The Town of Newburgh Parks Advisory Board on July 3 recommended that town council approve several maintenance and safety projects for park facilities, including basement remediation at Building 47, roof work on a historic brick house and the gazebo, and adding an AED and an anti-choke device to the Kiwanis building.

The recommendations matter because the projects address water intrusion, aging historic roofing materials and on-site life‑safety equipment used by community groups that meet in park buildings.

Chris Cook, a parks staff member, told the board the building at the control site has recent moisture and flood damage and that the town’s partner Servpro provided options to abate the problem. “The town would recommend that we work with our partner Servpro to address this issue,” Cook said during the meeting. He told the board a line-item estimate in the meeting packet showed a mid‑thousands figure for full remediation but the staff speaker also described the figure as “about $6,000‑something” in informal remarks. The board voted to forward a recommendation to council so town staff can proceed with contracting and preservation work.

On roofing, staff presented two vendor estimates and recommended using the contractor that recently completed work at the senior center. The board approved recommending replacement of cedar shakes on the town’s small historic brick building; staff said the estimate for that work in the packet was $12,821. For the gazebo at the old lock and dam, staff presented a separate estimate for a black shingle roof; the board approved moving forward with that replacement as well. Board members and staff discussed the higher cost of cedar shakes as historic‑appropriate material and said using like‑for‑like materials avoids a review with the historic preservation commission.

The board also voted to recommend modifying the town’s contract with CentOS (the town’s AED vendor) to add an AED and an anti‑choke device to the Kiwanis Community Park building. Staff said the anti‑choke device costs about $100 and that the vendor would replace consumables if the device or pads were used. The change would be handled through the existing contract amendment process and would require council approval because it affects a town contract.

Board members approved each recommendation by voice vote during the meeting; the motions will be presented to town council for final approval next week.

The board did not set firm start dates for the work; staff said some items would proceed under staff procurement limits while others would be placed on the council agenda for contract approval.