The Greene County Public Safety Committee on Dec. 3 heard a report on emergency-response activity, approved a grant-funded purchase of a variable message board for emergency services, and agreed to pursue an informational briefing on battery energy storage systems (BESS) amid questions about local authority and emergency planning.

The committee recorded November figures of 575 EMS calls, 160 fire calls and 1,564 police calls for a total of 2,859 calls, with 3,147 911 admin and emergency calls overall. The chair said mutual-aid responses and training needs are rising; a roughly $24,000 grant was used to pay for the message board purchase (about $19,000 spent) with roughly $4,200 remaining subject to homeland-security grant rules.

The sheriff reported a major criminal-investigation success: deputies executed search warrants, located and recovered human remains in a homicide investigation and charged multiple suspects with murder in the second degree and related offenses. "So far we've charged the son and the victim's granddaughter's boyfriend with murder in the second degree," the sheriff said. He praised dispatchers and deputies for their response during a recent snowstorm.

Committee members asked Sean, the county EMS coordinator, to clarify a circulating rumor that the county had asked Green EMS to purchase an ambulance; staff denied issuing that request and agreed to confirm facts publicly to avoid further misinformation.

Separately, legislators asked the administration to host a county-level presentation about large battery energy storage systems after outside developers showed renewed interest in siting such facilities. Members referenced Ulster County’s notification proposal, which would require towns approving BESS projects to notify county emergency-management officials. Committee members also asked the county attorney about the legal possibility of a moratorium, and the committee chair said he would try to arrange an expert briefing soon.

Why it matters: The message-board purchase moves forward a practical emergency-notification capability; the homicide arrests are a major criminal-investigation update; and the request for a BESS briefing signals rising local attention to the safety and land-use implications of large battery facilities.

Next steps: The committee approved the message-board purchase and asked staff to arrange the BESS briefing and to confirm whether any county approaches to Green EMS regarding vehicle procurement occurred.