Please find the most up to date notices from the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson.
For Immediate Release May 19, 2022
Subject: Proposed 3-Year Contract Between Cornwall and the New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NWVAC) for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Services
As most residents understand, individual municipalities are responsible for providing and maintaining an effective and sustainable ambulatory service to their communities. Of recent, it has become more difficult to provide this critical volunteer service due to soaring costs and the dwindling number of available volunteers. This issue has been a topic of debate within the New York State legislature recently, with legislation introduced to establish EMS (the provision of urgent pre-hospital treatment and transport for medical care) as an “essential service.” Long overdue, this effort could potentially reconfigure how ambulatory services are administered across New York State. Unless and until the County and/or State elect to make certain changes, municipalities must seek effective methods to sustain and improve services. Experts contend that the paradigm is evolving and that mergers, or consolidation, exist as an intermediate solution.
For over a year, New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NWVAC) has contracted with the Town and Village to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to Cornwall residents for a fee, while Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COVAC) provides Basic Life Support (BLS) coverage for a fee, as well. ALS includes the highest level of emergency medicine – paramedic-level treatment – and NWVAC (or another EMS provider with ALS capabilities) has long answered calls within Cornwall for mutual aid, bereft of a contract. COVAC, staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians, or EMTs, has remained a fixture in our community since 1955.
A number of years ago, COVAC made the request to bill patients directly and a decision was subsequently reached to dissolve the “ambulance district” overseen by the Town. By billing insurance providers directly, this was to be a more efficient process that allowed for the Corps to remain solvent without monies allocated from Cornwall. The global pandemic and an attendant paucity of available volunteers has made staffing across the past several years a concern. This, coupled with significant debt accrual resulted in COVAC’s appeal for subsistence from the taxpayers – which the Town and Village jointly agreed to support.
Despite the provided financial support, there continue to exist a number of issues that have not been resolved, as relates to the professional administration of ambulatory services to our residents. Public safety is of paramount concern. Both the Town Supervisor and Village Mayor have met privately with COVAC leadership and members of COVAC’s elected board and operational membership appeared before a joint boards’ special meeting on January 11, 2022.
While COVAC maintains they have mitigated their insolvency issues and improved their first-call response rates, it is the consensus of both boards that NWVAC – widely regarded as the “gold standard” for local ambulatory care – will be contracted to cover both BLS and ALS responsibilities for Cornwall residents. This assumption of responsibilities can be considered a consolidation. Current COVAC members who wish to continue to serve Cornwall residents may interview with NWVAC, and be afforded opportunity to operate out of 1 Clinton Street location, be attired in Cornwall EMS uniforms, and respond to Cornwall service calls in a Cornwall-branded ambulance. This serves both professionalization and training standardization efforts.
On balance, we believe that this decision for establishment of a contemporary public/private partnership model -- created and supported by multiple municipalities, including Town of New Windsor, Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson -- will ensure our residents receive the high-quality emergency medical care they deserve. NWVAC enables Cornwall leadership to remain confident in the model’s financial viability and sustainability, administrative transparency, leader oversight, and accountability while serving as an example for the region.
This was not an easy decision. Careful consideration was given to all impacted equities. Town and Village elected officials reflected deeply on the many decades of selfless service that COVAC and its volunteers have provided to our community; indeed, it is an honored local institution. But the primary responsibility of public officials is ensuring their constituents are afforded best available services for their hard-earned tax dollars. In our estimation, the proposed three-year contract with NWVAC ensures this. Know that we have explored innumerable options to guarantee confidence in the provision of EMS. And we have reviewed a number of similar municipal consolidated-services agreements. This is the best path forward for Cornwall.
On Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 7:00 p.m., inside the Edward C. Moulton, Jr. Village Board Room, located at Village Hall, 325 Hudson Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York 12520, the Town and Village boards will convene a joint special meeting to address this matter publicly. Meeting will be publicly-noticed and contract provisions will be disclosed. The public will be afforded an opportunity to speak and boards will address some factors that led to this decision.
On behalf of the Town and Village Boards,
Joshua Thomas Wojehowski Supervisor
James A. Gagliano Mayor
Dear Greater Cornwall Area residents, visitors, and friends,
Big doings this weekend around these parts. Thanks to the Town of Cornwall Recreation Department, the Cornwall Youth Committee, and the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson Special Events Committee, we have a special slate of activities that include the entire family.
This Saturday, October 5th, starting at 4:30 p.m., the Town of Cornwall Recreation Department, in concert with the Cornwall Youth Committee, will sponsor the second annual Cornwall Color Bash one-mile run. Location is the Donahue Farm Property at 42 Bayview Avenue in the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson. There is ZERO cost to participate. The route will take you from farm property up Hudson Street, around the bandstand in Village Square, and back to the farm. Volunteers will help out along the way to provide “color” to all the runners. There will be food available from a number of local vendors, a DJ, and live music provided by the Frozen Peaz. You can pre-register for the run via your cellphone scanning of the QR code on the event flyer.
Please stick around for the Cornwall-on-Hudson Special Events Committee’s outdoor showing of the Barbie movie. Original scheduled date was postponed due to inclement weather. This will be our penultimate outdoor movie experience offering of year. Movie begins around 6:30 p.m.
