At its Aug. 10, 2023 meeting, the Stanford Town Board invited John Hughes, the officer in charge of the Pine Plains Police Department, to respond to public comments on a trial solution to the problem of speeding in Stanfordville.
Hughes and Sergeant Michael Beliveau presented an informative session on the drafted contract, which would bring one Pine Plains police officer to Stanford for four four-hour shifts per week. The main job of the officer would be to deter traffic issues plaguing many of the roads, some narrow and winding, and others – like N.Y. Route 82 running straight through town – that see drivers continually exceeding the posted speed limit.
“People know not to speed in Pine Plains,” said Town of Stanford Supervisor, Wendy Burton, attributing it to the visible police presence on the streets of Pine Plains.
The commitment to a three-month trial period was included in the proposed contract to allow Stanford to evaluate the program, monitor the quantity of warnings and tickets given out, as well as observe the qualitative difference to life along the roads.
Public comments at the August meeting appeared mainly positive, but afterward the board started to receive negative input. Though it seemed probable that revenue from tickets would cover expenditures, there was some resistance to the plan due to added costs, according to Burton, and not wanting a police force in town was also being voiced. The board decided to take a hiatus to hold aside the first plan, and explore other options.
Carl Merritt, a town resident and retired deputy sheriff, offered to look into working with the County Sheriff’s department and the state troopers in a way that benefits the town. One possibility is that the Sheriff’s Department could supply more speed advisory signs – the monitors on roads that tell drivers how fast they are going. The town currently owns two that they place in different hot spots.
The message, Burton would like drivers in Stanfordville to embrace is: “Don’t speed in Stanford.”