Mid Hudson Times Mar. 20 2019

T IMES MID HUDSON $257 million on the table Vol. 31, No. 12 3 MARCH 20 - 26, 2019 3 ONE DOLLAR Art in our schools Woman of History Page 19 Page 9 SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR T aking F light Two bond resolutions to go before school district voters in May By KATELYN CORDERO [email protected] The Newburgh Enlarged City School District’s proposed capital bond project moves on to the next step in the process thanks to a seven to two vote in favor of the plan. Board Members Andrew Johnston and Darren Stridiron voted against the resolution. The bond has two propositions that will be voted on May 21. Voters will be deciding between an indoor air quality- environmental system and central air conditioning installation across all schools in the district and proposition one, which includes a very lengthy list of additions and renovations to all schools along with the $75.5 million CTE building. Proposition one includes curriculum based renovations and improvements based on the building condition inspection survey. This proposition also includes an addition and renovation to the cafeteria in Heritage Middle School, and a 16,585 sq ft addition to the New Windsor School. The addition in the New Windsor School will include new classrooms, a new gym, new music and art classrooms, and a new parking lot with the relocation of the existing playground. Vails Gate STEAM Academy will receive a new addition with new classrooms, a renovation and addition to the nurses suite and a new traffic loop. The biggest price tag on the list for proposition one is the CTE building, a plan that will house technical training programs in a building next to the existing Newburgh Free Academy Main Campus. Continued on page 4 Brian Wolfe An American Bald Eagle takes off from a perch above Liberty Street in the City of Newburgh. ‘We’re barely getting by’ City’s code enforcement officers have an arduous task By KATELYN CORDERO [email protected] It is no secret that the City of Newburgh codes department is overworked and understaffed, unfortunately like any department in the city, but the amount of work done by a small crew of people should not be overlooked. At full capacity a group of four codes officers covers the 6500 buildings and 11,000 rental units, right now they are at three. The department is trying its best to keep up with the buildings in the City of Newburgh, but with a small staff they are constantly responding to issues rather than preventing them. “We have to do more with less,” said Assistant Fire Chief William Horton, the City of Newburgh building inspector. “Everyday we discover buildings that are in violation and we can barely handle CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE - WWW.MHTIMESONLINE.COM the amount of work we have coming in. We are barely getting by with four to five hundred inspections a month.” The codes department goes above their job description when helping people in the city who have been forced out of their home from a condemnation. They on average, will complete 150 permits a month, 7 permits a day and handle Continued on page 3