Middletown council approves slate of appointments, grants and budget transfers; all resolutions pass

The Middletown Common Council on Monday unanimously approved a broad slate of resolutions covering personnel appointments, grant acceptances, donations, capital and departmental budget transfers, contract awards and other routine city business.

Why this matters: the approved measures move several small capital and operational items forward (roof replacements, water-department and DPW transfers), accept grant funding for community events and park improvements, recognize donations to the reservoir trails, and add volunteer firefighting personnel. Many items were described as routine and passed without debate.

Key outcomes (all measures carried by roll call; all recorded votes were 'Aye'):

- Accepted the resignation of Thomas Murtaugh as chairman of the Board of Electrical and Electrical Engineer Examiners (sponsored by Alderman Massey).

- Confirmed the mayor's appointment of Sixto Martinez to the electrical licensing board (sponsored by Alderman Witt).

- Authorized cooperation between the City of Middletown and the Orange-Ulster BOCES for a literacy class (sponsored by Alderman Green).

- Accepted two handcrafted bike stands donated for reservoir-trail parking lots (sponsored by Alderman Witt).

- Authorized the naming of a new Middletown Reservoir mountain-bike trail (sponsored by Alderman Witt).

- Declared surplus equipment and authorized transfers or sales for multiple departments (sponsored by Alderman Massey; Alderman John Francois sponsored a separate surplus-auction authorization).

- Approved multiple small budget transfers, including an $800 transfer within the 2025 civil service budget (sponsored by Alderman Johnson), a $12,200 transfer within the Department of Public Works (sponsored by Alderman Johnson), and other intra-departmental adjustments to close capital projects (sponsored by Alderman Massey).

- Authorized a wholesale waiver agreement with the New York State Workers' Compensation program (sponsored by Alderman Ray).

- Authorized a contract with Stratagem Security for panic-button alarm monitoring services (sponsored by Alderman Tobin).

- Authorized a budget transfer for camp scholarships (sponsored by Alderman Witt).

- Authorized a budget transfer within the water department and a transfer of funds for a water-supply safety-yield study and engineering services (sponsored by Alderman Massey and Alderman Kleiner, respectively).

- Authorized reimbursement to the Business Improvement District for maintenance and beautification (sponsored by Alderman Kleiner).

- Accepted county tourism and municipal grants (two grants, each $4,999, referenced by the department of economic development) and accepted a $10,000 grant award from State Senator James Skoufis for a community barbecue and resource fair (sponsored by Alderman Massey and Alderman Green respectively; these items appeared on the agenda and were approved by roll call).

- Awarded contracts for roof replacements at the water building and street building (sponsored by Alderman John Francois) and other vendor authorizations noted on the agenda.

- Appointed 14 volunteer firefighters (sponsored by Alderman Tobin); the council named the volunteers during the meeting and approved the appointments by roll call.

Votes and procedure: Most resolutions were moved and seconded by named aldermen as recorded on the agenda. Each roll call recorded members answering "Aye," and the president recorded the measures as carried. No recorded dissenting votes, abstentions, or tabling were recorded in the public proceedings.

Ending: Council members and the mayor used the approvals to clear routine business from the agenda and to authorize small capital and program expenditures that city departments will implement in coming weeks and months. Several council members later thanked volunteers and sponsors associated with community events that were supported by the approved grants.