Tuxedo Town Board applauds new police officer and plans path to Community Choice Aggregation

Tuxedo’s December 28 town board meeting capped off 2022 with several updates and announcements, including upcoming events and major resolutions for its police department.

Opening the meeting, the board appointed Tia Frunzi as a full-time officer for Tuxedo’s police department. Town supervisor Kenneth English and Chief John Trazino both interviewed her, they said.

“Ms. Frunzi is a Sullivan County Sheriff; she’s been on the job since July 2017, so just over five years. Her duties include patrol, responding to emergency calls, vehicle accidents, domestics, crimes in progress, facilitating safe encounters, and de-escalating situations. She also has a B.A. in psychology from Binghamton University and graduated in May 2012,” said English.

“She comes highly recommended from the sources that I trust,” said Chief Trazino. “I spoke with Tia a number of times. She seems very eager and really wants to connect with the community.”

“I’m especially happy that she comes with training and experience in dealing with mental health issues,” said Councilman Jay Reichcott.

“She has great training and background and skill sets that will really add a lot to our department, so I’m looking forward to meeting her,” said Councilwoman Michele Lindsay.

“A lot of people in town were looking forward to having a female officer because they thought that they just bring different experience and point of view,” said Councilwoman Maria May.

In a related update, the board approved an $8,600 firearm purchase for its police department, which will provide its officers with the latest Glock sidearm models. Chief Trazino explained to the board that the department’s current firearms are outdated and malfunctioning, and they should be maintained or replaced every few years.

“When I first came in, I noticed models of Glock sidearms everybody was carrying were older models...I didn’t anticipate any issues, but I told them that I wanted to know how everybody was dealing with that. I wanted to be notified of any failures and any kind of malfunctions. Almost immediately, within days, I started getting notified of malfunctions from the same generation of sidearms issued, and it was quite a few of them,” Trazino said.

“My biggest fear is sending a cop out into the street with his or her defensive weapon that will malfunction when they absolutely need it...I want to get everybody in the department, across the board, up to the most current generation.”

Later in the meeting, English acknowledged Kristy Apostolides, a former planning board member who recently retired.

“Thank you, Kristy, for your work on the board, and all the best, with an appreciation for helping us in a difficult time,” he said. English added that the board just interviewed a planning board applicant earlier that night who may be joining the planning board soon.

Lindsay announced that members of the Community Choice Aggregation and Climate Smart Community Task Force will be hosting a few events in the next couple of months.

“We are in the public outreach part of the Community Choice Aggregation program and we’re going to have two events at the library in February. Then the Climate Smart Community Task Force is also going to host an evening presentation. There is going to be one at the Woodlands and one for senior citizens on one of their meeting days,” Lindsay said. More information about these events will be posted on Tuxedo’s website once their dates are finalized.

May brought attention to Tuxedo’s sidewalks, some of which proved hazardous and are in need of restoration.

“I walked the western sidewalks and took pictures, and they really are in need of repair. I almost fell just walking through the sidewalks going from the Chase building all the way to Schoolhouse Road. There were places where the entire sidewalk is disintegrated,” she said.

Councilwoman Deirdre Murphy announced that the town’s December 17 holiday concert was a success that raised money for the Sloatsburg Food Pantry.

“We had our holiday concert at St. Mary’s, which went over very well. We had about 75 people in attendance, and we were able to raise over $700 for the food bank,” Murphy said.