Poestenkill supervisor assures fire contract stalemate won’t affect coverage

POESTENKILL – If you live in Poestenkill, you may have seen the sign that says as of January 1, Poestenkill has not had a fire protection contract.

According to the town supervisor and fire company officials, the current situation shouldn’t concern anyone, and it shouldn’t affect anyone either.

Supervisor Keith Hammond tells NewsChannel 13 the contract situation is not a big deal. However, he says down the road there will need to be a contract in place.

Contract discussions began last October. As the January 1 deadline approached, the town inserted a provision to the contract requesting the number of emergency 911 calls last year that the fire department did not respond to. The fire company refused to agree to that. The stalemate has lasted into mid-February.

Both the town supervisor and fire company officials are in agreement that residents will continue to receive the same emergency service they expect and that they deserve.

In the meantime, the supervisor remains chagrined over what he considers a silly and nonsensical situation.

Hear his frustrations, by watching the video of Dan Levy’s story.