Community Facilities and Services

Fire & Ambulance Roads Police Parks DEP Police Schools Waste Libraries

The following summarizes the facilities and services the Town provides currently. It serves as the foundation upon which the plan is built.

Fire and Ambulance Services

Two volunteer fire companies provide coverage for the town – Old Hurley and West Hurley.

West Hurley includes three stations: 

• West Hurley Fire House, Wall St
• Spillway Fire House, Spillway Rd
• Glenford Fire House, Ohayo Mountain Rd
   

Both companies provide the full range of services and depend entirely on volunteers. They do a wonderful job for us, responding to emergencies of all types.

We owe them all a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Recruiting and training new volunteers pose a significant challenge for the fire companies. The town needs to consider incentives to encourage new volunteers, forecast demand annually, and anticipate the need for an alternative system as the demand grows and volunteers. See Public Safety.

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Police

Hurley has no town police department. The County Sheriff serves as the senior law enforcement officer. Hurley is served by the NYS Police from the Troop F barracks on Route 209. Troop F also serves Greene, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and the rest of Ulster County. 

NYC DEP Police manage the security of the Ashokan Reservoir and the surrounding area. They shoulder primary responsibility for protecting the water supply at the Ashokan Reservoir. The DEP Police also supplement local police agencies.

The committee heard no complaints, other than traffic, and has no specific recommendations related to law enforcement.

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Waste

The Hurley Recycling Center and Transfer Station handles most recyclable materials, trash, and household waste. In addition, we accept leaves, grass, and yard brush, and there is a Salvation Army drop-box on the premises at all times.

Permit and disposal fees are used to pay for transfer and recycling operations, and to keep the Transfer Station self-sufficient.

Residents can arrange curbside pick-up through private haulers.

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Roads

Many of the primary roads in Hurley are routes maintained by the county or state. Coordination among the responsible entities and the town is an important component of the highway supervisor's role.

The highway department also handles town road maintenance, snow management, leaf pick-up, and road drainage issues.

The challenges of coordinating among the various agencies and advocating to have county and state resources allocated to address our needs can only benefit from the additional support from a transportation advisory committee.

See Traffic and Transportation

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Schools

Our children attend schools in two separate districts – Kingston and Onteora. The districts wrestle with different issues. The information comes from the school report cards published by the NYS Department of Education.

Kingston faces the challenge of an aging high school physical plant at a time when real estate and construction costs are steep. The school system has an ethnically and economically diverse student body and an urban environment.

Onteora faces the challenges of a shrinking student population.The superintendent has resigned and a search is underway. The School Board must make plans for the disposition of the West Hurley elementary school.

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Libraries

Two libraries, Hurley and West Hurley, both part of the Mid-Hudson Library system. Both function with independent boards.

The West Hurley Public Library, founded in 1956, is a special district library supported by patrons from the Hurley voting districts of 1,3, 5, and 7. Registered voters in these districts decide on board members and budget increases in a special election each September.

In 2005 residents approved a bond issue for the construction of a 1700 square foot library expansion. The library broke ground in March 2006. Construction is currently underway.

The Hurley Library Association, founded in 1958, has been supported throughout the years with money raised by volunteers of the community, (especially the annual Stone House Day book sale), and a yearly stipend from the Town of Hurley. In October 2001 the residents of Hurley voted 204-44 to approve the creation of a special tax district for the Hurley Library. By taxing the residents the library can count on steady funding.

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