Montgomery approves $125,000 loan to fix three broken fire hydrants

Three broken fire hydrants that lingered after years of complaints have now pushed Montgomery to borrow $125,000, a small public-works bill with real consequences for fire protection in older parts of the village. The money will cover water system infrastructure work tied to the last three inoperative hydrants, all of them on Charles Street, 64 Clinton Street and 42 Elizabeth Street.

The Village of Montgomery once had 13 hydrants out of service. The Department of Public Works repaired most of them in-house in September 2025, but three remained because they sit on the village’s oldest water main, according to DPW Superintendent Jake Henry. That older line made the remaining jobs more expensive and more time-consuming than the earlier fixes, turning a relatively limited repair list into a borrowing question for the board.

Village Attorney Lino Sciarretta told officials that a bond or bond anticipation note was the practical way to pay for the work, and the board first discussed borrowing at its May 5 meeting. On June 2, the Village of Montgomery Board voted to move ahead with a $125,000 bond anticipation note. The formal bond resolution, also dated June 2, 2026, authorized $125,000 in bonds for water system infrastructure improvements, with a period of probable usefulness of 40 years under New York Local Finance Law.

Trustee Randi Picarello pressed the village for answers before the vote, saying she had not received the paperwork or clear explanations about the borrowing until executive session. She compared the request to taking out a mortgage without understanding the terms, though she said she would ultimately support the financing. After the board approved the measure, Deputy Mayor Darlene Andolsek said the village would receive the BAN money and paperwork within about a month.

Fire Commissioner Bob Reynolds Sr. thanked the board for acting and credited the Department of Public Works for finishing the earlier repairs, but he also said he was disappointed by how long it took to make substantial progress once the hydrant failures were identified. That criticism underscores the broader issue behind the borrowing: hydrants are not cosmetic infrastructure. In a village with older water lines, delayed repairs can affect how quickly firefighters can connect to water, complicate neighborhood fire protection, and raise concerns for property owners and insurers who watch closely for gaps in basic emergency readiness.