07-20-09 - 8:10 a.m. - Why buy four when you can buy one?

That’s the tack town officials in Hillsdale, Copake, and Ancram and the Taconic Hills Central School District took when seeking funding for landscaping equipment that will benefit the property tax payers in all jurisdictions. State officials this month rewarded that approach, awarding a $47,990 grant to fund the purchase of three pieces of equipment that will be shared by the towns and school district.

“All of the towns have parks and the equipment will be used there and we have a large campus here to take care of,” said Larry Proper, facility director at Taconic Hills Central School District.

The Local Government Efficiency (LGE) program grant funds will be used to purchase a tow-behind top dresser, a deep-tine aerator, and a tow-behind spreader—equipment is used in the maintenance of parks and athletic fields. The grant was one of eleven awarded in the Hudson Valley this month, totaling more than $1.35 million, and the only such grant awarded in Columbia County. The Department of State administers the program which is designed to assist municipalities in sharing or consolidating services when possible with a long-term goal of saving taxpayer funds. Proper, who is also Copake Town Highway Superintendent, said the grant makes sense for the four governing bodies. The equipment “is needed, but not something that any of us has money in the budget for at this time.”

The deep-tine aerator digs into the ground and allows oxygen to get into the roots of the grass and the tow-behind top dresser allows for the spreading of a thin-layer of material to protect the grass or ground. The spreader does what its name suggests—it spreads large amounts of materials.

Besides the town parks and athletic facilities on the Taconic Hills campus, Proper said the equipment can also be used on the town-owned lands around the respective town halls. Proper said Ancram, Hillsdale, and Copake already have a strong working relationship and have signed inter-municipal service agreements that allow for shared equipment and manpower. “We have always worked very closely and we share equipment all the time. Because of the inter-municipal agreement, we make a lot of things happen together,” said Proper.

As highway budgets have become tighter, towns and municipalities have looked to share services when possible. For as long as a decade, the villages of Kinderhook and Valatie and the Town of Kinderhook have been sharing Department of Public Works and Highway Department services.

Proper said Copake, Ancram, Hillsdale, and Taconic Hills will pursue another Local Government Efficiency (LGE) grant next year to purchase an 80-foot lift truck. They were unsuccessful in an approximately $190,000 grant application for the truck this year, he explained, but are hopeful that they will receive the funding next year. The lift truck he said would be used for changing of light bulbs on utility poles and athletic light stands, as well as the changing of air filters on rooftops, tree trimming, hanging banners and flags, and other work that is done at significant height.