Where Is That Door Anyway? Surely It Can Be Found SOMEWHERE!

I can only assume that all HUDseen readers, like me, are aware that there is only one Hudson Department of Public Works (DPW) office and that it is located on the second floor of City Hall at the top of the stairs. (If not, now you are!). 

The City Ordered A Flatbed Trailer For The Flag Day Parade. How Do You Suppose It Arrived On Front Street?

Why, of course, by way of the Alternative Truck Route (ATR)!!!  And possibly from the State of Maine!!!

Why Was A Hudson DPW Crew Of 4 Filling Dozens Of Potholes On Private Property Yesterday Morning?

First of all, I want to make two things absolutely clear for the purposes of this article.  First, someone, or some group of people, who goes by the name of South 99 LLC has owned the former L & B Factory since 2013, a property technically known as 99 South 3rd Street and familiarly known as the Antiques Warehouse for the past several years.  The City of Hudson does not own the former L & B Factory nor the parking lots and driveways surrounding the large building.  It is all private property and the owner is responsible for the maintenance of everything.  There can be no disputing this!

Second, with this article, I am not out to get anyone fired, in trouble, thrown under the bus or dragged in the mud.  If it happens, then so be it.  I am here to report what I saw and the facts surrounding what I saw that I think the general public and the Hudson Common Council should be made aware of.  I do not write this easily or lightly.  

The laborers at Hudson DPW are a tough, reliable bunch and they mostly do good work, at least as far as I can tell.  Yes, I am often unimpressed with their work, but I have lots of respect for them and know that they are simply doing what they are told to do and trained to do.  But I am absolutely convinced that there is something rotten above them directed their way.  If there is malfeasance at the top of DPW, well, the truth should come out and there should be corrective actions taken and certain people should be held to account for their actions.  This is not a novel idea in the history of local government.  City Hall (the mayor?), including the Common Council, should react swiftly, forcefully and appropriately to the circumstances surrounding scene I witnessed yesterday and not, as it tends to do, just bury its collective heads in the sand to allow the poor optics, possible malfeasance and misspending of money to continue.  A dysfunctional, poorly run city that continually wastes money and has little to no accountability is going absolutely nowhere but backwards and is likely headed for an ignominious, disastrous fall.  I say this is in all seriousness.  Things appear to be getting out of hand at City Hall, particularly at DPW.  But that's just my view from the street.

The Way I Figure It

A mayor who is comfortable with reading gibberish on the door next to his every time he enters his own office for years and years...

Just In Case You Were Wondering, As I Was ...

No electricity, no petrol!  Get on your
bicycle and ride right on by!

... YES, digital gasoline pumps require electricity from the power grid.

And NO, gasoline is not available when the power goes out, as it did for about two hours this morning.

At least this was the case at the Green Street Speedway station this morning.  Would it be, or have been, true at Stewart's and Lucky's as well?

Part-Time Code Enforcement Just Ain't Cuttin' It Anymore!

According to the City of Hudson's website, the Code Enforcement Office is open to the public Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 5:00pm.  However, when head Code Enforcement Officer Craig Haigh is on vacation or otherwise out of the office for a day or more, his department is open for just 4 hours.  This will be the case for the next 5 days.

Wouldn't It Be So Hilarious!

I've heard and read that National Grid's new plastic natural gas pipes which they are burying around town are expected to be transporting gas for the next one hundred years, about as long as the metal pipes they are replacing have lasted.  I don't know how anyone would be able to determine that buried plastic pipes carrying natural gas can last a century, but whatever.  Welcome to the 21st century, where metal is out and plastic is everywhere, seen and unseen.  We'll just have to hope that one of humanity's most environmentally destructive, unhealthy and problematic manufactured substances holds up well for us as it sits a few feet under our streets and sidewalks.  For a really, really long time.