Commitment to Emergency Response Team renewed

Board renews its commitment to the Ulster County Emergency Response Team.

The Woodstock Town Board has renewed its commitment to assign a town police officer to serve with the Ulster County Emergency Response Team (UCERT). The board’s authorization was given during a video conference meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8. Officials said the town’s expense amounts to between $3,000 and $5,000 annually for training and ammunition.

“As we (saw) a year ago with a barricaded subject, when we needed it ... the team brought 35 officers (in),” town Police Chief Clayton Keefe said.

After the meeting, town Supervisor Bill McKenna said the county task force’s mission is to handle highrisk situations.

“Here we had a barricade situation where a young man threatened to kill his parents and then barricaded himself in his garage apartment,” McKenna said. “There was a six- or eight-hour standoff, at which point UCERT was involved.”

Keefe said there have been other incidents in the town that have required the county task force to respond.

“We had an incident a few years back up on Silver Hollow Road where we had a structure fire and somebody blocked the driveway so the fire trucks couldn’t get up to it,” he said, “so that team was activated.”

Keefe said the town’s officer will be granted four hours per call when incidents arise.

“It’s probably at least a half-dozen times that he’s been called out and they were even on standby when they had the riots down in Newburgh early this year,” Keefe said. “If they were needed, they were going to bring neighboring law enforcement in to help.”

McKenna said a contract provision allowing the Emergency Response Team to charge municipalities for some weapons did concern town officials, but assurances were provided that the charges would be related to specific incidents.

“There was one phrase in the contract that talked about the town supplying weapons ‘as authorized,’” McKenna said. “That gave us a little pause, but any weapons have to be approved by everybody — the chief, the sheriff and so on, so it’s not like the town is going to be on the hook for buying bazookas or antiaircraft weapons.”