Update on questions regarding latest utility billing

There is an over abundance of questions regarding high utility bills for this quarter.  As we transition with this new billing system AND into the new meters, some factors come in to play that may have caused a resident to have a high bill.  

One thing to note before reviewing the factors is that the “Service to and from” dates are a generic billing period and do not represent the true reading cycle for most.  Once all the meters in town have been changed to the new technology, there will be a town wide reading/billing period of 3 months then the billing system will be able to import all meter reads at once at the time of applying charges.    For a number of years, each quarter the town has had unbilled water in the amount of 35%-40% of the treated water because of failing and inaccurate meters.

Those with high bills are mainly due to the meter change outs that were done between 11/10/19 and 2/7/20:

•    A longer reading cycle.  The old meter read was combined with the new meter read which was obtained on 2/27/20 to move into the consistent 3 month reading schedule.  This caused some reading period to be longer than 3 months, some up to 5 months which would have the potential to double your average bill.
•    Many of the readings obtained from the “old” meters were done so after many years of customer estimates.  If it turned out the billing was UNDER estimating, charges for unbilled water will cause higher bills.  If the account was OVER estimated, it resulted in a credit applied.
•    The new meters are extremely accurate as opposed to the meters that are being replaced.  Many of the old meters have not been accounting for all the water going through them.

Please feel free to contact the water billing department with questions regarding your bill at 845-563-4625.
 

Issues with some water bills from current billing cycle

Supervisor Meyers is aware of some issues with the water bills that just went out related to the new VEPO meters. We are looking into this and will post more information as we investigate.

LIFTED: Boil Water Advisory for February 6 Emergency Water Outage

Update February 8, 10:40am: The boil water advisory for all affected streets listed below has been lifted.

There is a boil water advisory in affect for: 925-899 Little Britain Road (Route 207), and Silver Stream Road.

In addition to the above streets previously listed, also now included are:

Mt Airy Rd (from Briarwood Ln to Bethlehem Rd)
Briarwood Ln
Windemere Estates
Cooper Ct
Swan Hollow Rd
Shady Dell Dr
Coach House Ct

Bring your tap water to a rolling boil, boil for one minute and cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for: drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and preparing food until further notice.

Water Update: restoration times / water available for affected residents

Our crews are still onsite and working on the water outage. Due to the emergency leak repair yesterday, when a water line was shut down, it caused a larger infrastructure problem that is taking longer to fix.  Water service is expected to be restored later morning / early afternoon once the repair is complete.

A water tanker will be available later this morning at Vails Gate Fire Company Station 2 on 4 Weather Oak Hill Road.  Please bring containers to fill. 

Cases of bottled water will also be available for those affected by the water outage.

We’ll post once both the tanker and bottled water are available at Vails Gate Fire Company Station 2.  WATER IS NOT AVAILABLE right now, please wait until we follow up with a second post.
 

Water Outage/Low Pressure: Mount Airy / Riley Road Area

Crews are on scene and working on a emergency water outage/low pressure in the area of Mount Airy / Riley Road in New Windsor.  Please follow us on Facebook for updates as they come in from the crews on scene: Town of New Windsor Facebook

LIFTED: Boil Water Advisory: Summit Drive (Ona Ln to Parkdale Dr)

Update: As of February 6 at 10:15am the boil water advisory for Summit Drive has been fully lifted.

The leak repair scheduled for today has been completed and the water is back on. There is a boil water advisory in affect for Summit Drive (Ona Lane to Parkdale Drive) until further notice.

Notice of Public Hearing: Temporary moratorium on all development approvals

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
TOWN OF NEW WINDSOR

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Town Board of the Town of New Windsor will hold a public hearing on the 5th day of February, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall, 555 Union Avenue, New Windsor, New York, to consider a Local Law to establish a temporary moratorium on all development approvals in the Town of New Windsor.

Said Public Hearing will be held during the regularly scheduled Town Board meeting and will be part of the livestream of same on the Town’s Facebook page, which can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/NewWindsorNY/

A copy of the proposed Local Law can be found on the homepage of the Town’s website at http://newwindsor-ny.gov/

                    BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD
                    TOWN OF NEW WINDSOR

                    KELLY ALLEGRA,
                    TOWN CLERK
 

Town of New Windsor in contact with Verizon regarding Fios service in town

Town Supervisor Meyers has contacted Verizon regarding their ability to provide Fios service to New Windsor residents.

Throughout the month of January Supervisor Meyers’ office has been in touch with the Verizon Director of State Government Affairs, and also the director directly responsible for the Mid-Hudson and Westchester area for Verizon. Both explained that Verizon’s current position is fulfilling their existing signed franchise agreements with other towns, cities and villages. Verizon is not entertaining or committing to any new franchise agreements at this time.

Verizon has agreed to monitor the town’s request. Verizon and the Town will revisit this issue in six months to see if Verizon’s position has changed.

New Windsor Announces Temporary Moratorium on all Development Approvals

During the January Town Board Meeting, the Town Board called for a public hearing to discuss a proposed Local Law that would impose a temporary moratorium on all development approvals in the Town of New Windsor.  If approved by the Town Board after the public hearing, which is scheduled for February 5, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall at 555 Union Ave., New Windsor, NY, this Local Law would enact a minimum three (3) month moratorium.  

The temporary moratorium being proposed is designed to give Supervisor Meyers and the Town Board sufficient time to further study and explore what are believed to be significant issues concerning the Town’s ability to meet demands for its current and future sewer and water customers, as well as concerns about traffic and over-development in general.  Decisions as to how to proceed beyond this three month period will be made during this time, with further action to be taken by the Town Board, as deemed necessary.  

Please note, there are a number of exceptions to the temporary moratorium, which are outlined in the proposed Local Law.  

The full context of proposed Local Law #1-2020 can be found below.

Receiver of Taxes office open Saturday, January 25, 9am-12pm

Town of New Windsor Receiver of Taxes, Susan Scheible announces her office will be open on Saturday, January 25, 2020 from 9:00am to 12:00 noon for the convenience of those who can not get to the Town Hall during normal business hours, 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday.

Receiver of Taxes Scheible will open her office for the purpose of collecting Utility Payments and 2020 County/Town Property Tax Payments.