Montgomery weighs bond to finish long-broken fire hydrant repairs

Three fire hydrants were still unusable in Montgomery on May 5, and village officials turned to a bond to finish repairs on a public-safety problem that had lingered for more than two decades.

The issue came into focus on Aug. 1, 2025, when Montgomery Fire Commissioner Bob Reynolds Sr. told the Village of Montgomery board that 13 hydrants were inoperative and urged immediate action. The problem was spread across the village, from Charles Street west of Wallkill Avenue and 64 Clinton Street to 184 Dunn Drive, 42 Elizabeth Street, 245 Goodwill Road, Goodwill Road across from Spring Meadows, 161 Mason Street, 100 Railroad Avenue, 236 Robert Street, Route 211 at Mason Street and Senior Street, 163 Senior Street and 128 Snow Bunting Court.

The board first moved to use $225,000 in emergency money from the fund balance to repair or replace the hydrants. That plan collapsed on Sept. 2, 2025, when the resolution was rescinded for legal reasons. Eight days later, Mayor Mike Hembury said the Montgomery Department of Public Works had fixed 10 of the 13 hydrants, but the village still needed another funding source to finish the job.

That left the remaining work to be discussed as a bond issue, the kind of capital financing local governments often use when a repair is too large to absorb all at once in the operating budget. The board said the final fixes would require more substantial intervention than the earlier repairs, which is why the village is now looking beyond routine maintenance money.

For firefighters, the stakes are immediate. Hydrants are part of the first line of defense when a structure fire breaks out, and broken hydrants can slow a response or reduce available water at the scene. For residents, the problem is more than an inconvenience: it can affect insurance risk, confidence in the local water system and trust that the village can protect homes and businesses.

The hydrant dispute also showed how public pressure can force local action. Residents raised the issue repeatedly at meetings, and the village’s repair work moved forward after months of scrutiny. With three hydrants still offline, Montgomery is now deciding whether to finance the final phase of a long-running maintenance failure or leave the last broken hydrants in place any longer.