On behalf of the Village Board,
James A. “Jimmy” Gagliano
Mayor
The NY Forward (NYF) program, announced by Governor Hochul in 2022, is a program designed to invigorate and enliven downtowns in New York’s smaller and rural communities – the types of downtowns found in village, hamlets, and other small, neighborhood-scale municipal centers. The goal is to transform downtowns into vibrant, flourishing neighborhoods focused on sustainable economies and development to create areas where the next generations of New Yorkers will want to live, work, and raise a family. Each New York State Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) nominates two or three communities for the NYF award. This award intends to fund projects for redevelopment, job creation, public improvements, and business and housing opportunities. In February 2023, the Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson were selected as one of the NYF awardees to receive $4.5 million. A six-month planning process will link the community’s vision, goals, and revitalization strategies to specific projects that have the potential to revitalize downtown Cornwall. This process will be guided by a Local Planning Committee (LPC), which consists of local and regional leaders.
Projects selected for NYF funding should advance the program’s goal of catalyzing the development of an active downtown, enhancing public spaces, and growing the local economy. An open, community-based planning process has been created to promote innovation and creativity within the project application timeline. A Call for Projects will be issued June 16 and explain the eligibility requirements for potential projects. The LPC will select a slate of projects for inclusion in the NYF Strategic Investment Plan, which will be submitted to the multi-agency State NYF program for final funding decisions. LPC meetings will be open to the public and will be livestreamed. Virtual Office Hours will be held twice throughout the duration of the Call for Projects. Links to the Office Hours will be posted on the Cornwall NYF website (www.cornwallnyf.com).
Office Hours: June 27: 4pm – 6pm & July 13: 11am – 1pm
To learn more, visit www.cornwallnyf.com
NYSDOH declares Cornwall-on-Hudson water “acceptable for all uses”
Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY – The New York State Department of Health (DOH) recently issued a report on the Cornwall-on-Hudson water system pronouncing its water is “acceptable for all uses.”
The DOH tested the Cornwall-on-Hudson drinking water on samples collected on Sept. 29, 2018, for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a follow-up to testing completed in 2016. The agency conducted the tests to identify and test drinking water systems near facilities that may be frequent users of PFAS, such as airports.
The DOH report indicated that the follow-up testing showed levels well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency health advisory of 70 parts per trillion of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) combined. Based on results, “no actions are necessary to reduce exposure.” In addition, these results are well below the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 parts per trillion (PPT) recommended by the New York State Drinking Water Quality Council.
The Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson remains vigilant in the protection of its water supply and continues to monitor its drinking water system on a regular basis in conjunction with the DOH and Orange County Department of Health.
For questions regarding these tests or any other water matter, please contact DOH or the Cornwall-on-Hudson Water Department.
The village’s Annual Water Quality Report, which will be issued later this month, will include the test results.
Cornwall New York Forward Local Planning Committee (LPC) Meeting #5 October 24, 2023, 5:30 – 7:30 PM Town of Cornwall Town Hall 183 Main Street, Cornwall, New York 12518 This meeting will be livestreamed. (Visit the Village/Town websites for the link)
Join the fifth, and last, LPC meeting for Cornwall’s New York Forward. LPC members will determine the final slate of projects to be included in the Strategic Investment Plan. Please note that LPC meetings are public working meetings for committee members, and time will be held at the end of the meetings for public comment.
PROPOSED PROJECT SURVEY Scan the QR code to access the survey or go to CornwallNYF.com and share your feedback on the slate of NY Forward projects. The survey will remain open until Thursday, October 19.
August 6, 2024
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Extreme Weather Notice from Cornwall-on-Hudson Mayor’s Office:
We share the following available cautionary weather updates provided by Cornwall’s Office of Emergency Management Director Kurt Hahn, as well as some helpful guidance related to the Town’s and Village’s cooperative efforts to make sand bag materials available to greater Cornwall area residents and businesses. This is “One Team, One Fight” against Mother Nature.
Significant rain is expected beginning tonight (Tuesday) into Wednesday morning. As a result, the Village Bandstand Concert Series event scheduled for tonight is postponed. Another round of wet weather is expected to arrive Friday night and roll into Saturday afternoon – all the result of Tropical Storm Debby, which is moving up the Eastern Seaboard from Florida. Flash flooding is possible in certain areas of our community, as we have experienced with recent weather events.
Both the Town’s Highway Department and the Village’s Department of Public Works have been proactively clearing storm drains, catch basins and open culverts of weather-related washout and debris in order to ensure hyper-localized storm water is able to drain free of obstructions. Please understand this is an ongoing operation and our crews will be attending to days/nights all week.
NOTE: Sand & Sandbags are available (free of charge) at the Donahue Farm Property, located at 42 Bayview Avenue in Cornwall-on-Hudson for residents of both the Town and the Village. Honor System in place -- please limit to ten sandbags per household.
Dial 9-1-1 for Emergencies
Document Storm Impacts:
https://ready.cornwallny.gov/disaster-reporter and tag @cornwalloem in your media posts.
Report Power Outages & Check Status at Central Hudson @stormcentral.cenhud.com.
Please stay safe and follow @cornwalloem for latest information as it becomes available.
Please stay safe and reach out to your respective local government officials with issues/concerns.
On behalf of your Village Board,