Commissioner of Public Works Louis J. Ingrassia Jr. and the Town of Wallkill

Lori Lovely – PROFILE CORRESPONDENT - November 2024

The highway department of Wallkill, N.Y., is overseen by the town's Commissioner of Public Works/Co-director of the Office of Emergency Management, Louis J. Ingrassia Jr.

He was appointed by the town board to the position in 2013, the same year that the department of public works and the highway department were combined under a "true" DPW commissioner format.

"The town re-invented the DPW," Lou said. "They had a commissioner, but when I took office, they put all of DPW under me."

As a commissioner, he is responsible for all the town buildings, parks, the golf course, cemeteries, campground, water, sewer and the highway department in the town.

"The benefit is there's one point person for large projects," he said.

But, he added, it's a big town, with a population of 31,000. One person can't handle all the daily responsibilities. Thus, the Wallkill highway department is run by the highway supervisor, Bill Fedun, who has been in the position for one year since the old supervisor retired.

Climbing the Ladder of Community Service

At age 16, Lou joined the Howells Fire Company as a junior firefighter. He's still a volunteer firefighter today — elected fire district commissioner — but he took employment with the town of Wallkill in 1986, first working as a laborer in the water/sewer department. He eventually became a New York State-certified water/sewer operator and, in 2008, superintendent, a position he held until his appointment as DPW commissioner in 2013.

Now, he oversees a union shop with more than 60 full-time employees and 10 part-timers. Lou, a self-professed workaholic, take prides in his team. "It takes a lot of people to be successful. You're only as good as your people — and we have great people."

He takes care of those great people. Since he took office, Lou has overseen the implementation of DPW Training and Appreciation Day every December for annual training and recognition of the employees' efforts through the year. "We also implemented a DPW Leaders meeting on a monthly basis to review projects and plan for the future," he said.

Not only did they recently ratify a five-year contract, providing stability in the workforce, but he takes pride in being one of a handful of employers to get essential pay after COVID.

"We got a $2.50 per hour stipend from March 2020 to May 2021," he said. "I lobbied hard for that. We never shut down. Our DPW forces came to work every day of the pandemic."

Daily Detail

With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, his crew works Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The highway department's summer hours are Monday-Thursday, 6 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Together, they maintain 165 lane mi. — three gravel, 690 paved — and six bridges. In the winter, they work 25 plow routes, each taking approximately four hours.

In warmer seasons, they mow 13 parks, cemeteries, a campground and a golf course. They also work with neighboring towns to provide trucks for paving and tree trimming.

And they always maintain the roads.

"We bought a commercial street paver so we can do all the work in-house," Lou said.

In addition to cutting costs, he said it gives them a sense of accomplishment and insight. He also uses it for training purposes.

With the paver, several rollers and a tack cart, they can put down a 20-ft.-wide strip of blacktop. Lou estimates they pave 10-14 mi. a year.

"We no longer oil and chip roads," he said, although they do still do some micro-sealing and micro-paving. Most of what they do is full-depth milling and reclamation. After hiring out the milling, they do the paving in-house. Lou estimated they've saved approximately $30 million that way.

The crew maintains more than 100 pieces of equipment, including 25 large dumps, 25 pickups, multiple excavators, loaders and Bobcats. Inventory is continually updated as needed.

"We have a robust shop and crew," he said. They use a computerized program to track vehicle maintenance and perform routine maintenance in-house.

"Our budget is pretty stout, [with] about $15 million, of which the highway fund is $8.2 million, with $850,000 in CHIPS money," Lou said, adding they prioritize maintenance schedules, with equipment that runs 24/7 at the top of the list, behind only breakdowns. Next, they look at the number of hours on the equipment to determine scheduled downtime for maintenance.

They also maintain more than 50 buildings, including the town hall complex, police station and court, highway garage, building maintenance garage, three main water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plant and parks garage.

Plenty of Projects

The list of projects completed under Lou's watch is extensive, such as:

• New salt storage facility — 2015;
• New recreation center and boys/girls administration building — 2014;
• Seven new pickleball courts with three-season bathroom;
• Installation of lighting at two Little League fields;
• Inclusion playground and dog park at Circleville Park; and
• Vietnam War Memorial with 13 granite panels at Memorial Park.

His crew has completely refurbished the highway facilities, with new concrete floors, vehicle lifts, paved parking areas and a salt storage building built in 2015, which holds approximately 7,000 tons undercover.

Lou said the town has been diligent in applying for grants that enable them to supplement their budget to improve and update their infrastructure. Thanks to DPW Administrator Michele Baker, the town has secured grants and zero-interest loans through NYS EFC for drainage and pavement improvements in the Patio Road neighborhood, sidewalks on Carpenter and Winser avenues, paving improvements at Circleville Park and other projects.

One project Lou is particularly satisfied with was rebuilding two clarifiers at the wastewater treatment plant. "It was a huge upgrade," he said.

The $7 million project saw the replacement of raw sewage pumps at the 35-year-old plant with a grit classifier that protects the sewer plant from non-bio waste in incoming material.

"Contractors are doing the work, but we're involved," he said, adding that his crews are charged with keeping the plant functioning during repairs. The plant treats 4 million gallons a day of municipal water.

