Is the village DPW slowly
disappearing
?
Calvin Luther Martin, PhD
June 3, 2024
Behold the Village of Malone! It has several hundred miles of streets, miles and miles of sewer and water lines, a village “forest,” streetlights, street signs, and numerous public buildings and several parks — all of which require maintenance.
How many men and women do you think it should require to maintain all of this, year-round?
I’m not asking about office staff; I’m talking about men and women working out there on the so-called village infrastructure.
Eighteen? Twenty? Maybe more?
Currently the sewer operation is being managed by the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC), headquartered in Watertown. The treatment process is complex and expensive, owing to state mandates. DANC has the staff with the knowledge required to operate the site.
That said, the sewer plant has endless problems from the elaborate (read: absurdly expensive and complicated) treatment protocols now required by the state.
In sum, the sewer plant is a huge and expensive headache. I have often wondered if a tougher mayor would tell the state to go pound salt with its endless and multi-million dollar sewer mandates — or all its mandates, for that matter. In any case, it appears to me that the village simply rolls over (complies) with every mandate from the screwballs in Albany. (Occasionally the state pays a portion of these mandated expenses.)
The Village Garage moved from College Avenue (on the Salmon R.) to the sewage treatment plant (likewise on the Salmon R.). I believe the garage cost $6 million to build and outfit. Being located away out there in the boondocks means that DPW staff need to drive all this distance (see map, below) to get to the heart of the village.
A side note. The village had the opportunity to buy the property and buildings now occupied by Roberts Sports Center, next door to Ace Hardware on Rte. 11. Frank Bova was willing to sell it at a low price to the village. DANC nixed this. Mr. Bova then sold it to Roberts Sports. Note what Roberts did to the same buildings: they look fantastic and, yes, they could hold the village's heavy equipment. I argued strongly that the village re-locate the garage to this site. DANC persuaded the mayor otherwise. (What would it have cost the village to renovate and equip the buildings that Mr. Bova was offering them? Not $6 million.)
Honestly, I don’t know.
Two and a half weeks ago, at a village board meeting, I asked the mayor, “What’s going on with DPW? Why so few workmen?” (I’m a nerd; I go to all the meetings.)
She responded that the village has a dickens of a time finding qualified applicants. She also seemed to say that, although the salary is not stellar, the benefits, including retirement, are indeed spectacular.
But, the chief problem — if I heard her correctly — is that we simply can’t find CDL-certified people. (CDL: Commercial Driver’s License.) We need CDL people to operate the large trucks and, I gather, stuff like front-loaders. Trustee Bonner pointed out that years ago it cost an individual less than $100 (I believe he said) to take the CDL course, whereas it now costs over $4,000! The consensus among the trustees was that this is clearly making it difficult to find CDL drivers.
The mayor went on to say that the scarcity of CDL drivers is affecting all the surrounding municipalities, including the Town of Malone.
When I asked the mayor if the CDL shortage meant we could not, then, hire non-CDL-certified workmen for non-driving tasks, she responded in the affirmative. I found her answer hard to believe, and yet nodded my head in (dubious and incredulous) agreement.
I’m glad you asked! I contacted Andrea Stewart, Town Supervisor, and asked if the town is having the same staffing problems, and, if it is, are they for the same reasons.
This is what Supervisor Stewart wrote back:
Calvin:
I am following up, in writing, pertaining to a conversation you and I had yesterday regarding the town’s highway department and if we had difficulty filling positions.
Ironically, I received a phone call this afternoon from Village Trustee McKee, asking similar questions of me, which were prompted by a conversation the two of you had. I have copied my board on this, as I keep them apprised of all of my dealings on behalf of the town, and Highway Supt. Andrews, as this pertains to him as well.
I will summarize both conversations by stating that the town has been fortunate in that when we do have a vacant position, we receive anywhere from 8 to a dozen applications, many times from neighboring municipal entities, including the village.
When asked individually by both you and Archie why we have so many vying for a position, the short answer is, we pay appropriately. (You can’t expect to pay someone with a CDL the same as a laborer, for instance.) And we strive to be competitive.
We provide health benefits through NYSHIP (the NYS Health Insurance Program), state retirement, and additional benefits (dental and vision) through the CSEA bargaining agreement.
More importantly is that, in addition to the pay scale and benefits for mechanic, heavy equipment operators, medium equipment operators and laborer positions, we offer respect and appreciation to the men and women of our highway department. We do not micro-manage.
Under the leadership of our highway superintendent, short-term and long range plans are made with input from our staff, who all have varied areas of expertise. We do not chastise or belittle our staff, especially not in public or in front of others.
I suggested to Archie that the village needed to look in the mirror as to why they had issues.
This summer we have hired two seasonal employees who have come to us through the BOCES program, one of whom is in her second season with us.
I could go on at length bragging or singing the praises of our highway department, but I will just say how thankful I am for a dedicated, hard-working crew.
Andrea Stewart
Malone Town Supervisor
5 thoughts on “Is the Village DPW slowly disappearing?”
First and foremost, someone needs to look at the qualified DPW employees who have left the village. I have asked a few of these former DPW employees why they left. The answer from all of them is they were sick of working for the Village of Andrea.
You have a wishy-washy village board and overbearing mayor, who thinks she knows more than she actually does.
YES!!!!
Thank you for taking the time to look into this . . .
Interesting read.
Nerd or not, your presence is so important. Asking the right questions. I hope everyone in your village reads and shows up at these meetings.
I don’t live in Malone and even I have questions.