James Miccio (R-Fishkill), John Forman (R-Beacon), Minority Leader Gary Cooper (R-Northeast/Stanford/Pine Plains/Milan), Tom Mansfield (D-Red Hook), Gerald Hutchings (R-Beekman), David Kelly (R-Pawling/Beekman/Fishkill) and Peter Wassell (D-Dover/Union Vale).
Legislators against the DCC proposal were James Doxsey (C-Town of Poughkeepsie), Margaret Fettes (D-Amenia/Stanford/Washington/Pleasant Valley), Suzanne Horn (R-Pleasant Valley/Poughkeepsie), Robert Sears (R-LaGrange), Diane Nash (D-Hyde Park), Richard Keller-Coffey (D-Town of Poughkeepsie), Angela Flesland (R-Town of Poughkeepsie), Daniel Kuffner (D-Hyde Park), Joel Tyner (D-Rhinebeck/Clinton), Robert Weiss (R-East Fishkill), Alison MacAvery (D-Fishkill/East Fishkill/Beacon), and Marge Horton (R-East Fishkill).
A follow-up meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 24, at 7 p.m. at Violet Avenue School in Poughkeepsie. Hornick said groups will be canvassing neighborhoods with fliers prior to the meeting.