Monroe honors police chief, officer for recent achievements

The village of Monroe honored two members of its police force at the July 16 Board of Trustees meeting. Monroe Village Mayor Neil Dwyer read the two proclamations which celebrated the efforts of Police Chief Darwin Guzman and police officer Melissa Berke.

On issuing the proclamations, Dwyer said, “We here in the village of Monroe, we’re very proud of our police department. And as such situations happen that we get to acknowledge the work that goes into being a police officer here in Monroe, we like to find a way to uniquely honor those here in the community as representatives of the community.”

The village recognized Chief Guzman for his selection and attendance to the FBI National Academy session in Quantico, Va. The proclamation acknowledged the chief’s graduation from the prestigious academy and recognized the knowledge and expertise he will bring to the village police department. Officer Berke was honored for her work with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Stop DUI and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Awareness program.

The Monroe Village Police Department will continue its efforts to ensure driver safety through participation in Orange County’s Stop DWI/Traffic Safety Program, which was approved at the board meeting.

Land acquisitions

The board approved two land purchases at the meeting. The village will acquire property on Carpenter Place to be used as future municipal facilities. The agreed purchase price for the approximately 0.35-acre property is $775,000 and will be partially financed via an approved bond. In addition, the board approved the purchase of property at 8 Reilly Road, adjacent to Mombasha Lake, for the purpose of protecting the village’s watershed, for an agreed price of $600,000, to be partially financed by an approved bond.

Other business

Other water-related matters discussed at the meeting included authorizing payment for the Forshee Street water main and Kalvin waterline replacement projects as well as the approving the attendance of Ernie Mabee, Will Ostrowski, and Matt Pascullo to the Hudson Valley Water Works Conference.

The village of Monroe invested in records keeping with the board’s approved $1,500 purchase of an existing scanner for digitizing and storing documents and a related three-year maintenance contract for $2,437.

During the meeting, Trustee John Karl III commented on the garbage contract, claiming that the town of Monroe had shared misinformation regarding the senior discount. “Quite a few people did call in looking for that $12 a year senior break. Unfortunately, this has been on the contract since 2018 and nobody knew about it, so shame on the administrators who are running this garbage contract.”

Karl also commented on residents impeding passage on local sidewalks by not clearing away toys, maintaining landscaping, and removing garbage pales in a timely manner. He suggested that if property owners must keep the sidewalks clear during winter months when it snows, they should keep them clear during the summer months as well.