What You May Have Missed At Last Night's Common Council Meeting

This way to the exit?

I feel somewhat special knowing that Ed Moore informed me about his impending retirement at least three weeks before he "gave notice" on April 24th of his intent to retire on May 19th.   I believe Hudseen was the first to mention the subject, even if it was in the form of a question.

Unfortunately, I failed to ask Ed why he was retiring, nor did he offer an explanation for his decision to retire at last night's Council meeting when he read his farewell speech.  Even just a desire to "spend more time with my family" would have sufficed.  Is it just me, or is it rude to decide to retire within a month and not offer a reason to the public for doing so?  Maybe he will offer a reason or two at his official retirement later this month.  Whatever. 

Moore's final monthly HPD report consisted of just a reading of his goodbye letter.  There was no mention of anything related to HPD matters from the previous month, as the reports are supposed to include. Not even a mention of whether HPD detectives travelled to Florida to pick up the unarmed Trutstco bank robber and bring him back to face the city judge, an issue he raised a few months ago and then went silent on.  It's as if there was nothing to report about HPD's activities last month, and that the only important, worthwhile information that the Council and public needed to know was the fact that the Chief of Police is headed to the exit.  It seems he is already gone, maybe has been for a while. 

Time and money well spent

Prior to Moore's farewell "report," Superintnedent Robert Perry did his best to tell us what his department had been up to in the month of April, including plenty of pictures to make his points.  One picture which got chuckles from a few Council members was of a pair of freshly spray-painted orange carrots on a street -- the carrot arrows directing drivers to the farmers market on 6th street that DPW has been doing for a few years.  I imagine that it took no more than 2 hours for the two DPW workers to handle that job last month.  Many of the carrots are already nearly faded to nothing -- a complete waste of time, money and effort.

Still not worthy of mentioning

Yes, Mr. Perry mentioned, and provided a picture of, a pair of shiny carrot arrows, but he didn't mention anything about the huge and expensive mess he created in the Washington Street lot across from the temporary City Hall.  He didn't mention anything this month or last about the 4 or 5 days of work at least 3 of his workers did to remedy the effects of the mudslide.  No picture of the earth mover and other heavy-duty machinery DPW required to fix a problem related to the unearthing of a mud-covered sewer pipe and a stream leading to the Hudson River.  No mention of what the DEC is requiring of DPW to remedy the situation.  No mention of an engineering firm getting involved.  Yet another DPW monthly report and ZERO mention of what happened in the lot or what his department will be doing in the future (the work is far from finished).  It's like the mudslide never happened and DPW didn't have to respond to it.  Everything is just fine!  Instead, we get a picture of freshly painted carrots on a city street that are not holding up well at all 4 weeks later.  And 5 minutes of talk about the still unreplaced Ferry Street bridge.  And pictures and talk about DPW repaving holes in our streets.  And so on. 

Tom Depietro, the king of the Common Council, offered no opportunities for anyone from the public to speak.  Neither did he offer an explanation of whether this is his new modus operandi.  Is it me, or is it rude to not only not allow the public to speak at a public meeting when it was always the case to do so, but also to not even offer a reason for the change?  Like an explanation.

Welcome to Hudson City Hall, where explanations and accountability are few and far between.

Oh, I almost forgot --- Shane Bower, the supposed HPD Commissioner, was once again not in attendance at last night's meeting.  Not in person; not on Zoom.  Nowhere to be seen or heard.  Last night, Ed Moore did say that Bower informed him that (a very pregnant) Mishanda Franklin will be Moore's replacement.  There was no explanation as to why she was chosen, though -- possibly because Bower was once again not in attendance of a Council meeting.

Why bother?