Dear Mr. Perry:

Don't you think you are making Hudson a less attractive city with your lack of attention to our fire hydrants?

How many fire hydrants do you expect to paint this year?  Will you paint more of them than you did last year? Or does rust help hydrants live a long and productive life, ready for a fire at any moment?

What about that lovely, rusted hunk of metal over on Columbia Street at 8th (see below)? Was it once a fire hydrant ready to put out a fire? When you drive past it every day in your city-issued vehicle (at least twice, I imagine), what do you think to yourself about it, if anything? What is anyone to think when they see that rusty metal relic?  That someone isn't doing their job, has no sense of aesthetics, might be a slob and certainly doesn't care about putting out fires?

Here's a view of its top:

Do you prefer the look of a rusty and paint-chipped fire hydrant that looks to be forgotten about over one covered in a black plastic bag? Or do you consider them equally attractive? Do you prefer in-service fire hydrants over out-of-service hydrants? Hydrants covered in weeds over easily accessible and readily seen hydrants? Where is the maintenance and testing of our fire hydrants on your priorities list? Is it on the list at all?  

As you know, Superintendent Perry, I recently made a Freedom of Information Law request for documents from DPW showing the most recent results of the testing of all of the city's fire hydrants.  The response you sent me showed the results of the 2019 "ISO Flow Tests" of just 14 hydrants.  How often does the DPW Water Department test our fire hydrants to be sure they are working?  When was that so-called fire hydrant on Columbia at 8th most recently tested, and what were the results?  When was that hydrant most recently painted?  Is it scheduled to be painted this year?  Or is it no longer able to pump water (out-of-service) and is just waiting for a black plastic bag?

Does paint protect hydrants from the ravages of dog urine?

DPW recently purchased two new fire hydrants at a cost of $10,600, didn't you, Mr. Perry?  From whom did DPW get the money to purchase those two hydrants? 

If a fire hydrant becomes so rusty from years of neglect and a lack of protective paint that it no longer works and must be replaced, who pays for the new hydrant to replace it?   Who ultimately pays for the plastic bags that cover out-of-service hydrants?

Why did DPW replace the fire hydrant near the middle of Clinton Street late last year?  Why did you replace that hydrant but not the long out-of-service hydrant on 3rd Street at Long Alley (to name just one of many) that you have been well aware of for years?  When do you hope to get that hydrant back in service by fixing it or replacing it with one that works, possibly a new $5,000 hydrant right out of the box? 

Final question for today:  Do you bother painting out-of-service fire hydrants to make them look decent?  Or do you prefer to cover some of them in plastic bags to spare us all the ugliness?

Oops, if I may, just one more question I thought of for you before I go.  How many pairs of carrots did DPW recently paint on city streets for the Hudson Farmers Market, an organization that is not associated with DPW or City Hall?

Sorry for so many questions, Superintendent Perry, but something seems wrong to me.  There is evidence of neglect of our fire hydrants all over town that I'm thinking you are unable or unwilling to see and acknowledge.  I hope my pictures help you out.  I'd be happy to send you more if you like.  Just reach out and ask.