2026 New York General Election

Fred M. Costello

Buket Urgen

Fred Costello, a member of the Independence Party, manages several family businesses, including a rental building and a restaurant. He is a lifelong resident of Saugerties and a graduate of Saugerties High School. He studied business administration at Ulster County Community College and economics and international relations at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

Meet the candidates: Fred Costello

Fred M. Costello manages several family businesses, including a rental building and a restaurant.

Meet the candidates: Fred Costello - Hudson Valley One

A November 2019 election-results report stated: “According to unofficial results Tuesday night, Saugerties Town Supervisor Fred Costello Jr. fended off a challenge from Councilman Paul Andreassen to win another two-year term.” A 2026 Town of Saugerties official page identifies him as “Saugerties Supervisor Fred Costello.”

Costello re-elected as Saugerties town supervisor; Thornton and Ivino to board

Fred was reelected as Saugerties Town Supervisor to another two-year term.

After describing long-term retail vacancies in strip malls and the village, Costello said: “The repercussions of those are going to fall on local governments in many ways to try to find creative solutions to repurpose buildings and to generate traffic and to do things where retailers can be successful locally.”

Meet the Candidates: Supervisor Fred Costello on Housing, Development, and Saugerties’ Future – The Overlook

Asked how he would balance economic development with affordable-housing needs, Costello said: “There’s a couple ways to go at that. One is to do everything we can to support jobs that can afford the housing prices as they stand, and we’re going to continue to do that work with the partners we have now, and we’ll seek new partners to come in and help out with that.”

Calls for local governments to find ways to repurpose vacant buildings, increase foot traffic, and help local retailers succeed.

Plans to work with existing and new partners to support jobs that pay enough to afford local housing prices.

- Calls for local governments to find ways to repurpose vacant buildings, increase foot traffic, and help local retailers succeed.
- Plans to work with existing and new partners to support jobs that pay enough to afford local housing prices.

Economy

Asked where the town could operate more efficiently and prioritize taxpayer spending, Costello said: “One of the things that we have been doing regularly is employing technology wherever we can to try to be helpful. It saves us money, but it also enhances the service that we’re able to provide. We are working again with a new vendor to try to do a more enhanced website that’s more interactive.”

Asked about possible consolidation of town and village governments, Costello said: “We always need to assess the services we provide and try to decide: Has technology made it easier to do it a different way? Do partnerships allow it to be done a different way, and be just as efficient or just as successful delivering that service?”

Uses technology to reduce costs, improve town services, and develop a more interactive town website.

Calls for regularly assessing whether technology or partnerships can deliver town services effectively.

- Uses technology to reduce costs, improve town services, and develop a more interactive town website.
- Calls for regularly assessing whether technology or partnerships can deliver town services effectively.

Public Services

Calls for reviewing zoning gaps and retaining accessory dwelling units as a housing option.

Asked how he would balance economic development with affordable-housing needs, Costello said: “There’s a couple ways to go at that. One is to do everything we can to support jobs that can afford the housing prices as they stand, and we’re going to continue to do that work with the partners we have now, and we’ll seek new partners to come in and help out with that. We always have to look at our zoning and say, where are gaps? Many of our peers had to do legislation to adopt accessory dwelling units. We already had it in it, and I’m not taking credit for this.”

Says requiring a percentage of housing in larger-scale developments would help address affordability.

Continuing his answer on balancing economic development with affordable housing, Costello said: “I think going forward, mandates for a percentage of housing of scale will help a little bit. But we can’t solve the affordability problem just in Saugerties. It’s not just a problem here; it’s the entire Hudson Valley.”

Housing & Urban Development

Asked where the town could operate more efficiently and how he would prioritize spending, Costello discussed technology and school-zone monitoring: “Some communities have been able to use technology to monitor school zones and other areas of traffic concern. So we applied for those grants too. We haven’t been awarded one yet. We’re going to keep doing that because I think speeding through a school zone is something nobody wants to see, and not to make it punitive, but to get compliance so that everybody’s as safe as they could be.”

Prioritizes working with the police department toward accreditation.

In a 2011 candidate interview, asked for his top priority if elected, Costello said: “To continue the work we have been doing with the police department. Work with the police department to become accredited. That would enhance credibility and be a morale boost for the men. We’ve made some progress toward that, and a lot of the changes we’ve implemented lead us in that direction.” A targeted 2026 search found no contradictory newer statement; his 2026 interview continued to describe police consolidation as a successful model.

Plans to continue pursuing grants for technology to monitor school zones and improve compliance with speed limits.

- Plans to continue pursuing grants for technology to monitor school zones and improve compliance with speed limits.

Public Safety

In discussing whether town and village government functions could be consolidated, Costello said: “If we were to do something with highway, or at least build a joint facility and have two highway superintendents, the state would help us fund that. It would easily be a $7 million or $8 million project. That’s a lot of money for our residents. If we can find a creative way to help offset a substantial amount of that cost, we owe it to our residents to have that conversation.”

Calls for considering a joint town-village highway facility if state support can substantially offset costs to residents.

- Calls for considering a joint town-village highway facility if state support can substantially offset costs to residents.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Asked about resident concerns over a proposed battery energy storage system, including renewable energy and fire safety, Costello said: “Obviously, safety is going to be a priority for everyone, and I took this very seriously. We are continuing to work in a way to make sure that those concerns that have been expressed about safety are mitigated. Ultimately, the Planning Board is going to make the decision about that particular site.”

Asked what actions he would take to ensure access to clean drinking water, Costello said: “We’re going to continue the efforts we’re working on. We have the drinking water protection thing that we’re doing with the village that will cover the reservoir. Through the water resources study we did, I think 20 years ago, we identified a number of aquifers throughout the town, and we have already created the aquifer protection overlay, which doubles the bulk standards where those aquifers are to protect them for future use.”

In a 2020 New York attorney general press release concerning litigation over a Saugerties dump site, Saugerties Town Supervisor Fred Costello Jr. said: “The Town of Saugerties is very grateful to the Attorney General’s office for their attention to this matter. Our residents have needlessly suffered by the selfish actions of Mr. Karolys. We believe his activity has threatened the environment, our quality of life and the well-being of his neighbors. We look forward, on behalf of our residents, to the resolution of the state’s civil action as well as legal action being pursued by the Town of Saugerties.”

AG James Sues Saugerties Dump Site Owner Over Continued Environmental Violations

Calls for state or federal government to regulate industry more effectively in response to persistent chemicals in drinking water.

After the interviewer identified persistent chemicals in drinking water as PFAS, Costello replied: “Yeah. You need the mass of the state as a whole or the federal government to step up and regulate industries in a more positive way.”

Prioritizes mitigating residents' safety concerns about a proposed battery energy-storage facility.

Plans to continue drinking-water protections for the reservoir and aquifers, including an aquifer-protection overlay.

As Town Supervisor, called for resolving state and town legal actions over alleged environmental harm from a Saugerties dump site.

- Prioritizes mitigating residents' safety concerns about a proposed battery energy-storage facility.
- Plans to continue drinking-water protections for the reservoir and aquifers, including an aquifer-protection overlay.
- As Town Supervisor, called for resolving state and town legal actions over alleged environmental harm from a Saugerties dump site.