Middletown Board of Estimate approves elevator contract renewal, policing grants and riparian-buffer design work

Middletown — The Middletown Board of Estimate on July 10 approved a package of routine contract renewals, budget transfers and grant acceptances, including a three-year renewal with Quality Elevator Inspection, acceptance of federal and state public‑safety grants for the police department and authorization for a riparian‑buffer design phase paid from existing water‑quality grants.

The actions, taken by voice vote during the board's July 10 meeting, included: renewal of an annual elevator inspection contract with Quality Elevator Inspection (annual fee increasing from $400 to $425); acceptance of the city's 2025 consolidated plan and an associated Community Development allocation of $426,960; insertion of a $10,000 camera replacement expense into the JAG grant budget; multiple intra‑departmental transfers to buy traffic‑analysis software and stop‑stick devices; acceptance of a $10,100,000 Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) grant administered by New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services; and authorization of CDM Smith to proceed with Phase 1 design for riparian buffer restoration funded by the state's Water Quality Improvement Projects (WQIP) grants rounds 14 and 15.

Why it matters: Several items affect public safety and stormwater management. The GIVE grant is intended to fund additional police patrols focused on high‑crime areas, while the riparian‑buffer work is meant to reduce runoff and protect drinking reservoirs. The WQIP grants used for the riparian project require a 25% city match but board members were told no additional city funding is requested for the Phase 1 design work at this time.

Board actions and context

Elevator inspection contract renewal: The board authorized a three‑year renewal with Quality Elevator Inspection, with the annual inspection fee increasing from $400 to $425. The motion was made and seconded and approved by voice vote.

2025 Consolidated Plan and Community Development allocation: Maria (staff member) told the board that approval includes the 2025 action plan and acceptance of the city's 2025 allocation of $426,960 for Community Development programs. When asked whether that amount was more or less than last year, Maria said it was "less," and when pressed for the prior figure she said it was "about $2,025,000." The board approved the consolidated plan and the action plan by voice vote. (The transcript did not specify program‑level allocations beyond the overall allocation amount.)

Police camera replacement and JAG budget: The board authorized adding a $10,000 replacement for an irreparable surveillance camera to the JAG grant budget line. The motion passed by voice vote.

Police budget transfers and equipment purchases: The board approved intra‑departmental transfers to fund purchases described in the meeting as Urban SDK traffic software and stop‑stick devices. The transcript records the transfers and the intended purchases but lists the transfer amounts in a fragmented manner; those amounts were read on the record as part of the motions. The board approved the transfers by voice vote. (The transfer amounts were not clearly stated in an unambiguous numeric form on the public record.)

Acceptance of GIVE grant: The board authorized acceptance of a $10,100,000 grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services under the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) program. Police leadership told the board the GIVE funding has previously been used to put additional patrols in crime "hot spots." Police Chief (identified in the transcript as "Chief") said, "This is a grant that we've been receiving for many years now... We use it to put additional patrols out and focus on our hot spots, based on crime statistics. It's been very, fruitful for us in the the past several years." The board approved acceptance of the grant by voice vote.

Riparian buffer design (CDM Smith), WQIP rounds 14 and 15: The board authorized a CDM Smith proposal for Phase 1 design work to assess and plan riparian‑buffer establishment and land improvements on properties purchased under WQIP rounds 14 and 15. The staff presentation said the Phase 1 work will cover assessments needed to develop plans for riparian buffers on five properties purchased under round 14 and one property pending under round 15. Jacob (staff member) described the riparian‑buffer concept: "It's basically vegetation in the area. You establish some kind of native vegetation and grading so that any runoff that would be coming from the upland property will go and get filtered and cleaned through the riparian buffer before it goes into the stream, which some of which ends up in our reservoirs." The board was told the WQIP grants require a 25% city match but that no additional city funding was requested for the Phase 1 design itself; the motion was approved by voice vote.

Votes at a glance

- Item 3.1 — Three‑year renewal with Quality Elevator Inspection (annual inspection fee from $400 to $425): approved (voice vote). - Item 3.2 — 2025 Consolidated Plan and Action Plan; accept Community Development allocation of $426,960: approved (voice vote). - Item 3.3 — Add $10,000 camera replacement to JAG grant budget: approved (voice vote). - Police budget transfers — Urban SDK traffic software and stop‑stick purchases (intra‑departmental transfers): approved (voice vote). Transfer amounts read into the record were fragmented and are recorded in the meeting transcript. - Item 3.5 — Accept $10,100,000 GIVE grant (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services): approved (voice vote). - Item 3.6 — Authorize CDM Smith for Phase 1 riparian buffer design (WQIP rounds 14 and 15; 25% city match required for grants; no additional city funding for Phase 1 requested): approved (voice vote).

What the record does and does not show

The transcript records that motions were moved and seconded and approved by voice vote for each item. The meeting did not include roll‑call tallies in the public record; votes were recorded as "aye." The transcript includes numeric amounts for some items (Community Development allocation, camera replacement, GIVE grant) and fragmented numeric amounts for several intra‑budget transfers; where numbers on the record were unclear or garbled, this article notes that the amounts were read on the record but not unambiguously captured.

Next steps

Most approved items appear administrative (contract renewals, grant acceptances and budget transfers) with implementation by the relevant departments: police for the GIVE grant and equipment purchases, and public‑works/environmental staff or consultants for the riparian‑buffer design. The board adjourned at the end of the meeting.