DPW crews repair water and sewer main breaks. They also perform some water projects. One large project currently under way is the rehabilitation of two water tanks at Inwood and Tower Drive.

Without a reservoir to rely upon, the town uses 21 wells to pump water into the system — and the growth of the town means a needed expansion of the number of wells. Continuing to upgrade the water treatment facilities to meet the needs of the growing community is one of Lou's long-term goals.

Additional projects currently in the works include:

• Water filter upgrades at the Crystal Run water treatment plant;
• New Western Avenue sewer pump station;
• New wells at the Rykowski Wellfields;
• Upgrade to 6,500 cellular reading water meters; and
• New deck and complete restoration of the Midway Bridge.

Lou serves as the town of Wallkill's co-director of emergency management with Police Chief Robert Hertman. With the assistance of OEM Coordinator Joseph Andr, they bring several lifetimes of experience to the Wallkill OEM and have become a model for Offices of Emergency Management throughout the Hudson Valley.

Town of Wallkill

Lou has lived in Wallkill for 58 years — with "the same driveway," he said. Born on a "black dirt" farm on Ingrassia Road in Orange County, he said that glacial deposits and peat bogs make the region a prime growing spot for root vegetables.

In the heart of the scenic Hudson Valley, Wallkill was established in 1772, although a land patent was taken out as early as 1724, with little settlement for several decades. During the American Revolution, gunpowder was produced in nearby factories.

Today, the area is better known for its parks, wineries, a wildlife refuge, retail stores, shopping centers and restaurants.

"We are at the crossroads of I-84 and I-85 and just an hour and a half from New York City," Lou said. "There are a lot of hotels, shopping … like the Galleria at Crystal Run. It's a very busy area."

There are numerous outdoor attractions, which suits Lou since he likes to do "anything outdoors." Highland Lake, a small lake near the town's western border, is part of Highland Lakes State Park, an undeveloped state park. The town also owns its own golf club.

The Orange County Fair is an annual attraction that began in 1808 — sort of. Lack of local interest stalled plans for 10 years, but the agricultural society promoting it failed to draw a crowd, as they did again in 1825. When the Orange County Agricultural Society was formed in 1841, they gained enough support to finally (and successfully) hold the first fair that November. For the first few years, the location of the fair rotated between towns, but it was permanently assigned to Wallkill in 1897.

The fair hosts a concert series that features some big names in the rock and pop music industries. The fairgrounds also are home to the Orange County Fair Speedway — a 5/8-mi. dirt track that is the oldest continuously operating dirt track in the United States, with races having been run since 1919. Although the track isn't big enough to host a NASCAR race, it's part of the landscape of Lou's life.

The most familiar landscape in his life is that driveway and the road leading to it.

"The grassy road was named after my grandfather, who was the longest registered voter in the area when they started to convert the dirt farm roads to actual paved roads in the 1940s," he said.

He built a house on the family compound behind his parents' home where he grew up. Luckily, he considers lawn care a hobby, because in addition to mowing 5 acres of his own, he still takes care of his parents' property and pool. His daughter, Andrea, also lives on the family compound, although son, Louie III, moved upstate after college and now lives in Watertown.

Lou's wife of 30 years, Jacqueline, said, "My husband is the most dedicated man I've ever met — dedicated to his family, his job and his community."

Following Family Footsteps

That dedication comes naturally. Lou's parents were public servants.

"I grew up with a sense of community," he said. "My dad was on the town zoning and planning boards, the Middletown school board and the Wallkill town board. He also served as state assemblyman in the 1970s. My mom was the elected tax receiver for over 25 years and my sister, Louisa, is the elected Wallkill town clerk for the past 28 years.

"I took this position due to a lifetime of dedicated service to the town and a desire to help the public," he added.

His duty to community service led him to belong to "a lot of organizations" because he believes that you "build a strong community by being part of the community."

He's current chairman of the Hudson Valley Waterworks Conference and vice chair of the Hudson Valley Damage Prevention Council for UDIG NY 811. He serves on the Orange County Water Authority and was recently elected chairman of the board of the Hudson Valley Honor Flight. He also is a past president of the Orange County Highway Superintendent Association, the Orange County Fire Chiefs Association and the Orange County Fire Districts Association.

Although his term as DPW commissioner has no expiration, he is retiring at the end of the year because he has entered the race for the NYS legislature in the 100th Assembly District. "It's the lower house, with 150 assembly members," he said, adding that he finds the prospect of becoming an assemblyman "intriguing."

Running as a Republican/conservative, with friends on both sides of the aisle, he believes his experience from 38 years of constituent service at different levels, including having lobbied for CHIPS and water/sewer and highway money at the state capitol, may qualify him as a "subject matter expert" on some issues. His goal is to take that expertise to the state level and serve as a beneficial source on various committees.

He'll also likely take his attitude of cooperation and optimism to his new position, should he win. Sounding like a natural-born politician, the commissioner said his favorite part of his current job is interacting with employees and the public.

"I haven't had too many bad days in 38 years," he said.

On the threshold of beginning a new career, he looks back over his current position and hopes he'll be remembered as a responsive and accessible commissioner and that the town's residents will think he left the town in better shape than he found it.

If he wins his seat, Lou will continue his family's tradition of serving the public, as he has done all his life. But, he says, "Win or lose, I win." P