The Police Vote...Again

The police vote…again

It’s Groundhog Day again in Hyde Park as residents will once more vote on the proposed new facility for the police department. The measure lost by about 300 votes last year with voters mostly objecting to the process rather than the proposal itself. The election was marred by sign stealing and other childish behavior on the part of the anti-police crowd. Mercifully the clowns involved in last year’s shenanigans have been relatively invisible this time around. This year’s vote should serve as a more accurate reflection of the community’s desire to support the police by building them a suitable facility.
If you’ve taken the time, as I have, to tour the police station on 9G, you know the current facility is a total embarrassment and an insult to the people working there. The place is falling down and police officers have no room to work.
The one jail cell has no bathroom and is the size of a triangular phone booth making it impossible to detain two people simultaneously. (Think bar fight). In short, the place is a dump. Otis, the town drunk from the Andy Griffith Show, would give up drinking if he had to sleep it off in Hyde Park.
So why haven’t the citizens of Hyde Park voted to fund a new facility? One objection is the cost. People are stretched pretty thin these days and don’t want to pay another dollar in taxes. Others simply don’t think we need a police department. Let the Sheriff and State Police handle things.
Let’s address the second one first. Police are a lot like lawyers. Nobody likes them until they need them. The Hyde Park Police are very good at what they do. The fact that most of us have very little contact with them is because they do such a fine job. They serve as a very visible deterrent to those contemplating breaking the law as well as a rapid response to those who do. Does anyone really want to hear the 911 operator say the State Police are busy with an accident an on the Taconic while some cretin is walking out the door with your flat screen or worse?
Then there’s the money angle. I’ve heard so many people kvetching about an extra $30-$50 bucks a year to pay for a decent police facility. They say their taxes are too high as it is. Well, they are. But for that kind of short money, I get a real live police force. I’m not getting that kind of value elsewhere in my tax bill.
I pay a small fortune in school taxes but have never had a child in school. I pay thousands in water taxes but get no town water. I have no sewer or garbage collection. In short, the only tangible benefit I and many other residents get from the Town is police and fire. Why on earth would any clear thinking person not want to support the police facility?
Then there’s the John Golden factor. Think of the current facility as your house. It’s falling down and you need to move. You’re not sure you can afford to move but then along comes a generous man offering to give you the land to build your house on. That’s just what legendary builder John Golden is doing for Hyde Park. He’s willing to donate up to five acres of prime real estate on Cardinal Road for the new facility. Amortize the cost of that land while you’re complaining.
So let’s do the right thing on Tuesday and give Hyde Park the police facility it deserves.